New Albany Bicycle Coalition

Bke Lanes in New Albany Indiana

2011-08-05T11:08:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, three of us were at the end of a 52 mile bike ride that began at Wicks Pizza in New Albany. On the way back, we went down Spring and used the new bike lanes.

And then...some idiot lady passed us and turned right immediately after passing us. In other words, she turned right in front of us as we were traveling at a good speed. Just like we were not even there. Fortunately we all maneuvered our way through it all, not hitting her or each other or any other cars in the lanes.

We then decided to go on the other side, thinking maybe less people would be turning from that direction.

I never feel safe in bike lanes. I think they make drivers and pedestrians LESS aware of bikers than if we just take the lane. I don't like them.

What are your experiences?

Climbing Hills In New Albany Indiana

2011-08-05T10:45:00.004-04:00

Hey we need more posts on here. But maybe everyone is busy riding!

The past few years, my husband and I have been watching the Tour de France and I really love watching it. Man those guys are something else. My rider is Andy Scheck, he's my hero and by golly next year he's going to win!

If you've ever watched the Tour, you know how they "categorize" the hills they climb by difficulty. A hill has to be a certain grade and length to be categorized and the scale starts at 5, moves to 1 and then they have the crazy steep and long mountain rides that have HC, which is a French phrase I guess but I think it translates to "steeper than hell!"

Anyway, I was using MapMyRide.com the other day, hadn't looked at it in a while and saw that they have elevation and it categorizes climbs. So I looked at one of my rides that goes up Corydon Pike and guess what? It's on the scale! Yeah, it's a category 5, but it's on the scale. I can't tell you how cool I think this is.

I can climb a category 5 hill. Pretty soon I'll be ready for the Tour.

(Image from Wikimedia)

April Spring Day--Good Ride

2011-04-07T20:10:00.003-04:00

In good company and with excellent weather, Ward and I had an exceptional bike ride today.

First, heading East and North up into the Knobs from the West end of the county, we circled back along the ridge top (N. Skyline) with spectacular views over the valley, Louisville's skyscrapers and the hills to the far south.

Stopping 21 miles into it, we fed our engines with panini at Hobknobb's in Floyds Knobs before dipping South, flying downhill into the Ohio Valley on Paoli Pike to then take a rambling trek Westward, back up from the valley and chew into the switch backs to gain 300 feet and crest at Edwardsville.

Delighted possessors of all we gained over gravity, we then worked cross-country, skirting subdivisions, farms and woods, wending our way back home on Alonzo Smith, Cooks Mill, Henriot, Evans Jacobi, John Pectol and Old Vincennes.

Early April. Forty miles (67 k.). Sure some saddle soreness, back pain and tightness in the calves, but it is nice to know we can do this again.

A hoot and a spirit builder.

is this thing on?

2010-11-08T06:45:00.000-05:00

apparently this blog is a bit rusty..

Boy Scout BMX Demo

2010-10-29T07:02:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, the Boy Scouts had their Centennial jamboree and I was asked to give a BMX Demo. Here's a little video of all the shenanigans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YxJSoAmejY

Advocacy...

2010-10-08T07:03:00.000-04:00

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/pedal-driven-funding-2010.html

cool video teaser...

From contributor and New Albany resident Joshua Poe: "Observations about biking from New Albany to Louisville."

2010-05-11T11:32:00.005-04:00

Joshua Poe lives on Spring Street across from Destinations Booksellers. I'm posting his observations here, and will link to this from NA Confidential. When I get around to it, I'll add him to the contributor list here.

---

I moved to New Albany in August 2009, a couple of days before the flood. One of my initial apprehensions about living here was that I would not be able to commute by bicycle. I just imagined it being such a major inconvenience that it would be impractical. I held onto this notion throughout my first New Albany winter, envying my fellow graduate students who biked to class from such convenient locales as the Highlands and Old Louisville. Swelled with self-pity, I kept driving, clinging to my auto-dependence and justifying it the same as any other addict.

Finally, when the weather warmed, I surrendered and devised a route to commute to work at Dutchmans and Cannons Lane and school at U of L. I started out using TARC and the #22 bus to get across the Sherman Minton Bridge, but the 3 bus routes in New Albany are so scattered and infrequent and that I have since forsaken the bus altogether. Here are some observations about biking from New Albany to Louisville.

• New Albany has the potential to be an excellent city for cycling. Right now, it is not.

• Once I connect to the Ohio River Greenway in Clarksville, I spend the entire trip to work on greenways, bike lanes, bike trails, and bike routes (until I reach Dutchmans Ln).

• My commute from NA to Dutchmans & Cannons Ln is approximately 15 miles and takes about an hour and a half (keep in mind this is a leisurely pace, I do not want to arrive at work soaked in sweat, and I usually stop at either the Falls or Cherokee Park to eat a packed breakfast).

• Two bike racks on TARC buses are not sufficient. Often they are already in use and some bus drivers will not let you take your bike on the bus, in which case you have to wait for the next bus, which can take up to an hour and a half.

• It takes approx. 45 minutes to get from downtown New Albany to U of L across the Clark Memorial Bridge on a bicycle (the completed Greenway will easily cut this in half).

• It takes about 30 minutes to get from downtown NA to the Falls of the Ohio (again, this is at a leisure speed). (For more info on the route from New Albany to the Ohio River Greenway see the NA Confidential blog, which has detailed directions; search "Clarksville levee path.")

• If I take the #22 bus from State and Elm St. to get to downtown Louisville, I only have to leave the house ten minutes earlier than I do when I drive a car (This is accomplished by getting off the bus at 22nd St. and Portland Ave. and taking the River Walk to downtown).

• Unless you are in the throes of desperation, avoid the #72 bus at all costs. This bus is an abomination on the face of all public transportation. My heart aches for anyone who has to ride this bus on a regular basis. It is by far the worst bus route I have ever encountered anywhere.

• While the bicycle connections in Louisville going eastward are excellent, they are awful heading west. Sure, there is a greenway to Shawnee Park, but nowhere else to go once you get there. I am fortunate that I work in the east, if I worked in Shively, I would be driving.

• I met seven people today that I never would have met using an automobile. I also saw three of my friends on the street and stopped to talk to them. I also happened to see the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife release 2,000 rainbow trout into a lake in Cherokee Park. I am more spatially aware of my surroundings and distance, and much more observant of architecture and neighborhood demographics.

• Thinking of starting a cycling/pedestrian/neighborhood campaign/organization/advocacy group called ARC. Acknowledge. Recognize. Contact.

• On an average day, I see blue herons, hawks, eagles, turtles, and a variety of songbirds on the Beargrass Creek bike trail, at the Falls, and in Cherokee Park (this week I saw a hooded warbler).

• Bicycle safety is a simple matter. Everyone MUST obey basic traffic laws, bikes and cars alike. When people start breaking these laws, cyclists are in trouble (Cars pulling out too far at the intersection, making u-turns, backing up after missing a turn, bikes using pedestrian crosswalks to ride the sidewalk, going the wrong way on one-way streets, not signaling, not stopping at stop signs even when they think no one is coming, etc….). As long as everyone follows the rules, all will be well.

• I am ashamed to admit that I do ride the sidewalk on the Clark Memorial Bridge (I know, it feels like defeat). I have ridden on the street, gripped by fear as I hear the cars speed up behind me, honking their horn as if I am supposed to go somewhere else. I have ridden in the street on that bridge several times, until I decided that it was not really worth it. When it comes to upholding principles over personal safety, the choice is a simple one. As the horns sound behind me, I am left to wonder; are they honking because they cannot stop in time to keep from hitting me? Are they honking out of rage? What is coming up behind me, how fast is it coming, and will I survive? People drive too fast on that bridge and often they seem angry. So, I ride the sidewalk on the Clark Memorial, all the while thinking that soon enough the Big Four Bridge will be complete and I will never have to cross that scene again.

• Drawbacks to cycling: do not get to drink as much coffee, smoke as many cigarettes, listen to NPR, or talk on the phone.

• The majority of the cyclists I meet in Southern Indiana are men 35 to 45 with DUI convictions. These guys ride the sidewalk, sans helmet. They are not enthusiastic about cycling. They don’t hate it either, mind you, they just fail to see it as any sort of movement that creates positive externalities for society or themselves. They have strictly utilitarian motivations for cycling and once their DUI non-driving probationary period is up, they will mostly likely be back on four wheels (probably wasted).

• The area in New Albany between I-64 and West 10th St. has the highest concentration of assholes in the metropolitan region, be extra cautious here.

• My favorite billboard of all time says “YOU ARE NOT STUCK IN TRAFFIC, YOU ARE TRAFFIC.”

• The positive external benefits of cycling have been well documented (environmental, traffic congestion relief, etc...). I am more interested in the internal benefits. Generally, I am riddled with anxiety, which has the potential to turn into depression. Sometimes I feel sinful, flawed, dull-witted and ineffective. I have too much energy. I have trouble relaxing. My grandmother used to say that I was “wound too tightly,” whatever that means. Sitting in a car smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee every morning leads anger, frustration, and is not conducive to any sort of serenity. When I ride my bike 15 miles to work in the morning I am more relaxed throughout the day, I feel a sense of accomplishment and awareness that would never result from driving. Sometimes in the morning, I am even positive and enthusiastic. This effect did not happen all at once, like education, therapy, or any input-based process that actually works; the results are amorphous, diffuse, and incremental. I do not ride a bike out of some grandiose notion of saving the planet. Nor do I meander with false consciousness, telling people what they should or should not be doing. Nor am I interested in gears, gadgets, and merchandise. My goal is to make my heart stop racing and increase my own awareness, get rid of the worry, get rid of the negativity, get rid of the cynicism, propel myself forward by pedaling, force oxygen into my lungs and get down with some sort of fucking goodness on a daily basis. Something has been lost throughout the human evolutionary process. We are genetically programmed to deal with life-threatening danger and physical exertion every day, resulting from a time when we had to kill animals and grow food in order to eat, when a stroll through the woods also entailed the constant threat of saber-toothed tiger attacks and such onslaught. These days lack stimulation. It is no wonder people shoot heroin, take Prozac, look at porn, or attempt to meditate. Driving a car is a soul-depriving endeavor, one of many designed to keep us isolated along with other isolatory technology that furthers our inward obsessions and prevents real work from being accomplished. Living a life of cheerful humility is one that humans are wired to prefer and to be happiest in such a state. I don’t know the exact causes of my anxiety, but I do know that cycling satisfies some brain chemical reward system so that when I come home in the evenings my kids don’t get on my nerves quite as much, I am better equipped to practice things like patience, gratitude, and life doesn’t seem quite as bleak, hopeless, and dark. I am not trying to sell anyone on riding a bicycle, but it really is a hell of a good thing to do.

• Bicycle planning for cities involves a lot more than just painting lines on the road. All plans must be in line with the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standards. For more info on AASHTO standards see: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, 1999.

• Some of my favorite bike/planning websites: There’s a ton of resources on this site.

The FHWA (also linked through the above site) has a bunch of material on
bike planning.

Also, I love the inspiration from sites like Streetsblog and Streetfilms
(with links to the other sites).

Some good info on the use of cycle tracks, an emerging practice.

A recent publication on best practices in designing bicycle boulevards.

Todd Litman with the Victoria Transportation Policy Institute has a ton of
info as well.

Also: Cities for Cycling.

Finally, One For Us

2010-04-14T05:37:00.001-04:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_bi_ge/us_lahood_bikes

Another year, better start to it.

