Driving while dumb

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

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

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

At a loss

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"

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

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

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?

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

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

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...

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

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

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

Weekends at the cabin...




Seem more appealing that weekends full of cyclocross.


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

Gay Games 2014 - Cleveland

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

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

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

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

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

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.