The Wax is flowing getting ready for the snow..
These skis have been so good to me and I can;t wait to get out on them..
I do have new boots and bindings just no skis to
mount them to. If another set of sticks came about I could get one of the girls here in the house out working on their V2.
But the snow is coming and the silent winter days will be upon us.
A bicyclist rides down the street during this year's Bike to Work Day in San Francisco. Events such as this promote biking as a viable form of commuting, but tensions between cyclists and drivers persist.
A bicyclist rides down the street during this year's Bike to Work Day in San Francisco. Events such as this promote biking as a viable form of commuting, but tensions between cyclists and drivers persist.
Wearing a helmet is arguably the most crucial component of bike safety. Beyond that, here are some things to remember:
1. Ride on the road — and the right side of it, too. It's a common misconception that it's safer to cycle on the sidewalk or on the left side of the road. But both practices can confuse pedestrians and drivers, especially at crosswalks when they aren't expecting fast-moving traffic.
2. Lighten up. Don't rely on reflectors alone to light you up if you ride at night. Drivers won't be able to see you in the shadows. Invest in bike lights.
3. Don't hug the curb. If you ride too close to the road's edge, passing cars might sidle you off of it. Aiming for the right tire track of the right lane is generally a safe bet.
4. Give your bike some TLC. A well-tuned ride is a safe ride. Regularly check your brakes, gears and tire pressure.
5. Keep your eyes peeled. Make it a habit to look all around when riding — check the ground for bumps and potholes while scanning the horizon for oncoming obstructions.
— Rose Raymond/NPR
Sources: bikecommute.com, bikexprt.com
Bicycling magazine called it "the road rage incident heard 'round the cycling world."
A driver in Los Angeles was recently convicted of using his car as a weapon against two cyclists. And the case is focusing attention on the often uneasy relationship between motorists and bicyclists who have to share the road.
It happened last year on the Fourth of July, on a steep, narrow road in L.A.'s Mandeville Canyon. Cyclists Christian Stoehr and Ron Peterson were riding side by side when a doctor who lived in the neighborhood came up from behind in a sedan.
"There was an exchange of words," Stoehr recalls. "He then accelerated within five feet in front of us, pulled over and slammed on the brakes."
Stoehr says there was no time for them to stop. He was thrown over the car and landed across the road. But Peterson didn't have time to swerve.
"And he went right in through the back window of the car," says Stoehr, adding that Peterson crashed headfirst. "I think they found his teeth in the back seat."
The impact severed Peterson's nose and separated Stoehr's shoulder. Christopher Thomas Thompson, the driver of the car and a former emergency room doctor, was arrested and put on trial. The jury found him guilty of six felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon: his car. Thompson now faces 10 years in prison.
"For someone to do this to you on purpose, it's unfathomable," says Peterson, a cycling coach for the University of California, Los Angeles. He says he still can't feel his nose, he now wears false teeth, and he will forever have scars.
"I'm happy that justice was served," Peterson told reporters outside the courthouse after the verdict. "I think all of our hope is that this brings to light just how vulnerable cyclists are out there."
During the trial, other cyclists told the jury of previous incidents with the driver. And a police officer testified that Thompson said he deliberately slammed on the brakes to "teach the cyclists a lesson."
Landmark Case
"The road rage was so egregious," says Bicycling editor Loren Mooney. She says this may be a landmark case in protecting cyclists and pedestrians. "It's the intent, the actual road rage, that's part of the conviction in this case."
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic crashes killed 716 cyclists last year and injured 52,000 people riding bikes, trikes and unicycles. That includes recent fatalities from Brookline, Mass., to Portland, Ore. But unlike the Los Angeles case, Mooney says drivers who kill or injure cyclists are rarely convicted.
"It's easy for a driver to say, 'Oh, I didn't see you. You're small, you're traveling slowly in the roadway. It was an accident,' " says Mooney. "It takes an enormous amount of evidence to get a conviction of a reckless driver, or in this case, a driver with an intent to hurt somebody with a vehicle."
Mooney says crashes often happen when drivers are distracted by cell phones, texts and other hazards. And she warns bike riders not to aggravate or escalate tensions on the road.
Driver Resentment
The Mandeville Canyon driver's reaction was perhaps an extreme example of the everyday resentment heard from other motorists.
"These bicyclists are extremely rude, and they take up the road — four, five people at a time," complained one caller to NPR member station KPCC's show AirTalk. The caller said he lives in Mandeville Canyon, and he has had it with cyclists.
"When you pull up alongside them and ask them to stay out of your way, they yell at you," he said. "They're extremely provocative, they're asking for trouble, and this is not the worst case that's going to happen. Someone's going to get killed, and to be frank with you, the residents aren't going to feel too bad about it."
Another Mandeville Canyon resident, Tom Freeman, is sympathetic to vulnerable cyclists. But as president of the homeowners' association, he hears complaints that when drivers try to pass bike riders, "they give them the finger."
"If they catch up with them at a stop sign, they'll kick their cars," he says. "Somebody was spit at. It's the few that cause the problems, and they help create a perception."
Cycling In Fear
East Hollywood boasts what's known as a "bicycle district," with a bike shop, cafe and bike repair co-op. Here, cycling activist Stephen Box complains that police officers don't take bike crashes seriously. And he says cyclists feel the brunt of car drivers' frustrations.
"I've been left-hooked and hit. I've been hit from behind and left in the streets," says Box. "And they expect cyclists to ride where it's unsafe: It's unsafe to ride through potholes in the gutter pan; it's unsafe to ride through broken glass in the gutter pan; it's unsafe to ride in the door zone."
