fellowshipofthechainring.org

I don’t know if it has to do with living in suburbs or being on the outskirts of the City of Roses or what, but the drivers here are way too polite to cyclists on the road. I suppose I should thank the overly polite drivers out there when they wave me through an intersection even when they’ve been waiting for me to arrive.

I’m not sure if they’re expecting a neighborly wave when they do me such a service, but if we could all just stick to the driving laws and be a little more efficient out there, I would have a much better commute and hopefully commute for many years to come.

My new habit when arriving at an intersection with a stop sign is to make an exaggerated show of pulling my foot off the pedal and setting it down deliberately in the road, proceed to look both ways before even looking at the driver who was already there stopped at the intersection waiting for me to pull up, just so they can wave me on.

By the way, I don’t give that driver a friendly wave, and I hope they don’t complain about rude cyclists breaking the laws, because you, driver, are the one encouraging me to break laws.

You think I’m exaggerating? There have been several times during my commute, when I’m in the center section of a busy street and nowhere near a stop sign signaling to turn left, when oncoming traffic stops (remember there was no stop sign), so I can turn left in front of them.

Can I remind all drivers out there that I have to follow the same rules as any car? That means driving on the right-hand side of the road, signaling to turn, giving drivers already stopped at the intersection the right of way, stopping at stop signs, etc. There’s a difference between being bike-friendly and bike-patronizing.

That said, I’ll be the first to admit that there are many bicyclists out there giving cycling a bad name. I see them riding on the wrong side of the street, blowing through stop signs, ignoring red lights, riding without their helmets, or my favorite: riding with a helmet with straps dangling on the side. This is as helpful in a crash as a driver in a car with a seat belt around their shoulder but not clicked it.

That still doesn’t make it right, and I think you’ll notice that the majority of us cycling commuters out there are obeying the traffic signs and laws. Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw a commuter breaking one of those laws? I’m not talking about kids on their bmx bikes or random citizens riding a 20-year old steel 10-speed (remember when they only had 10?) down a sidewalk. No, I’m talking real cycling commuters with the black rain pants, yellow rain jacket, blinking lights on both the front and back, fenders, and even a pannier on the side with work clothes inside.

Do you know why we abide by the rules? It’s because we want to live. I put my life on the line every time I join the road with vehicles many times my size, mass, and velocity. My survival depends on the ability to know what cars are going to do, and when drivers don’t drive the way they are expected one of two things may happen: I might stop doing what I’m supposed to do and I might get run over.

If you really want to do me a favor, I have an idea: know your laws, and only give me the right of way if I actually have it.

I’m celebrating the several times I have had a chance to ride to work this fall. Now that my office has moved I don’t have to cross the Sellwood Bridge to get to work. (for those of you who aren’t familiar with Portland’s bridges, I know people who won’t drive over the Sellwood Bridge because it is so old & narrow, let alone ride a bike while staring death in the face.) But I digress… I’m hoping for a few more nice days to ride in to the office.

El Cap and I just got back from our yearly Deschutes River Trail ride, and I thought I would pass on a few learned nuggets of knowledge from today’s ride:

• Don’t wait all summer to ride – yes, I admit it, I hadn’t touched my bike all summer. Between missing Reach the Beach (it was one of the little sprockets’ birthdays), volunteering as a counselor at my eldest sprocket’s middle school camp, doing the California family vacation, and not balancing my time well, I just flitted away most of my summer not riding.
• 4,500 feet of elevation gain makes a difference – okay, I do have a fine attention to the obvious, but having your first ride of the summer be at 4,500 when you’re used to sea level does make a difference
• Make sure all riders double check all equipment before leaving home – if you don’t believe me, see my next note
• SPD pedals were not made for standard tennis shoes – El Cap can tell you all about what it was like riding 14 miles through single track littered with roots and rocks, but I must at least point out that those little clipless pedals don’t leave much room for the shoe
• Momentum is your friend, but Mosquitos are Not – those ruthless mosquitos are waiting at every turn for you to stop and take a drink of water. When they begin a full assault (and they did today), it’s time to move on
• Be sure to purposefully ride right over rocks (if they aren’t too big) - the best way to be ready for tricky rocky sections is to be comfortable riding right over the rocks, then you won’t be spooked by them. I make a point of this every year, but today, when we had to limit our ride (see the point on spd pedals or the one before it), I deliberately worked rocks into to my routine as early as possible. I had to break out of my tentative shell early to enjoy the ride before it was over.
• We have too much noise in our lives – this may seem like a bit of a non-sequitur, but it rang true. In my post-ride euphoria, I noticed how quiet it was in the house in Sunriver where we’re staying. There was no tv on, no music, just the slight hum of the air conditioner. I began to relax and stop for a moment. Then, it came to me: there’s this thing that our minds are capable of doing called thinking. I’m not talking about making decisions on what to eat, what to say to someone, what to buy, what show to watch. No, it’s something completely different and even enjoyable. When you sit down without any other distractions, you can actually contemplate, reflect, ponder, ruminate, think fondly of what’s important in your life.

