benjacat

Ringing. Endorsement.

2011-09-29T22:36:00.004-04:00

Pantera. Mogwai. Earth Crisis. Boy Sets Fire. Unsane. Hatebreed. Metallica. Dinosaur Jr. Helmet. Deftones. Shellac. Spudmonsters. State of Conviction. Tool. Mushroomhead. Soulfly. Quicksand. And on.

And on.

And on.

The list of "loud" bands I have seen play live is virtually endless. And I have probably played 40+ shows in pretty "loud" bands myself.

When things get loud, I throw in some cheapo earplugs. Or toilet paper. It's not usually an issue.

So here I am, at the age where I am easily in the upper age echelon of people who see shows. Except at last week's Swans show, where I was probably the median age. Maybe younger?

And most of these guys playing are, eh, not young, at least for rock and roll. Or whatever you call the noise Swans makes.

Yet they are the first band ever to run me out of the club because of volume.

It was the first time I had seen them, and maybe I should have been better prepared, based on the past:

One of the trademarks of Swans' early period was playing at painfully loud volumes during concerts, to the point where some audience members would vomit or the police would stop the show....Since Swans' reformation, Gira has made a point of maintaining the intensity of their live show, stating that it is at once "soul-uplifting and body-destroying". He has also developed a penchant for turning off the air conditioning before Swans perform, comparing the experience to a Native American sweat lodge.

I left because it was no longer enjoyable. Because I felt sick, and because I want hearing when I'm 80. I am 100% sure that it was incredibly louder than anything I have ever heard.

In other words, I let a bunch of dudes easily old enough to be my dad force me out of club because they were playing too loud.

I have officially lost all cred and will now be only attending Jimmy Buffet cover band concerts.

Something new to worry about

2011-09-27T00:05:00.003-04:00

Biker's Lung.

If you read the press release from the European Lung Foundation, however, it states that the study only looked at ten people: five bicycle commuters, five pedestrian commuters.

The results make sense though. I'd like to know how much of the higher black carbon levels is due to the proximity of the bicyclists to the cars (opposed to the pedestrians), and how much is due to the bicycle commuters breathing deeper while riding.

And were the black carbon levels exhibited by the bicycle commuters dangerous, or close to dangerous?

I also often wonder about the healthiness of breathing in the road salt mixture when riding on dry days in winter, after a snowfall.

I also often wonder about the healthiness of worrying about stuff like this all of the time.

That may cause more health problems than the deadly black carbon urban cyclist lung.

And that is a shame.

Pizza legs

2011-07-14T01:03:00.007-04:00

My pre-race meals tend not to be generally accepted by the people who determine the answers to these types of important, world-changing issues.

As such, I will resort to the excuse of pizza legs for a really crappy performance at the Tour of the Valley criterium.

Normally, this type of stuff is kept on the down low, but a certain investigative photojournalist exposed my methods with a rare race appearance on Sunday.

What's not to love about sitting around watching a bike race in the middle of the afternoon on a 90+ degree day.

Observations from the weekend of the Fourth

2011-07-07T19:23:00.008-04:00

(1) I have confirmed that Taco Tontos is my favorite place for burritos in the entire universe. If I lived near Kent, I would be morbidly obese. And happy.

(2) The best way to deal with a fireworks display across the street from your house and an Alex dog that is terrified of fireworks is to go somewhere not near a fireworks display. I think he had the most pleasant Fourth of July he has had in a while.

(3) The Medina Twin Sizzler was very fun this year due to the organizers agreeing to allow all "experts" to race together, instead of having us youngsters be caught (again) by the hulking 35+ expert peloton.

Fourth overall, first under 35 expert. Where's my Cat 1 upgrade now, USA Cycling?

(4) After busting out of the Twin Sizzler and being home and napping by the time I would have gotten my boss gold medal from the race, I played with the Reuben, the American Black and Tan Coonhound, to celebrate the day. He is quite the patriot. (Video courtesy of Katie).

Okkervil, Titus, and racing

2011-06-12T10:12:00.012-04:00

On Saturday, I drove three hours round trip to race the 72-mile state road race, before turning around to go to Columbus to see Okkervil River and Titus Andronicus at the Newport Music Hall.

Okkervil:

Titus Andronicus:

Having never seen Titus Andronicus before, I suspected that they would be best enjoyed in a small, blue-collar club somewhere in Jersey. I think I am right, but they still managed to kill it in the bigger music hall setting.

I had been waiting to see Okkervil River for some time now, and they were as good as I wanted them to be, even though their set list was a lot different that what I was hoping for.

As for the bike race, I spent nearly 50 miles in some form of a breakaway, took ninth, and teammate Aussie took second after a superhuman effort by Brian, who soloed away for the win with 8 miles to go.

Covered Bridge #2

2011-04-17T15:26:00.000-04:00

Since I wrote a race report for the team, I thought I would post it here also. Yes, this will be the second consecutive entry that can be considered a "race report" on this blog.

No, I have not been kidnapped by someone who stole my Blogger password and likes to write race reports all the time.

Yes, the "clean set of wheels" part is meant to sound ridiculous and is a reference to a phrase used by a well known bike racing announcer.

Yes, the next post will be about someting other than a "race report."

I hope.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aussie (Rob), Scott, Derek, Tom K., Brett, and myself lined up for Team Spin at the start of the “A” race at the Team Akron Valley Circuit Race, also known as the “Covered Bridge race,” on Sunday, April 17. Jane G. represented the team in the women’s field.

The A race is seven laps of a five-mile loop, the B’s and women do five laps.

The A race saw about 25 starters, including multiple riders from teams such as RGF/Cleveland Clinic, Team Lake Effect, and Stark Velo, as well as solo riders from Team Panther, Speedgoat, and a few other teams. In the A race, Aussie got away with Joe from Death Row Velo early in the first lap. They built a solid gap, which meant that the remaining Team Spin riders in the field had to cover dangerous looking moves and hope that the two breakaway riders did not get caught.

Near the middle of the race, after a tough half-Iap, I found myself in a group of five riders that managed to extract ourselves from the field. At that point, my job was to simply sit in the break and let the other riders try to bring back Aussie and Joe, who were still up the road.

We caught the breakaway with a little over one lap to go, which meant that we were now a seven-person lead group. I was not feeling very perky at that point, and I confirmed with Aussie that he still felt good.

I tried several attacks on the second half of the last lap, but they were closely followed by the vigilant group. Things were shaping up for a seven-person sprint, which is not my bag. At all. Thankfully, it is Aussie’s.

The group slowed down to a crawl in the last 2k, and I found myself with a small gap inside the last 1k. I took advantage of it and accelerated, knowing that I would either hold it to the line, or, at the very least, cause the other teams to chase me down and set up Aussie for the sprint.

At about 200m, I heard the group approach, and saw Aussie come around me. He held it to the line, and showed the rest of the breakaway riders a clean set of wheels. A win for Team Spin!

Great job to everyone who raced today.

Tour of the Battenkill 2011

2011-04-15T14:47:00.002-04:00

There are apparently lots of Category 2 racers in the New England area who do nothing but ride bikes all winter long.

At least that is what it felt like at around mile 50 of the race on Sunday when the wheels came off the wagon and I began limping to feed zone 2 where I happily pulled the plug and accepted a ride to the finish from the "team car."

It was still a great weekend that involved nice weather and riding bikes...things could be much worse.

It is mind boggling how much planning and legwork must go into organizing a race that includes 35 separate fields, 2,500 racers, a 100K loop that goes through several municipalities, and racers on the course from 8:40 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

I would invite the amateur racers who complain about Battenkill's payout to try to organize something similar themselves and see how much work it entails.

In fact, I can think of several less annoying ways to make a living than organizing bad ass events for unappreciative bike racers.

Into Eternity

2011-04-03T21:08:00.003-04:00

On Friday, Katie and I saw Into Eternity at the Cleveland International Film Festival. It is about the construction of a massive underground cave in Finland that is supposed to (safely) hold the country's nuclear waste. It is being built to last 100,000 years, and is an extremely long and deep cave. No one working on it now will be alive to see the completion of the project.

The part of the movie I liked most was how the officials in charge of this project were so concerned about the well-being of civilization 100,000 years from now. Specifically, they talked about the challenges involved in communicating to people 100,000 years in the future about the dangers that will lie beneath the earth in that spot. Will they speak our language? How can we even begin to conceive of the proper way to communicate with these people?

I am pretty sure that a massive undertaking such as this, which takes into account the safety of people more than 3000 generations into the future, would never occur in the United States.

And that is unfortunate.

T Minus

2011-04-02T11:23:00.002-04:00

Battenkill is eight days away.

This year I have the pleasure of doing the 82-mile Category 2 race, which includes the standard 100K loop plus an additional 18-mile loop at the beginning of the race.

I always imagined that the extra loop at the beginning was a flat to rolling stroll through the countryside taken at a conversational pace that allowed the higher level racers to talk about how much better they are than the lowly chumps who only race 100K.

Then I recently read the updated website that shows this loop consists of the first 16 miles or so of the 100K loop, after which we then head back towards town and then do the entire regular 100K loop. This means that we get to do the 18% Juniper Swamp climb at mile 11 not once, but twice.

It's good thing that I climb well for a guy with a beard.

13 Most Beautiful . . . Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests

2011-03-26T19:51:00.002-04:00

A few years ago, the Warhol Museum commissioned musicians Dean and Britta to compose music to accompany some of Andy Warhol's "Screen Tests," which were four-minute silent films of the faces of people with whom Warhol associated in the 1960's when he worked out of the Factory studio. Dean and Britta wrote music (and in a few cases played covers) to go along with 13 of these screen tests, and also released an album and dvd as part of the project.

The whole show, including Dean and Britta and their backing band, played the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium last Wednesday.

Despite not necessarily being a Dean and Britta devotee (and not really being a devotee of their past bands), I had a good feeling about this performance. I couldn't have been more right.

First, I was shocked by how many people the museum's auditorium held, and I also couldn't believe how many people attended this event. I was initially afraid that the $26+ price tag, combined with it being a Wednesday night, would result in low turnout. Instead, the place was nearly packed, and I just read that it holds almost 700 people.

As they played the songs, the movies were projected on a giant screen in the background. Dean and Britta talked about most of the movies in between songs, and gave brief summaries of the lives (and some tragic deaths) of the lesser known subjects that the show featured.

Given the nature of the event, and the fact that the screen tests of both Lou Reed and Nico were chosen to be included in the program, the entire show had an unmistakable Velvet Underground feel. Which most of the (very age diverse) crowd ate up, myself included.

The show was worth every penny, and I left with the feeling that this town still knows a good time when it sees one.

Here are a few clips of the show from other cities:

Just where we last left off

2011-03-25T19:51:00.002-04:00

As of last weekend, it had been over six months since I lined up for the start of a road race. However, in many ways, it seemed like six days. The same people, the same butterflies, the same vibe.

The Malabar Farm race had a small (but strong) 1-2 field, and teammate Jason took a respectable fifth place. Sunday's Race at Deer Creek in southern Ohio was better attended, windy, and cold. Teammate Aussie Rob made the early place and rocked a third place. I lost the sprint for 10th (the last paying spot) after getting away from the field on the last lap with Katsu. Oh well.

I wish I could find a hobby less time consuming and oppressive than road racing, but the allure of beating myself into the ground with a bunch of other insane dudes week after week gets the best of me every year.

