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Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Category: Cycling Page 21 of 34

Thanks, Ricco

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On July 17, 2008

In Cycling, Society

Ricardo Ricco (winner of 2 TdF stages this year) popped for EPO. Shocker. So, Ricco, this is for you (NSFW, if the speakers are up):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqxnm6t3QMw[/youtube]

Credit to PdC for the video inspiration.

Update: So, why is it that I (and so many others) have such contempt for this guy, considering the doping ways of cycling heros past?  A commenter over at Podium Cafe put it very well. Hit the jump for a slightly edited version of it (and expect the kind of language you’d get moments after learning that someone just screwed the Tour):

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The Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist

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On July 15, 2008

In Cycling, DC, Virginia

WashCycle has a fantastic post up about the “Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist”:

In fact after Alice Swanson’s death, many comments on the post, DCist and elsewhere mentioned that something like this was bound to happen because of the illegal manner in which most cyclists ride. Despite the fact that there seems to be no indication that she did anything illegal.

Which leads to what I call “The Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist”.

Now then, I’m not trying to claim that cyclists don’t break the law. Let me state clearly and upfront, they do. What I’m saying is that there is nothing unique about the frequency with which cyclists as a class break the law when compared with drivers or pedestrians. And even if cyclists broke the law more flagrantly, that would not negate the need to share the road.

And then he goes on to knock down pretty much every piece of the scofflaw myth, fact by fact.  Very well done.

Honoring Alice Swanson’s Memory: Share the Road

By

On July 10, 2008

In Cycling, DC, Personal

Corner of 20th and R St., where Alice Swanson was struck and killed

As sad as the death of Alice Swanson has been, the level of genuine interest in understanding what happened so that a repeat occurrance can be avoided has been very encouraging. As I posted yesterday, it’s appearing that the driver (in a large garbage truck) failed to see her in the bike lane next to him, and turned right into her, across her path.  This is a situation that I think most of us who have used bike lanes have encountered.  The solution I’ve arrived at – beyond the hypervigilance any rider should have – is to move to take the lane before any intersection.  This puts you squarely in view of the driver behind you while barring the possibility of there being a vehicle next to you in a position to come across in front of you.

There are many different situations that require different tactics, of course.  Yesterday, I linked to Dave Zabriske’s Yield to Life foundation, and they have some excellent tips – both for cyclists *and* motorists.  As many have suggested, there’s also a role for larger education campaigns aimed at both groups.  But in the end, I think it’s primarily a cultural issue – we simply have to be more aware of others.  There’s no special societal prescription for that, I’m afraid.  But whatever the path to it is, I bet it starts with each of us.

Recommended resources:

Bicycle Safe – Some excellent situational analysis, recommending smart tactics.  Worth a quick look.

Lane Control video – A very informative video illustrating the benefits of taking the lane (from Cyclistview.com)  I learned a few things from it.  About 10 minutes.

Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute – Helmets aren’t a guarantee, but they’re a damn smart hedge.

Related posts:

Photo couresty Ryan Dudek

The Facts of Alice Swanson’s Death

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On July 9, 2008

In Cycling, DC

Like a lot of people, I just can’t let this one go.  There was a lot of speculation yesterday about exactly what happened that caused the garbage truck to run Alice Swanson over at the intersection of 20th and R St.  Many of us ride through there as a parallel option to Connecticut, know that there’s a bike lane there, and assumed she was in it.  Other people thought she might have been riding on the sidewalk, and into the crosswalk.  Well, this is what we’ve learned today:

The accident took place at 7:40 a.m. in the 1900 block of R Street NW, just north of Dupont Circle. Police said Swanson was riding in or next to a designated bike lane. She and the truck driver were traveling west on R Street when the truck driver turned right onto 20th Street, hitting her, police said.

Swanson was trapped beneath the truck, police said. An officer in the uniformed division of the Secret Service who was nearby pulled her out and unsuccessfully tried to revive her.  [Emphasis supplied]

And what of the driver?

No charges had been filed in the incident as of last night.

Maybe they’re waiting for her to tell her side of the story?

Photo courtesty of The Middle East Institute

Update: More here and here.

Update II:  Please see Honoring Alice Swanson’s Memory: Share the Road.

Cycling: A Team Sport

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On July 9, 2008

In Cycling

For the uninitiated, it’s often hard to comprehend how bike racing is a team – rather than individual – sport.   More than once I’ve found myself unable to do it quickly enough to avoid the glazed look in a friend’s eye.  So from now on, I’ll just be forwarding this passage from David Millar’s Tour de France diary.  All you need to know in advance is that when you’re racing, it’s essential to be immediately behind another cyclist.  If you’re not, the wind hits you full on and you end up having to work much harder than the rest of the riders in the peloton.  So, we join David Millar near the end of yesterday’s stage, who has somehow fallen off the back of the peloton, and is on his own:

dangling 50m off the back nuking from the effort and those 50m may as well have been 10km. I felt like an astronaut whose tether has been cut.