So, my advice to you is to carve out a chunk of time in your busy schedule and get on your bike. Go on a cycling adventure, even if it’s only 14 miles, but don’t forget your cycling shoes. Attack the obstacles in your way, realize that they are much smaller than they seem, and then relax, turn off the tv and radio and sit down on a comfortable chair and let your mind go wild…

Then, post about it.

Just a quick post to record that yes, I have got out on my bike while here in Colorado. I went on some familiar routes to take some easy loops while getting used to the altitude: The Poudre River trail, Bingham Hill Rd (which really does have a hill!) out to Bellevue and past Vern’s (famous for their giant cinnamon rolls).  All in all about 10 & 12 miles respectivly on the two rides.  Great to be out and getting a little fresh air.  As I get used to the altitude (read “get back into shape”) I will take on loops that have some more elevation change; Horsetooth being the main one that is accessible from my front door.  Looking forward to hearing about Oregon rides!

The next time you’re jonesing to get out and ride, but You’re tired of always doing the same ride, check out one of the many rides in Oregon on bikely.com’s Bike paths in Oregon. The site contains user-submitted rides. When you click on a ride, you’ll see a Google map with a route highlight of the ride. You can “walk” step by step through the route or just look at the entire map.

The next time you’re jonesing to get out and ride, but You’re tired of always doing the same ride, check out one of the many rides in Oregon on . The site contains user-submitted rides. When you click on a ride, you’ll see a Google map with a route highlight of the ride. You can “walk” step by step through the route or just look at the entire map.For instance, someone submitted a Hagg lake ride, and rated it difficult. I was about to pooh-pooh the difficulty level until I saw that the return portion of the ride went up Laurelwood road. It’s definitely accurate (on that ride at least).

So teaching web design has many perks (I get to learn new technology, I get to share what I learn, I am never bored with a room full of pure teenage energy), but I hadn’t thought about how it might help by mountainbiking.

I just found out that there’s a network of mountainbiking trails just outside of town, called Horning’s Hideout. I’ve asked various friends and cycling shops of places to go, and the closest anyone would mention was Scappoose, Stub Stewart State Park, or Forest Park.

Forest Park is the closest (or so I thought), but it’s either almost flat or a fireroad that drops straight down, which forces you to either start by divebombing and then of course, having to turn around and climb a steep pitch (not my kind of fun), or begin with a steep pitch. If there was single track that had something in between the two extremes, that would be different.

But now, through a student’s blog entry, I have discovered that there’s a network of trails in my backyard, so to speak. Horning’s Hideout Just north of highway 26 as you’re leaving Hillsboro (in North Plains).

I’ll have to check it out, and I’ll post on how it was.

Ricco was caught with a new generation EPO (a blood booster), called cera. Apparently, some numbskull thought that maybe with a new strain of EPO, it might go “under the radar” (I’m really liking the “quote un-quote”). He’s been pulled from the Tour, and he’s got us wondering how deep this doping goes.

I’m glad they caught him; I’m glad the testing is working; I’m glad they’re holding their line; I’m sad there are so many desperate cyclists out there. I can’t imagine what might have happened had Floyd Landis won his appeal.

Now, Ricco’s entire team, Saunier Duval, has exited the tour.