His wife, Enci, says that's why cyclists often ride the way they do — to survive, even if that means sometimes running red lights.
"When I see the light turn red, I try to race as fast as I can through it," she says, "because I know I will have a block of peace and quiet, where there won't be cars behind me."
These cyclists point out that it's actually legal to ride side by side in the streets of L.A. But the rules of the road can be confusing. That's why Alex Thompson wrote what's known as the Cyclists' Bill of Rights.
"Cyclists have the right to travel safely and free of fear. We have the right to the full support of the judicial system," says Thompson, a bike blogger who also co-founded the L.A. bike cooperative Bikerowave. "These are all rights cyclists already have, but we need to reaffirm these."
But even Thompson and another bike blogger, Ted Rogers, disapprove of reckless bike riders who maneuver through traffic as if playing a video game.
"Oh, we hate these guys," says Rogers. "We absolutely hate them. The driver you tick off is the one who's going to run me off the road."
Have bicyclist "rights" gone too far?
For a decade, urban bicyclists have become more brash. In some cities, groups such as Critical Mass organized mass rush-hour bike rides that tied traffic in knots, delaying commuters rides' home by minutes or hours. They are hardly tactics that will win sympathy from drivers.
In the aftermath and as their numbers have increased, cyclists have become emboldened to take over the road. That is, instead of riding to the right or on the shoulder, some are now riding in the center of the lane. Two incidents underscore how they are putting themselves in danger. One incident involved a cyclist hit and killed by accident. The other case is a motorist who is alleged to have tried to make bicyclists crash into his car on purpose:
In the first case, a driver on the way to work struck a St. Mary's County, Md., bicyclist earlier this month and killed him, police told The Washington Post. The driver, a 20-year-old in her Honda Accord, told police she never saw the biker. But the accident might have been prevented if the 47-year-old bicyclist had been riding in the right, not in the dead center, of the lane, a major contributor to the accident.
In the second case, a Los Angeles doctor is on trial for allegedly slamming the brakes on his car to cause two bikers to run into him. They did, suffering bloody injuries. The doctor, Charles Christopher Thompson, was allegedly peeved over having to slow down for three bikers blocking his path, refusing to pull to the right and flipping him off as he passed. He is on trial for having pulled in front of them and, according to testimony, hitting the brakes so that bikes were sure to hit. One biker needed 90 stitches.
For a little perspective, Drive On sought out Jeff Peel, a program specialist heading the League of American Bicycle's campaign for Bicycle Friendly Communities. His contention is that the road is "not motorist space. It's people space." Bicyclists are road users, too, even if they travel at the fraction of the speed of a car. In fact, he says, that's good.
"The idea is you are slowing traffic, which may be frustrating to some motorists but making the road safer for everyone," Peel says. "Creating safer roadways and right-of-ways for all users sometimes requires taking space away from automobiles."
Taking space away from cars? Ouch. When late to work, it pains a driver to slow down for a bunch of bicyclists hogging the roadway. In the past, you might have tried to steer around them. These days, they are right in front of the car.
It will be interesting to see how far this goes, whether bicyclists are allowed to stay in the middle of the highway. As the deaths mount, maybe it will become clear they need ride to the right.
Here's a breakdown from Peel about where bikers can ride in various states:
States that require cyclists to use trail or pathways when one is adjacent to roadway:
Louisiana
Nebraska
New Mexico
Oregon
States that require cyclists to use bike lanes when present:
Louisiana
Maryland
New Mexico
Oregon
Rhode Island
West Virginia
States that require cyclists to ride on the shoulder when present:
Alaska
Hawaii
Maryland
South Dakota
A 1997 bike rally by Critical Mass in San Francisco, by Sam Morris/AP
I can say that it was
a good way to send a day
especially because the Pack Won!!
Good times but now it is time to get back to
the
work
at hand.
With roller ski in my sights snow
skiing should soon follow.
Whistle while you work.!
Went up to the big ball today and got after the dirt that it keeps watch of.
Good temps and no precep although it sure looked like it wanted to do something.
Trails in great shape and little coverage of leaves even though they are all out of the trees.
A little over two hours of two wheel bliss. I wanted more but the tired body had other ideas.
It has almost been three years since I rode these trails for the first time. I have to say to say that they are some of the the best that I have ever had the chance to spin on.
Lots of time for the brain to rotate while riding....and many thanks go out to all that help me get though the years. Today I am saying thanks to the boys\girls @ Twin Six,,,,,, they help a fashionless Bike Geek have a bit of style.
Off to the frozen tundra tomorrow not sure what to expect.....this will be like going to a stage of the the tour or being in the velodrome as the Roubaix finishes.
Out in some dirt and leaves with the kid and some other local freaks,,
With weather
just perfect and temps in the mid 60's it was a great day on the trail.
Sophia rode well for not being on the bike in a long while. Someone had been out with the
leaf mover because the single track was sweetttttt!!!
I hope for more time on the dirt ,,, or the Pave,,, just keep the wheels moving....
I want to grow up to be a ............
This next one is cool show a different side of the screamer.....
I just wish I could find the entrance to the vortex so I could be in Sedona to ride in the red rocks and dip my toes in Oak Creek..
Gave the Spot some time that it
needed. Out and about as I am in-between the between. Rode today in the Uvex xp 100,, nice lid super lite and the fit is great not really my style but can't complain about the way it felt even with a hat on under it. Another one should be on the way a with a little bit more of the roadie style.
Good time in the woods had to
go a bit slower than would have liked
DU to the leaf cover, and the few times torque was applied the back wheel spun.
Happy to be out and on a bike. Not a bad view from up on top of the Bluff.
Corn and Potato Chowder for dinner..
A warm belly and a cold beer.