Frozen

2011-02-09T23:41:00.003-05:00

Katie often tells me that the type of beer I enjoy is made for old men in creepy sweaters, and for hipsters who wear old man sweaters. She might be right.

But the real question is why do I always find myself paralyzed with indecision when confronted with a few shelves full of such beer. I can spend $130 in a grocery store in about 13 minutes, and then I spend 15 minutes obsessing over an $8-$10 six (or sometimes four) pack of a pretentious microbrew.

I am, however, improving. Tonight I actually bought some beer, opposed to looking at it for an extended period and then leaving the store empty handed.

I think it has has something to do with being really cheap.

Or maybe I am just wearing the wrong type of sweater.

Basketball Diaries

2011-01-04T17:17:00.004-05:00

I was devastated when I was cut from the Holy Name High School basketball team during my freshman and sophomore years, thus ending any hoop dreams I may have had. My problem was that I thought I had more game than I actually did. In retrospect, I am glad I was cut.

As a junior, I was asked by friends to play on a (non-school related) team in a tournament open to anyone. Our team consisted of some high school team players, and some scrubs like myself.

We were immediately eliminated, and I remember playing against a team full of complete badasses. Some of them ended up playing on big-time college teams, and one of them turned out to be this guy, who scored 26 points the other night against the Dallas Mavericks. I remember trying to "guard" (if you can call it that) this 5"5' dude when he would drive the lane. Let's just say things got very ugly very quickly, as evidenced by the number of times they would block our shots, and the ball would sail 30+ feet into the roaring crowd, who were all there to see the Cleveland all-star team wreck shop against us.

As they used to say on The Wire, I'm pretty sure that, even back then, I was slower than a white man in slippers.

But I can totally beat Earl Boykins in a time trial.

Right?

How is it...

2011-01-03T22:04:00.010-05:00

...that sometimes I am asked if I am ever going to "grow out" of bike racing?

Or that people often think it is "immature" for adults to wear band clothing?

Yet it is not immature for adults everywhere to be obsessed by, or for a metropolitan newspaper to devote 25% of its front page and a four-page pull-out section to, a perennially losing football team.

Weird.

Hypocrite

2010-12-15T18:07:00.003-05:00

This article in Velonews talks about how the Eagle County (Colorado) District Attorney is trying to prevent the victim of a horrible car on bicycle hit and run incident from testifying at a hearing addressing a proposed plea bargain with the driver.

For those unfamiliar with the case, here is what supposedly happened:

Mercedes driving wealth fund manager hits and seriously injures doctor who was riding his bike. Driver then does a bunch of things that make it clear he knew he hit someone, yet later denies knowing he hit anyone. And then blames it on sleep apnea. And then blames it on "new car smell" (no joke). Doctor suffers serious head and spinal injuries (view photos at above link at your own risk).

After charging the driver with a felony and two misdemeanors, District Attorney Mark Hurlburt agreed to drop the felony charge in exchange for guilty pleas to the misdemeanors. Hulbert also observed that “felony convictions have some pretty serious job implications for someone in Mr. Erzinger’s profession.”

Only the driver, Martin Erzinger, knows what his thought process was that day, and what really happened. I do not blame him, nor his attorney, for mounting a vigorous legal defense. That is how the system works.

Without knowing the admissible evidence involved in the case, I also can't comment on whether the plea agreement was a good idea. Prosecutors are faced with tough choices every day, and the often ignorant and fickle public has been known to hate plea deals, but they also hate it when prosecutors go "all the way" and lose due to lack of evidence or a boneheaded jury.

If D.A. Hurlburt weighed the strengths and weaknesses of the state's case and made an informed decision based on the risks of losing, then I would have no problem with the plea deal, as distasteful as it may be. The problem is, he did not. He instead admitted that the effect of a felony on Erzinger's record helped sway his decision.

What he was saying, of course, was that he is less inclined to charge a rich businessman with a felony when compared to a common criminal. The ignorance of this statement is mind boggling in light of the obvious fact that a felony makes virtually anyone unemployable in the minds of most employers, whether the employer is an investment bank or Burger King.

Maybe armed robbers in Vail should also not be charged with felonies because, you know, how will they support their families with that on their record? Or drug dealers. Or sexual predators.

I also find this excerpt from his bio to be quite offensive, given the fact that he is spending taxpayer money to deprive the victim of this crime the chance to speak at the plea deal hearing:

As an experienced prosecutor, Mark knows it is important not to simply secure convictions, but to seek justice. He makes victims a priority and is dedicated to providing victims a strong voice in the justice system.

This might be the most disturbing and embarrassing legal story I have read in a while.

He's back

2010-12-13T20:50:00.003-05:00

It has now been five weeks since Reuben's emergency bloat surgery, and about six weeks since his Addison's diagnosis. Dr. Mike has lifted all restrictions for him. His coat is back to normal, and he no longer looks like a bag of bones.

I had been taking him on walks up to two miles until the weather recently turned sour. Now it will be basement agility sessions until the grass reappears in the backyard, whenever that may be.

Five weeks ago I was driving 85 mph on I-271 on a Sunday morning, not sure if he was going to even make it to the vet hospital. Now I am doing agility with him again.

As far as I am concerned, this is all gravy.

Pretty soon, we should be back doing this at trials:

WLC2K11

2010-12-12T15:07:00.005-05:00

I have officially entered the WLC2K11 (Weight Loss Challenge 2011), which is a gentleman's wager amongst a few of us bike riding types. The concept is simple: We all throw some cash into the pot, and the one of us with the highest percentage of starting body weight lost after a March 1, 2011 weigh-in wins the whole pot.

My goal seems modest compared to the goals being thrown around by the others, so I suspect that I am not a favorite to win the grand prize and its accompanying fame and fortune.

However, participating does improve winter motivation, especially when the weather is putrid and riding inside sounds less than appealing.

Time to scour the library website for more movies to request for these indoor sessions.

This is shaping to up to be a long winter.

When we last left our hero...

2010-11-13T20:40:00.003-05:00

...Reuben had just gotten his bark back after being diagnosed with Addison's.

Then, on Sunday morning, he started showing symptoms of bloat, or gastric torsion.

We immediately rushed him to the vet hospital where our good friend and vet Mike performed emergency surgery and saved a hound.

He is now recuperating from a very bad week.

Come again, hound?

2010-11-05T18:04:00.002-04:00

Ever since we adopted Reuben four years ago, he insists on barking like crazy the second he hears the dog food hit the metal dog dish.

Before every single meal.

For over four years.

No amount of dog training could break him of this habit. Maybe it has something to do with his inherent stubbornness, which likely stems from the fact that he is genetically hardwired to bark at raccoons up in trees for as long it takes until the hunter arrives.

Needless to say, the mealtime barking got old. Real old.

Until it stopped happening last Saturday.

At which point we knew something was wrong.

On Monday our vet diagnosed him with Addison's, an adrenal gland disease that can be fatal if not diagnosed properly, but is treatable once caught. He stayed the night at the vet hospital, and we picked him up Tuesday, expecting a marked improvement. Instead, he was weak, extremely lethargic and pathetic, and did not show the improvement we had hoped for.

And still no barking at dinnertime.

Early Wednesday morning seemed no better, and another trip to the vet was inevitable. I was worried, to say the least.

Then, within hours, he perked up. He started to seem like his normal self again. So I went to the pantry, grabbed the dog food, and started to fill the dish.

"Blarp....Blarp...............................Arf arf.........Barooooooooooo......Barooooooooooooooo!!!"

We now look forward to his mealtime barking.

Every single day.

GBV

2010-10-31T23:32:00.002-04:00

Katie and I just got home from Oberlin where we saw Guided By Voices play on their "classic lineup" tour. Normally, when we see a show at Oberlin, the room is filled with students, about a quarter of which are young enough to theoretically be our children. Today, the crowd was filled with people who made us feel young, all there to see a band full of guys old enough to be our dad.

Nice.

The most interesting part of the night was the fact that the opening band (whose name I still don't know) played in Halloween costumes. Real costumes, not "look I'm wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses at night" type costumes. Surprisingly, that made it more difficult than I care to admit in deciding whether I liked them. I'm pretty sure that, whether we like it or not, visuals play a large role in creating an opinion about a live band you know nothing about.

Is the keyboardist female? Does the singer look like a tool? Is the bassist a 15-year old burnout?

Today I learned that these questions are indeed important.

And I learned that you can move a lot of cans of Bud Light at a GBV show when they are $2 a pop.

The kids are alright

2010-10-15T12:15:00.003-04:00

It was neat to see so many junior riders at this weekend's UCI3 Cyclocross festival in Cincinnati. Even the ones who kicked my ass.

It was also neat to see adults taking some very young racers around the course during warmup and showing them the ropes.

I do have to admit, though, that my initial reaction to some of this "coaching" was lukewarm when it appeared that the adults involved started getting a bit serious about matters. Then I saw some really young kids riding some really expensive wheels, a topic thoroughly discussed on some recent Facebook threads.

I then compared those scenes with the kid warming up behind me on Sunday (who looked to be about 10 years old) who was yelling and carrying on the whole time because he was having so much fun just riding his (non-$2000 wheeled) bike around the course. That, my friend, is what it is all about.

I am not sure why I have such a reactionary aversion to parents and role models who take their children's bike racing so seriously. Is it any different than a parent who really gets into their kid's little league and hits ground balls to the kid who plays shortstop? Or the parent who regularly practices shots at her soccer playing, goal tending daughter?

Maybe I am a bit sensitive to this topic because so many people take the fun out of their children's sports by taking it so seriously. Or maybe because I remember being told in 4th grade football by Coach Marconi that he was going to bash our heads into the brick wall if we didn't hit the sled harder during a 90 degree practice.

This sport is pretty great, and there are already enough barriers to entry for young riders, such as affording a safe and race worthy bike. Let's encourage the kids, but not scare them away.

And, for God's sake, a 12 year old probably does not need $2000 wheels. And a $3750 cross bike is not a mid-level cross bike. Nor is a $1999 frame.

Really?

2010-10-06T22:43:00.003-04:00

I went to this lecture yesterday at Case's law school because it seemed interesting and, let's be honest, I needed the CLE credit.

Mr. Murray, a bioethicist, is also the Chair of the Ethical Issues Review Panel for the World Anti-Doping Agency ("WADA").

The most surprising part of the evening was nothing that he said, but the reactions of some of the audience members who seemed angered and mystified that athletes "cheat" when competing.

Of all of the mysteries surrounding doping in sports (how it is done, how often, how do they avoid detection, etc.), one thing is not (or should not be) a mystery: why they do it.

Large percentages of people in major metropolitan areas allow the outcome of a Sunday sports contest to dictate their mood on Monday. We revere our professional sports heroes. Outstanding high school athletes are treated like gods in communities large and small. Winning is everything. Don't you remember, it's you vs. second place.

Oh yea, and some of these people (many of whom are otherwise totally unemployable) end up making millions of dollars playing sports for a living.

I'm not sure what's more offensive, cheating athletes or the fact that people are still shocked when they find out people do this.

Stark County Style

2010-09-25T21:43:00.002-04:00

2010 NEOCX Series Race Three - KSU, Stark Campus. 9-25-10

Like it was 1999

2010-09-24T18:12:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, I went to two (hard) rock shows in one week. And they were both on weeknights.

Not bad for a geezer.

Both shows drew a lot of the same people I would see at shows when I was in college. Same people, but with less head hair, more facial hair, and more kids.

