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Category: Cycling Page 26 of 34

Friday Notes: Bikes, Bikes, Bikes

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On April 4, 2008

In Cycling, DC, Virginia

If it’s April, it’s all about bikes.  The De Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) is on the schedule this weekend, but since I can’t be there (this time), I’ll focus on a few things closer to home:

The coming DC SmartBike program is getting some press.  It’s not going to be widely deployed enough to make it useful to me, but I’ll probably sign up anyway, in support of the concept.

It’s been a few weeks since the last report of a sexual assault on my local trails, so hopefully that’s the last of them.  I’m still not any less angry about it.  As I wrote over at WashCycle:

This pisses me off so much. I look at these trails with the same possessiveness that, well, probably a lot of you feel, also. They’re something I want everyone to enjoy, whether on a group ride or in the solitary circumstances of the early AM. And when I hear that some asshole is ruining it for everyone . . . gah. I suppose violence is not the answer, but it sure inspires that feeling.

There are some good comments on that thread – especially the ones pointing out that advising women not to ride alone is NOT an acceptable response.

People like their bike porn.  This post last week?  Is starting to move its way into the top search terms for this site.  Both depressing and heartening, at the same time.

Finally, don’t forget about CycleFest this weekend.   Really, I can’t emphasize enough what a friendly lot the organizers are.  If you’re at all interested in getting back on a bike, or onto a different kind of bike, come check it out.

Doping

By

On March 31, 2008

In Cycling, Society

As a pro cycling fan, I’m rather well acquainted with the world of performance enhancing drugs. And the dopers that use them. It is, as you might imagine, a topic close at hand during any discussion of the state of the sport. At this point, I don’t really have any moral outrage. And it’s not just because I’m worn out by the succession of recent doping stories. It’s that doping has *always* been around. It’s part and parcel of the sport. The Festina affair is recent history, in this context. When you read any books dealing with the history of cycling, whether it’s the the last 25 years of pro racing or Dino Buzzati’s masterpiece on the ’49 Giro d’Italia, riders have *always* turned to drugs for an edge.

And if you’re not a cycling fan, and you’re thinking that this isn’t really a problem in the sports *you* appreciate, you’re almost certainly deluding yourself. Every sport needs to grapple with doping (and so do “sports” like golfing). It’s against this background that I think a new book- Dope: A History of Performance Enhancement in Sports from the Nineteenth Century to Today – will be worth reading. Written by the author of Rant Your Head Off, it looks like a real history of doping in sports:

Dope starts in the mid-1800s, when doping was performed on racehorses with the intent of altering the natural outcome of races. Back then, the stables in which the horses were kept weren’t all that well guarded, so a doper could come along and administer a drug that would affect the animal’s racing. Sometimes the drugs were meant to give the horse a boost, and sometimes they were meant to slow the animal down.

[ . . . ]

You’ll get to see stories of doping in the Olympics from the quadrennial spectacle’s earliest days, the rise of various drugs (like amphetamines, testosterone, other steroids and eventually EPO and designer steroids), as well as read about doping incidents across a wide range of sports over the last century. You’ll read stories of doping in weightlifting, swimming, track and field, cycling, football (both kinds), baseball, as well as doping in other sports.

[ . . . ]

But most of all, what I hope you’ll get out of the book is an appreciation and understanding that doping is not a problem that just magically appeared over the last twenty years (despite how the many in the mainstream media seem to cast the story). The desire to boost human performance, and to find ways of pushing the boundaries of what we’re capable of, has existed for a very, very long time. And at one point in time, “the human experiments” that doping athletes perform were once even considered merely using technology in man’s quest to be better, faster and stronger. The perfectability of man/woman, if you will.

I intend to put my hands on a copy and review it when it’s finally released.

Bike Porn in Richmond!

By

On March 26, 2008

In Cycling, DC, Personal, Virginia

No, really.  (NSFW)

I just realized that I missed my chance to see bike porn in DC last night (by about 30 minutes and 200 feet, it seems). So, in case any of you are in Richmond Thursday night, don’t miss your chance.

(Also, if any of you francophones want to ID the soundtrack to the linked video, I’d quite appreciate it).

CycleFest 2008

By

On March 21, 2008

In Cycling, DC, Virginia

If you live in the DC/NoVA area, and you’re at all interested in off road riding (or think you might be), mark your calendars with a reminder to head out to Wakefield Park (Annandale, VA) on Sunday, April 6th. The Bike Lane, a shop I can recommend without reservation, is putting on CycleFest 2008:

Enjoy a day completely dedicated to the sport of cycling. You will be able to demo the latest Trek, Lemond, Gary Fisher mountain and road bikes. Attend seminars including yoga for cyclists, core training for the cyclist, commuting basics, adventure racing 101, road and mountain bike clinics, bike fit and maintenance sessions, bike travel trips, and much more. We are adding more seminars everyday. Local experts and cycling’s top of the line manufacturers will be on hand to show you everything you want to know about the latest and greatest in cycling.

