Next week will bring DC’s primary for the DC City Council. Washcycle, impressively enough, was able to get most candidate to respond to his question on cycling issues. Check it out. For a perspective beyond cycling, check out (my increasingly regular read) Greater Greater Washington.
(And to my former classmates that occasionally drop by here, yes, that’s the same Cary Silverman.)
That it’s the vapid souls over at DCist who ended up with DNC credentials is probably all you need to know about the state of DC’s political scene. Nevertheless, it’s DCist who brings us this report that Eleanor Holmes Norton, fake-Rep. and Colbert Report star, called upon an empty hall at the Democratic National Convention to answer DC’s plea for help in establishing its citizens as equals in the United States:
“The nation’s founders staked everything on creating a country where there would be ‘no taxation without representation’ anywhere in America. In that tradition, Democrats proudly support the vote in Congress for the 600,000 citizens of our nation’s capital,” Norton said.
Invoking Martin Luther King Jr., Norton energetically called for the Democratic Party to to follow the principle that all Americans should have equal rights — including full voting rights for the citizens of the U.S. capital.
Norton also spoke to one of the D.C. voting rights movement’s main arguments, that D.C. residents serve and die in the U.S. military, yet lack a vote in Congress.
And no one listened. Democrats can give all the lip service they want to the importance of representation and equality, but until they take DC’s situation seriously, I’ll not take them entirely seriously. It’s an easy, straight-forward, basic-American-values problem to solve. So why are we still fucking around with it?
After a multi-year hiatus, Bike DC is back.   A previously annual ride in the tradition of Bike New York, Bike DC got to be too much trouble, as every city authority, Federal agency and ANC council wanted WABA (the organizer) to go through their own special permitting process (for “security”, natch.) 
I’d hit a couple of Bike DC’s before the shut down, and quite enjoyed them (especially the one that put us on the George Washington Parkway for a few miles – *that* was fun.)
This year’s edition is a little less ambitious – at 17 miles – but adds in a couple extra DC bits of fun. The first rest stop is on the grounds of Taiwan’s embassy (Twin Oaks, near the National Cathedral) and the far western turnaround point of the ride involves a loop around the former Grand Prix/current RFK Crit track. The organizers are saying that it’ll be a “car-free” route, so I’m assuming rolling road closures. Definitely family friendly
Bike DC is scheduled for Saturday, September 27, 2008. More information, including registration ($35), route maps, and volunteering opportunities is here.
Was a good ride yesterday. Not particularly hard, but it left me pretty wrecked (I would have sworn – during the ride – that I was doing a good job of hydration. In retrospect, I was a mess). Fell asleep early, and then today passed by far too quickly. Oh, and I pretty much failed the whole “if I can do this ride, I can race!” test. So there went my last racing hope of the season. Ah well. Here’s some good stuff (you’ve heard this before, but in the wrong language. This is the right one):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV4H3z60h6w[/youtube]
Achieved a long-held goal of circumnavigating DC on a bike, today. Seems I did a really bad job of staying hydrated, and still have the dehyd headache to prove it.  Oh, and no race tomorrow. No way. More on Sunday.
On September 21st of this year, you’ll be able to head down to Penn Quarter and see a real live pro criterium race in the form of the ING Direct Capital Criterium. It’s a six turn 1km circuit that winds its way among the Federal agencies downtown.
I’ve been waiting for a long time to see something like this happen (in fact, I already know the shot I’ll be aiming for). As it stands, there’s going to be a Men’s 35+ race, a Men’s 1/2/3, and a Men’s Pro. No word on who the teams will be yet.
DId you notice something missing from that list of races? That’s right, no women’s field. Which is especially disappointing, considering that Cyclelife, a presenting sponsor, has its own women’s team.  They’re aware of that disappointment, and while they haven’t promised anything about next year, they say that they hope to include a women’s field when they can.
The official race site is here, and I’ll post more when details become available.
DC’s Union Station has provided the backdrop for many a Blacknell.net posting this year (see here and here). And every time, it has involved the application of some seriously questionable judgment on the part of people working at Union Station. So here’s another installment, in which Union Station personnel have taken it upon themselves to beautify DC by stealing the bike off a bike rack because it was too ugly. Really – watch the video (and don’t miss the part when the Union Station employee also harasses the news crew about filming, but then wanders off when challenged on it . . . ). Is Union Station an employer of last resort, or something? Do they only hire people with a demonstrated ability to make really poor choices?