First was Unsane and Craw at the Grog Shop. Here's a video from the Craw set that I found on Youtube. Note the band's bassist...he may look familiar to the bike racers reading this. (Hint: It's Zak):

A few days later was Shellac at the Beachland. The only video from that show is here:

Both bands have rhythm sections to die for.

And both shows reminded me why I got into music.

Plea

2010-09-21T10:20:00.002-04:00

The driver whose vehicle struck and killed Sylvia Bingham last September pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide last Monday. Although sentencing happens in late October, her Foundation website states that the recommended sentencing will be four years. Also take a look at her parents' comments about the sentencing on that website.

I am still confused about how the positive marijuana test plays into this accident. Was he high while driving, or did he test positive for marijuana use at some point in the recent past? One would think that they had him for marijuana use during the accident, but the news stories never clarified that issue. Also, the news stories never mentioned witnesses. Were the charges (and the subsequent plea) based on witness testimony, or based on the fact that he was high? Does anyone know what really happened that day?

The answers to these questions won't bring back Ms. Bingham. But releasing this information could help us better understand this tragedy and raise public awareness of this important issue.

Racey Video of Wendy

2010-09-15T21:33:00.002-04:00

The Wendy Park Cyclocross Race, that is:

It was fast. Then I took a beer handup from some hipster. Then I crashed spectacularly with like 250 meters left on the last lap. Then I flaked out on my teammates and failed to help them tear down the course because I went home to pout because I was scared I really hurt my leg.

Luckily, I didn't.

Trial

2010-09-11T15:36:00.004-04:00

According the Cuyahoga County Court's docket, the criminal trial of the person driving the truck in the accident that killed Sylvia Bingham begins on Monday. Links to the cases filed relating to this incident can be found here and here, along with a list of the charges. (I don't know why there are two separate cases going at once with the same charges relating to the same incident, both having the same trial date.)

Next week will also be one year since the accident happened.

I have yet to see any local media coverage on the upcoming trial. Maybe we're all just more concerned with other important matters, like whether some hateful lunatic is going to burn some books that may or may not cause some other hateful lunatics to kill people.

Either way, I'll keep an eye on the court docket. As of now, I have no idea what the prosecutor claims happened on that day, as well as the alleged level of impairment of the driver.

If the local media does cover the trial, I suppose it will bring out the worst in many people who will ignorantly claim that bikes don't belong on the roads, and that it was her fault for not wearing a helmet. And some bike advocates will call for Mr. Roberts' head without even knowing the whole story.

I hope I'm proven wrong, and I really hope the case draws a jury that will not rule based on misconceptions about cyclists riding on the road.

Races!!

2010-09-09T00:10:00.002-04:00

Most reasonable people like to relax on Labor Day weekend, drink beer, and watch a bunch of war planes do fancy things over our fair city.

I decided to do two races within seventeen hours of each other, the first one being a 60 minute cyclocross race starting at 4:00 p.m., the second requiring a 5:45 a.m. alarm and a two-hour drive.

The cross race was (surprisingly) dry and fast and fun. I sucked considerably less than I did last year, which I must attribute to my new bicycle. That would really be the one way to justify the expense. My favorite observation from the cross race was a (short lived) verbal altercation between my teammate and another racer documented here, as well as a (short lived) verbal altercation between myself and someone who may actually suck worse than I do at riding singletrack. He decided he needed to pass me right before, of course, the singletrack. Both (short lived) verbal altercations ended in polite apologies and mutual understandings. It was like we were in Canada.

Sunday's Tour de Tamarck road race followed the script from last year...much attrition over the six hills, then teammate Zak and I trying (unsuccessfully) to get away on the last lap. It was fun, although I nearly got caught up in a wreck that occurred right behind me and was close enough that someone's handlebar jabbed my thigh.

Here is a photo of me trying to pretend that I can ride well in the sand on Saturday:

Question of the day: Does the fact that many cyclocross racers incessantly talk about how awesome cyclocross is add to or detract from the sport's awesomeness level, which is already quite high?

Getting old

2010-08-04T21:10:00.002-04:00

A shiny, almost new Specialized 29er demo mountain bike has been sitting in my basement for the last week, screaming at me to ride it. So today, I complied, foregoing the Wednesday night road hammer fest and instead driving to West Branch State Park for 90 minutes of singletrack goodness.

As I was riding, some hardcore looking guy came screaming down a little hill in the other direction on a dandy looking Santa Cruz. Here's how our conversation went:

Guy: Hey man. You riding hard?

Me: Hey. Not really. I'm just trying out this demo bike and just riding along. You riding hard?

Guy: Yea. I'm looking for someone to ride fast with me today.

Me: Sorry man. I have some fitness, but no skills. I'd just hold you back.

Guy [looking mildly forlorn]: Ok. Have a good one.

Me: You too.

After this exchange, I began riding again and thought about how, years back, the young, fat and out of shape me would have been quite jazzed to take this guy up on his offer to ride "fast." I would have crashed five times trying to keep within sight of this guy, then given up and ridden my own pace, a bloody and embarrassed sorry excuse for a mountain biker.

Now I am just a sorry excuse for a mountain biker, minus the blood and unwarranted confidence of being able to ride "fast" with a guy like that.

But I must say that a 29er allows even people like me to look decent on singletrack.

If you can't beat 'em, just get better gear. Or something like that.

Three Feet

2010-07-18T14:26:00.002-04:00

Last month, The Ohio Bicycle Federation provided an update on the status of Senate Bill 174, which includes a three foot passing law:

Update on Senate Bill 174
The OBF testified before the Ohio Senate Highways and Transportation Committee on May 19 to support our Senate Bill 174, which would require Ohio motorists to pass bicyclists with at least three feet to spare. Senator Tom Patton of Strongville must now schedule a committee vote on our bill. Our sponsor, Senator Fedor, says that we have the votes to pass it out of committee to the full Senate. Senator Patton may be reached at:

Senator Tom Patton
Senate Building
1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-8056
Email: SD24@senate.state.oh.us

If you have the time to read this blog, you probably have the time to send Senator Patton an e-mail or call his office.

More on "negative" racing

2010-07-08T18:01:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I talked about the frequently used term negative bike racing, and how it is a meaningless adjective.

Today I received an e-mail about that post, which stated in part:

Has anyone ever been accused of racing "positively?" As in, that guy gets my respect for racing so positively. And what would that be like? A guy who lets another guy get away and doesn't chase is racing positively?

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I now have a request for all of the bad ass dudes against whom I will be racing this weekend at the Tour of the Valley: Please race positively, at least when I attack.

Fourth of July

2010-07-03T21:53:00.005-04:00

There is a country club on our street that usually has fireworks, open to the public, on or around July 4. The temporary no parking signs that appeared on the street clued us in that they were happening today. Earlier in the evening, we walked over to see this place where we have never ventured in several years of living here.

It must have been "Kevin's" 50th birthday bash, because a bunch of beautiful people in sundresses and golf shirts with beautiful children were attending an outdoor party while a plane overhead flew a banner that read, "Happy 50th Birthday Kevin, we love you."

I am not kidding.

While we walked past the outdoor driving range (still unsure of whether someone was going to out us as an uninvited guest to this gig), some of the people who were driving golf balls (country club members, party guests??) noticed a baby deer about 100 yards from the tees.

Then, these same people (a mix of male adults and boys) all teed up, aimed their clubs at the baby deer, and took their best shots at trying to hit the animal.

Aaah, there is nothing that makes me feel more proud of my country than seeing a bunch of privileged assholes try to hit baby deer with golf balls.

So now, it sounds like Dresden circa February 1945 with a commercial grade fireworks display exploding over our house while the dogs (especially Alex) fret over the commotion.

Happy Fourth!!

I hate tubular tires

2010-06-26T17:09:00.003-04:00

I was entering the (uphill) sprint for second place with four other riders at the Raccoon Rally Cat 1/2 Road Race today when the wheel of the guy directly in front of me rolled off his tubulars, causing him to crash. I was forced to bail into the ditch on the side of the road, not a good place to be with less than 100m left of a 50 mile race.

Luckily, teammate Tom K. was behind me and still managed a fifth place money spot. Nice job Tom.

I raced my ass off today, so I have no regrets.

Meanwhile, I became "that guy" today at the start line. I usually rail against the silly and excessive consumerism involved in bike racing, yet somehow managed this year to acquire a fancy bike and wheels. Then, someone at the start line today commented to his friend about how "sweet" my bike is.

Crap.

I think that makes me a hypocrite.

Negative Racing

2010-06-24T11:33:00.002-04:00

Disclaimer: really boring/nerdy bike racing discussion. Read at your own risk.

I always hear bike racers complain about "negative racing," and have decided that the word itself means nothing more than a type of racing that does not fit the particular agenda of the person calling it "negative" for that particular race.

I tested my theory by running a Google search for the phrase negative bike racing. Here are some excerpts from the articles that resulted, followed by my brief take on how the author defines "negative" bike racing:

Some less experienced riders may complain that "you're not doing your share". These are usually the same ones who pull the field up to every break never knowing why they can't seem to get away themselves. Pulling the pack rarely does anything to increase your chances of doing well. If you need the training great, go to the front and hammer, but don't ruin other rider's chances of successfully breaking away in the process. This "negative racing" is unproductive and makes racing less enjoyable.
http://www.roble.net/marquis/tactics

This person's definition: pulling the pack back to breakaways.

In a recent Training Race we had only had 3 guys in the peloton while one team had 10 riders, another team had 8 guys, and there were two more teams with at least a half dozen each. However, when 2 guys went off the front ½ way through Lap 1 of 4 no one in the pack showed any interest in racing for the win. My teammates and I were surfing the front waiting to help some of the bigger teams chase down the break, but none of them came up to work. It seemed like everyone just wanted to sit in and enjoy the ride and then race for a Top 10 place. So I attacked twice on Lap 3 to try and get away from the “freeloaders” and both times I had guys, from one particular team with no one up the road, sit on my wheel and refuse to come through. I thought, “Are you serious? This is a training race! We’re not even racing for money!” Looking back...no one in that race (other than the two that got away) can say they actually raced their bike that day.

Negative racing is not fun for anyone. We are not professionals and we race for the fun of it. Some of us are limited on the number of opportunities we have to get out and race...so please...don’t ruin it for everyone else. When you decide to show up and pin a number on don’t worry so much about whether you will finish 14th or 15th and just have fun and race your bike.
http://svmiccycling.com/negativeracing.aspx

This person's definition: Going with moves but not working in them.

Throughout the early parts of the race everyone was super jumpy in that negative-racing manner chasing down everything that moved but never really wanting to move much beyond 20mph when we were all together.
http://www.northeastbicycleclub.org/home/article/718/nebccycle-loftdevonshire-dental-mens-elite-team-news

This person's definition: Chasing moves but not wanting to pull the pack around at a fast pace.

Early in the race, a group of 15 riders quickly formed a lead pack, while Armstrong, starting from the fourth row, moved up quickly through the field and threatened to join the leading group until a hard crash caused him to lose time. Tim Johnson (Cannondale – Cyclocrossworld.com), Jonathan Page (Planet bike), Geoff Kabush (Litespeed – Maxxis), Adam Craig (Giant), Todd Wells (GT) and Trebon all traded attacks, but in what Trebon would describe as “negative racing”, nobody was really willing to work together to make a gap stick.
http://www.cxmagazine.com/ryan-trebon-katie-compton-win-cross-vegas

Ryan Trebon's definition: Not wanting to work together to make a gap stick.

