Friday Feedbag and Quotable Links...

First up, commuting in Portland (spend a minute to watch the video also; any that shows a dachshund in a backpack, on a bike is worth it, the rest is just icing):


"...commuters burned 65 million calories...caloric equivalent of more than 95,000 Big Macs."


Next, I turn to cyclocross, New England style (spectate or race, if you don't already, you'll understand):


"...you would have needed a GPS to locate me relative to the leaders before the first half lap was over."


Next, the retirement of Dutchman Addy Engels, who raced his last on Tuesday during the Putte-Kapellen in Belgium. I have done a couple posts about Addy, described as one of the most loyal riders in the peloton. You can find them here, and here. Though he won't be turning the pedals during races, Engels will not be leaving the racing scene, as he has been brought on to the Skil-Shimano team as Sport Director. I wish him the best with this new endeavor:


"I see a new horizon which I hope contains a universe of opportunities to pursue with passion and determination."

Friday Quotable Links...

The Friday Quotable Links is intended as an opportunity to share stories that I have read during the week and found particularly interesting or informative.

"Being attached to cycling, he didn't understand his Dublin colleagues' frowns." 

An architect in Dublin, Ireland, commutes to work by bike, and naturally parks in front of the office. The architect's co-workers, for some reason, think this might reflect poorly on the company, ie., clients might think the company is experiencing financial difficulty. The architect does not understand the mindset, the way of thinking of the others, so he starts his own practice, and finds great success, including the designs for various cycling-related projects. You can read more than my condensed version here.

Friday Quotable Link...

Day late, I know. I was going to add some more, but yesterday was just too busy to search for, or try to remember where I had seen, any other good ones.

"...when an 81 year old driver kills and 84 year old cyclist everyone blames the victim and demands bike licensing and there is not a peep, anywhere, about whether 81 year old drivers should be relicensed. Why is there this disconnect?"

Quotable Links...

It has been a while since I last referenced any quotable links on a Friday, but a couple have come to my attention this morning that really bug me and are worth sharing.


"Glendora Mountain Road should not be used by cyclists, horses, dog walking, etc... We need to ban the road from being used by cyclists." Alright then - first off, this is part of a comment written in response to a story on the death of Kevin Unck in the Glendora Patch. The Patch labels the story an obituary, says so right at the top, and in my book, that means you should leave the pulpit at home. If you have something to say, there is a place to do it; civility says an obituary is not that place.


Moving quickly to the second quote (though I will return to this one):


From New York City, "about 90% of bicyclists killed in this city died, in part, because they were not following the rules of the road... they were either on roads without bike lanes [emphasis mine], going through a red light or riding the wrong way down the street. The ghost bikes you see in the different neighborhoods that honor these fallen bicyclists only tell half the story." If you were able to read beyond that 90% statistic without giving up on the quote as being utterly ridiculous, you may have noticed the common theme linking the two quotes, the misguided belief that roads are for motor vehicles and motor vehicles only. I have said it before and will no doubt find it necessary to do so again, roads are for transportation, a means to facilitate movement between one place and another, by whatever means of mobility are available. Roads are not modal specific. The absence of a bike lane does not mean that bicycles are therefore prohibited. The misguided and legally incorrect belief that roads are for motor vehicle use only derives from the slavish over-dependence on automobiles that has been perpetuated in this country over succeeding years since autos were first introduced.


I call this auto-dependency syndrome (ADS) in which people become so dependent on autos for mobility that they cannot envision why anyone would do otherwise. Eventually, this dependence contributes to health problems necessitating an even greater dependence - it is all just a vicious cycle, and maybe a more detailed story for another time. Anyway both these quotes are perpetuations of the notion that bicycling is too dangerous to be allowed on the streets; it's adherents always seem to cite the relatively few bicyclist deaths, while almost universally ignoring the vastly greater numbers of motor vehicle occupant deaths (ADS again, remember, motor vehicles are necessary and therefore deaths by them are tragic but acceptable).

Quotable link...

"She is late. Stuck in traffic. I was the early one. A trusty little bike had saved my bacon." - Just a nifty little anecdote to promote the Clif-2 mile challenge.

Quotable link...

The devaluing of a human life for the sake of automobility. Just be prepared to be outraged if you follow the ink:


"The perceived devaluation of the lives of cyclists has long been a point of contention for riders, and leaves many of us feeling that lawmakers consider us as little more important than deer."


On a more upbeat note:

"Thursday is gonna be a GREAT day! The Velo will be open, the weather is gonna be beautiful, and THE LAKERS ARE GONNA BE WORLD CHAMPIONS AGAIN!!!
Stop by and say HI!!!"

Friday feedzone and Quotable links...

"There's a perceptual difference for motorists who reduce speed from 25 mph down to 5 mph, and feel that consists of stopping. Yet a cyclist who slows from 15 mph to that same 5 mph is seen as a lawbreaker."


"...that was before I married a woman who objects to finding greasy bike parts all over the living room."


"Because lots can also go right on a cross-country trip. I can meet people..., see the countryside, stop in parks, see some wildlife and enjoy beautiful early summer days."


"Every day I get on my bike I feel lucky to live in a neighborhood that is worth getting to know."


"I guess I just have to accept for a while that to some people bicyclists and pedestrians are as much a myth as unicorns and leprechauns."


"Forgive me my cynicism, but this is the week that either justifies the efforts of the Bike Week promoters or challenges the effectiveness of their efforts.


"I planned to explore some of the parks roads, but my keen navigation sense only ended up retracing my steps to our campsite."


"Being a clumsy hack on a mountain bike means that May is about as pain-free as life is going to get"

Friday feedzone and quotable links...

"... still most 16 year olds are baffled when an adult doesn't drive."

"... he opened the bus door and yelled at her 'what the hell's the matter with you? You want to die?' He called her stupid and other nonsense before zooming around her."

"If you were driving and saw your child walking on the road, how close would you go? Four inches ?"

"... big bag of underoo's found in men's bathroom, please claim."

"... he said simply, 'Thank you .'"

Friday feedzone and (new) Quotable links...

"Car keys and common sense are not close companions in this nation."

"Parents like living here, but they live in fear of the cars."

"I remember riding home from Danceteria, long ago, I passed Michael with his dress caught in his chain."

"I just bought a pink frog headlight. Because I love to accessorize with girly things..."

The ages old debate about where funds for road projects comes from is put forth rather succinctly; and while I know these rides happen in other countries around the world, and even other cities in these United States, this is the first I have heard (and nearly a month dated) of our own naked bike ride here in little old Claremont.