Everything the Bike Lane does is a quality effort, and I expect something for everyone here. The clinics are free, and only require pre-registration (seriously, check out that link and see what’s on offer).  There are also group rides that will be led throughout the day (and this is a great chance to check out the newly finished (well, as of the end of this day) Phase IV Wakefield trails.

Don’t have a mountain bike?  Want to see what the differences between a rigid and full suspension bike feels like?  That’s what the demos are for.  Come up, give them some way to track you down (usually a license), and ride off with the bike.  Very easy, and I’ve never experienced any selling pressure at a demo day.  Their bet is that the ride will sell you on the bike.

Hope to see some of you there.

Arlington “Street Smart” Initiative Underway

By

On March 11, 2008

In Cycling, DC, Virginia

The Arlington County Police Department has started to step up its “education” and enforcement efforts at Arlington’s most problematic intersections. This period of concentrated enforcement is part of the DC metro area Street Smart campaign, and is aimed at improving pedestrian safety. According to the BikeWashington listserv, they were already handing out warnings (to cyclists, of course) at the Lynn St. crossing on Lee Highway.  I sat through a presentation about this program last week (at a meeting of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee (ABAC)), and thought I’d pass along some of what I learned.

As I understand it, the campaign is scheduled to run from March 3rd through 29th. A 2-3 man ACPD team is going to spend the month moving amongst various Arlington locations, issuing warnings and (presumably) some tickets. The presenting officer emphasized that it was primarily an education campaign, and that increasing the number of tickets written was not a goal of the campaign. Police will be handing out “Safety Tips” cards (available here in English and Spanish, among other languages) and generally reminding citizens of the right-of-way rules governing pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles. The officer also indicated that they’d be running “crosswalk stings” (tho’ he did seem to immediately regret that phrasing, in light of his earlier claim that it wasn’t about ticketing).  Apparently the plan is to set out an orange cone in the roadway, and if a car fails to stop for a pedestrian who has started out in the roadway *before* the car passed the orange cone, a ticket will be issued. We’ll see how that goes. Trivia: an Arlington jaywalking ticket will cost you $5. Plus $61 in court costs, if you contest it and lose.

The presentation also included a portion on the most dangerous intersections in Arlington County. I’m going to try and get a copy of those slides and post them there, as they confirm what most of us in Arlington already know – that you ought to be extra careful in the area around Ballston Mall, crossing Glebe Rd through Buckingham, and in the Rosslyn circle.  And  be extra careful crossing Jeff Davis in Crystal City.  Specifically, from 2005 to 2007, the seven most dangerous pedestrian intersections in Arlington County were:

2300 Jefferson Davis Hwy – 5 accidents
900 S Glebe Rd – 3 accidents
1500 S George Mason Dr – 3 accidents
500 N Glebe Rd – 3 accidents
600 N Glebe Rd- 3 accidents
4200 Wilson Blvd – 3 accidents
1800 N Moore St – 3 accidents

Other Arlington stats of interest included the number of cycling-related accidents and injuries over the past three years:

2005 38 accidents, 34 injuries
2006 43 accidents, 49 injuries
2007 38 accidents, 37 injuries

The last cycling-related fatality was in 2005. Accidents, as one might expect, occur more frequently during rush hour(s) traffic.  The rest of the presentation appeared to have been modified from the same one DC’s MPD put together (preserving some of the same bits of wisdom like characterizing cyclists as “anti-authoritarian”).  All in all, I did get the idea that ACPD is genuinely trying to improve the state of affairs for Arlington’s pedestrians and cyclists, and I applaud them for that.  So in that spirit, I’ll leave my concerns for another entry on what I learned at the ABAC meeting.

Virginia Loses U.S. Open Cycling Championship to Providence

By

On March 6, 2008

In Cycling, Virginia

U.S. Open Cycling Championship Riders Ascend Richmond's Libby Hill

No pro racing up the cobbles of Libby Hill this year, it seems. Last year, I joked that the U.S. Open Cycling Championship finally gave me an enjoyable reason to go to Richmond. Well, it looks like I won’t have to worry about enjoying Richmond anymore – the 2008 U.S. Open Cycling Championship that was scheduled to finish there on April 13 has been canceled, renamed, and moved to Providence, Rhode Island:

Last April’s inaugural U.S. Open road race was held in epic snowy conditions — and with nearly unprecedented network television coverage — in Virginia.