So, I think the general consensus is that a bike race is "negative" when the person calling it negative wishes to but fails to succeed in a breakaway.

People tend to forget that bike racing is like the free market on wheels: racers do what is best for them (or their team), and those tactics will vary from race to race, depending on the type of race, the team's objectives (set up for the team sprinter, try to get Guy A in the break, etc.), the caliber of riders, and a many other factors. It is up to each racer or team to read the race and use their ability to read the race to their advantage.

I guess the part that bothers me is condescending tone that usually accompanies the accusation of "negative" racing. It's as if that person raced better, or more worthily, than the rest of the "negative" field. It's also funny how the person who usually calls a race "negative" is rarely the person who wins the race, or even places well. Maybe if that person was such an enlightened bike racer he or she would be able to read the "negative" race better and use its negativity to his or her advantage instead of using it as a basis to complain.

Is this post too negative?

States

2010-06-14T21:40:00.003-04:00

Sunday was the 90-mile Ohio State Road Race Championship. After waking up at an unholy hour and driving 3.5 hours to the race, I nearly ran over a small child in the parking lot who decided to dart in front of me while walking with her mom. A great start to the race, for sure.

After around 70 miles of racing and a three person breakaway full of non-mortals with about a week and a half on the field up the road, I managed to make the "chase" group with a lap and and a half to go. It eventually swelled to eight guys. We stayed away for the rest of the race, and then I attempted an ill-fated move with 1k to go. That didn't work out so well, and I managed 10th in the 1-2-3 race.

Thanks to all who promoted the race, and special thanks to the Bodell crew who handed us cold water on every lap.

That's me below, about to drink my 100th liter of water for the day.

photo courtesy of Jeffrey Jakucyk

Well that was fun

2010-05-17T22:31:00.003-04:00

I just realized that I raced my bicycle every weekend for the last eight weeks, and three of those weekends involved back to back races.

I managed a respectable result at Battenkill, one solid local result, and a bunch of almosts but not really. And I upgraded to a Cat 2.

This weekend I will sit around and talk about how nice it is to not race while secretly envying the people who are driving to the Tour de Syracuse.

And I'll be planning next weekend's trip to Frankenmuth, MI to race and enjoy the faux Germanic ambiance that fine town.

I need to get a life. Fast.

The real Cleveland

2010-05-16T15:29:00.004-04:00

On Friday, I volunteered at the therapeutic riding center that provides lessons to children and adults with disabilities. The usual crew was there, giving their time (and money) to this place that provides the community with a great service and provides about 36 horses with incredible lives.

In the evening, I rode across town to the Don Frey Art Opening at Studio 11 in Tremont. I passed Coventry, with its local institutions such as Tommy's, Big Fun, Mac's Backs, the Grog Shop, Coventry Cats, etc. Then though downtown, and into Tremont with its legions of locally owned restaurants and galleries, including the gracious Studio 11 yoga studio who hosted the event.

On Saturday night, a bunch of us got together to celebrate the graduation of Dr. Scott at the Happy Dog, the wonderful, locally owned bar and hot dog joint on the near west side.

On Sunday, the good folks from Chagrin River Cycling and Mountain Road Cycles sponsored the recently resurrected Chippewa Creek road race, which, as in years past, pretty much rules. In case you were wondering, putting on a race like this is a thankless endeavor with lots of hassles. It also takes way more work than "worth it" from a financial standpoint.

The purpose of this post is not to bore you with my weekend activities, but to point out something that struck me when riding home from Studio 11 and passing the (publicly funded) Quicken Loans Arena.

It is the real people of this area....the volunteers, entrepreneurs, artists, small business owners, and people who generally give a shit who make this town what it is. It has nothing to do with multi-millionaire sports mercenaries who whore themselves out to the highest bidders and, with a few exceptions, will sell out this town (and any other town) for a buck.

If only the papers would focus on the actions of the real people...the true assets of this town, instead of trying to track the movement of Lebron James over the next two months with GPS-like accuracy.

World's worst hunter

2010-05-10T10:51:00.004-04:00

Reuben is a Black and Tan Coonhound, which means that, somewhere in that little brain of his exists an instinct to bark at and chase raccoons up trees.

We figure that he wasn't so good at this exercise, which is probably why he ended up wandering Lorain county before he was picked up. Last week this was confirmed.

A young raccoon has taken residence near the area and enjoys watching the evening goings on in our yard from about 15 feet up in the neighbor's tree, right next to the fence on the property line. On one evening, Sylvia smelled the beast and got mildly riled up while running around the yard.

Katie thought it was a great opportunity to test out The Brave Sir Reuben's hunting prowess, so she brought him outside on a leash, and took him to the area where the Raccoon was. Then she took him right near the tree, close enough for the raccoon to hurl obscenities at him.

His reaction: nothing.

Gee, I wonder why his previous owner, most likely a hunter, "lost" him.

Luckily for Reuben, hunting ranks up there with going to casinos or going to Disney World on the list of things that I enjoy doing.

I think he's safe here.

Joakim Noah would like Cleveland if he raced bicycles

2010-04-26T17:39:00.003-04:00

Be sure to add copious amounts of bike racing to the list of things for which Cleveland is under appreciated, especially for a market its size. (in addition to its restaurants, good road biking, lots of independent film, great concert venues, great theater, great parks, and a low cost of living.)

Over the course of six weekends in April/May, there are nine USA Cycling sanctioned races around here, a weekly Tuesday night training race, and no shortage of bad ass people to race against, including a few former national champions. And consistent racing over the summer. And a killer fall cyclocross series that causes great jealousy in some people who live in supposed cycling "hotbeds."

Cycling aside, it's funny how riled up this town gets when some random sports figure insults it. I'm pretty sure other towns have different reactions to such comments. New Yorkers would tell him to f**k off. Portlanders would agree with him, just to keep him out of their nice city. Canadians would apologize and ask him how they could improve their town. (Canada is a town, right?)

We just become defensive.

Lame.

Sea Change

2010-04-15T13:01:00.004-04:00

On March 11, 2010, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood signed a document called United States Department of Transportation Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations and Recommendations. A link to it is here.

Among several others, one of the document's "Recommended Actions" included:

Considering walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes: The primary goal of a transportation system is to safely and efficiently move people and goods. Walking and bicycling are efficient transportation modes for most short trips and, where convenient intermodal systems exist, these nonmotorized trips can easily be linked with transit to significantly increase trip distance. Because of the benefits they provide, transportation agencies should give the same priority to walking and bicycling as is given to other transportation modes. Walking and bicycling should not be an afterthought in roadway design.

A recent AP article discusses reactions to this document, including that of Ohio Republican Congressman Steve LaTourette, who:

[s]uggested jokingly to a Transportation Department official that one explanation for the new policy is that the secretary's thinking has been clouded by drugs.

"Is that a typo?" LaTourette asked. "If it's not a typo, is there still mandatory drug testing at the department?"

I was going to blog about this when it happened last month, but excoriating a politician for an ignorant comment about bikes is so played out on this blog. Even when the Congressman accuses a Presidential Cabinet Member of being "on drugs," which is so lame it is offensive.

But, when I read the AP article from a few days ago, I decided to call LaTourette's office just to let them know how I felt about his comments. (You can too...his contact info is here). The staffer who answered the phone at his Washington office immediately got on the defensive, and re-assured me that the good Congressman is not against bikes, and that his comment was in response to LaHood suggesting that we spend more money on bike paths than on roads. I then pressed the BULLSHIT button and asked for a cite or link to this statement by LaHood (which of course does not exist). I was then put on hold for a while, then was told he couldn't find the quote. The staffer then admitted that LaTourette's "drugs" quote was in response to LaHood's recent policy statement referred to earlier in this post. Then he said something about bike paths around the area of I-271 and I-90 being dangerous. And that freeway projects provide for more jobs.

Isn't that, like, automobile welfare or something?

Tour of the Battenkill 2010

2010-04-12T09:30:00.008-04:00

We arrived at our hotel in Cambridge, NY late afternoon on Friday and managed to pre-ride some of the early dirt sections of the course. They were hard packed, a tad moist, and mostly free of loose gravel. Nice.

On Saturday, Jason, Scott, Zak, Derek, and myself lined up for Team Spin at the start of the 96 person Cat 3 Green field, which raced for 100k. The weather was sunny and in the 50's with stiff winds. The course looked like this:

The pace was fast, but inconsistent, for much of the race, with lots of fast on the hills. Then, after the last feed zone with about 20 miles to go, it picked up by a lot and hardly relented.

There were about 40 of the 96 riders left at the base of the last climb with 10K to go. Things went nuts, and Jason crested with the leaders, who took their gap into town. He finished second by a half wheel. Really nice.

I allowed some gaps to form at the steep bottom part, because my legs were in shutdown mode. I then picked people off as the grade lessened, and rode like mad into town with a small group, thinking they paid 20 deep. I won our "sprint," took 20th, and then realized they paid 10 deep. Oh well. I'm pretty sure I could not have ridden any harder/better than I did.

Scott, Zak, and Derek rode well and finished in the field.

Matt B. from Team Spin rode excellent and finished 18th in his Cat 4 race.

Results are here.

Other notable events from the weekend include:

-They had two wheel trucks in our race and asked some people giving wheels before the race whether they thought they would finish with the lead group or get dropped. Their response determined which truck their wheels went in. I think that situation is a gift to a graduate psychology student looking for a paper to write.

-The guy staying in the room above Jason and Matt was rudely barking at his wife before the race about not messing up his post-race recovery drink. I'm pretty sure he was a Cat 5 dude. Way to give cyclists a good name.

-Staying at a hotel about a quarter mile from the start/finish is the way to go.

In the meantime, back at the home front.....I disassembled the kitchen sink pipes on Thursday before leaving and failed to properly re-assemble them, leaving that task for Katie, the self proclaimed mistress of plumbing. I told her to send me photos of the finished product. She did:

I am an embarrassment to red blooded men everywhere.

Then, on the way home, this happened to my right front tire on I-90 about 30 miles east of Syracuse:

Now I'm home. And ready for some races that take less than 45 minutes to drive to.

Mid-Ohio, aka is this Kansas Dorothy?

2010-04-06T10:07:00.006-04:00

When we left Cleveland for the Mid-Ohio race car course, it was around 80 degrees. When we arrived 1:45 later, it was in the mid 50's with Armageddon like winds and threatening to rain.

Luckily, the sun eventually appeared and the winds died down to a level of insufferably difficult on a course that always feels windy.

I felt like quitting after about a half of a lap, and then felt worse from there. After making my way into a few moves that did not work, I missed the one that did (of course), and the main field spent the latter part of the race thinking that we were so close to catching them it was guaranteed to happen. It didn't.

Afterwards, we feasted at Pueblo Grande, a Mexican joint in Lexington with about 56 neon beer signs inside and outside of the restaurant. The irony was, of course, they didn't have their liquor license and served no alcohol.

I guess we were hungry, because we stayed.

Some good photos of the race are here, along with some Malabar Farm photos and photos of some fall and winter races.

$43K

2010-04-01T22:07:00.002-04:00

According to this article, some sixty six-year old Colorado guy broke his leg when a loose dog caused him to wreck his bike. This article amuses me for many reasons.