Then I saw [teammates] Martijn and Maggy at the back of the group and I shouted on the radio (what Maggy would later describe as screaming). I could only just get out, ‘Maggy, Martijn, LOOK BEHIND!’. The first time they didn’t turn, the second time I screamed Martijn looked behind. Without hesitating, he dropped out of the safety of the group and came back to me. At this moment, I was literally blowing up. I couldn’t even hold his wheel as he tried to accelerate me back into the group. After trying three times, he turned around and reached out his hand. It was a ballsy move as we were going very fast and it would transfer all his energy to me leaving him stranded and on his own. He did it though. I took it and he slung me as hard as he could. By this time, Maggy had dropped out of the group and was awaiting me a little further up the road. The momentum Martijn had given me allowed me to get onto the accelerating sanctuary of Maggy’s wheel and he towed me back on. The relief to find myself back in the front group was almost as strong as the few minutes of fear and pain I’d just put myself through.

Teamwork.

DC Cyclist Killed

By

On July 8, 2008

In Cycling, DC

Alice Swanson\'s Bike

Something just very sad about this.

Update: And by this, I mean the death of 22 year old Alice Swanson.  That’s her bike being carried away.

While I will always support education and enforcement campaigns aimed at improving driver/cyclist/pedestrian safety on our streets, I can’t say that I put a lot of stock in their effectiveness.  What *is* effective, however, is the change that comes when the importance of yielding is personalized for someone.  I suspect you’re a lot more aware of cyclists on the road when you know one.  It doesn’t mean it’s any less annoying when a messenger pulls an idiot move in front of you.  But it does mean you’re more likely to see – and therefore not kill – him.  And that’s the important part.  Yield to life.

– photo courtesy WABA

Update II: More about Alice:

A 2007 Amherst graduate, Swanson was fluent in Spanish and Arabic.

She recently completed an internship program at The Middle East Institute, a think tank based in Washington. The institute called Swanson “a true spirit of friendship” in a memorial statement on its website.

Her co-workers and résumé paint a picture of a bright, young woman who loved international affairs and travel.

She founded a chapter of the Progressive Student Alliance at Amherst in 2003. In 2005 she taught English to African refugees in Cairo.

[ . . . ]

Swanson was working for the International Research and Exchanges Board, a nonprofit that promotes worldwide education, at the time of her death.

Le Tour Starts!

By

On July 5, 2008

In Cycling

The Tour de France starts today in Brest, France.  It’s the first of 21 stages and 3,554km that the teams will be riding over the next 23 days.  C’mon, you know you want to watch it.  If you’re in the US, it’s live on Vs. television most mornings, with evening recaps most days.  If you’re in the EU, it’s on Eurosport (and more national channels than you can count).  There’s a plethora of options on the Internet, and they’re always changing.  The best place to get up-to-date info for that (and everything else about the race) is Steephill.tv.

Heading to the Mall? Take Your Bike

By

On July 3, 2008

In Cycling, DC

One of the worst things about July 4th on the Mall is leaving the Mall when it’s done. DC likes to use the exodus as an opportunity to experiment with its emergency evacuation traffic plans, so if you drive you’ll never know quite where you’re going to end up. And honestly, the Metro isn’t exactly head and shoulders above driving (consider that you’ll be packed in – shoulder to shoulder if you’re lucky, shoulder to head if you’re not – next to people who’ve spent alllll daay on the Mall.) So what to do? Ride down.

If you need help finding a path, Bike Washington has an excellent map of commuting trails (if you’re coming from VA, I’d suggest using the Roosevelt or 14th St. bridges – Memorial will be overrun with people). And what to do once you’re there? WashCycle tells us that :

WABA will be offering two free valet bike parking locations as a way to encourage more people to ride their bikes to the fireworks. The bike valets will be located at 15th and Independence Ave SW and on the south side of the Lincoln Memorial. Both valets will be in operation from 2pm to 10pm.

If you’re not really feeling the insanity of the Mall, but want to see the fireworks up close, ride over to the Iwo Jima Memorial (grab a space on the lawn by the Netherlands Carillon). You won’t be the only one there, but it’s much more manageable. Enjoy the day.

Take Back the Tour

By

On June 24, 2008

In Cycling, Society

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=H93SW31hBsg[/youtube]

I know I’m a sucker, given that VS. was a part of covering up the doping scandals, but I can’t help but enjoy a good promo.  Le Tour is coming.  July 5th.

DC, what’s wrong with you? There’s a bikeporn contest going on!

By

On June 23, 2008

In Cycling, DC

Actually, now that I write that title, I realize that I can address *all* of you, as the contest was not technically limited to DC.   Freewheeling Spirit, proprietor of his eponymous blog and the most excellent Bikes for the Rest of Us site, had to go and cancel his bikeporn contest for lack of participation.

As someone who spends a fair amount of time and money enjoying bikeporn, I find this greatly disappointing.  So c’mon, make an entry anyway and guilt him into opening the contest back up.  This’ll be the entry I send in:

(I had to put it on the other side of the jump, as it may inspire strong reaction if it’s viewed without warning.)

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