2010-04-02T14:15:00.002-04:00

I saw Debbie's post and realized that I've never summarized 2009 or provided goals for 2010.

In 2009, I didn't resume cycling in earnest until June. The total for the year came out to 3,843 km/2384 mi, but I only had 268 km/167 mi on June 1.

This year so far (through March 31), I have 766 km/475 mi, including 501 km in March. That's more like it. The goal this year is an average of 400 km per month minimum, hoping for 500-600, all of it aiming toward a year's total in the 5,000 km vicinity (3,100 mi). I've never done 3,000 miles in a year, although in 2006, approximately 2,700 miles came close. This year, I'll have no Euro biking to fall back on, having been forced to cancel the Denmark trip because there simply isn't time for it. It's just the daily aim of somewhere between 13 and 30 kilometers, with longer rides whenever time permits.

The weight's been creeping back up, so it's time to lighten the load by about 20 pounds. That's the hard part.

Bike To Work

2010-04-02T12:33:00.004-04:00

Well, I did it. For the first time I actually rode my bike to work. Or rather for work. I had to pick up some papers from a client so I rode my bike instead of driving.

Got some exercise and accomplished a work task, can't beat that.

Fortunately the client is a running store, so they don't care if I come in all sweaty.

It's a 12 mile round trip and I have to pick up papers once a week, so it will be a good way to get in at least one of my weekday rides.

This is the third time I've been out this year. Went 15 miles yesterday too and 9 miles sometime last week.

2010-01-18T16:12:00.000-05:00

SF's First Green Bike Box

2010-01-05T18:54:00.002-05:00

(maybe someday here in the Midwest)
Mayor Gavin Newsom, along with bicyclists, City leaders, neighborhood groups and business owners helped paint the city’s first green-colored “Bike Box” (an advanced stop line that gives bicyclists priority waiting room in front of cars at stop lights) along the city’s popular “Wiggle” bike route at Scott and Oak streets. Download our Press Release (PDF) and see photos.

January 5: California's first green Bike Box became a little more real this morning when DPT crews stenciled a bicycle on it. The stencil and the green colored pavement help demarcate this Bike Box, an advance stop line that allows cyclists to safely and visibly position themselves in front of cars while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Read more at SF Streetsblog.
borrowed from http://www.sfbike.org/

NBL Christmas Classic Elite Masters

2009-12-31T08:23:00.000-05:00

i'm in lane 7. this was at broadbent arena.

Ever Tried Riding Rollers?

2009-11-19T09:44:00.002-05:00

I used to have rollers and used them, or tried to use them, for one winter, but I just couldn't get the hang of it. I had to concentrate so hard not to fall off that I was just mentally exhausted after only minutes. I guess if I stuck to it I could have gotten the hang of it but the couple of times I fell agains the door frame kind of de-motivated me. :)

However, this guy seems to have it! The video is cool not only because of his skill with the rollers but for the music too. Oh and he takes a drink at the end of it all, but it was wine and not beer so I guess that might disappoint most of you. :)

Anyway, it was fun to watch:

Stupid Roller Tricks

2009-11-01T16:49:00.002-05:00

A golden morning knuckled me with frost as I trundled off to pedal to Louisville. Despite the sting, it was a wonderful trek. I went to Day Espresso and noted the burn of that climb up Baxter: guess who's lost a step since September? I drained six shots and sped back to Wild and Woolly, aware that my internal soundtrack went from Satellite of Love to Schubert's Ninth as the brilliant sky guided a nourishing return. perhaps the chill has halted the ready anger of Hoosiers: no one honked nor screamed at me.

Two months to go.

2009-11-01T15:33:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I rested, finishing October with 562 kilometers. Today I rode 35 km, bringing the tally to 3,239 km in 2009, and taking me a whisker past 2,000 miles for the year.

Man, that feels good. It's the first 2,000 mile year since 2006, and what's more, I've maintained a weight of 240 lbs for two months solid. Winter will be a challenge, but at this precise moment in time, I'm happy with myself ... and my butt's not really sore at all.

Beer, anyone?

They did it! Why can't we?

2009-10-29T19:36:00.005-04:00

Maybe one day when the energy is redirected away from deconstructing local governments, this area might choose to get more progressive for the people. I pulled these small articles from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition website (http://www.sfbike.org/) to show others just how easily change can come and also be positive for families to spend quality time together with a final solution that benefits us all.

Sunday Streets is Now a Permanent Program
This year, San Franciscans enjoyed over 18 miles of car-free streets on six Sundays, in four San Francisco neighborhoods, from East to West! Upwards of 20,000 adults and kids came out for each event enjoying healthy activities from bicycling to dancing, rollerskating to yoga and hula hooping.
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) was proud to play a big part in the success of Sunday Streets by coordinating and training more than 600 volunteers.
Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that Sunday Streets is now a permanent program in San Francisco. With the enormous success of Sunday Streets in 2009, organizers would like to see more Sunday Streets events in 2010. If you would like to see more Sunday Streets events, extended hours or want it to come to your neighborhood, email Mayor Gavin Newsom and your City Supervisor.

We did it! City Approves 45 Bike Lane Projects
The SFMTA Board voted yes on an ambitious Bike Plan and gave the green light to 45 new bike lanes on streets such as 5th, 17th, Townsend, Kirkham, Alemany, San Jose, and Portola (see the full list of victories here).
This victory is the result of years of SFBC advocacy and means that the City is on track to overturn the 3-year-old bike plan injunction and nearly double the number of bike lanes on our streets. These improvements will also push San Francisco towards being one of North America’s most bicycle-friendly cities and encourage hundreds of thousands of people to bicycle more often.

Bike lane on Spring Street in New Albany.

2009-10-06T13:09:00.001-04:00

Personal progress in September.

2009-10-05T11:03:00.002-04:00

The periodic personal chronicle is ongoing: There was time during September's craziness to notch roughly 661 km, lifting the yearly total to 2,642 km, with 2,374 km coming since June 1.

My weight is at 240 lbs, down from 275 lbs on June 1. This means that I've held at around 240 lbs for something like six weeks, in spite of the eating and drinking debaucheries to which I'll be forever prone.

The plan remains to bike year-round and get out in all reasonable weather, even if it means just riding laps around the block.

Denmark 2010 - here we come.

View from Skyline Drive, 10/04/09.

2009-10-04T23:32:00.000-04:00

New Albany...you so crazy!!!

2009-09-02T06:52:00.000-04:00

Dear City of New Albany,Thank you for paving Spring St!!! I love how the new road feels!!! My favorite part is when I get down to Spring and State Streets and my lane all of the sudden disappears and I'm left with the decision to cut off the guy behind me, or get side-swiped by the guy next to me. You make my drive in the morning so much fun with your new paving methods!!! I'm so happy my tax dollars don't go to waste here.

Does Idaho Have A Good Idea?

2009-09-01T14:11:00.003-04:00

I've often thought that it makes a lot of sense for bicyclists to be able to roll through stop signs instead of coming to a complete stop, putting one foot down and starting off again. Especially if you have cars behind you because this would mean the biker spends less time at the intersection, if no other cars are coming of course.

So I couldn't believe it when I saw this about Idaho in a bicycling email newsletter I get (Roadbike Rider) :

Since 1982 the Gem State has made it legal for cyclists to roll through stop signs and even stop lights (in certain situations). The so-called Idaho Stop Law has evolved in recent years, as detailed by Ray Thomas in an article in Oregon Cycling Magazine at http://tinyurl.com/kqk3ex. The entire law is in a PDF at http://tinyurl.com/mzhc2c

Thomas summarizes the state's stance:

"At stop signs, the Idaho bicyclist may slow, yield, and roll. At red lights when intending to turn right they can slow, yield and roll, but they must stop, yield, and then roll to make a left turn or to proceed straight through the intersection."

This sounds like what most of us do even when not riding in Idaho. But in the other 49 states where stop means stop, rolling through signs and lights is not legal and fuels the disdain that many drivers (and radio shock jocks) have for cyclists.

Importantly, the Idaho Stop Law has not led to an increase in traffic injuries or fatalities among cyclists, according to Thomas's article.

It's not a panacea, though. RBR reader Nancy W. tells us, "I live in Idaho, the only state where bicyclists can legally treat a stop sign as if it were a yield sign. However this is not without its own controversy here. Drivers who are ignorant of this law see cyclists as criminals. Drivers who are aware of the law see it as 'special rights' for cyclists. And arrogant cyclists fan the flames by refusing to yield or stop."

According to the League of American Bicyclists, only one other state (Oregon) has formally considered a law similar to Idaho's.

BikePortland.org has an enlightening and balanced FAQ page about the issue at http://tinyurl.com/92pxs8

Ed Pavelka
Editor, Publisher, Occasional Stopper

Satisfaction.

2009-09-01T08:50:00.003-04:00

I finished August at 242 lbs, down from around 275 lbs on June 1, and with 653 km of bicycling for the month. The cumulative yearly total is now 1,981 km going into today's ride. Most of it (1,713 km) has come in the past three months, and I hope to sustain the momentum at least through October, although the plan remains to return to year-round riding and get out in all reasonable weather. even if it means going around the block.

It may not be Tour de France material, but I'm pleased with myself for getting the mojo back this summer after two down and lazy years. It has been quite interesting to observe the combination of heightened muscles and lightened load.

The 'Ville Voice: "Bill the Bike Bully."

2009-08-28T08:55:00.000-04:00

I'm glad I don't waste valuable drinking time watching local news broadcasts.

With the topic being "my car as shriveled phallus extension," The 'Ville Voice's Rick Redding comes in right on cue following yesterday's venomous NAC exchange on bicycling, automotive traffic, and which one makes us more American in the eyes of our patriotic countrymen.

Pleasingly, I rode 50 km through the Knobs yesterday. The only problem I had with automotive traffic was on Scottsvile Road, where two Got Junk trucks traveling about 55 m.p.h. in tandem were in a hurry to make their next pickup. They were going too fast for me to catch their "how's my driving" numbers, so I'll say it here: Reckless, but probably just as good as Viagra for what ails ya.

Bill the Bike Bully, by Rick Redding (The Ville Voice blog)

Bill Lamb is always asking for feedback on his on-air editorials. So here’s some.

The other day Lamb was advocating that police start ticketing bicyclists, all because he happens to see some going the wrong way on one-way streets or blowing through stop signs or darting into traffic off sidewalks.

Now, this thinking goes against the general idea of making Louisville a bike-friendly city, but Lamb must have had a near-miss or something that kind of ticked him off about bikers. He claims only to want to do something about the bad bikers, that all of us law-abiding riders would have nothing to worry about. (Just kidding, I’m a dart-into-traffic champ).

Still, Lamb’s anti-biking rant doesn’t sit well with us. But what it really did was give viewers a reason to pop off with some vitriolic anti-bike hatred that shows they’re misinformed, unaware of the law and generally intolerant.

With this kind of mentality, it’s no wonder more people haven’t been killed by cars. The station aired six responses, all exhibiting a deep-seated hatred for bikes in traffic.

Here’s my favorite — “Roads were not designed for bicyclists, they should stay off.”

Then there’s — “Bikes should stay on the sidewalk where they belong (and where it’s illegal to ride)”

Another called wants to require special bike insurance for riders, and one was advocating a required license plate.

Lamb’s little rant elicited the kind of reaction that shows that city leaders — with all their talk about education about bike safety for motorists — have their work cut out for them with the big new safety campaign.

By the way, the Mayor’s Hike & Bike event, which is growing every year, is set for Labor Day morning. This time, we’re off from downtown to Iroquois Park.

