Claremont Bike to Work Week Events...

When you commute and run errands by bike as regular practice throughout the year as it is, this one designated Bike to Work Week, tends to be rather anticlimactic. Never-the-less I would be remiss if I did not mention the events that our city of Claremont has planned for this coming Thursday - useful for both veterans of the road as well as first timers. First up is the annual pit stop, with giveaway's, located as usual at the Depot, and in the afternoon, a luncheon / workshop presented by the California Bicycle Coalition.

Happy foggy Monday...

Single-speeding into work on a cool, foggy Monday morning, heavy enough even to create a little drizzle. But that is okay; opportunities to ride in a bit of dampness during this time of year are few enough, so those rare occasions are kind of fun.

From the Library...

This is the follow-up to author Parkin's "A Dog In A Hat" which recounted his life as an amateur and professional bike racer in Europe. "Come and Gone" picks up the author's story following his return to the States, including ups and downs on the domestic road circuit, and a shift to racing mountain bikes with the odd cyclocross race thrown in. For anyone who has followed the sport of cycling, and especially those who have had dreams of progressing through the ranks, the book is a good read. You can feel the emotions building as Parkin approaches the end of his professional career, his hopes to prolong it, and the inevitable conclusion.

"As bike racers we all to often look at race wins as stepping stones toward something else - something life-changing, perhaps. In reality, it seems that the experience of racing itself is the important part."

"Only champion bike racers get to retire. The rest of us just quit."

Parkin, Joe  Come & Gone: A True Story of Blue-Collar Bike Racing in America  Boulder, CO: Velo Press, 2010

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 .'"

Bike marathon follow-up...

While many people in California rode their bikes to work today, there was at least one group who rode their bikes as work, so to speak. By the time I made it over there after work, the El Roble Intermediate School students participating in the Bike Marathon were three hours into their twenty-four hour fundraiser, and many of the riders had completed more than 160 laps already. Various strategies were being employed; some students were riding in groups, chatting as they went, others seemed to be pacing themselves for the long night ahead, while still others were going to hammer along until they could hammer no more. Helpers, family, staff and riders who were not riding at the time kept busy cheering on the riders circling the track. Flood lights have been set up around the track to hold back the darkness, and a tent city has sprung up on the infield. There will no doubt be some tired students by the time the event ends tomorrow afternoon, but I think they will be satisfied, and rightly so, with their efforts and what they have accomplished. Not sure what I am talking about? Check my earlier post here.

Link...

for the story to the below Ghost Bike. Explain to me again how someone just drifts "off the road for an unknown reason". Hello...DMV, are you awake... anyone? You have given a license to kill to someone who 1. cannot control his vehicle, and 2. does not seem to be aware of what he is doing when he is doing it. Apparently, and thankfully, the OC Register has removed the disgusting "blame the victim" comments. I do not think I will ever understand why there is not more widespread outrage over these incidents. Just because a cyclist has lost his life, does not mean this is solely a cycling concern - it is a societal concern. This driver could just as easily have drifted the other direction for an unknown reason, hitting a car head on instead. Indeed most crashes involving cars are with other cars, not bikes, not pedestrians. Getting and keeping people who cannot, or will not, take driving seriously off the roads benefits everyone, not just cyclists.

Ghost bike...

Allen Earl Miller, 10 May 2010

Condolences to family and friends.

Green Bike Program...

The Green Bike Program at Pitzer College (pictured) and a similar GBP at Pomona College offer repair services to students at the Claremont Colleges. In addition bikes left abandoned in the campus bike racks after each semester (a week away) are collected by the campus safety department, refurbished by the GBP, if needed, and made available to students by raffle the following semester. Graduation ceremonies for all the Colleges are this weekend - unless you don't want your bike anymore (that's a sad thought), make plans for it over the summer.