Next time you want to glorify the attitudes towards cyclists in other reputedly bike friendly cities, read the comments to this article which were (presumably) submitted mostly by citizens of the Boulder, CO area. They look like cleveland.com commenters.
Why do people think that $43K is a lot of money for a broken leg? Putting the issue of medical bills aside...if you were given the choice, would you rather have $43K and a broken leg that requires pins, or no broken leg? I'll take the unbroken leg.
I have no sympathy for irresponsible dog owners who allow their dogs to endanger other people's lives and the lives of the dogs.

I hope this guy prevails and is awarded more than $43K.

Malabar Farm Road Race, Pro-1-2 field, 3-27-10

2010-03-27T22:35:00.011-04:00

The early break...

Was reeled in after about 10 miles (1 lap) of being out front.

Then this break formed, which stayed away for good:

Although the break gained a member and lost a member close to the finish...

He still easily rolled in for fouth:

Back in the field, these guys tried their hand with about a lap to go...

But were brought back by the field at the base of the final hill to the finish:

Any questions?

In the meantime, the cows were hanging out with a horse.

And Sparrow the border collie watched most of the race with great interest.

A good day.

May

2010-03-16T00:52:00.004-04:00

Meet May.

She is our "horse buddy" at the therapeutic horse riding center where we volunteer.

Our job is to groom her regularly, look out for her, and treat her like the princess she is.

I don't think that will be too hard.

Bowerbirds w/Horse Feathers, 3-11-10

2010-03-13T10:58:00.005-05:00

At The 'Sco, Oberlin College, Oberlin Ohio.

Bowerbirds:

Horse Feathers:

My life is glamorous

2010-03-10T22:55:00.001-05:00

Today I did this with some horses.

No joke.

Cleanse

2010-03-05T17:47:00.001-05:00

We finally broke down and made a video for one of our songs.

Now we will surely catch on with the masses.

Nostalgia is fun

2010-03-03T19:53:00.002-05:00

When I was in college and early law school, I was in a band called Simoom. We made music that I'm still pretty proud of, despite the fact that our fans could probably be counted on two hands.

Ten years later, we are now referred to as "90's heroes" and "Touch and Go-ish," a reference to the insanely wonderful Touch and Go label.

In another ten years, maybe we'll be held in even higher esteem. Or not.

Then again, who cares. We got to play with bands like The Frogs, Firewater, Poster Children, and Duvalby Brothers. And we got to play shows like the one in the condemned building in Kent in the dead of winter with a 60 year old space heater as the only heat source.

Beat that.

Quote of the Day

2010-02-27T15:01:00.003-05:00

Tom Zirbel's thoughts about his exit from pro bike racing:

“(W)hat am I truly after in this life? Asking myself this question today the answer was “to be extraordinary.” I want nothing to do with mediocrity. But on top of that (and what I’ve lost sight of in the last few years), I want to improve the world. Yes, I am a naïve, 30-something dreamer, but I want to help save the world … (but) cycling and racing so consume me that I have little time or energy for anything beyond myself … I’m ready to turn the page and start living a better, more fulfilling life. Whether or not bicycle racing is in that future is too foggy to tell. I hope you all can understand why I’ve chosen this road. It feels so good to be out of the holding pattern.”

Love him, hate him, believe him, don't believe him. Either way, this quote hits home.

I'm not sure what's more amusing, how self indulgent bike racers and other endurance athletes are (both pro and amateur), or how the vast majority of us lack the self awareness to even be conscious about how self focused our respective sport truly is.

But then again, it sure beats spending countless hours sitting on the couch watching nonsense on television, which is what I think most people do in their free time.

White Friday observations

2010-02-26T15:14:00.003-05:00

There seems to be an inverse relationship between the likelihood of someone obsessively manicuring their perfect green lawn in the summer and the likelihood of that same person clearing their sidewalk in the winter. Why is that?

I have also invented a new word: snowtalk - noun - The useless and inane conversation with your neighbor, about how much snow we have gotten this year, in which you feel compelled to participate despite your desire for peace and silence while shoveling.

50 of your closest friends

2010-02-23T23:33:00.006-05:00

A federal court in New York recently dismissed a lawsuit brought by cyclists who challenged a New York City law requiring groups of 50 or more cyclists to obtain a "parade" permit before legally taking to the roads. The city passed the law in response to critical mass rides, particularly the one that took place during the 2004 Republican National Convention. The law also presumably applies to any group ride that exceeds 50 riders, even if the riders are not on fixies and wearing skinny jeans.

The full opinion is here.

I'm not surprised that the judge found no reason to consider striking down the law under federal law. It's a pretty high standard.

What is ironic is the fact that the supposed apolitical nature of critical mass probably hurt the cyclists' case the most. Laws that interfere with protected speech under the First Amendment receive heightened judicial scrutiny. The judge in this case failed to really apply this scrutiny because the testimony did not support the fact that these rides are political.

But, for the most part, they are, and everyone knows it. But not for everyone who takes part. And those with a point to make often have different messages (right to the road, cycling safety, conservation, anti-car, etc.), even if these points are all variations of a common theme.

So, in an effort to welcome all by refusing to adopt some monolithic "message," critical mass has actually given itself less Constitutional protections than if it had classified itself as a weekly pro-bicycle political demonstration.

And now you also can't schedule a 50+ person group hammerfest starting at Times Square without a permit. If you do, don't bother arguing that the ride is a political statement. Unless you want to argue that you are celebrating your right to wear tacky lycra.

Hours

2010-02-20T16:40:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I think that I'm a pretty snazzy bike racer, and that I train "a lot." Then I read the training logs of people like Adam Myerson, and realize that most of us weekend warriors/amateurs are competing in a totally different sport than the pros.

Those people often downplay their dedication, saying that it's no bigger deal to ride 30-40 hours in a week than it is to work in front of a computer doing a "real" job for 40 hours a week.

I'm not so sure.

I love riding bikes. I like my job. Yet I'm not sure I'd want to swap gigs to become "pro."

I suspect I'm in the minority here, especially among those that read my blog.

Maybe I'm just a wimp.

Common courtesy

2010-02-14T13:47:00.004-05:00

As I contemplate going to North Chagrin Reservation for a trail run this afternoon, I can't shake the fear of encountering those irresponsible people who walk their scary as hell German Shepherd off leash.

And that is bullshit.

I am a cyclist (both off and on road) and a wintertime trail runner. Katie and I own of several rescued dogs. I am a (non professional) dog trainer who competes in dog sports, regularly reads about dog training, and regularly travels to dog training seminars. In other words, I think I have a bit of insight when it comes to the rights and interests of those who use trails around here. I have thought about this issue a lot lately and have come to a number of conclusions:

Over 99% of people who walk their dogs off leash in public places have no business doing so for several reasons, most of which relate to the fact that they do not have a consistent recall with their dog(s). We never walk ours off leash.

Most people with aggressive dogs are totally misinformed about dog behavior and have no idea that their dog is aggressive. This explains why so many bites are "totally unexpected." See Steevo's story for a perfect example. A dog trainer I know characterizes this phenomenon as "near misses," which means that many dogs who have yet to bite are very close to biting very often. It's only a matter of time. If you are one of the millions of people with a dog who shows signs of unhappiness (or over eagerness) towards strangers, cyclists, other dogs, etc., it does not make your dog a "bad" dog or you a "bad" owner. It only makes you a bad owner if you fail to take the proper steps to prevent your dog from getting into a situation where it could possibly act out on these feelings.

Many people are afraid of dogs, whether they are friendly or unfriendly. That is a fact of life. When these people hike on a trail with mandatory leash laws, they should have the right to not be approached by off leash dogs, regardless of how friendly the dog is, and regardless of how rational or irrational that person's fear of dogs is.

Many dogs are not fans of strange dogs approaching them or getting into their space, regardless of how "friendly" the approaching dog is. People with these types of dogs, and their dogs, should have a right to enjoy trails without being accosted by a strange dog, friendly or not.

So now I will return to the trails, wondering whether I will have to face the icy stare of the German Shepherd whose clueless owners I'm sure think is harmless. You can be sure that I will be calling the park ranger next time I see these people with their dog off leash.

It's just not worth it.

First Race

2010-02-03T21:49:00.004-05:00

Below are two photos from my first bicycle race ever. It was circa 1994. I was around 16 or 17. It was a mountain bike time trial in Lake County. There were a lot of guys in sweatpants at that race. Not that I had room to talk in my cut off shorts and tank top.

I remember going to Arby's immediately after the race with my sister and brother in law and wolfing down a bunch of roast beef sandwiches. I also remember getting some nasty poison ivy from the race.

I didn't really get "serious" about bike racing until around 2004, but I guess I dabbled in riding and racing for almost 10 years prior.

Driving while dumb

2010-01-30T16:24:00.006-05:00

According to this article, a recent insurance industry study found that state laws banning the use of hand held mobile devices (for texting or calling) do not reduce crashes.

Let the arguments about the validity of this study begin. In the meantime, we will continue to ignore the elephant in the living room: In this country, we just about let anyone with a pulse get behind the wheel of a car, and we treat driving on public roads as a right, not a privilege.

Stupid people do stupid things. Irresponsible people do irresponsible things. Stupid and irresponsible choices lead to car crashes. If you outlaw texting, the person who was going to text his or her way into an accident will probably just find another way to cause a wreck while reading, applying makeup, combing hair, eating, drinking coffee, changing the radio channel, or doing countless other things that can lead to accidents.

In 2008, over 26,000 people died in this country in auto accidents. Instead of being outraged, most people view this figure as an acceptable risk of driving.

The only way to make roads safer is to make it more difficult to obtain a license. I bet that it's possible to devise a yearly test that accurately assesses a person's ability to safely drive. And maybe we need yearly driving maneuverability tests. And maybe we need to crack down on people who routinely cause accidents by revoking their licenses sooner than we already do.

Yes, it would be costly and annoying to have to take a yearly driving test. And I dare any state politician to support legislation that could potentially cause thousands of drivers (aka voters) to lose their driving privileges, especially senior citizens.

But, until that happens, all of the talk of safe driving, distracted driving, and the like is a bunch of hot air.

If 26,000 Americans died of terrorism in a single year, there would be a revolution.

When 26,000 Americans die every year in auto accidents, we shrug and blame texting.

My own anti-bicycling screed

2010-01-19T20:36:00.004-05:00

Well, not really. But even I have to call "bullshit" once in a while, even when it involves one of the country's most well respected cycling advocates.

Portland attorney Bob Mionske is a former pro, a former Olympian, and a widely published bicycling advocate. I've never met him, but he seems like a good guy, and I usually find myself screaming "Amen" in response to his writings.

Last week, the L.A. Times published an opinion piece authored by Mionske, which was written in response to the recent sentencing of the violent criminal Dr. Christopher T. Thomson, who attempted to kill cyclists (on more than one occasion) with his car.

I agree 100% with Mionske on his outrage over the fact that it took more than one assault by Thomson to land him in jail. And that the legal system is rigged in favor of motorists over cyclists. And that distracted driving is a menace to everyone.

I do, however, take issue with other points made in his article. For example, he states that:

"...The roads are common spaces, and their use is an ancient right for all -- except motorists.

Referring to the arcane common law doctrine that roads were built for pedestrians, carriages, and (later) bicyclists is not going to win the hearts and minds of most people. Yes, that it how it was back in the day. These days, most roads are built for cars and, in enlightened areas, they are built for mixed use (cars, bikes, and pedestrians). Our country's transportation priorities are severely flawed. Our car culture is unsustainable. But, arguing with a straight face about the bicycle's superior right to the road over cars in 2010 just makes you look out of touch and compromises your credibility with the readers you are trying to persuade.