Corydon Pike pavement.

2009-08-27T16:55:00.000-04:00

Roughly a half-mile stretch of Corydon Pike has been paved. It provided a pleasant surprise during today's 50 km Knobs run -- up CP, down Moser Knob and coffee at HobbKnob along the way. Yesterday was a 42 km day, and with Thursday's mileage, I'm almost over 600 km for August. Note to self: Riding at 244 lbs is waaaay easier than riding at 275 lbs.

Jackie Green in LEO: "Quit blaming cyclists."

2009-08-26T09:19:00.000-04:00

While we're on the topic of foreshadowing, last week's LEO contained an excellent commentary by Louisville cycling advocate Jackie Green. It's valuable information for those who have undertaken the daily struggle to co-exist with America's "my car as extension of my phallus" mentality.

Just yesterday, I came close to an encounter that perfectly illustrates Jackie's point. I was riding through Coffeyville northbound on West 7th, and stopped at the Spring Street four-way. Two pickups were headed west. The first stopped as required ahead of me, and rolled on through. The second followed close behind with his blinker (how rare is that?) indicating a turn onto northbound 7th, and I could see from my vantage point that the driver was looking down and to his right (north), without once looking south to see if anyone else (me) was stopped at the intersection.

There were no other cars, so I eased slowly into the intersection. There was never a chance of contact because I was fully aware, but just the same, he never once looked up, and never once came to a full stop until he was within a few feet of me, at which point he finally glanced, slammed on the brakes and motioned at me to go ahead.

Duh.

I could see immediately that (a) he had been talking on the phone using some manner of headphones, and (b) his attention had been distracted by the gyrations of a miniscule dog. As I moved on, I said aloud, "I know," in the sense of yes, it certainly is my turn if you'd bother paying attention. Had I been another vehicle, he'd have known.

Of course, that couldn't be the end of it. He roared a few yards ahead of me, stopped, and began yelling: "You have a problem? I didn't see you! I told you to go on! What's your problem? People make mistakes!"

(yap yap yap, went the little dog/rat)

To Jackie's list of tips for survival on local roads, I'd add this: Learn to use a rearview mirror. I use one that clips onto my eyeglasses, and there are models for attaching to the helmet (wear one!) and the handlebars.

Bicycling safety and the law

Recent cyclist deaths and the newly launched “Street Sense” campaign — a city-backed program promoting road awareness — demand an alternative perspective.

Cyclists are threatened, injured and killed because:

1) Drivers drink; 2) car brakes fail; 3) roads are not always dry; 4) passengers, food, phones and on-board electronics distract drivers; 5) drivers are blinded by sunlight, car lights, and dirty, wet or icy windshields; 6) drivers lose control of their vehicles; 7) the medicated, the angry, the infirm and the stupid all drive cars.

None of the above is dependent upon “respect” commanded by the behavior of cyclists. Quit blaming cyclists.

Drafting

2009-08-22T22:24:00.004-04:00

Way, way back, before we were even married, my hubby and I used to jog together. This is really hilarious if you could see us. He's a 6 ft 1 ex football player and I'm 5ft 5 with much shorter leg span of course. It had to be soooo hard for him to just slog along next to me, but I guess that's what he had to do for 'courtin' purposes. :)

Anyway, this is one reason I love biking, it's much easier for people of different sizes and fitness levels to just ride along together and have fun. And the distance we can cover sort of makes up for him having to go at a speed less than he is able.

However, lately, we've been experimenting with drafting, where I get behind him and follow closely while he provides a barrier to the wind. Supposedly this save 30% of the energy for the person in the back. It's working quite well and so far we've found we can increase our average speed by 2mph and I think I can get even better with more practice. So now he can get a better fitness workout this way rather than only going the speed I can handle.

Plus, it makes me feel like a professional tour de france biker. :)

UPDATE ON MY SURVEY:

The score before our ride today was 14 to 6 but now I have a dilemma. I did a stupid move at the top of a hill today and caused minor trouble for a car so what should I do? I thought maybe I should subtract one from each side so that the number of car idiots goes down since today I was the idiot. What do you think?

Bum Scrum--Wednesday A.M.

2009-08-17T21:40:00.003-04:00

It's so nice to hear people out on their wheels (sorry about the fracture, Tommy) and expressing enthusiasm.

Last week on Wednesday morning, I got out with Roger and Tim for the 16 mile New Albany loop Ed Parrish posted years back and both pace and camaraderie were good. So was the humor about spandex snobbery and how plain T-shirts instead of billboard jerseys for sure make one less of target for rage-crazed drivers. The beginning of the "Bum Theory" (I mean that affectionately since I still don't get why cyclists have claimed the dubious position that dressing in worse taste than a golfer is somehow cool.) Still, abundant corollaries will flow.

We're going to roll again this Wednesday, August 19, starting 9:30 a.m. from in front of the NABC Bank Street Brewhouse. We feel like going for a coffee at Perkfection in Jeffersonville (Maple & Spring Sts.) and back. No big altitude adjustments, just good miles in about 2 hours, max. (Roger hasn't yet mentioned what day he likes to do the Corydon Pike climb.)

Lightning will probably deter us if its storming.

Time for an update: Mileage up, pounds down.

2009-08-14T09:40:00.004-04:00

My average mileage for June and July was around 530 km, and I'm on track to beat that in August. My approach hasn't changed. I try to ride every day, and ride more when time allows. I'm down almost 30 lbs since June 1, and whereas I gained it back the last time (2007), this time I'm feeling better about my chances to keep it off. Don't worry: I'm still enjoying my beer and the food I like, the latter in smaller doses, and the former with a better view of what choices cost. I'm not unhappy at all about making a few minor sacrifices along the way.

Having the YMCA open for cooler, rainier weather will help. Last evening we both went and were schooled by the trainer as to using the weights. I'll slowly transition toward toning as we draw closer to winter, but I plan to return to the year-round outdoor bicycling even if it's just short distances. My butt's coming back, and I don't want to lose it by giving up saddle time.

The real joy for me was a day like yesterday, because the variable that has changed in the fitness program is the biking itself. In 2007, I shed the weight by dieting and walking, because I couldn't ride owing to my rotator cuff problem and the surgery to repair it. By the time I got back on the bike, I was lighter but regaining the weight.

This time, I'm shedding the weight as I ride, and being 30 lbs lighter is making it demonstrably easier to climb Corydon Pike once a week. Yesterday I didn't do the hill profile, but I felt strong doing a series of urban loops totaling 35 km.

For me, there's nothing like that bike to induce exhilaration. The weight loss dynamic this time around is equally pleasing. By next June, I should be in top shape for Danish beercycling.

July 31, 2009

2009-07-31T08:45:00.003-04:00

this blog needs some love, so i just wanted to post that its friday, we have a few hours of wonderful weather and i hope you get out and ride two wheels today! if not, you have tomorrow, then its seattle weather's last day here in the area for awhile and our regular 90 degree humid weather comesback after an extended vacation from seattle.

Hard to get a cup of coffee on a holiday

2009-07-04T20:36:00.005-04:00

Rode to Henryville yesterday, 42 miles total.

Then today we had a big plan to ride up Corydon Pike again and have the usual coffee stop that hubby likes. So we make our way up the hill, down 62 and turn right at Korner Kitchen and up N. Luther to Duffy to Highlander point area.

But umm, it's a holiday so Bean Street was closed. Oops.

So hubby said, let's see if Hobb Knobb is open. So we headed down there. Arrived at 12:08 and they were open from 8 to 12 today. Oops.

So we just went across the stree to the Marathon and he had his coffee. Gotta love those gas station/quick stops that never close.

Then we made our way home going down Scottsville, to St. Mary's road, Campion, Atkins, Von Allman, Skyline rd. and down St. Joe. It was sprinkling ever since we were up Corydon Pike so got home pretty wet.

Total miles were about 35.

Plan another ride tomorrow to Highland coffee in Louisville, hope the weather cooperates.

And hope the coffee shop is open. :)

NOTE: The score of the license plate calculation is now at...
Dangerous and nasty-to-biker drivers that have In God We Trust on their license:
13

Dangerous and nasty-to-biker drivers that have just regular plates:
6

happy 4th!

2009-07-03T08:38:00.002-04:00

although i'm posting on the 3rd, i wanted to wish all a long and calm weekend. i hope there's some bike riding for everyone. just make sure you're wearing your helmets on your fancy bicycles..lol...check comments for inside joke...

other than that, the cast on my hand is driving me insane! it's so hard watching the races online and not being part of them. speaking of races, the TOUR gets underway this weekend. i sure hope Lance can baffle the frenchies again and have them wondering, "how can zee Lance ridez izz bizykle zoooo fast?"

celebrate your 4th any way you like...just celebrate!

A comeback of a month.

2009-06-27T11:07:00.004-04:00

Rehab continues. Almost certainly June, 2009 will be my best biking month since September, 2006 (when we were cycling from Prague to Vienna). I should come in at around 500 km for June, after having only 457 km for January-May.

I'm sticking to my usual routine: 10-15 km a day maintenance, 20-30 km a day if time and energy permits, and alternating flat ground and hill profiles. I made it up Corydon Pike for the fourth time yesterday, but the heat sapped me, so today I'll stay on the flood plain and walk a bit, too.

It still doesn't sound like much compared with previous times, but gradually things are returning to focus. Progress is being made. I've lost about 15 lbs since returning from holiday on May 27, and with luck, another 10-15 will go by the time the Great Taste of the Midwest beer festival takes place in Madison WI on August 8.

No biking for that one. Just beer.

update from the 20 inch side...

2009-06-20T08:57:00.002-04:00

this summer has been a roller coaster of emotions in the bmx racing scene for me. i went in the span of of three days of making elite open main events, to having a comminuted fracture of the L 1rst metacarpal.

i was hoping to make a late summer run at the vet pro title and the training was paying off, until i had a crash at the home track doing a pretty basic move.

rode by the new spot downtown...looks good. the people however had a look on their face like, "...please don't stop here dirty bmxer...please don't stop here dirty bmxer..." so i kept on...

here's some photo samples of the highs and lows...

New link.

2009-06-17T16:15:00.002-04:00

I've added a link: Copenhagen Cycle Chic.

We're not quite that glamorous in these parts ... but it's a great site about urban bicycling.

Going up.

2009-06-16T08:16:00.003-04:00

Sunday was my first trip of the year up Corydon Pike.

From my house on Spring Street, down Main, up Corydon Pike, onto Quarry Road, then down Old Vincennes into Silver Hills ... down the gleaming new Spring Street Hill road into Coffeyville, then to the river for a cruise up to Moser Tannery and back home. It was right at 30 km, my year's longest stint in the saddle without stopping, and I haven't given up on 500 km for June.

It made me sore.

Monday I was out of town. Progress is ongoing, but awfully slow.

Santa Cruz, CA 2009

2009-06-15T14:18:00.000-04:00

Belated weekend report.

2009-06-11T22:21:00.002-04:00

Last weekend I managed roughly 25 km on Saturday and 40 km on Sunday. Both rides were back and forth from my home to beer festivals, first to Clarksville and then Baxter Avenue. The rain this week has wreaked havoc on the daily maintenance biking schedule, but I got in some walking, too. I believe it's time for a Knobs run on Sunday.

In conjunction with the biking and walking, there has been a drastic curtailment in calories, both food and drink. The net loss since my return from holiday is 12 lbs. The only real objective this time is to keep it in the 250's. We'll see.