“It’s a team decision not to start the race,” sporting director Matxin Fernandez told AP. “He’s our leader, we can’t act as if nothing happened. We suspend the activities of the team until we know what happened.”

I did my last training ride before Saturday’s MS Bike Ride through the covered bridges. I decided to do some hill training, so I took Little Joe up to Mt. Calvary Cemetary at Barnes & Skyline. It was a fun, albeit short (20 miles) ride. I managed to ride the entire hill without stopping (except for street lights), and I managed to keep from going into granny gear.

The Stats:

• Distance: 20.9 miles
• Time: 1:39 (hey, it was a decent hill and it was in the heat of the afternoon (so I’m not Ricco; sue me!)
• Top Speed: 39.1 mph  

I would have done better on my top speed coming down Barnes Rd., but my shocks in front occasionally cause my computer to ding the magnet, knocking it off. I heard the sound and instantly knew my computer was not giving me a read. I can’t stand not knowing my top speed, so I stopped to fix it (it took me a block to stop). Had I been completely unfettered, I would have easily topped 40.

Route:

• Take Baseline (from Aloha) to 158th
• Left on 158th & head north to Cornell Rd.
• Right on Cornell Rd & head to Barnes Rd. (aka Salzman for a moment)
• Turn right on Barnes (it’s a light just before Salzman)
• Take Barnes up the hill
• Turn to the right when Barnes turns into Burnside (it’s a right and quick left)
• Continue on Barnes to Skyline
• Turn around and have fun coming back

The Lowdown

Most of the route has a beautifully wide shoulder, but the traffic is heavy pretty much everywhere until you turn from Barnes to Barnes (to avoid Burnside). Be careful on Barnes about a mile past the hospital as the shoulder virtually disappears.

 

Kim Kirchen of Team Columbia takes the yellow jersey from Schumacher in the last kilometer.

I don’t suspect foul play, but according to the Tour’s official website, Schumacher was behind Kirchen when Ricco stood up to sprint to the finish (Ricco did win the stage). When Ricco stood, Kirchen “pulled his foot”—I assume that meant he almost crashed and had to pull his foot out of his pedal. That must have made Schumacher crash. I can see how a crash like this can happen. Stage 6 ended in steep, 10% grade, climb for 1.5 kilometers. I don’t know about you, but I would be standing just for survival, as opposed to sprinting to the finish).

The crash was enough to put Kirchen in the yellow jersey for the first time this year (for the first time ever, I think). Kirchen has been consistently in 2nd place throughout this Tour, so he’s been biding his time patiently. I’m very happy for Kirchen, ever since I read about his performance in the Tour de Suisse, and the fact that he’s on team Columbia (formerly team High Road).

This bodes well for the Fellowship of the Chainring Fantasy Team. As of stage 5, the team was in 139th place (out of over 3,000). This stage will give the team 54 points: Valverde will get 20 points (he took 2nd in the stage) and Kirchen will get 20 points for taking the yellow jersey and 14 points for taking 5th place for the stage,

1. VALVERDE Alejandro (CAISSE D’EPARGNE) 49 points
2. MC EWEN Robbie (SILENCE-LOTTO) 22 points
3. CAVENDISH Mark (TEAM COLUMBIA) 31 points
4. GERDEMANN Linus (TEAM COLUMBIA) 0 points
5. KIRCHEN Kim (TEAM COLUMBIA) 71 points
6. CARDENAS Felix (BARLOWORLD) 0 points
7. SOLER MAURICIO (BARLOWORLD) 0 points
8. SIUTSOU Kanstantin (TEAM COLUMBIA) 0 points
9. CIOLEK Gerald (TEAM COLUMBIA) 18 points

On a sad note, Mauricio Soler, dropped out of the race yesterday after a second crash. I had high hopes for Soler seeing as he was the king of the mountain for last year’s Tour de France.

I can see by your spandex that you are a cyclist.
I see by your spandex you are a cyclist too.
We see by our spandex that we are both cyclists.
If you get some spandex, you can be a cyclist too.

I must give credit to the Smothers Brothers for their parody of the Streets of Laredo song. I just gave it a cycling twist.

PS – Hey, Bob!