He also says that:

"...Every cyclist you see on the road represents one less car contributing to congestion. Yes, you may occasionally have to slow down for a few seconds, but those few seconds are offset by the time you save for every car that is not on the road ahead of you. Cyclists also neither consume gasoline nor contribute to climate change, and they cause far less wear and tear on the road than cars. These are benefits that accrue directly to motorists in the form of less demand for limited resources, driving regulations and limited tax dollars."

So true, if only cycling was limited to utilitarian purposes.

This is an area where recreational cyclists and racers are routinely dishonest with themselves. I will freely admit that my involvement in cycling has done more harm than good for the environment. The environmental benefits of any commuting or errand running I do by bike are highly outweighed by my driving to races all over creation, driving to bike shops, driving to (some but not many) rides, and the stupid amount of resource intensive food I eat when doing high volume training. I'm pretty sure that the same can be said for the vast majority of cyclists who own cars. For example, the local bike paths around here are very crowded during the warmer months. And so are their parking lots.

The issues of safe cycling and bicycle advocacy are dear to my heart. Let's try to keep the movement going forward by only using honest arguments and refrain from the type of insincere rhetoric reserved for political campaigns and recent Congressional debates.

TRAA

2010-01-18T14:15:00.003-05:00

The Rural Alberta Advantage
Beachland Tavern - sold out
Cleveland, Ohio 1-18-10

At a loss

2010-01-16T22:30:00.003-05:00

Now estimates are at around 200,000 casualties in Haiti.

All of the images of the utter destruction and tragedy are overwhelming. In fact, most images and news stories about Haiti, even before the earthquake, depicted unrest and dysfunction.

How about a change of pace, just for a few minutes?

Haiti, by the Arcade Fire. Shot in Haiti.

"Dr. Thompson is not a criminal"

2010-01-07T21:23:00.004-05:00

Tell that to the guy whose head went through Thompson's rear windshield.

The statement in the title of this post were the words of Michael Oana, an X-ray technologist at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Thankfully, over 270 people from around the world think differently than Mr. Oana, according to this article.

According to Dr. Robert Padgett, "He [Thomson] is a very wise man and caring physician."

Except for that little streak of murderous tendencies.

Dr. Thompson (well, actually, I don't think he's a doctor anymore) is the waste of human life who tried to murder those cyclists in that high profile California case.

Calling all California cyclists...wouldn't it be fun to organize a boycott of Dr. Padgett's practice? Or maybe let Mr. Oana's employer know that you don't appreciate its employee siding with a violent criminal and menace to society?

What if Dr. Thompson was a child rapist? Or a KKK member who attempted to kill someone? Are those actions any more excusable than what Thompson did? Would these people be standing up for their colleague? Of course not. Nor would the employers of these sympathizers tolerate it.

At the very least, every single cycling blog, website, and magazine should publish the comments of these medical "professionals" who sympathize with people who purposely try to murder human beings. Include their names, addresses, and their photos. In fact, any blogger, website, or magazine with a conscience (bicycling related or not) should do so. Just to shame them and humiliate them.

Kind of like how the cyclists were humiliated with a lacerated face, broken tooth, and separated shoulder.

Battenkill v.2

2009-12-30T14:43:00.002-05:00

Battenkill seems a lot less epic than in the photos below when you're with a laughing group that got shelled from the leaders less than 15 miles into a 100K race.

So, with that in mind, I decided to give it another go in 2010. The team will now have five guys in the same race. Wouldn't it be nice to have a few of us left in the lead group during the run into town after that last mile-plus long dirt hill?

So I guess that means the blender we got for Christmas should not mass produce milkshakes from now until April 10th.

photos courtesy of Dave Kraus

The month in photos

2009-12-28T13:25:00.013-05:00

Thanks to everyone who stayed up real late a few weeks ago to see Hastings Refrigerator Company play.

photos courtesy of D. Nash

A pre-Christmas trip to southern Ohio where they had more snow than in Cleveland.

A holiday photo, that way too many people believe was taken without irony.

That's nice, but can you buy some milk on the way home?

2009-12-24T23:58:00.002-05:00

The other night, a few of us got to talking about the typical post bike race telephone conversation with our significant others. These conversations are very revealing. And funny. A few of them go as follows (names are withheld):

Racer #1 has a chance to win any race he enters. His post race conversation with his wife usually involves her asking him, "Did you win?" If he did not, she's mildly disappointed, because she's used to him winning, and she likes it when he takes home the 1st place prize money. We're pretty sure she doesn't realize how hard it is to actually win a bike race.

Racer #2 calls his wife to find her completely disinterested in his result, but rather curious about his estimated time of arrival back home. Her first words in the post race telephone call are something to the effect of, "When the hell are you going to be home so you can take care of the kids for the rest of the day...they're driving me crazy!" At least she's honest.

When I call Katie after a race*, her first words are usually, "Did you get dropped?"

Probably the most appropriate question for me.

*she used to go to more races, but now not so much. When she came to a race this year, someone in the race before mine was carted off in an ambulance. That really left a warm and fuzzy feeling in her belly about bike racing.

The price of hobbies

2009-12-20T13:49:00.004-05:00

photo by Petr Kratochvil

In 2009, I did about 37 races. Highlights included Battenkill, Frankenmuth, the team winning our Tour of the Valley race, doing the Chicago Criterium, and finishing off the season strong at Tamarack. From a results standpoint, the cyclocross seasons was a disaster, but fun was generally had at the races where the bike didn't break.

When I encountered Brian a few months ago on a late afternoon autumn ride, we talked about how the end of the road racing season means catching up on things put off for the last seven months. I guess doing all of this racing and riding forces you to compromise other aspects of your life.

Nothing illustrates this point better than a recent trip to Target with Katie (who has her own time consuming hobbies) when we bought some silverware and three steak knives which is, by itself, not all that noteworthy.

The noteworthy part about these purchases is the sheer absurdity of the state of our utensils for the last several years. To put it nicely, in many aspects of our lives, we live like people in abject poverty, not because we are poor, but because we are too lazy to buy stuff like knives. For many years, we used crooked forks, crappy spoons, and three knives, none of which matched and few of which worked.

We live like this not because we have to, but because we always have something better to do than shop for knives or do other things that responsible adults do. Going for a three hour ride, playing with our dogs, or making a new coat from old clothes are generally more appealing activities than driving to the store to buy kitchenware.

So now, we actually have silverware that is not a total embarrassment.

I wish I could say the same for our moderately operational gas range, which we are prepared to replace next time we have a chance.

But not today. I need to ride the trainer.

Office + park

2009-12-11T19:44:00.004-05:00

I used to work in a suburban office complex and tried to commute there by bike as much as I could. The building management and the company from which we sublet were reasonably accommodating and provided me with a free key to the garage where I could store my bike. In all honesty, the garage was the ideal place for my bike.

But, it was hilarious that these people also completely prohibited me from bringing my bike anywhere into the building or into my office. They were determined to maintain the professional decorum of the building. And by professional decorum I mean a lobby covered in fake marble with fake plants everywhere.

Classy.

Now, even buildings with elaborate fake marble in New York City must allow bikes inside common areas and on freight elevators. This article talks about the recently passed law, and how employers there may still prohibit employees from bringing bikes into the actual offices they lease. So I guess the law is intended to prohibit building managers from prohibiting bikes and designed to leave the issue up to individual employers.

Some will argue that the law is an example of government over regulation, and that the market should sort out this issue. If enough people are in favor of riding bikes to work and keeping them at their offices, and if enough employers are on board, than bike-prohibiting office buildings will be forced to change policies.

I tend to think that the need to accelerate the campaign against an anti-bike mindset is too important to leave 100% to market forces. Crippling obesity, environmental decay, and a reliance on oil countries with sordid rulers are just a few things that come to mind to justify laws like these.

Even if the sight of a bike on fake marble makes some people cringe.

Coltrane at the Village Vanguard it won't be...

2009-12-08T12:59:00.002-05:00

So I'm in a band, and we're playing at the Grog Shop in Coventry (Cleveland Heights) this Saturday night, 12-12. We're called Hastings Refrigerator Company and will probably be playing last of three bands, starting at 10:00pm.

Heckling is encouraged.

1st and 3rd

2009-11-27T19:41:00.004-05:00

I did another agility trial with Reuben last week. We earned two qualifying scores out of four runs, which is pretty good considering that the venue for this trial is competitive. He took third place in the elite class on one run, and took first place in the novice class in the "gamblers" run.

In gamblers, we had 30 seconds to accumulate 15 points by successfully completing the course of our choice, with points assigned to each type of obstacle. Then, when the buzzer sounded, we had 15 seconds to complete the "gamble," a sequence of obstacles where the handler must direct the dog from a distance and stay behind the yellow line. Here's our gambler's run:

The race in their head

2009-11-23T21:17:00.004-05:00

Bike racers have a reputation for being hyper competitive a-holes. The funny thing is that bike racers have nothing on many recreational cyclists who insist that every encounter with a fellow road rider is akin to a 19th Century duel on a dusty road.

A friend of mine told me that he recently witnessed a guy ride himself into a ditch (literally) while trying to maintain a gap on said friend while going up a hill out of the Chagrin River Valley. Friend was just riding his own mellow pace, while Ditch Guy thought he was doing battle up The Ventoux on stage 17 of the Tour. Then he crashed into the ditch on the side of the road because he was riding so hard.

Just last week I was riding easily in the valley when some guy in a gaudy jersey passed me with great fanfare and gusto, then nearly killed himself to maintain his small gap on me. I was content to let him have his fun, until he executed an unnecessarily dangerous maneuver in a country intersection while running a red light. Then I made a point to pass him on the hill while making casual conversation over his loud and uncontrolled breathing. Yes, I am a jerk, but he deserved it.

A few months ago, I passed a guy while riding moderately mellow uphill and said hello. He immediately started making a litany of excuses about his bike compared to mine, even though his bike was lighter and comparable in price. Um, sorry man, I didn't know we were racing.

These guys need to pin on a number and go do a few Citizen bike races this spring to let off some steam.

Just watch out for that ditch.

These days

2009-11-08T23:02:00.005-05:00

Weekends at the cabin...

Seem more appealing that weekends full of cyclocross.

(photo courtesy of kwellshamilton@sbcglobal.net's flickr)

Gay Games 2014 - Cleveland

2009-11-02T23:58:00.006-05:00

To all of the bike racers who read this blog...you best plan on taking the week of 8-9 to 8-16, 2014 off.

Why? Because, assuming the cycling events are similar to the 2010 Cologne games, there will be a road race, crit, mountain bike race, time trial, and team time trial. All of which are open for the public to race.

Who can participate in the Gay Games?
Anyone can participate. The Gay Games welcomes all people without regard to their sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political belief, physical ability, athletic/artistic ability, age or health status.

$50 to $80 million in estimated local economic impact and five races in a week.

I'm in.

Sylvia

2009-11-02T22:20:00.005-05:00

The story of Sylvia Bingham sickens me. A Yale graduate who came to this area to make it better, work at a non profit, and get around by bike.

Now she is another tragic statistic.