First Time This Year Up Corydon Pike

2009-06-08T21:33:00.002-04:00

We went up Corydon Pike yesterday for a total 34 mile ride. This is definitely the earliest we've gone up the hill since we began biking. I love the feeling of having climbed a hill up the knobs. This one isn't really that hard, I just put it in a low gear and take my time.

As to the survey, here's where we stand. During the ride above, at one point we were at 6 to 1, but then we had a really nice and polite "In God We Trust" car driver so we decided to subtract one.

By the way one of the In God We Trust-ers was a really dangerous little old lady who whipped around us with a car coming the other way and then she ran a red light, all before pulling into her church parking lot.

Then there was a van who raced by us and then blew his horn twice obnoxiously right before HE pulled into his church's parking lot. On that one, I almost stopped to "chat" with him. John said we should have went down and asked him WWJD?

Anyway, score now for idiot drivers is:

In God We Trust Plates: 5
Regular Indiana Plates: 1

75 mph fastball, but no arm pain.

2009-06-05T17:19:00.003-04:00

Okay ... that's seven of the last eight days out on the street, with a year's record (to date) of 24 km on Wednesday, and 20 more today. Thursday was a rainout, so I went for an evening walk instead. On Wednesday and today, I went up the newly refurbished Spring Street Hill road. I had to stop twice on Wednesday, but only once today.

All this is remarkably paltry compared to past performance, but it's important for me to honestly record my progress as a means of boosting the rehab. Legs, butt and wind are gone, and it will take a bit to get them back.

It may be boring, but I'll continue to check in here every now and then.

Mathematical Oddity?

2009-06-02T20:00:00.002-04:00

Okay, so we biked 26 miles on both Saturday and Sunday with no problems as far as stupid drivers. That's 52 miles and no issues.

Tonight we went for a quick 9 miler and had 3 idiots.

Total score so far in my experiment for idiot drivers:

In God We Trust License plates: 3

Regular Indiana License plates: 1

Beercycling Denmark 2010 is being plotted. Want to take part?

2009-06-01T10:59:00.001-04:00

Having returned from my first visit to Copenhagen in a decade, I’m suitably pumped. The Danish contingent of Kim & Kim are doing reconnaissance, and we’re in the initial planning stages of what is hoped to be Beercycling 2010 in Denmark, a ten or so day festival of bicycles and beer.

Why Denmark? We haven’t done it there previously. It’s a bike-friendly country. The past ten years have witnessed a remarkable flowering of Danish beer culture. We know people there. And, the country is filled to the brim with wonderful herring.

Consequently, Kim “Big Kim” Andersen is researching three or four beer- and brewing-related itineraries, including Copenhagen and the countryside. These would be daytrip-style arrangements, using a hub and using rental bikes to sightsee and visit breweries, perhaps with light touring in between, or trains used if necessary. If possible, the sag wagon/support vehicle notion will be incorporated, so those interested in the trip but not in cycling are very much welcomed so long as some one is willing to drive. We’ll all divide the costs.

Considering the climate, we feel that late June or early July would be the best time even though it’s high season. There is sentiment for a Bamberg side trip at the end. Finally, know that this trip will be expensive because Denmark itself is expensive. We’ll do what we can to cut costs, but understand that budget travel isn’t really an option.

If this interests you, please let me know via the usual channels. I will begin building an e-mail list and considering options. Of course, there is no obligation.

My butt hurts big time.

2009-05-31T23:49:00.001-04:00

Okay, campers: I'm back from non-biking holiday, following my usual post-holiday program of alcohol rehab and weight loss, and finally eager to get my lazy butt back in the saddle and get something done.

It isn't much compared to what I'm capable of doing, but I made it onto the street the past three days, roughly 15 km each day. You gotta start somewhere, and I've fallen fairly far, so the plan is to use the first part of June to work back into some semblance of shape before clipping off too much.

Translation: Kindergarten saddle time, then upwards.

Finally No Rain To Get In the Way

2009-05-17T22:04:00.002-04:00

Did 15 miles today. Nice to be out in the sun rolling on two wheels. One car honked at us today but they did it as they were making a right turn on another road so we couldn't see the license plate.

Why would they give an irritated honk when we weren't even in their way at that point at all? Strange.

Should Bicyclists Trust God? An Experiment

2009-04-26T16:05:00.010-04:00

Hey, is anyone out there? Been out on the bike a handful of times so far this year and yesterday went 20 miles and today I plan to head out for 15. I know I'm a fair weather biker so I don't really think of blogging much until the weather gets nicer and I'm actually out on my bike, but I still think it's fun to blog about biking once in a while.

I thought I'd see if anyone's still reading by posting about a personal project, an experiment if you will, I'm doing this year in relation to biking.

If you do any amount of biking on the roads, you will eventually experience a car horn from behind.

Now of course, there are the drivers who give what my husband and I consider a nice warning beep of their horn. You know, the kind where they lightly tap at their horn and their only intent is to make sure we know they are behind us and are about to pass us. And they usually wave when passing.

But then there are the drivers who blast their horn and speed past and sometimes accompany this with foul gestures and comments. Last year, I started trying to see if I could make any assumptions about the people who are nasty about it by noticing things about them and at one point I was taking a look at the type of car. For example, were people who drove SUV's more likely to be rude?

But after my experience last year, I want to use something else as my experimental variable. I want to test and see if the rude people are more likely or less likely to have an "In God We Trust" license plate.

Now, I'm not making any particular judgement of anyone, I just think it would be interesting data to collect. No matter how it turns out, that doesn't mean I can truly correlate it with anything scientifically.

Hell, I'm just thinking it will be fun, that's all.

As of today, the score is 1-1, with two nasty car horn blasts so far this riding season, one without the religious license plate and one with the plate.

If you would like to participate in my experiment, feel free to join in.

Videos!

2008-01-05T13:07:00.000-05:00

http://www.go211.com/videos/3308 35-39 Expert Day 1
http://www.go211.com/videos/3310 35-39 Cruiser Day 1

Video links to the Christmas Classic in Columbus Ohio last weekend.

Lament.

2007-11-27T10:50:00.000-05:00

There's absolutely no reason apart from sheer %&^$# laziness for me not to ride my bike to work today.

Fortunately, it's enough reason.

phase II

2007-10-22T13:47:00.001-04:00

two more turns to build. mother nature is watering and getting the dirt to pack. i'm shooting for a november 5th finish date. looking for more dirt though, so if anyone knows of a place looking to get rid of some, please let me know!

Phase I Complete

2007-10-18T14:53:00.000-04:00

I started work on the pump track in the backyard this week. So far, I have the layout and jumps marked. I'm hoping to add dirt after our next round of rain, so that it packs well. Here are some shots of the layout...oh yeah and my daughter will be monitoring heart rate levels and if anyone falls below 80% of the MHr, they will be delt several bashing with a wiffle ball bat! lol...kidding...

man.....

2007-09-25T19:03:00.000-04:00

i know this platform is for bicycle stuff, however there are ties with bicycles and the unfortunate closing of a couple of businesses that have occurred over the last month. RIP Fitness Zone and soon the Finish Line.

i loved the fitness zone, because it WAS NOT a phoo phoo, stand around and look pretty gym. i loved it for the fact you went there to sweat and hurt!!! sad to see it go.

the Finish Line is a bummer because there had been times when i was in a pinch and they were able to bail me out with goggles, or something that transferred over from MX to BMX...

well, i've been sick for 3 weeks now. don't know what in the world is wrong with me, but i'm about to go nuts, because i haven't been able to smell or taste anything for about a week now. you just don't know how much you love the smell of things, until it's taken away. definitely an under rated sense.....lol....

have a good week!!!

2x4

Pump Track!

2007-09-13T21:57:00.000-04:00

Got the approval to put in a pump track in the backyard today! Psyched!!!

ugh!

2007-09-12T12:44:00.000-04:00

Upper Respiratory Infection is killing me! The weather is amazing today! Make the most of it!

Photo: Tucked and rollin' during the NBL Grands. HRP Photo

NBL Grands Photos

2007-09-06T08:27:00.001-04:00

My team mate Jeremy Thompson and I during the 30 and over open motos. JT went on to capture the #1 35 and over expert title...

You can view more of the photos at http://www.idcbmx2.com/

2007 NBL Grands

2007-09-02T21:15:00.000-04:00

The 2007 NBL Grands are in the books and I had a decent weekend. Saturday started off well, but then later in the 2nd round, my gate start became an issue. I made it through both rounds and then started off suckin’ in the gate again Sunday morning. Once I made it through the motos, I had a long talk with myself and said, “Dude, this is it, pull your head out of your butt and let’s take care of business.” So I go up for my 1/4 final in class and complete unclipped down the first straight. I try getting back in and make up points, but it was way too late for me. Down to 2 classes now, cruiser and 30 and over open. I hit the cruiser and FINALLY my gate is back and I scoot on into the semis. I was thinking of skipping my open moto and just save it all for cruiser, but I was like, “what the hell?!” and gave it a go. Gate drops and I destroy the gate and take the lead down the first straight. Mind you I have the current world champ and #1 Vet Pro in the moto. I finish that lap and that did wonders for my confidence! In the semi of the open moto I get another killer start and fall in behind Jason Carnes. Into the 2nd turn, big Shawn Diprite rolls by me, so I’m chillin’ in third. Down the last straight, Big Daddy Eric Rupe gets by us, then Shawn is slowing down and on our out side, we get passed by Domingos Lamogllia!!! 3rd to 5th….done in open.
Cruiser was left and I made the main for this one. 4 people are up for the title. Myself included. Gates drops….and I’m on the gas. Lead into the 2nd turn and all of the sudden I see blue and yellow! It scarred the crap out of me! So I follow Scott Moreland and try to make the move down the last straight, but didn’t have anything for him. So I end up 2nd and ranked #2 in the U.S. for the season.
Scott won the title and I’m glad it was him that beat me for it. Nothing against the other riders, because they are deserving too, but Scott has been almost like a big brother of sorts to me and I have the utmost respect for him.
Heard there were some roadies out there checking it out. Hoped they enjoyed it. Other locals jammed too and we have several young me and women that deserve a big pat on the back for their hard work.
The volunteers of Derby City BMX. Amazing!!! Absolutely the best team of volunteers that I have encountered in my 25 years of racing there! Not enough can be said of their work!
I hope to get some photos and maybe a link to some vids….
2×4

NBL Grand National

2007-08-29T11:48:00.000-04:00

This weekend is the National Bicycle League's Grand National. Tons of people will be decending on Louisville from all over the world. They will be going on out at E.P. "Tom" Saywer State Park all weekend long. Friday night will be the UCI Pro Spectacular.

Here's an article done in the Indiana Weekly..

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070829/NEWS0201/708290731/1026

Videos of the century ride

2007-08-21T22:00:00.000-04:00

Okay I'm going to do my first try of embedding videos into a blog. Wish me luck and cover me, I'm going in!

At 89 miles!

Debbie gets demanding. You can hear me yell at Melissa or John to please just talk and say something. Geez, I'm riding at 15 mph, looking backwards filming for gosh sakes!!!

Finally, I reach 100 miles. But there's a slight problem...

Derby City BMX Marathon Weekend

2007-08-20T06:38:00.001-04:00

We had a barn-burner of a race for $500 buck-a-roos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHpRk0MUEGU

Where have I been?

