Category: cycling (Page 33 of 37)

The Tour Down Under kicks off the 2011 UCI Pro Tour season.  Hoorah!

The Tour Down Under is also the last bike race outside the U.S. for legend, Lance Armstrong.  Because of that the race is getting more coverage than in previous years – although that was also true when Armstrong rode in the TDU in 2009 when he started his comeback.  At any rate, we the viewers and fans of professional cycling, are the beneficiaries of this increased interest.  Thank you Lance.

Although I don’t need any special reason to watch and enjoy professional bike racing, I have to tell you an even better reason to watch the TDU besides Armstrong’s swan song, will be the duel between sprinters, Mark Cavendish, HTC-High Road and former teammate, Andre Greipel, now riding with Omega Pharma-Lotto.  Greipel has won two Tours Down Under, in 2010 and 2008.  Both men are elite sprinters, past (competitive) teammates and for the first time, we will get to see them race against each other.

It has been reported in the past that there was no love lost between Greipel and Cavendish, but to add fuel to the fire, former Cavendish lead out man, Adam Hanson, is now riding for Greipel’s team.  The competition will be tense and the viewers will get to enjoy what no doubt will be fierce sprints between the two and their teams.

My personal hope is that Robbie McEwen, now with Team Radio Shack, will be able to take advantage of the personal rivalry between Cavendish and Greipel and win at least one stage.

Another bonus, it just gets better and better doesn’t it – is we get to see the new teams, and see which riders are on which teams (it changes year to year just like all other sports)  plus the new kits (uniforms) and bikes.

The fun starts tomorrow with the Cancer Council Classic, a 51 km criterium race.  Stage One of the Tour Down Under happens Tuesday, with the final day of racing next Sunday, January 23rd.

  *If you are new to following professional bike racing, you might find my Tour de France Primer helpful.  Different tour – but basically the same strategy.

Bike Shop Girl is known to many of us as someone who loves to bike and loves to get other women on bikes.

In fact, her tag line for her blog is, “Helping women find their way in cycling”. 

A couple of months ago, Bike Shop Girl was hit by a car and as she noted on her Facebook page recently, she has been unable to get back on the road so far.

I understand her fear about getting back on the bike – on the road. 

I was hit by a car in June 1995.  Fortunately, I incurred relatively minor injuries and physically I was able to get back on the bike within a month after the accident.  Emotionally, it was a different story.

Eventually I did get back on and ride.  The first several times I rode, I stuck to trails around a local lake.  Once my strength and emotional/mental comfort was there I took to the roads again.

I remember being very fearful initially, but slowly my comfort riding in traffic increased.  It never returned to what it was before the wreck.  It never will.

You can’t go through something like that and not be changed by it.  I’m okay with that.  I ride smarter and more defensively than I did before I was hit.  

I believe Bike Shop Girl will get there too.  Those of us that follow her blog, or on Twitter or Facebook, offer encouragement through our comments.

We try to do for her what she has done for many female cyclists – encourage her to get on the bike and ride.

I won 10 pairs of socks!!  Ten pairs of Coolmax socks – which I found out are made almost entirely from ground up plastic bottles.   So they are not only good for my feet, but good for the environment too.  I like to do my part.

I’m a fan of Adventure Cycling Association on Facebook, last week they posted a question asking readers how we feed our cycling bug during the winter months.  To enter, you just had to post a comment.   So I did, and lucky for me, I won.

As far as I’m concerned, you can’t have too many socks.  Between the closet and dryer trolls, and my own toughness on socks (seriously hard on socks) I always need socks.  Especially the kind of socks that I wear biking or running.  And thanks to Adventure Cycling, I don’t think I will run out any time soon.

Now, if they just make me want to train indoors I will have it made.

I have posted letters and comments in the past about decisions and actions by government officials I did not agree with, it’s only fair I post this letter Mark and I sent complementing Oklahoma City officials on the recent signage installed on city streets designated as local bike routes.  

Dear Mr. Mayor and City Council Members:

We are writing to let you know how much we appreciate the new bike route signage currently being installed in Oklahoma City – especially the “Bicycles Use Full Lane” and “Change Lanes to Pass” signs.

These signs will serve to alert motorists that they should expect to see bicyclists on the road and will enhance the safety of not only the bicyclists, but everyone who utilizes those roads.

It is impressive to see the progress that Oklahoma City has made recently toward becoming more competitive with surrounding municipalities in tourism and attracting new businesses.  The installation of this bike route signage to increase the safety and recreation options of bicyclists fits well with the other improvements being made to enhance Oklahoma City.

In light of the recent multiple bicyclist’s deaths in Oklahoma City, this new signage takes on even more importance as it serves not only to mark designated bike routes but to also educate both cyclists and motorists in safe driving practices and applicable laws.

We are sure you are aware of the act of vandalism last month where a motorist ran down a number of the newly installed signs on Hefner Road.  We would assume that there may also be a minority of motorists who dislike seeing bicyclists on the road and possibly even object to the signage being installed.

However, we can assure you that all bicyclists, and their families, are very supportive of the signage and appreciate your efforts in this project.  We would also assume that nearly all motorists would prefer to see signage making them aware of the fact that there could be bicyclists on the road, than to risk having an accident because they weren’t aware of that possibility.

Thank you again for your efforts in making Oklahoma City a better and safer place for all its citizens.  We look forward to seeing this project continue until all roads on designated bike routes in Oklahoma City have this signage installed.

Sincerely,

Mark & Susan Lash

As must be evident by now, I not only love to ride bikes, but I care a lot about cycling  too.  I care that we have access to ride on roads and trails in our communities and I care that we are safe when doing so.

Over the summer we had three cyclists that were hit by drivers and killed, two within a day of each other and the third just a few weeks later.Â

Also, in an earlier incident where a cyclist was hit and killed by an inattentive driver, the driver was convicted of Negligent Homicide, unbelievably a misdemeanor.  Instead of receiving a possible sentence of one year in jail, the driver received probation and was given 40 hours of community service.  I was outraged at the lack of justice and value given to this cyclist’s life.

I decided to do something with my outrage and became more involved in advocating for the rights of bicyclists.

One thing was to expand the focus of this blog to include more on advocacy, another was to get involved in local efforts to improve bicycling.  Mark and I joined Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition (OBC) and bought “Share the Road” tags for both of our cars.  Additionally, we wrote to our local representatives about the recent deaths and the outcome of the trial noted above.  Small steps for sure, but small steps are the way most things like this get done.

Especially if a large number of cyclists take those same small steps.

This past Sunday we took it a step further and attended the annual meeting for the OBC held in Stillwater.  Although we knew little about the organization, we were excited to find a group of people passionate about cycling, and although they were a small group they had achieved quite a bit over the previous year.

The group is energized and determined to build on the previous accomplishments made as well as to strengthen the OBC voice.  A new logo and slogan have been developed as well as a new website – obc1voice.org – to further the OBC mission:  promoting bicycle access, safety and education throughout Oklahoma.

If we are to make our state more bicycle and bicyclist friendly, we need a strong and clear voice.  OBC can be the umbrella for all our voices to gather and be heard.

I encourage you become a  member of OBC, if you are not already.  The more voices speaking up for the rights of bicyclists – the louder our collective voice – and the more we can achieve.