As I’ve mentioned, my local bike shop* takes care of Bush’s bikes for him (and half of DC law enforcement, apparently). For those that are interested, here’s a recent interview with Pinky (co-owner of the shop) about the task of keeping George happy and rolling. Please forgive the illiteracy of the piece – it’s the Georgetown student newspaper.
*actually, this placed used to be my shop. However, I’ve since moved onto Conte’s, with whom I’ve been quite pleased.
Most of us will take far more from the Internet than we will ever give back. Sheldon Brown, however, managed to give far more than he could ever have taken. Sheldon passed away yesterday, apparently of a massive heart attack. He will be missed by an enormous number of people, most of whom have never met him. There isn’t a cyclist I know who hasn’t referred to Sheldon’s near encyclopedic site on all things bike for the answer to one mystery or another. Ride on, Sheldon. You will be missed.
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For those of you who only knew about Sheldon’s love of bikes, be sure to check out his photography, his journal/blog, and, well, a little bit of everything else.
A Mr. Kajuan Cornish appears to have pulled off the very impressive feat of drawing a $1000+ abusive drivers fee for “recklessly operating” his 18 Speed Huffy on Warwick Boulevard in Newport News, VA. What did he do? Well, it seems Officer George Evans had to slow down, or he would have hit Mr. Cornish. Thus a $1050 fine. Yep, that’s right. The cyclist may well have done something stupid, but . . . even if the stupid started with his riding, it certainly didn’t end there.
Yesterday was absolutely beautiful. The very best I could ask of from a January day in DC. So, instead of working, I went for a ride. Titles come up when you mouseover frame (but not photo, it seems):
Try it yourself, some time.
DC area readers will recall the incident last February, in which Metrobus Driver Victor Kolako killed two women crossing with the light in a crosswalk. One of the women’s family has released a video, taken by the National Archives Building security camera, that shows the entire event. WaPo’s Marc Fischer linked the video, with the appropriate warning that even though it’s shot from a distance, it’s still hard to watch.
I’m linking it here, too, for a couple of reasons. First, I hope this will serve as a reminder to my fellow pedestrians and cyclists that we absolutely cannot trust our lives to the assumption that a bus driver (or any driver, really) will obey traffic signals. Second, I post this as a reminder to everyone else that Metro needs to face some serious public pressure over the safety training and basic quality of its bus drivers. This is the video.
The driver received one year in jail.
Stopped by the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse tonight for the Lunafest. Hosted by Team Luna Chix DC, Lunafest is:
 a national traveling festival of films by . . . for . . . about women.
Lunafest runs from October-March, in that time it is shown by more than 100 venues nationwide and is seen by over 20,000 viewers, each ticket sold raises money for Breast Cancer Fund and local nonprofit organizations.
The films were pretty good, and the speaker (I really regret that I can’t recall her name) was more than inspiring. A breast-cancer survivor and Ironman veteran, she spoke about the causes and effects of breast cancer in a more frank way than I’ve ever heard anyone talk about it. I wish more people would have been there to hear it.
The concept of the Lunafest is really something. It is, essentially, a turnkey film festival fundraiser. Lunafest provides the centerpiece – 10 film shorts. You provide the venue and select the local charity to benefit. The Breast Cancer Fund and the local charity receive the proceeds. Luna (maker of Lunabars), of course, gets the credit for facilitating all of this (and, frankly, deserves it). I *really* like this idea.
Check out the calendar to see if Lunafest is coming your way (really, the films are great, and they’re *everywhere*). If you’re feeling motivated, consider hosting one.
Okay, $16 million! Nope, I see $20 million, from the lady in the bad hat! Do I hear $25 million? Anyone?
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WashCycle (one of the most consistently informative of local cycling sites, btw) brings us up to date on the goings on at the last Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting.
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A nicely done article on resources for fixing your broken gadgets.  A few years ago, I realized that the gadgets I already owned did what I needed them to (for the most part), and I stopped being the person with the newest whatever (much to the surprise of my friends, it seems.) Since many of these things appear to be built for a year or two of useful life, max, I’ve found myself using many of the listed resources. Check it out.
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As we move through life, I think we mostly achieve or drop our dreams. Rarely do we find new ones. But I think I just did.
DC enjoyed its first organized cyclocross event, this past Sunday. 
DCMTB/City Bikes did the heavy lifting in organizing and managing the races, and the U.S. Armed Forces Retirement Home (the new name for the U.S. Soliders’ and Airmen’s Home) provided an absolutely beautiful venue. I felt a little lame heading out there without even thinking of having a go myself, but it was so much fun to watch I pretty much left that feeling at the gate. 
I hope they can pull off turning it into an annual event – it’s the sort of racing that makes me positively evangelical about the sport.
Gwadzilla, as usual, has the better words.
Pictures from the Men’s 3/4 & U18 race are available here. I’ll upload the rest of the afternoon races as I get a chance.
Updated: Scott talks about his race, and then his son Jake’s race. If I’m recalling things correctly, Scott got at least another lap and a half out of the day, keeping up with Jake (but on the other side of the tape . . .).
Women’s 1/2/3 race photos here. Betsy Shogren blew away the rest of the field by 2:30.
Junior’s (U16) race here. These kids rocked the course. Is your form this good?
Further Updates:
When I turned onto this road during a bike ride this weekend, I remarked to a friend next to me, “And this is where you bring someone to shoot them and dump them in the woods.” A few moments later, we came upon this:
Television. It’s an okay thing to waste.
If you’ve got an open Sunday and have been thinking that you ought to get to know Baltimore better*, you should check out the 2007 edition of the Tour du Port. I and a good number of friends will be hitting the 40 mile route. Say hi to the guy in the Bike New York jersey.
*Stop laughing. B’more’s a cool town. Just took me years to come around to that realization. I should have known, though. Any place that can produce John Waters has to be worth checking out. Plus, new episodes of The Wire don’t start until next year. Get your fix here, hon.
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