2007-08-19T21:46:00.000-04:00

Why training

for my first century of course. :) Just did it today. My husband, daughter and I went up to Kokomo this weekend and did the "Sizzlin' Century" ride. Yeah, we went to Kokomo on purpose because we didn't want any killer hills! But we've been training all summer in the Southern Indiana Knobs/Louisville area so we've had plenty of hill riding. What fun. I was even able to ride my bike and take pictures and

videos with my little digital camera. I have some videos up on youtube and I'm going to see if I can put up some images. Never tried that before.

I'm putting up one of us at the start and right when we finished.

A Bicycle In Church? Go on. Yeah, This Sunday.

2007-08-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

Somebody asked me to put together a service and I'm bringing my bike.

At 11 a.m. this Sunday, August 19, I'll have the pulpit at First Unitarian Church of Louisville, 809 S. Fourth St. (Across from the Louisville Free Public Library at York Street).

No, I am not an ordained minister, but Unitarians are open-minded and pretty relaxed about this stuff. I'll be using my 880-mile bike trip to Niagara Falls this Spring as a metaphor in a talk touching on journeys, pilgrimage, and some of what we learn from life when in pursuit of an ideal.

There's also a free coffee social afterwards if you feel like coming, on your bike or not, for a service out of the ordinary. Some great local musicians (Gary Falk, sax, Jim Schweickert and Will Plummer on piano and New Albany's Tiffany Taylor, vocals) will also perform in the service.

Entry to the church is not on Fourth St, but off Library Alley at the back.

I would usually offer to ride back to New Albany afterwards, but this week have to stay for a youth group meeting.

"Chips" Cronin Remembered; Sharrows dedicated on 2d Street Bridge

2007-08-12T21:37:00.000-04:00

Hot day, hot pavement, gratitude for the wind.

I joined an estimated 2,300 cyclists on the Second Street Bridge at 2 p.m. today to celebrate the new "sharrows" and signage urging motorists to share the respective north- and southbound right lanes and to yield to bicyclists.

While the Louisville Bicycle Club had been at work with the city to improve safety on the bridge, it was the death of Cronin (by an "inattentive" driver) that clearly fast-tracked getting the new signs and lane markings up. In half an hour of pre-ride speeches to the choir, Cronin's brother-in-law, Ed Tonini, who is also head of advocacy for the LBC, said the Federal Highway Commission is allowing the new lane markings as a "pilot" program since they are not part of the existing signage inventory.

Mayor Abramson, made only a few brief remarks, the most significant perhaps being that he wants to make Louisville as cyclist-friendly a city as Portland, and in less time than it took Portland to accomplish its current status as a national leader.

Unfortunately, today was no demonstration as the entire bridge was closed to motorized traffic for the inaugural ride. Cycling clubs and racing teams from both sides of the river went off first to do a lycra-rich, three miler over and back. Many others followed, including families with children, people of all abilities, etc. I even met a couple from St. Louis who had rented neat looking adult trykes at the concession near Joe's Crab Shack (at $10/hour) to join the ride.

A similarly large group broke off on the other side, I with them, to head out to Utica for a 20 or 30 mile loop. It was a delight getting into a nice rhythm in a long stretched out line heading east on Utica Pike.

I split off just past the Port to head up Utica-Sellersburg Road, get on Highway 62 and book it out to Charlestown where I was meeting family and friends at a pool party. About 20 miles, hot pavement, and a bottle each of water and Gatorade to stay hydrated.

The bridge signage is an important event on the long road to raising awareness and safety while developing a "share the road" attitude around here. Each of us should appreciate other's efforts to make progress and do what we can to support and extend it.

Seems like old times.

2007-07-31T21:33:00.000-04:00

Popped a spoke on the way to work.

I almost miss that gentle "ping," but not quite.

UCI World BMX Championships

2007-07-30T19:50:00.000-04:00

What a very long week! My bid to win the title for my class came to an end in the semi-finals on Sunday afternoon. Our class had 55 of the worlds best riders and I guess I should take some comfort in making it to the final 16.

My motos were awesome, with me riding right behind the current world champion. I was feeling awesome and felt that things were heading in the right direction and when it came time for my semi-final, I just blew my gate. I beat myself I guess. I can't tell you how much it hurt to come up short, especially with all the support I received.

I hope to have some video of the races soon and will post them.

Victoria, BC is b e a u t i f u l!!!! Bike lanes and bike shops everywhere!!! The obesity rate up there is pretty much opposite of what ours is here in the USA. The weather...perfect! Jackets at night, shorts for the day. Oh..and if you ever wondered where all the friendly customer service went....it's up in Canada!

I'll post more later...

2x4

NAC posting on attitudes toward bicycling.

2007-07-22T22:12:00.000-04:00

New Albany could use a "positive spirit" enlargement pill when it comes to attitudes toward bicycling, but don't hold your breath.

NBL E. Moline National

2007-07-17T07:39:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, I used the NBL's stop in E. Moline, IL. to warm-up for the Worlds. The moto count was very low for the race. Usually it's around 120ish and this weekend it was 75 for the first day and 68 for day two...bummer.

Day 1 was interesting, especially with a really bad cross wind that blew your bike from underneath you! I'm luck to have not eaten crap, because there were several times where I felt I was about to crash. I was able to score the win in the main, but dropped a perfect (winning all motos and main) due to hitting a roller and coming to a stopped and my buddy passing me. It's all good, I dropped one point, no biggie really...

Day 2 was picture perfect racing weather! Cool start, clear skies and most of NO WIND! Scored a perfect on day 2. That's all I can really say about the weekend.

I'm happy with my conditioning going into the Worlds and I feel that I've done my part as for training and being prepared physically, now it's just the game of not letting my head take me out of the it! I had a bought of doubt yesterday....the nerves just kicked in and it's a usually thing here....

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Tommy

A Proposed Response to George Cronin's Death on the Second St. Bridge

2007-07-11T23:19:00.000-04:00

Go to the "Advocacy" link at www.bikedepot.org/cbdcourier/ and then hit the tab for "A Cyclist's Death" at the top of the page.

It provides a detailed review of facts and the law related to George "Chips" Cronin getting hit and killed by a van while crossing the Second St. Bridge.

It's worth a read by anyone disturbed by the fact no motorist who precipitates an "accident" has been charged in a pedestrian or cyclist death in Metro Louisville in the last couple years.

If you support the proposed plan of action, you can email your support.

Beat Summer Heat with "8 o'clockers" -- 33.3 miles

2007-07-09T11:18:00.000-04:00

Summer heat can sap your desire for a long ride or a workout. So, I find myself tending towards "8 o'clockers", either early in the morning or later in the evening, to enjoy myself in these peak summer months. Getting out early this past weekend meant temperatures in the 60's up here in western Floyd County and good summer riding.

Saturday, going solo, I combined two of my favorite loops from my home two miles west of Floyd Central H.S. for a nice 33.3 mile ride.

SOUTH SKYLINE LOOP

I first headed east on Old Vincennes Road up to the Luther Road stop sign, hung a left to go east and continued to cross U.S. 150 and on down to Paoli Pike were a right takes you to the light at Scottsville Road. The Hobknobb Roasting company is a good stop there, but I was only 5 miles out and looked forward to a fresh cup when I was circling back about 10 miles later.

Turning left, go up to the next stop sign, St. Mary Road, and go right for a delicious, curvy roll along the base of Spickert and Moser Knobs. It's shaded in the mornings and traffic is usually light unless its rush hour or school is just starting or getting out. St. Mary's of the Knobs church is a nice place to stop, stretch and drink some water if you, or the less experienced riders with you need a short break. The cemetery also has headstones from many older area families, some dating back to the early 19th century.

At the church, take a right to get on Campion Road and continue a meandering ride along the creek bed until you come to the marked intersection where Atkins Road goes north, Moser Knob Road, to your right, heads northeast straight up hill and So. Skyline Drive, also to your right, curves back right and southward.

Atkins Road is the easiest way to get up on top of the knobs and, after a right turn at Von Allman a couple miles later, makes for a sweet ride along the ridge crest on North Skyline back to Moser Knob where you can hapilly come down the hill back to Campion. If you want a few more miles, take it; it's great.

But today, I wanted to do a figure eight that included some of the western part of the county and one of the sweetest creekside rides out here, Hamby Road. So, I turned up South Skyline, which starts level but in about a third of a mile turns into a good uphill climb to get your heart and lungs pumping. Once on top, it's an easy ride and, once past some extravagant subdivisions and antenna farms, turns lovely as you follow curving rollers through a mostly wooded ridge crest back to Spickert Knob Road (it comes up the knob on your left) and on a gentle grade downhill back to St. Mary. At Scottsville Road, watch for traffic as you turn left and book it back to Paoli Pike. Now might be a good time for a coffee and bagel or morning muffin. They roast locally, so the brew will be good.

From here, you backtrack west on Paoli Pike, just after the Post Office turn left on E. Luther Road and follow it back uphill to U.S. 150 and onward to Old Vincennes where you take a right and can enjoy a gleefully quick downhill back to Floyd Central H.S. If you start here, you've done a good 15 miles or so, with lots of aerobic sections, hill climbs and shady country road down hills to put you in a good mood.

GREENVILLE/HAMBY ROAD LOOP

If you want a bit more, about 17 miles more, keep heading due west on Old Vincennes. Go straight through the stop sign in half a mile at Edwardsville-Galena Rd., and in about 150 yards go straight again (despite the yellow line curving left to John Pectol Rd.) to stay on Old Vincennes. There's a testy little rise .4 miles ahead, but once up and over, it's smooth sailing.

After Featheringill, you pass a horse farm and ride over some rollers into a gentle downhill into the Indian Creek basin. At early morning or evening dusk you might see a Great Blue Heron or deer along the creek before climbing out and up for a mile to Buttontown Road. On your left is the old Greenville cemetery worth a check if you need to stretch after climb.

Turn right at Buttontown and you're heading due north towards Greenville. Just after passing the park and before getting to U.S. 150, take a left on an unmarked street along a chain link fence. It will bring you through the backside of Greenville where in less than a mile, you will come to Georgetown-Greenville Road. On your left will be the neat-as-a-pin, beautiful, white United Methodist Church, which is celebrating its 108th anniversary this year. If you need some drinks or a sandwich, the Greenville Mini-Mart is one block to your left and worthy of your patronage.

Turning left, you enjoy a gradual downhill ride southward out of town. After passing some pretty cattle farms, the road turns right and quickly climbs up a rise, but it's not too bad. Keep going and enjoy the better direction of the rollers that will take you down to Richland Creek, which you generally follow for a few more miles before the road ends at a T where you'll turn left. This is about 10 miles out from the high school.

As you continue along Georgetown-Greenville a couple more miles, you'll see the classic suburban fringe: new single family homes along the county road like punctuating active farm fields of handsome corn and soy beans as you get back into the Indian Creek watershed. After crossing the creek, keep a look out for Cooks Mill Road on your left, it appears quickly. Take it and in only a third of a mile take another left onto Hamby Road and gear down to climb your last hill. It's short and the last one of the day other than climbing back up to the Floyd Central

parking lot.

You'll quickly leave the soybean covered hilltop and start down. BE CAREFUL, there is a wicked switchback to the right which you have to take s-l-o-w-l-y. Once around it, let it go and enjoy one of the sweetest stretches in the county. You follow the cooler air of wooded creek bed, see more farming, break out into the sun as you cross the creek bottom and re-enter the woods as the road ends in about 1.5 miles at Buttontown Road to your left and John Pectol to the right. Turn right, cross the one-lane, wood plank bridge, and continue along similar shaded road (without the creek) about three more miles back to Old Vincennes Road where you curve to the right and go .8 miles back to the high school.