From what I can piece together from the news articles, the truck that hit her made a right hand turn in front of her/into her. We will probably never know where she was in relation to the truck when it started turning right, and I don't really know enough about the incident right now to intelligently comment on the prosecutor's decision to file charges.

I do know that I am tired of reading about tragic statistics.

Be safe.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sylvia Bingham – AmeriCorps Application, June 2009
Motivational Statement

My interest in social justice is deep-rooted and wide-ranging. In high school I organized students against the war in Iraq; in college I focused on sustainable food and vulnerable inner-city populations. My academic and extracurricular choices at Yale University reflect my dedication to imaging and creating a better world. As a sociology student, I have sought to understand the systemic causes, whether economic, political or social, of inequality. My senior thesis examined HOPE VI, the newest generation of public housing renewal, in light of the welfare reform zeitgeist, which I called the self-sufficiency doctrine. I conducted in-depth interviews with ten public housing residents, and came to conclusions about neighborly ties and public safety that contradicted mainstream academic and political discourse. Other field work has taken me to Mali, West Africa, where I interviewed food security experts about the 2008 World Food Crisis in light of the country’s past major famines; to Bordeaux, France, where I did participant observation at an urban garden program which trains the chronically unemployed.

In my extracurricular activities, too, I pursued my passion for social justice. I volunteered at National Student Partnerships (NSP) in New Haven, where students help vulnerable clients locate jobs, housing, government benefits and training. I translated and transcribed videos of Holocaust survivors, to ensure that such stories are permanently recorded and remembered. I worked as a volunteer and an employee for sustainable agriculture and ethical eating.

As a tutor for Yale Reading Corps, I tutored failing second-graders at a local school to bring them up to grade-level literacy. In the summer of 2007 I had the most formative work experience of my life, as an intern for New Haven nonprofit CitySeed. I received a summer fellowship from Yale Dwight Hall to support CitySeed’s efforts to make locally-grown food more affordable and accessible in the city of New Haven. I managed an independent project creating promotional materials for Food Stamp and WIC recipients across the state, while juggling various other responsibilities around the office, writing weekly newsletters, phone-banking to recruit partner farms and tabling at farmers’ markets. This internship with a growing grassroots organization reaffirmed my dedication to working in the nonprofit sector. It was inspiring to be surrounded by colleagues committed to environmental sustainability, economic justice, and health equality.

An AmeriCorps fellowship is an ideal opportunity for a college graduate to explore the non-profit sector and begin a career of public service. I hope to spend the next year amongst professionals dedicated to creating a better world. I would like to help improve individual lives, while also working towards systemic sustainability and justice.

Why Do I Volunteer

My most moving volunteer experience was working with underprivileged residents of New Haven through National Student Partnerships (NSP), which links college students to people in need. I helped people research jobs online, write resumes, and locate appropriate social services. NSP volunteers were always friendly, respectful and attentive, and clients often told us how much they appreciated our attitude. Although I had to give up NSP volunteering in order to take a work-study job, I always chose jobs that in some way served the community.

Originally posted on the Hard Hatted Women website

Big dogs

2009-10-28T23:26:00.005-04:00

Since tonight was the last Wednesday night Edgewater cyclocross ride of the year, we decided some post ride festivities were in order.

Happy Dog it was.

The place has new owners. Owners who must really like hot dogs. And fries.

I had a veggie sausage with lots o' fixins. And fries. And some Left Hand Milk Stout.

Then we rode home across town with all that nonsense in our bellies.

Totally worth it.

Carbon pawprint

2009-10-26T19:41:00.004-04:00

According to Fox, having a dog leaves more of a carbon footprint than having an SUV.

According to Katie, even if that study is true, it doesn't affect us because all of our dogs are rescues. We didn't contribute to their creation. If anything, we've reduced their carbon footprint by adopting and spaying/neutering them, preventing them from spawning even more resource hungry critters.

Take that, Fox.

By the way, here are some photos of our newest carbon footprinter, Sparrow:

Hastings Refrigerator Company

2009-10-21T21:18:00.002-04:00

That is the name of my newish band. I play bass, sing a bit, drum a bit, and generally pretend to know what I'm doing. Our songs are here, and are also over to the right on the blog panel.

Anyone care to guess where we got the name?

A weekend of firsts

2009-10-18T21:33:00.002-04:00

When I crossed the finish line at the Tour De Tamarack this year in early September, I felt the yearly relief of making it through another season of road racing without any crashes.

Joke's on me, though, because I had a pretty intimate moment with pavement yesterday at the Cross My Heart and Hope to Die cyclocross race early in the first lap. After confirming that I did not break my hip (but confirming that I just put two holes in my fancy new knickers), I remounted and tried to salvage my race. That didn't work out so well. I had thought about quitting right there and then, but I figured it was bad form to quit the race put on by my team.

So now I finally know what road rash feels like. Great.

Today I rode for 60 miles, which was my longest ride in a really long time. It was great fun to just ride my bike again with some cool folks.

And I wish I had taken a photo of the milkshake, inside a styrofoam milkshake cup (with straw poking out of the top), that graced the bottle cage of Chris's road bike for the ride home.

The pits

2009-10-12T15:41:00.005-04:00

Working the pits at a muddy elite UCI cyclocross race is pretty exhilarating.

Scott, John P., and I pitted for Matt and Steevo on Friday. We had a sad little bucket with a few rags and limited access to a communal hose. The big boys had crews with high power pressure hoses, brushes, and several bikes.

Paid support crews, significant others, and friends of racers lined the pits with focused concentration and attention to detail. As you wait for your rider to pass through for a bike change, you best watch out and not accidentally cause Trebon to crash or Powers to lose a step while blazing through the pits, never missing a beat.

The intensity is crazy, yet the racers remain calm and appreciative of their crew.

Except that one guy who was a complete ass to (what appeared to be) his girlfriend/wife. Maybe someone should remind him that he's playing in mud on a bicycle with other grown men in Lycra. Is it really necessary to be a jerk?

Leroy cx (vid)

2009-10-04T22:22:00.003-04:00

I was able to grab a few videos of the "B" race and the women's race today.

When a motor vehicle overtakes a bicycle, the safe passing distance shall be not less than three feet.

2009-10-01T22:39:00.002-04:00

That is the language contained in the recently introduced Ohio Senate Bill 174. It's sponsors are Senators Fedor and Wagoner.

If you live in Ohio and agree with this bill, find your Senator and call or e-mail him/her to let them know that you support this bill. And don't tell me you don't have time. You have time to ride countless hours, glue on your new cross tubies, and/or drive 60 minutes to this week's race. You have time to do something that really matters.

State politicians truly listen to input from their constituents. Go be a proactive constituent.

Is it now...

2009-09-27T15:51:00.004-04:00

...or is it 1981?

I have just found a new timesuck.

(Original photo courtesy of C'est La Vie.)

A completely unscientific observation

2009-09-20T13:35:00.002-04:00

The other day I saw an Allstate insurance advertisement on the back of a magazine. It encouraged people to lobby their state legislature to further restrict teen driving. I really don't know what the research on this issue says, but the ad got me thinking about my experiences with teen drivers while cycling.

Then it occurred to me that I can't remember the last time I encountered a teen who purposely did something aggressive toward me while cycling. Sure, I'd say that teens are the most likely group of drivers to shout something harmless out of their window ("nice spandex," "hey Lance," etc.). But, in my experiences, they are not the ones who tailgate, purposely buzz, or shout profanities and tell me to "get the fuck off the road." Those acts are usually reserved for the more mature and responsible set of drivers between the ages of, I'd say, 25 and 65.

I'm curious if others have this same experience, or if I am an exception to the norm.

I would be encouraged if others feel the same way. That would mean a better world for cyclists in the future, which would not surprise me. There are all sorts of hateful and vile attitudes that decrease with every new generation -- racism, sexism, intolerance of gay people.

Let's hope that we can add road rage toward cyclists to this list.

A public policy question about the health care debate

2009-09-17T23:07:00.005-04:00

At last week's cyclocross race, some guy handed me a free issue of Urban Velo magazine. Even at first glance, I knew I was out of my league with this publication. My skinny jean collection is pathetic, and I insist on wearing socks while riding. I was about to ask the guy if he knew of any magazines along the lines of Boring Inner Ring Suburb Velo, which would be more my speed.

The magazine is actually well done, and I love the Fear of a Bike Planet t-shirt they sell (if you don't get the Public Enemy reference, I guess I'll still let you read my blog).

It also has a long article about bike polo. Bike polo. I challenge you to name me a sport with a comparable risk factor that has a higher percentage of uninsured (or underinsured) participants.

Discuss.

And ATV "mudding" doesn't count.

Sunday ritual

2009-09-15T10:34:00.004-04:00

On Sunday afternoon, 80,000 people paid a lot of money to sit around at Browns Stadium and watch the Cleveland Browns painfully lose (again). At the same time, a few miles west along the lake, 147 people decided to race cyclocross at Wendy Park on Whiskey Island. They paid $20 each to race, and friends and family watched for free.

The participants in the race were everyday people who race for the love of it while maintaining busy "real" lives with jobs, kids, etc. The participants in the Browns game were athletes with salaries that are unfathomable to most Americans.

The Browns game existed for the sole sake of making obscene amounts of money for the team's owners, the vending companies, television sponsors, and networks.

The cyclocross race was put on by a bunch of generous people who, on a yearly basis, selflessly give up several weekends of their free time to organize, set up, and tear down these well-run events.

You can keep your remote controls, Brady Quinn jerseys, and luxury suites.

Just pass me my cowbell.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw

2009-09-11T22:44:00.004-04:00

This Monday. At the Beachland Tavern.

When three dudes with guitars and a bass and a drummer gets stale.

There are times when the first amendment doesn't seem so great

2009-09-10T13:58:00.002-04:00

Like when your neighbor two doors down insists on blaring The Rush Limbaugh Show so loudly that the entire neighborhood is forced to hear every word of it.

Regardless of what type of political show you listen to, that is just rude and classless.

But then again, so is this neighbor.

Sometimes commuting by bike is not a money saving enterprise

2009-09-09T22:36:00.003-04:00

Not that saving money is the main reason to do it, but still. Today we rode across town to the Edgewater cyclocross training ride, and I burned through two tubes getting there due to a pesky stone that lodged in my tire and did not make itself known the first time I checked the tire after flatting. Since the spare I brought was also useless, I had to be "that guy" and bum two tubes from two separate people, and I still had to ride a flat for about six miles through downtown and to the park.

In other news, Katie has been predicting all year that I would buy a new cyclocross bike in 2009. My resolve to not cave in has been pretty steady, with a few perilous moments here and there. Those new Ridleys sure are nice though. On the other hand, I do enjoy giving the weight weenies who see my bike the creeps with its steel frame and steel fork. It is a guilty pleasure of mine with which I'm not sure I want to part.

Only time will tell.

Tamarack

2009-09-07T12:22:00.006-04:00

Sunday was the last road race of the year. You know it's almost fall when Shawn shows up to a road race on a cyclocross bike.

40 miles, 6 hills, great weather, and a bunch of hill and sprint primes based on the honor system.

Having been on the wrong end of the field split in the past at this race, it was nice to hang on and contest the sprint with what was left of the shattered field.

Another crashless road racing season in the bag. Let's keep this streak alive.

Studio-A-Rama

2009-09-06T22:17:00.005-04:00

Although I didn't stay for too long, it was neat to see all of the people relaxing and hanging out at WRUW's Studio-A-Rama on Saturday.