(BTW, according to the woman who had her bike stolen by Union Station employees, they’ve got a whole basement full of bikes down there. If you know anyone who thought they had a bike stolen from the racks at Union Station, it might be worth passing this along.)
Yeah, that title didn’t really work, did it?
Ah well.
This Saturday, I’m planning to join the Washcycle crew for a ride around DC’s perimeter (i.e., WAGBRAD – the Washcycle’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Around DC). What’s that I hear, from the three readers that know I’m registered for the Page Valley Road Race on Sunday? I’m being ridiculous, going out on a 50 miler the day before a 30 mile road race? Alas, I have pulled the same idiot move this year that I did around this time last year – went and hurt myself in a real way in early August (tho’ this year’s strained back is waaay better than last year’s seperated shoulder). I can still roll, but not with any power. So if I can’t hang with the WAGBRAD, no harm – I’ll just hop on the Metro and go home. If I *can* hang? Well, that’ll show that I’m just being ridiculous about thinking Sunday’s race a bad idea, and I can pack my bags and head to Luray as soon as I get home. In any event, if you’re up for a long ride on Saturday and have a few hours, drop by and say hi. I’ll be the guy on the yellow GT ZR that’s pedaling like he’s 70 years old.
The more the official line is examined, the more it falls apart. That “weaponized” nature of the anthrax used? Well, not so much:
Among the new details Monday was that, contrary to statements made over the years by other government officials, the mailed anthrax had not been coated with additives to “weaponize” it, or make it more deadly.
In other words, the public had been repeatedly lied to for years. But don’t worry, this was just the work of one crazy man.
Yup.
Nothing to see here.
Move along.
I know, I talked the road races up, but completely let you (okay, two of you) down on the heads up for the Olympic Time Trial events. Which is a shame, because the women’s time trials ended up in an impressive victory for the US’s Kristin Armstrong, and the men’s time trials ended up in a photo that is universally judged (in some communities, anyway) to be sheer hotness.
So, while I have to admit to not understanding how track racing works at all, I’m going to try and follow the track racing tomorrow, and encourage you to do the same. This is the schedule for tomorrow:
|
Beijing |
Eastern |
Central |
Mountain |
Pacific |
|
|
Men’s Team Sprint Qualifying |
8/15/08 4:30 PM |
8/15/08 4:30 AM |
8/15/08 3:30 AM |
8/15/08 2:30 AM |
8/15/08 1:30 AM |
|
Men’s Ind. Pursuit Qualifying |
8/15/08 4:55 PM |
8/15/08 4:55 AM |
8/15/08 3:55 AM |
8/15/08 2:55 AM |
8/15/08 1:55 AM |
|
Men’s Team Sprint First Round |
8/15/08 5:45 PM |
8/15/08 5:45 AM |
8/15/08 4:45 AM |
8/15/08 3:45 AM |
8/15/08 2:45 AM |
|
Women’s Ind. Pursuit Qualifying |
8/15/08 6:00 PM |
8/15/08 6:00 AM |
8/15/08 5:00 AM |
8/15/08 4:00 AM |
8/15/08 3:00 AM |
|
Men’s Team Sprint Finals |
8/15/08 6:40 PM |
8/15/08 6:40 AM |
8/15/08 5:40 AM |
8/15/08 4:40 AM |
8/15/08 3:40 AM |
|
Men’s Team Sprint Finals 3-4 |
8/15/08 6:40 PM |
8/15/08 6:40 AM |
8/15/08 5:40 AM |
8/15/08 4:40 AM |
8/15/08 3:40 AM |
|
Men’s Team Sprint Finals 1-2 |
8/15/08 6:45 PM |
8/15/08 6:45 AM |
8/15/08 5:45 AM |
8/15/08 4:45 AM |
8/15/08 3:45 AM |
The complete schedule (from which I lifted the above – you didn’t think I’d do that much work on my own, did you?) is available at PodiumCafe.com. A fellow PodiumCafe contributor has an excellent preview of the day’s racing here. And if you’re looking for a more personal take on the subject, head over to Mike May’s GamJams.net, where US Olympic track racer Bobby Lea (most recently famous as the US cyclist who wore a mask getting off the plane in Beijing and made everyone else act a fool as a result) is writing up his experience.
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