While the elevation changes sum up the same, this loop to me seems easier to do counterclockwise. Maybe it's where they occur in the route, but the climb up from Indian Creek over the hill into Richland Creek drainage and the climbs up rollers back into Greenville seem more challenging. So, on those days you need more pepper in your ride, take the loop clockwise.

Now's a good time for us all to be posting what we think are "best rides".

Wellsprung

2007-07-07T15:34:00.000-04:00

It should be noted that I greeted the prospect of riding to Louisville with Ed and Terry with apprehension. I have confessed myriad times that I enjoy riding with my wife or alone, the whispers of alpha-competition do little but piss me off. That said we rode 28 miles (Ed and Terry, no doubt, more) and enjoyed lunch and rehydration at Cumberland. The highlight had to be encountering Mayor Jerry cycling himself in Butchertown and his admonition that we should all wear helmats. It would take Condi on rollerblades to trump that episode of hilarity. As I conifed to the guys, N and I usually cruise at 10-11 mph whereas these lads aim for 15 which left me pleasingly winded.

Mr G -- thanbks for the comment and, no, I hadn't checked the site recently and I have ammended my profile to include email. Cheers.

2007-07-04T18:45:00.000-04:00

26.2 miles

2007-07-02T17:58:00.000-04:00

10.3 miles

2007-07-01T11:16:00.000-04:00

28.8 miles

Good times in Downtown Naaalbany..dog...

2007-06-27T08:40:00.000-04:00

Went out for a leisurely ride around the city after the rain. Stepping out onto the porch, I was greeted by a wonderful punch to the lungs by the humidity. I don't think I've ever encountered humidity like last night.

So I hear thunder off in the distance, but felt that I still had a good 1/2 hour to just cruise down spring to the heart of downtown, then back up Market. Lot's of good jumps along the way. Overall it was a good little ride, but here's an observation I've made on my tours in Naaalbany.

Whether I invite it or not, it seems that I'm always the target of some type of commentary by locals. Or, I at least get the "brush-off" by a motorist, no matter how much room the car/truck has in the lane, it seems that I'm nearly rode into the gutter.

I don't know if it's the site of seeing a grown man on a kids bike, tattoos, or what, that compels the locals to make audible commentary, but for some reason, I kind of get bummed out that a guy can't simply go out for a peaceful bike ride in this town.

I know that the people out in the country side of floyd county are not exempt, as I had a guy deliberately ride me off the road up by the school in the Knobs...it's where if you climb Spickert Knob, then make a left at the top and ride that road to the 4 way stop and there's the lawn-mower store and you hang a right there. Well, last year, I'm just riding, going up the little climb after the school and I had this guy towing a front end loader drive right next to me, then slowly drifts to the outside of the road. He sees me roll off into the ditch there and then speeds off.

Good times I tell ya'!

Anyway's, it's always an adventure, no matter where I ride here in New Albany. Keep it safe out there and I'd like to hear if anyone else has the same experiences.

22 Miles

2007-06-24T21:36:00.000-04:00

Went out late this afternoon (circa 17:00) and got in 22 plus miles in a mild sprinkle of rain that felt pretty darn good considering how thick the air was with humidity. Did some fab hills in the Knobs before a serious shower forced me home.

Jon perhaps we have a ride after work this week for a ten miler or so?

Chugging

2007-06-24T11:27:00.000-04:00

The summer has witnessed an ongoing platform of 2-3 rides per week, along the lines of 7-10 miles, perfectly relaxing and capable in that narrow window of tolerable humidity and availible sunlight. I have been plagued by arthritis for years but as of late my right knee has been killing me. I was much relived after my solo ten mile ride yesterday to have some relief. I will likely tackle a similar track this afternoon.

22.4 Miles

2007-06-23T10:47:00.000-04:00

Went out after the brief shower this morning and rode to Georgetown/Lanesville and back home in what would be typical Bay Area weather, less it being a little warmer and more humid. We take for granted the area in which we live and ride our bicycles. The hills here are such a wonderful way to train if you are planning on taking a bicycle vacation sometime. My thoughts toward such this morning came about after having a great ride and appreciation for where I live.

evening news coverage....

2007-06-22T07:47:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Matt for doing the story...only one error though....the race isn't next weekend, it's July 26th-29th.

Racing is an adrenaline rush for local BMXersBY MATTHEW CRESS

Matthew.Cress@newsandtribune.com

Thirty more seconds of madness. That’s what New Albany resident and nationally-ranked BMX bicycle racer Tommy Board will be seeking as he prepares for a trip to Victoria, British Columbia next weekend to compete as part of Team USA in the 35-and-over class at the event.
And he won’t be alone.
Board will be joined by Clarksville native Weston Pope, a BMXer who once ascended as high as No. 8 in the world rankings in 2002, all while playing four seasons for the Generals’ basketball team.
It’s a trip that Board and Pope have waited for a long time, and now the question is whether all the preparation will be in vain.
It’s a question of money, mostly. Neither Pope nor Board make their livings from BMX racing, as of now riding as amateurs on the national circuit.
“My pro days have come and gone,” said Board, now at 36 calling himself a “old man” in the sport. He was also a professional rider from 1998 to 2004. “Now, there are more important things. It keeps me young at heart, keeps me in shape. My physical condition is the best it’s ever been.”
Pope is a younger man, riding in the 17-24 age group — among the fastest-growing groups in the sport, and the launching point for those who are on the verge of becoming professional riders and making a living in the unheralded sport.
Now, their presence at one the biggest events of their careers is in jeopardy, up in the air due to the lack of money in a sport that is rarely taken seriously in a local world that eats up more traditional sports.
“This will always be an area that is consumed with football and basketball,” Board said. “I’ve tried to get as much exposure for it as I can. This is not a game like tee-ball or soccer. BMX is more a way of life.”
An expensive way of life. Board has already covered the $300 fee to sign up and enter the Canadian race. But that doesn’t cover lodging, food, or a rental car for the trip which spans from June 24-29.
“We’ve got it estimated at $1,200-1700 at most,” Board said. “It’s a sport that you really need to be financially secure to do all the necessary traveling.”
BMX racing is once again on the upswing in the United States, after a decade of lean times and flagging participation following its peak boom of the 1980’s.
Tommy Board, racing for 25 years, has been there for all of it.
“Our class is the largest class, because the guys who are still riding are the kids who started during the 80’s and have stayed with it,” Board said. “The bottom dropped out in the 90’s, but there was a resurgence around ‘98.”

2007-06-20T20:50:00.000-04:00

14.8 miles
note: Quarry Road is freshly paved

Bicycling Film

2007-06-19T07:38:00.000-04:00

Please check out this short film of cycling in San Francisco titled Russian Hill Roulette. It is about 5 minutes long and has both Windows and Quick Time.
http://www.russianhillroulette.com/

2007-06-18T09:36:00.000-04:00

Caltrain 22nd Street Station San Francisco,CA

racing the kiddos!!!

2007-06-18T07:58:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, a race dubbed "Battle of the Villes" took place in Evansville, Indiana. This is a 3 race series, where Louisville, Evansville and Nashville bring their best to compete against each other for braggin' rights of sorts.

I can't tell you how hot and muggy it was in Evansville, but at one point, I thought I saw the devil in turn 3..lol..

The turnout and atmosphere was great and I think everyone had a great time!

We did have a pro/am race. I decided to get in it and race the kiddos and show 'em the "old man" still has some pony's!!! lol...here's the video from that race. Keep an eye on the guy in red, ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRMP_SEAHBg

2007-06-17T19:38:00.000-04:00

25 miles

24.7 Miles

2007-06-16T18:48:00.000-04:00

First day back on the bike since returning from the Left Coast a week ago; still kicking myself for not taking it with me to South Carolina. Roger I'm glad your back on the bike, it must seem like starting over building both ends of the body if you get my drift.....

Help!

2007-06-11T20:06:00.000-04:00

I've been researching airfares, hotels, license and entry fees for the UCI World Championships. I'm seeking the community for help! I have a legitimate shot at becoming the World Champion for my class, however I don't have the resources to pay for it all.

I have sponsors, yet they only pay for NBL sanctioned events.

I'm willing to cut your grass, wash your car, walk your dog...pretty much whatever. If there's a generous ear out there, willing to help please contact me. I'm sure that this cold be a tax deduction for something like this too, so any business looking for a tax deduction, the same goes for you.

The license and entry fees are $300.00
Airfare is ranging from $400.00 - $600.00
Hotel $100 per night, so that would add up to approx. 4 or 5 night $400.00 - $500.00

Those are the major expenses..through in food and it's looking to be about a $1500 - $2000 tab...

I'm humbly begging for help here...

V/R,

Tommy Board

USA Cycling BMX Championships

2007-06-10T08:12:00.000-04:00

USA Cycling (USAC) had it's first BMX Championship in Waterford Mi. on June 9th. I participated in the 30 and over men and 35-39 cruiser classes and I had a shot at both titles, but fell a little short.

I slipped the gate in my 30 and over men's semi race and couldn't make the moves to get into the main event, however, I was able to make the main in the 35-39 cruiser class!!! I drew the perfect lane position and I felt that I was just 30 seconds away from becoming the first ever USAC Champion for our class. When the gate fell, I guess I was a little too excited and spun-out on the pad below, all the while the rest of class was boogie-ing down the first straight. I was able to make it back to 4th or 5th position on the second straight, but people were all over the place and I was pretty much pushed off the track. I think I finished 6th overall and i'm now qualified to represent Team USA at the UCI World BMX Championships in Victoria, Canada!!!

Now I just have to find a way to pay for this venture! lol... If there's anyone that would like to donate to the cuase, let me know!

Left Coast Bike Ride 2007

2007-06-08T22:09:00.000-04:00

Well my 2007 edition of cycling in California has come to close. Over three hundred miles in seven days is actually down a bit from what we achieved last year, but had to trim things back a bit due to my buddy TR's recovery from knee surgery that is still causing him some discomfort. My personal rides in San Francisco and the Santa Cruz mountains were lost without my riding partner in tow, but very very rewarding. I did two streets in Frisco that according to my bike map are 20% grades. Some others streets were 10% plus grades. The new Cannondale bike was perfect and most helpful, kudos to Bob Peters for assisting me in the purchase. Bob made some recommendations for that type of riding and he was right on the money. Support you local bike shops for sure! I will try to place some photos and more detail of rides at a later date, I'm re-packing for a trip to Charleston, SC to see our son in the morning.....

Mr. G gets to Great Lake Erie

2007-06-01T13:16:00.000-04:00

Preview: Time to wheel it in and wrap up about this Underground Railroad Tour adventure. I'm done. Access to broadband terminals (and free time) was sketchy on the road but I want to finish these notes. This post will catch me up to Lake Erie. One more will describe my gentleman's tour camping through the northeast's wine country and getting to Niagara Falls. A last post relating the pros and cons of my experience seems in order. Since I'm online again, I'll also field any questions.

I awoke rested, warm and dry after surviving semi-rig alley to get to the motel outside of Mansfield, OH. I was also off route, even off the map I carried showing the way to Oberlin. The Adventure Cycling Assoc. route required backtracking and a big left turn to get going the right way (North). I decided on freelancing the hypotenuse of the triangle on county roads into and through Ashland and picking up the route 20 miles later. A free county map at the desk helped me sort out a plan.