Old people, young people, kids, and dogs.

And loud music heard nowhere but on college radio.

And beer. Lots of it.

Who would Jesus harass (WWJH)?

2009-09-03T20:25:00.003-04:00

On the way to an enjoyable Thursday group ride tonight, some impatient motorist did not like the fact that I was riding a bike on the road, despite my being so far right I was hugging the curb. She got up real close and laid on her horn, then passed me, which allowed me to read her vanity license plate that said something about being Christian and how much she prayed.

Very Christian of her. Very Christian.

Can you hear me now?

2009-08-31T22:27:00.004-04:00

Life has gotten in the way of me doing this race over the weekend, so I will have to settle for this race, which is still quite fun, but just not in Vermont. Oh, how the life of a bike racer with enough time and disposable income to race nearly every week elicits great sympathy with his tales of woe and sorrow.

Really, life isn't that bad.

What is bad is the fact that Mission of Burma is playing the last slot of this year's Studio-A-Rama on Saturday, which is very incompatible with a pre-6 a.m. alarm clock on Sunday.

I hate it when being a bike racing nerd conflicts with being a college radio music nerd.

Speaking of college radio, I almost want to get back into college radio broadcasting so I can have a show that begins with this song every week:

The End of Radio, by Shellac (album version)

is this thing on?
can you hear me now?
are we going?
is this thing on?
test, test, test, test, test, test...
can you hear me now?

as we come to the close of our broadcast day
this is my farewell transmission
signing of
mr. and mrs. america, and all the ships at sea
anyone within the sound of my voice

i've got 50000 watts of power
i want to ionize the air
this microphone turns sound into electricity
can you hear me now?
out on route 128, the dark and lonely
i got my radio on

can you hear me now?
can you hear me now?
can you hear me now?
can you hear me now?
it's the end of radio

and that snare drum
that drum roll
means we've got a winner
if you're the fifth caller
or any caller at all...

welcome to my top ten
i'd like to thank our sponsor
but... we haven't got a sponsor
not if you were the last man on earth
she was prepared to prove it
this one goes up to a special girl
but... there is no special girl

it's the end of radio
the last announcer plays the last record
the last watt leaves the transmitter
circles the globe in search of a listener
can you hear me now?
can you hear me now?
can you hear me now?

is this really broadcasting if there is no one ever recieve?
it's the end of radio
as we come to the close of our broadcast day

i got my radio on
can you hear me now?
can you hear me now?
can you hear me now?

this is the test
if this had been a real emergency...
hey, hey, this is real god damn emergency

Probation

2009-08-23T22:30:00.002-04:00

The guy from Hudson who hit and killed a cyclist on E.55th, fled the scene, then claimed that he didn't know he hit anyone received 3 years of probation, a $5,000 fine, and must perform 100 hours of community service. Story here.

I am in no position to judge anyone here. We'll never know the circumstances surrounding the accident.

If Mr. Biro is telling the truth, and he is the good person his friends say, I am sure he carries unimaginable guilt right now.

However, if this guy is lying, I hope the image of the poor victim terrorizes his soul every day for the rest of his life.

My sympathies go out to...no one involed in this story

2009-08-23T21:51:00.003-04:00

The August 10, 2009 edition of the New Yorker includes a wonderfully written article chronicling the live music industry over the last 40 years. It does so while intertwining the story of a New Jersey woman who tries desperately to score very close seats at a Bruce Springsteen show this past May at the Izod Center in the New Jersey Meadowlands. An abstract of the story can be found here.

The author does a great job presenting all sides of the issues, and briefly succeeds at vilifying the artists, Ticketmaster, Live Nation, ticket scalpers and agencies, and pretty much all parties involved in the concert business. He then pulls back and suggests that the live music industry is ailing and that the unscrupulous practices of all of these players may simply be necessary evils needed to keep the concert business afloat.

By the end of the article, I was practically cheering for the main character, who did in fact score her dream Springsteen seats through a convoluted series of events. Then I took a step back and realized that it's hard to characterize as "victims" people willing and able to pay $100 per seat to see a live music performance. I also realized that Senator Schumer from New York (who got involved in this issue after the Ticketmaster controversy relating to the Meadowlands Springsteen shows) will never lose for re-election due to his ability to identify issues that transcend party politics and matter to a lot of people who vote, regardless of how absurd the "issue" is when compared to other pressing matters of our day.

Skype v1

2009-08-19T11:22:00.003-04:00

I was required to take several computer related classes as a business school undergraduate in the late 90's. My teacher for one of these classes competed in ultimate fighting (no joke). One day, he was very excited to show us a new technology to which he had access. I forgot what he called it, but it was essentially an early version of video conferencing...like old school Skype.

He positioned the camera on the class and used the giant classroom projection screen as his computer's monitor. He then solicited some other random users of this program on the web and asked to chat with them. We eventually found a taker, which was apparently some guy from some country I don't even remember right now. As soon as his camera engaged, the entire class got a close up of of him removing his pants and starting to fondle himself.

Our professor went berserk, the entire class had a good chuckle, and I still marvel at how this pervert hit pay dirt that day....he had an entirely captive audience in the form of a class of American co-ed undergraduates all staring into the camera watching him begin to go to business with himself.

So now my new computer has a built in camera and a pre-installed version of Skype. And every time I look at it, I think of my professor yelling, "Holy s&*t, he's taking off his pants!"

But I can buy a new bike at Target for half that price...

2009-08-18T13:00:00.002-04:00

This is a great article where the the author explores the relationship between the median price of used cars vs. used bikes on Craigslist in different cities. Unsurprisingly, cars cost more and bikes less in Phoenix compared to Seattle.

But is the author really surprised to find that people in the city of Portland are willing to drop more cash for a decently working 20 year old (or older) bike at a trendy urban bike shop than they are willing to spend at a suburban Costco for a brand new Schwinn? Here's the quote:

But you’ve got to love a city whose citizens put a set of moral/aesthetic principles — whether it’s riding a bike with proper disc brakes or refusing to support the Big Box stores — this far above their own financial well-being.

Street cred. The recycling concept. Supporting local businesses. I can think of 100+ more reasons. Unless you want to start getting really self-righteous and open yourself up to others nitpicking your own hypocrisies, there is no right or wrong answer to the questions of what type and from where should you buy your commuting bike. The real question is how is a NYT econ blogger truly surprised that people take into account things other than price when making purchasing decisions?

I know the article is a bit tongue in cheek, but his observations on this issue are about as insightful as me pointing out how curious it is that some people spend $450 on designer jeans...or that people spend weeks of their salary to buy a shiny rock mined from some hellhole on the other side of the world.

And by the way, who buys a commuter bike with disc brakes anyway?

Close call

2009-08-11T21:22:00.003-04:00

Today at Westlake, my front tire exploded as I entered turn three (commonly referred to as the "cop turn") at around 30 mph sitting third or fourth wheel, somewhere around lap 5. Knowing that we were lined out and that the corner was covered by the police officer, I straightened the bars and headed directly for the (very high) curb on the other side of the road. I managed to clear the curb with both wheels and coast into the grass, unscathed.

Wow, that was close. I guess my 2009 cyclocross season officially began today.

It turns out that a giant piece of glass punctured the tire and tube just the right way to cause it to instantly explode.

After walking a mile back to the car, I changed my wheel and re-entered the race, but was relegated to sitting at the back of the field and watching all of the fun go down at the front.

Kind of lame, but at least I didn't die.

Car 7318 where are you?

2009-08-08T20:27:00.005-04:00

The last time I was buzzed by a car was about 2 months ago. Some elderly guy passed me within inches of my handlebars. Today was another such incident. The thing that makes today's buzz special was that the it was by a police officer. In a squad car. I don't know if he/she did it maliciously on purpose, or if the cop was just reckless. Either way, the whole thing sure makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

To the driver of Valley View, Ohio squad car 7318 at 1:00p.m. on 8-8-09, you are a real treat. Keep up the good work keeping us safe.

Here's a nice photo from last week's Zoar race. By the way, the reason I never wear a cycling cap bearing my team sponsor's logo is because they don't fit my giant head.

Zoar

2009-08-02T16:12:00.002-04:00

Chilly and damp. Hot and humid. Drizzle. Chilly and torrential rains. Mild and humid.

All in a bit over two hours.

That was the weather cycle today during the Zoar road race.

In the 1-2-3 race, I found myself in the lead break of six riders at the base of the final climb, about 3 miles from the finish. The charging bridge group then caught us, and I was unable to hang with the fast guys to the top of the hill. Even the perfectly timed playful romp of the horses in the pasture near the top of the hill couldn't inspire me to turn the pedals fast enough to stay with those guys. So I settled for 16th, which could have been 15th, had I cared enough to contest the "sprint" with an ambulance coming through the finish line the other way en route to tend to the pileup that occurred at the end of the Cat 3/4 race.

Hopefully those guys are all ok.

Thanks again to the Stark crew for putting on this race, which has evolved from a bike race to an institution since I started racing around here.

Nina

2009-07-29T23:52:00.006-04:00

While in Chicago last weekend, we met up with jR and saw Nina Nastasia play at the Hideout. She also happened to be recording a live album and video at the show. I would seriously consider going to Chicago for this show alone. The fact that it coincided with the bike race weekend was incredibly good luck. Above is a photo from the show that I found on the Internet.

Here's a video from an older show:

Between the opening act and Nina, these guys called about five games of Bingo, which was hilarious and amusing:

Did you know that four corner Bingo is called "Hippie Bingo?"

Neither did I.

Chicago

2009-07-21T23:41:00.002-04:00

Do I need to drive several hours to another race? No.

Do I even like crits? Not really.

So why do this race?

Because how often do you get to race in downtown Chicago?

Kicking it Huck Finn Style

2009-07-19T23:04:00.003-04:00

We went to the cabin in southern Ohio again this weekend. We regularly rent it from nice people who, much to my surprise, recently constructed a floating raft they use on the pond to fish. Of course, I had to take it out for a try.

I am easily amused.

More of the same

2009-07-14T12:59:00.002-04:00

Last month, House of Representative Members John Boehner (from Ohio) and Eric Cantor sent the President a letter requesting the elimination of several federal programs in a supposed effort to save taxpayers money. The funny thing about Boehner is that he is always quick to vilify any spending or tax credit that promotes cycling, yet he has no problem with spending lots of federal money on highways and roads (from which his suburban/exurban Cincinnati district greatly benefits).

The letter is here.

Two money quotes from the letter:

Terminate Safe Routes To Schools Program
Created only in 2005, the Federal “Safe Routes to Schools Program” finances what have traditionally been viewed as local responsibilities, namely financing sidewalks and bike paths, crossing guards and other infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects to assist children who walk or bike to school. Returning these responsibilities to state and local officials would save taxpayers $183 million a year or $915 million over five years.

Sidewalks....the bane of every red blooded American.

Here is another one:

Terminate Federal Transportation Funding For “Non-Motorized” Transportation Projects
The Federal government is currently spending $25 million a year to fund four Non-motorized Transportation Pilot programs. This program is designed to fund a network of “non-motorized transportation infrastructure facilities” to encourage residents to walk or bike rather than using a car. Refocusing Federal resources on transportation projects with a federal nexus would save taxpayers $125 million over five years.

For comparison sake, $25 million, the cost of the entire program for one year, buys about 1/13 of one one single F-22 Raptor Fighter Jet.

Priorities.