converbike

Thursday, February 9, 2006

My $0.02

Greetings Everyone. My name is Michael and I am the newest addition to the Cyclelicious blog. I hope you enjoy some of my insight into all things cycling.

A brief background of myself. I started cycling around the age of twelve or so, purchasing a mountain bike with the proceeds from my paper route. After a bad soccer injury that badly affected my knees, I purchased a road bike. I started multi-day charity bike rides and progressed onto fundraising thousands of dollars for three different charities. Around the age of fifteen, I participated in a junior cycling program at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome, and participated in my first road stage race. At the age of seventeen I participated in a three-day, 180-mile charity bike ride. The next year, I was part of a week-long, 550-mile charity ride.

For the past six years, I have attended numerous professional cycling races in the northeast, creating friendships in the process. I am recognized yearly as one of the most animated fans of the races. Through networking, and good luck, I have worked at some of these races, been featured on TV at these races, and have even had the honor to go cycling with some of my idols. I've had the thrill of shaking hands and getting pictures with Lance Armstrong, Eddy Merckx, and Davis Phinney. I've even been on a ride with Andy Hampsten, something I could have never imagined happening, especially at the age of 18. The beautiful thing about professional cycling is the ability to get closer to your idols than some of the larger sports, such as professional football or basetball.

Hopefully, you will enjoy my look into professional cycling and the American influence on the sport. I'll try getting a few interviews with racers for you, and maybe some photography at the numerous races in the northeast. Sometimes I'll even describe the affect cycling has on my life. I encourage you to email me at SusquCyclist@gmail.com with any questions you may have.

To leave you today, I give part of an Irish proverb that I believe relates strongly upon all cyclists.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face.

Texting teen gets 9 days in jail

The text-messaging teen driver who struck and killed Colorado cyclist Jim Price last November was sentenced to nine days in jail and four years of probation, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

The nine day prison sentence will be spent while the teen is on Spring Break this May. While he is on probation, he is required to wear an ankle bracelet and he is not permitted to "drive any vehicle" or possess a cell phone. Via.

Bad break in Wal-Mart quick-release trial

Wal-Mart and Dynacraft are being sued for selling bikes equipped with faulty front-wheel quick-release mechanisms.

Lawyers for the defendants -- Dynacraft and Wal-Mart -- brought in a brand new Next brand bicycle, still in the box, for jurors to examine while they deliberated on the case. The quick-release lever then broke in the jury room. Plaintiffs' lawyers giggled with glee.

Read more in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Related:

Bike Ride '06

My first Ride of the year occured yesterday - a temporary cure for my Itch mentioned in a previous post. Normally, I would have been playing Racquetball with my room mate down at the Gym, but he couldnt make it yesterday. So, sucking it up, I decided to go on a ride. It also gave me my first oppurtunity to wear my Christmas gifts and test out the new cogs on my bike. Because it's 34 Degrees Farenheit out, I decided to layer up. First went on the Bib... not as much padding as I would have liked (and now my butt hurts)... followed by a long-sleeved underarmor Cold Weather Gear shirt. Ontop of that went my sleek looking long sleeved jersey and a windbreaker, along with tights that covered my legs. If only I had booties. I put long fingered gloves on, and a Cannondale beanie. I was set.

As soon as i got outside, i realised how cold it was. Even with all my layering i had begun to feel cold, and i hadnt even gotten onto my bike. Needless to say, i decided to take the short 5 mile ride down to the Isle of Que and back again. I failed to realise the need for a neck-gator, or some similiar item to protect my throat and face, and it wasnt long before the cold, chill air started wrecking havoc on my lungs, making it painful to breath and causing me to have to spit every few seconds.

But i perservered, i stuck it out. I was still riding long after my feet had frozen solid (if only i had booties!), my fingers a close second, and my arms and thighs close behind. I was glad that i had remembered my windbreaker, as it definately took off the bite of the wind. I also managed to hit the one traffic light i had to pass through when it was green, both ways, and didnt have to stop once.