The sun shone brightly after the prior day's rain. A 15 to 20 mph head wind out of the north, though tough, now seemed a bargain compared to yesterday's weather. You just tuck, get as sleek as you can, use your gears and grind it out. A fast and easy downhill on U.S. 42 toward town seemed a good omen. Climbing up the other side of the gentle valley, before reaching Ashland's city limits, had me pay for every fun foot in altitude I used in that downhill. My friend David "Bump" Runge interchangably refers to these as "altitude and/or attitude adjustments" and anyone who's ventured farther than a 6-mile fun ride knows what he means. Soon after getting off the highway onto the main road into town (Claremont Ave.), I saw a one-horse Amish buggy coming towards me trotting at a spritely pace. I marveled then, and many days afterwards, about what "one horsepower" was capable.

Also reaffirmed was what poor judges of distance most people are. After passing a major intersection, I pulled off into a car dealership to double check my route. The owner was cordial, said he had passed me on U.S. 42 on his way to work, and assured me the downtown intersection for which I was looking was only a mile away. "A professional," I thought. He was off by almost 100 percent. Persistance found the interesection 1.8 miles later. This happened so many times it was noteworthy how people were wildly off in their estimates of distance, often by miles. So, check as often as you need but don't obsess. Making my way through 30-plus more miles into the wind also tamed me of watching the computer too closely. Like waiting for the tea kettle to boil, the miles don't pass if you're constantly watching them.

It was a long afternoon and no towns had cafes for a lunch break (an unfortunate fact related to our car-dominated modern life) until I got into a small burg called Sullivan with an intersection sporting a park, Masonic lodge, antique store and post office on one side and a small grocery store next to the volunteer fire department on the other. Good food becomes a hallmark of each day when cycling and the Sullivan Market delivered with a more than respectable ham and turkey sub dressed with fresh tomato and lettuce on a bun the girl assured me was "baked right here every day". A couple of root beers out of the cold case and I was revitalized for the final run to Oberlin. A 42-mile day mostly against the wind had me delighted to reach this destination, home of the first college in America to admit women and blacks and today still a beautiful, historic town crawling with students happy the school year had just ended. I downed a pint of Newcastle Ale at the local watering hole and then, sitting on the deck of my B&B host, called home to share the good news. That evening I pored over maps with my host, an experienced sailor and outdoorsman, considering a turn westbound along Lake Erie to make a loop homeward. We agreed, despite the logistics of getting back home, the one way route to Canada was more open-ended, adventuous and in keeping with the spirit of my trek.

I awoke with aches. While nothing seemed wrong, I could feel every muscle bundle in my thighs. Never having done a trip of this magnitude, discretion seemed wiser than pushing to an injury. I arranged a late morning hour with a massage therapist and left just after noon. Considering it a "recovery day", I pedaled only 30 miles through scudding clouds and occasional light drizzle to Medina where I treated myself in a fine restaurant on the town square to a great sushi dinner to celebrate Kathy and my wedding anniversary. I felt blessed but deeply missed her, our girls and home.

Under sunny skies next morning, I started east bound for Cayuhoga National Park and points beyond. Just five miles out of town I ran into some steep uphill rollers that I handled without strain, confirming the prior day's "easy mode" was a good decision. Later, after a delightful lunch in Peninsula with a couple cycling the tow path (Nate and April who posted a picture here earlier) there was nearly a mile long climb out of the valley. My legs felt strong and the break had done me good. Unfortunately, the skies darkened with threatening clouds and lowering temperatures soon after I reached Hudson, around 5 p.m. Several trys for lodging at local guest houses proved fruitless this Sunday evening, and I quickly moved on to Streetsboro where I could get a motel with breakfast thrown in. I was playing safe, but having left the National Park also meant all opportunities to camp were well behind me. Only 37 miles for the day, but I was out of the weather and able to get a nice diner before hitting the sack.

The next morning, Monday, the sun shone again and I was determined to get back on pace as I headed north. The weather held as I travelled through truly beautiful countryside east of Cleveland and into Amish country towards Ashtabula. I had my eye on a campground on the edge of town, but when I called ahead to inquire for a site with trees for my hammock, they said I "had to have a tent" to camp there. Unfazed and with sunny skies, the miles slipped away as I pushed on. Long lines of drying clothes at the Amish homes suggested they too were glad for sunny weather after the past three days of threatening skies. Blue jumpers, bib overalls, sheets, towels, T-shirts, bed spreads, most anything washable in the house was strung out taking advantage of the clear day. Sixty-one miles later, the last 8 on the Greenway Reserve Trail, I pulled into Austinburg and made arrangements for the night. A great day.

Tuesday, it was only another seven miles into Ashtabula on the shores of Lake Erie. I had to pass through all the town before getting to the rather industrial looking port and bridge over the Ashtabula River, but the wide, flat, green expanse of water as far as the eye could see was a major milestone in the trip. I stopped at the Hubbard House, one northern terminus of the Underground Railroad from which fugitives would have to cross only one quarter mile to the family's portside warehouse before catching a steamer (like the Indiana or Sultana) with a sympathetic Captain to be carried across to Canada. Today a historical museum, I was disappointed to read on the door it wouldn't open until Memorial Day, the official beginning of summer in these northern parts. I pushed off to see the lake and head eastward for lunch in Conneaut ("Conny-aut") another 11 miles out and ending the day after 50 miles in Erie, PA, where I stayed with a gracious family who hosted me with a cookout, visiting friends and a taste of the finer wines I could expect in the coming season. All along the day's ride, I was surprised by flowering redbud trees, dogwoods, lilacs and rhododendrons and cool breezes off the lake. The wonderful Spring weather just added to the delight of having made it without serious mishap 721 miles from home. (Knock on wood) with

Keep 'em coming.

2007-06-01T09:06:00.000-04:00

It's a different sensation for me to be living vicariously through the rides of other -- Tommy down South, Mr. G up North, and Edward now out West.

Meanwhile, I'm told by my surgeon that in three weeks, maybe I can go out for a bicycle ride, it being suggested that by then the shoulder will have healed sufficiently to make the risk of reinjury lower.

It's been killing me not to be able to ride; January was the last time in the saddle. It's the longest I've been off the bike since taking up the sport again in 1999. Walking's okay, and my walking legs are back, but the biking legs are gone. It's looking like late June or early July, and devoting the remainder of the year to rehabbing for a big comeback in 2008.

Thanks for posting, guys. I've really been enjoying the accounts.

'Twas a Dark and Stormy Night (and the suspicious Christian minister said "hit the road")

2007-05-29T21:24:00.000-04:00

Day 11--Can we spell h-y-p-o-t-h-e-r-m-i-a?
Last post, I was avoiding grey skies and rain squalls in Bellville's public library. After a couple hours, I summoned the persistence to get going. Nothing looked good outside but finding out what the road would bring was at the heart of my venture and trumped the alternatives. Sometimes you just have to push off and go.

Six miles down the Mohican Valley trail to Butler, it started raining again and I ducked into the public park shelter to pull out rain gear and hope for another break in the weather. It was in the low 50's and riding in this rain wasn't like summertime 80's when you don't care if you're getting wet. I hung out almost an hour, visiting with a group of high school students also waiting for the rain to pass so they could shoot baskets. When the sun broke through the clouds, I wish them well and set off again. I didn't get a mile out of town before the skies opened up again, this time for keeps. At the side of the road, I quickly pulled on pants, boots, gloves and a rain poncho as a farmer rolled past on a huge tractor heading back to his barn. It was too wet for field work.

The road was hill climbs and rollers over the next seven miles--long, steep climbs up to ridge tops followed by scary, fast down hills in the wet conditions before another hard, cranking climb up to the next ridge--and the full rain gear just made me hot. I haven't got this figured out. Working hard leaves you wet from the rain or from the sweat building up inside your protective gear and modern, pricey GoreTex fabrics don't "breathe" anywhere enough to keep you comfortable. After an hour of this, I was thinking hard of an alternative, like getting out of the weather. Thankfully, about four miles later, the rain let up and I was able to start peeling off some layers. The best thing about riding in the rain is being outside as it stops, the rafts of clouds separate and sun begins to again bathe the earth. It is always beautiful.

As I approached Charles Mills Lake south of Mifflin, a large Corps of Engineers flood control resevoir with recreational facilities, I thought everything would resolve into a camp ground there. A nice looking, rustic but refined restaurant appeared around a bend and I pulled over to dry out, eat and avoid having to cook for the night. But the clearing skies were bringing cooler air and falling temperatures. When I left after dinner, not completely dried out, I felt very cold on the bike, even with tights, long-sleeved jersey, and jacket zipped up tight. This didn't go away.

At Mifflin, site of the campgrounds, I feared a wet night in low 40 degree temperatures might mean shivering most of the night with little real sleep and a ruined tomorrow. I pulled over for directions at a coffee shop which had just closed but still had one car parked outside. The proprietress was inside roasting a batch of coffee and she invited me, offered me a warm cup of coffee and in an hour and a half conversation we got acquainted, shared family pictures, a tour of the 19th century cabin she had renovated into this beautiful place and broached the suggestion I could just sleep on the floor in front of the fire place until she came back early next morning to serve a breakfast group coming in. She just needed to call her husband, a second-shift manager at GM who also pastored a church. Ah, the thought of Christian charity soothed my weary bones.

It took nearly an hour to reach his cell phone and she retreated into the back kitchen when speaking with him. My chance of solace ended when she came back out, handed me the phone and said, "you speak to him".
"I'm sorry, but with the world the way it is, I want you out of there right now," the voice of the Rev. GM-Manager said at the other end of the line.
It was 8:45 p.m., getting dark, and as much as I wondered which part of the equation he placed himself and me on "the world the way it is" scale, I knew his wife's opinion and personal assessment of me didn't matter.
"Hey, it's your place, O.K., I can be out of here within 10 minutes but can you tell me where is the nearest motel?"
And in a vibe so typical of the day's weather, he tells me of a place 1.5 miles away where U.S. 30 and I-71 intersect and the caring wife opens the yellow pages and circles what she thought was the recommendation. I call ahead to confirm I'm coming and ask the East Indiana woman at the other end, "You're east of I-71, right?" In a heavy accent, she says "Yes, est", which I took to confirm they were close.

Dusk was ending as I turned left onto U.S. 30 westbound looking for signs of a motel before the interchange a mile away. No such luck. I get to the Interstate and call the motel again. "Yes, we are est of the Interstate," she tells me again. A partner gets on the line and clarifies they are two more exits West, another two miles. I rig a flashing red rear lamp and a headlight as darkness falls and start pedaling as best I can along a thankfully wide shoulder as car-carriers, flatbeds and tractor trailer rigs go booming past. The whole two miles is uphill. I expect the CB radios crackling with "We've got some idiot out here on a bike on the right shoulder, better cut him a wide berth," and am praying I don't get rolled over by a dozing driver. All I want is to get off this road, get off this road, get off this road and my heavy breathing stifles uncharitable thoughts of the Reverend's demeanor with his church and lines I could add to his sermons.

When I finally make the exit ramp, the view is of an indigo Western sky with a clear, delicately etched, new crescent moon just getting ready to set. A new phase of the journey has begun. And, after about 20 minutes of soaking in a bathtub full of hot water, the tingling sensations in my cold feet go away.

Tanglewood Picture

2007-05-29T19:51:00.000-04:00

35 expert main event Tanglewood 2007 Day 1

Board, JT, LC, Meaker...

Tanglewood North Carolina National

2007-05-28T15:48:00.000-04:00

Put another weekend in the books for the National Bicycle League's National BMX racing season. With gas prices killing everyone's wallet, it was the smallest national I have been to. 106 motos on day one and 90 something on day two. Usually, this is a 175-200 moto national.