This year’s event is likely to be quite different. The 112-mile professional event has been moved to Providence, Rhode Island, on May 31. And while promoters are still negotiating a title sponsor and TV deal, they say the date and location change will soon make it a fixture on the domestic calendar.

Of course, at the end of last year’s race, there were plenty of people on the dais (including Virgnia’s governor, Tim Kaine) talking about making the race a fixture in Richmond, so take that last line with a grain of salt. It’s not clear why the race moved from Virginia, but I suspect it was a mixture of the low spectator turnout last year, fewer state support dollars available this year, and the small fact that the promoter lives in Providence. There’s been very little coverage of the status of the race, with searches turning up only an article in a Baltimore business paper regarding the fact that the race had been pitched to that city (among others). Ah, well. In any event, Virginia’s loss is Providence’s gain:

The race will start in downtown Providence, loop out around the Scituate Reservoir to the west, then return to the city for about ten laps of a 4- or 5-mile circuit[.].

So if you’re in the area, check it out. Great fun no matter where it’s held, I’m sure.

Let Levi . . . market?

By

On February 22, 2008

In Cycling

So, for any of you tempted to sign onto the “grassroots” LetLeviRide.com petition, I’ll point out that the domain is owned by Trek Bicycles, Inc.  You “sign” the petition with only your e-mail address.  Of course, nothing on the site indicates that Trek owns it or states what will be done with your email address.  But I would be shocked – shocked, I tell you – if it resulted in the biggest email marketing list that Trek has ever compiled.

Nice stealth marketing move, Trek.

(For my non-pro-cycling-interested readers.  I first tried to write up a bit of background on this, so it would make some sense.  Given that the controversy itself makes no sense, however, I’ll just leave it at offering up this link, which should take you down the rabbit hole that pro cycling has become.)

The Deed Is Done

By

On February 21, 2008

In Cycling, DC

And the crime covered up. For a nice set of photos of the crime in progress, check out Gwadzilla (whom I hope has learned his lesson about asking permission, first).

Awakening: Gone By Wednesday

By

On February 18, 2008

In Cycling, DC, Personal

At the tip of Hains Point, where the Potomac and Anacostia rivers come together, there is an amazing bit of fancy, completely out of character for DC. And that’s why I love it, this sculpture called “The Awakening.”

Unfortunately, it’s been sold (apparently it was only “on loan” to Hains Point for the past 28 years . . .), and will soon be relocating to Maryland, where it’ll likely get lost amongst commerce. If you’re in the DC area, and have never seen it, you owe yourself a trip down there in the next day or so.

Update:  Went down to Hains Point with the hope of getting one last ride past the old man (and some shots of the usual lunchtime training crew going past it), but they’ve already blocked off the tip of Hains Point.  The crew working on it, however, was very cool and letting folks get in close for whatever shots they wanted.  Not sure if it’ll be like that tomorrow, though.

The cones and tape and construction equipment really changes the feeling of the piece. Instead of awakening, he looks like he’s getting sucked down to his death.

Tour of Calfornia: Starts 1pm PST

By

On February 16, 2008

In Cycling

The United States’ premiere pro-cycling stage race – the Tour of California (ToC) – starts in Pasadena Sunday, at 1pm PST (4pm EST). Those of you who are suffering Cycling.tv premium subscriptions along with me know where to get it, but those of you who want to follow along with the live action can also head to the ToC site and click on “Adobe Tourtracker” button (in fact, those of you who don’t give a damn about cycling, but dig tech, might want to check it out. Seriously cool web app.).

If you get into it, and want to talk about the race, join my friends over at PodiumCafe (a community that runs the gamut from pro racers to couch cheerers). If you’ve never given pro-cycling a thought, this might be a good opportunity to check it out for the first time. The teams are strong, and as much as I can’t stand Dave Towle (the race announcer), he does a good job of explaining what’s happening and why it matters to the race. If you’re more of a reality-tv drama fan, well, there’s always Rock Racing, the question of whether or not American star Tyler Hamilton will start, and what the Lion King himself – Mario Cipollini – will show up wearing at the start line (no, seriously).

Update: Rock Racing will start sans Botero, Sevilla, and Hamilton.  For an explanation of this – along with most anything else interesting that goes on at the ToC – check this guy out.   Also, probably time for me to throw Steephill.tv into the links again.  A fantastic alternative look at the sport.  As best I can tell it’s purely a labor of love, and it shows.

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