Despite the downsides, and feeling a little sore today, i am glad i went riding in the 34 degree weather. In fact, i believe it was closer to 30 Degrees as every pool of water i saw was frozen over. Perhaps this is why the few walkers i passed by gave me some interesting looks. Suprisngly, ever driver i saw was very....kind towards me, waving me on around them if they were reversing into a driveway and had their nose in the road, or allowing me to go through the light first. There was a moment when i became slightly scared, having not come to a full stop at a Stop Sign. I slowed down enough to look every direction, almost coming to a standstill, and realising no cars were there but one behind me, and went. This was in the last 80 yards of my ride. However, the car behind me followed and as it went to pass me, i turn my head. A Cop! Perhaps the 5th one i've seen in my 3 years of going to school out here. He slowed down and eyed me up, before taking off. For a moment there i thought he was going to wave me over to the side of the road.

Regardless, it was an exhilarting ride, but one i wont do again if it is just as cold.

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

Legalize Segway on Colorado bike paths

Colorado Senate Bill SB168 will legalize the use of 'Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Devices' (EPAMD) on sidewalks and paths. In addition, operation of EPAMDs are legalized on streets with a speed limit of 35 mph or less under this proposed legislation.

Permitting 'mobility devices' on streets is possibly a good idea, but I don't care for the provisions of this bill permitting Segways on sidewalks and paths. The bill does allow for local regulation of Segways on local streets, sidewalks and paths.

The part I really don't like about the bill is the very restrictive definition for EPAMD:

-- "EPAMD" OR "ELECTRIC PERSONAL ASSISTIVE MOBILITY DEVICE" MEANS A DEVICE THAT HAS TWO NONTANDEM WHEELS, USES 8 ELECTRIC PROPULSION, IS SELF-BALANCING, IS DESIGNED TO TRANSPORT 9 ONE PERSON, AND HAS A MAXIMUM DESIGN SPEED OF TWELVE AND 10 ONE-HALF MILES PER HOUR. --

Hmm, what is the only two-nontandem-wheel, self-balancing electric mobility device on the market? Talk about legislation that's custom-crafted for a single product. I'd favor a definition that's bit more open-ended, perhaps defining the powered vehicle in terms of size, speed, emissions, and power output.

More info about SB 168 is available from the Bicycle Colorado website.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Sharky and Velo

Sharky is the messenger. Velo is his kid. Velo rides in Sharky's messenger bag. This is way too adorable. From Bike Portland.

Photo info: Sharky and Velo downtown by BikePortland.org.

Contest: Name that tune and win a prize

UPDATE: We have a winner! fixedgear got up early this morning and posted the correct answer: "Godzilla" by Blue Öyster Cult. This song appeared on Spectres in 1977. You can hear a short clip of this song here or click here for a 2 week free trail of Rhapsody and get the whole song. I'm curious: Did anybody run across the Easter Eggs in this post?

I'm testing your cultural knowledge, faithful readers. On Monday's edition of Cyclelicious I made a lyrical music reference in the title of a post. The first person to post a comment in this post with the correct title of the song, group, and the album and year it first appeared wins a $10 gift certificate from Amazon.com. For you to receive this gift certificate I'll need your email address. I'm listening to the song right now. 30 years ago I used to think these guys could sing.

You must provide the name of the song, the group who performed it, the name of the album it was first commercially released on, and the year it was commercially released. The song appeared on at least a half dozen greatest hits and live albums, so be careful. There's an Easter Egg in this post with a big hint; if you're reading this via a feed reader the Easter Egg might not get propogated.

If nobody provides the correct answer by 2 p.m. U.S. Mountain Standard Time on Wednesday, January 8, 2006, nobody wins the contest and no prizes will be given. If you've won something from Cyclelicious in the past couple of months you are not eligible. That means you Nick and GirlsLuv.