Day 1 got off to a rough start. Pulled 2nds in class all day until the main and had to settle for a third. In cruiser action, started off the first round with a 3rd, but 2nd and 3rd rounds I came back to pull first and eventually winning the main.

Day 2 was a little different in class. 3rds all 3 rounds of motos and then put together a great lap for a 2nd behind my team mate. Cruiser was all first.

The team didn't gain any ground on the team leaders, however, we did win both days of team comp.

The Tanglewood facility was awesome with a lot of shade, stuff for the kiddos to do and great volunteers!

Next stop is the USAC U.S. Championships in Waterford, MI. Should be a who's who for this race and the winner gets their own U.S. Champion jersey!

2007-05-27T09:26:00.000-04:00

15.2 miles

2007-05-26T10:40:00.001-04:00

32.4 miles

2007-05-25T16:34:00.001-04:00

15 miles

Mr. G update.

2007-05-24T21:15:00.000-04:00

An update on Greg's progress along the Underground Railroad route, courtesy of his wife Kathy:

New York state ... already through PA and into NY ... Greg's less than 40 miles to Buffalo and to Niagara Falls. He's getting great views of Lake Erie, and planning on spending several days at the American and Canadian sides of the falls. He's decided that the journey will be ending here, rather than pushing further into Canada, and is looking into renting a car after the holiday weekend to get home. He's on top of the world.

Thanks!!!

2007-05-23T20:29:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to thank Mayor Garner for taking time out and meeting with me today about bringing BMX back to New Albany. It's not a done deal and it's far from even being put into motion, however, it was just a cool thing for a busy man to take time out to meet with me and show interest!

I feel that a BMX track in New Albany would be a very good thing and we all would benefit from such a facility. Shoot...maybe somebody will revive New Albany Schwinn?!?!?

tommy

2007-05-22T19:31:00.001-04:00

34.2 miles

Update: Mr. G crossing into Pennsylvania today.

2007-05-22T09:02:00.000-04:00

Here's another update on Mr. G's progress along the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route, courtesy of wife Kathy. It was received this morning.

Greg continues to make good progress and is in good shape. He has worked his way northeast through Ohio, and is currently just south of Lake Erie, near Ashtabula OH. The attached photo is in Oberlin OH with newly-made friends, met at a restaurant. He's making occasional use of his foul weather gear, and has encountered some cold and windy conditions. Luckily, he's had a few home stays, and checked into a few motels when it was just too darned miserable to camp out. He plans to cross into PA today and spend the night in Erie PA, anticipating a more level ride as he parallels the lake coastline. So, all is well, but I'll continue to hold my breath a bit as I think of those 18-wheelers blowing past him ...

2007-05-21T19:26:00.001-04:00

17.4 miles

2007-05-20T12:21:00.000-04:00

39.4 miles on my new wheels

2007-05-18T18:31:00.000-04:00

20.4 miles

Central Ohio--Frosty Night Coming Up

2007-05-17T11:24:00.000-04:00

Believe me, it's not about the miles. There is so much else that is the reward of a trek, not just keeping your head down sweating out a long conversation between your heart and some target zone. Yes, you have to cover ground and today, ten days out, I am 476 miles along the way. If we don't count the rest day in Maysville, I've averaged about 53 miles a day. I'm pleasantly surprised, but face it, whether on a trek or at home, days vary.
After leaving Maysville, a short visit to famous minister and Underground Railroad activist John Rankin's home, up a half-mile hill above Ripley, OH, turned into a two-hour stay chatting with Prof. Todd, a Phd. candidate at University of Kentucky, who works summers with the Ohio State Historical Society. Overlooking the broad sweep of the Ohio, he fed me with stories of the area, Rankin's operations and those of free blacks like John Parker (whose Phoenix Foundry was the largest ironworks between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati) and in which creek draws on the Kentucky side fugitive slaves would approach the river.
You have to take time when such opportunities arise and, Prof. Todd traded my attentiveness with "better route" up river and up the valley hills to East Fork State Park, my destination for the day. The route's advantage was requiring the equivalent of only one climb up Paoli Pike instead of two, but it was still about 7 p.m. when I arrived at the State Park, and at the southern end instead of 10 miles further where the formal campgrounds were. Fifty-five miles, a significant climb, stick a fork into me, I was done.
While calculating off of which trail or service road I was going to "stealth camp" for the night, a strapping, white-haired 65-year old gentleman out on his Specialized triathalon bike pulled along side. He was sweating bullets and said he was working out "to open up his arteries" in preparation for a 150-mile ride the next day. He assured me the area really was unpopulated and confimed my plan. I told him about my Hennessy Hammock, plans to make couscous with olive oil, chicken and pine nuts and then climb into my sleeping bag and go to bed. He smiled and said, "Simple. And life is good." We parted after sharing an experience of what I call "the brotherhood of the wheel": like-minded people viewing the world from the wonderfully crazy contraption called a bicycle.
I won't belabor how one stays civilized stealth camping without showers doing 50-plus miles a day, but suffice it to say it involves wet wipes, as many as it takes to wipe yourself down from head to toe. You remain better company with yourself and don't frighten people when you stop to chat with them.
The couscous was great and more than I could finish. The next morning I'm sitting on one bucket pannier heating water with my mountain stove on the other while I made coffee and reheated leftovers for breakfast. More olive oil, pine nuts and a few shakes of hot sauce made a lively and nutritious breakfast to get me on my way.
Twenty-two miles got me to lunch at Milford, OH and the Little Miami Trail, a 70-mile rails-to-trail conversion Ohio seems to have done plenty with. I called home to wish happy Mother's Day to Kathy and the girls and then spent Sunday afternoon amid hundreds of people of all shapes, ages and skill levels out enjoying the newly mild weather. I made another 25 miles before tucking into a canoe livery/campground along the river. Being Sunday night, the campground was practically deserted. I washed, just snacked and got cozy for a night in the 40's while the sound of water riffles over a gravel bar lulled me to sleep.
For those of us used to roads in rural, urban and suburban areas, rails-to-trail conversions seem almost miraculous. The Little Miami Railroad was the first West of the Allegheny Mountains and, boy, did those surveyors do a good job through what in the early 1800's was forest primeval. Gentle grades carry you through miles and miles of riparian woodlands, skirt farms and glance through small towns that still survive despite their distance from the bustle and commerce of the Interstate Highway system. To those who risk roads on a regular basis, these trails are unusually calm, almost mesmerizing, even a touch monotonous. But they are good and right and necessary as alternatives to our car-addled culture and we should all start advocating and supporting their development where we live.
During the next two days I passed thousands of acres of black-soil farmland but never saw a roadside stand. If necessary, community gardens could easily spring up to feed local communities, much as the "truck farms" dotted towns where I grew up as a kid in northern Illinois. But what I saw this week was acre on acre of corn and soybeans planted to supply the industrial food systems on which we now rely. Feed stock, oil and fiber, vegetable proteins, perhaps even ethanol for our cars. It had been sunny and all these three-inch sprouts swirling in rows like Maori tatoos across the landscape looked a little dry, liked they needed a good soaking to really get on with summer's growth.
Rain was forecast for late Tuesday, vicious squalls in fact with 40-mile per hour winds and the possibility of hail. Luckily for me, strong southwesterly winds preceded the approaching front and urged me on my way.
One of my planned stops was Wilberforce, named after the Englishman who convinced the British Parliament to outlaw the slave trade 30 years before the United States did. (The recent movie "Amazing Grace" is about his efforts and it got excellent reviews.) This is also why fugitive slaves often had Canada, not yet a nation but British territory, as their ultimately safe destination. Today, Wilberforce is home to two colleges and the National Afro-America Museum and Cultural Center. When I stopped at "the depot" in Xenia, where three rails-to-trails converge (God, does Ohio have it right!) I phoned ahead only to discover the center was closed on Sundays and Mondays. It became an easy day as I just pedaled up to Yellow Springs, home of Antioch College, to my first home visit of the trip.
Since it's not about bikes or the UGRR, I'll go light on the details. But my friend who grew up in Shively and Pleasure Ridge Park, spent a lot of business time in the Bay Area during the '60's and '70's chose to settle in this progressive little community in 1981 and voices very few regrets about his choice. Conservancy green belts, great food, intellectual stimulation and no rush hour are all part of the charm of this village east of Dayton.
My weekend couscous had me missing a decent tomato, so I had phoned ahead to say I wanted to make bruschetta after I pedaled in. Richard, way beyond me in kitchen skills, knew where to shop for fresh mozarella, Italian parsley, and good wines and then blew me completely off by grilling duck breasts with a cherry pepper glaze, red and yellow sweet peppers and portobello mushrooms and a salad of baby greens (from his window boxes) with pistachio oil and an aged balsamic vinager nearly as thick as molasses. I pitched in a 2005 Covey Run Gewurtztraminer from Washington's Columbia Valley (we took the dog for a mile walk after this and the bruschetta before grilling) and a 2003 Piegaia Chianti Classico. My God, how simple. Life is good.
The next day, aided by the following wind, I made a record 79-mile run and tucked into a small camping cabin at Alum Creek State Park to ride out the storm. If it thundered or hailed, I never heard it, only the steady rain which started around midnight and lasted til about 9 a.m. In my minds ear, I could hear all those corn and soybean sprouts gurgling in delight.
During the day, I met a rider from Columbus who was "doing a 16-mile loop" and while we pumped together sharing tales he talked about going to Italy each year for biking vacations (Tuscany, this fall). I snacked at small town milk shake stands and little groceries, which road karma requires you to patronize as thanks for their existence and persistence on the landscape (no fast food joints yet). The epitome though was in Rathbone, a mere intersection south of Delaware where I needed to stop (after 67 miles) and figure out where I would shelter myself from the approaching storm. Scioto Valley Bait Shop, the sign said, but they had pation tables outside and signs announcing wood fired oven pizza! In one room was the bubbling minnow tank and next door these gods and goddesses of the road weary traveler, were making caesar and caprese salads from scratch (fresh mozarella and slice tomatoes on pesto foccacia all drizzled with olive oil) and fresh pizzas baked in a marvelous oven on a trailer out in the side parking lot.
I mean, what are the odds of that? I stayed and ate and laughed for an hour and a half before busting out the last dozen miles to the state park. Remember, (and Ed, we must talk about this when I get back) it is not about the miles.
Wednesday, approaching Amish country, I rode through beautiful, wet fields and small towns punctuated by oaks and cottonwoods. Over hill and dale, stopping for lunch at a small town's grocery, gas pump and cafe (all in one building plastered inside with posters of beer girls and NASCAR drivers) I made my way to Bellville for a home visit and potluck with nine new friends from the local Unitarian fellowship. The small, rugged stone church built in 1894 in this village of barely 2,000 souls suggested another example of something right about Ohio (though they assured me the politicians here are not part of that picture). My gracious hostess and the good company's discourse allowed me to digest the road already traveled and that yet to come.
Today started in the low 40's with showers passing through and a good wind kicking up from the north. That's why I'm here in the library on the computer, tipping my hat in your direction and telling a bit of this tale. I've got my tights and rain jacket on, neoprene gloves and over boots ready if I run into rain. I'll be camping tonight somewhere between Bellville and Oberlin. They forcast a frost tonight, so it'll be an experience. Fleecies, windbreaker, down bag, stocking hat. But, oh, that hot oatmeal and coffee will probably taste really good in the morning.

Remember, Friday, May 18 is national Bike to Work Day. I'll be pedaling into Oberlin. You all make a statement on the roads back home.