Category — biking

The Tour de France: a great way to enjoy the thrill of cycling without the worry of psychotic motorists. Of course, you won’t get a great calorie burn by sitting on your couch all day watching Team Garmin-Chipotle roll by, but the vicarious thrill will get your heart racing from time to time.

I love the Tour but I am a little saddened about the lack of Team Discovery in this year’s tour, and a little confused by the genesis of Team Garmin-Chipotle. I cannot understand what on earth Garmin and Chipotle even have to do with each other. Garmin makes GPS systems and Chipotle is McDonald’s “healthy” counterpart…I guess you could use your Garmin to help you find the nearest Chipotle, but otherwise, I just don’t get this pairing at all. It is great to hear the British announcers on Versus try to pronounce “chipotle”, though.

I don’t really have a favorite to win the tour this year (I was pulling for Vinokourov last year ), but there are many fierce competitors to chose from over the next few weeks, so I am sure I will have a favorite soon. The Tour is on Versus pretty much all month, so check it out!

This is absolutely frightening: a motorist got annoyed by some cyclists on Mandeville Canyon Road this 4th of July and decided to teach them a little lesson by slamming on his brakes and letting them crash into the back of his car. One of the cyclists went through the rear window. Then this exquisite example of humanity got out of his car, still on a cell phone, and announced to the cyclists that he was a doctor but didn’t actually offer to help them. In light of the fact that he caused their injuries, this announcement seems to me as his way of saying, “I am a doctor, and you aren’t hurt that badly, so I am going to continue my call and not help you like I swore in my Hippocratic oath to do. Oh wait, I actually swore to “DO NO HARM” as well, so I guess we can just forget this Hippocratic oath thing all together. I’m mostly in it for the ego trip anyway, although the money isn’t too bad. Anyway, can you move your freaking bike? I’m already running late for the pool party.”

Thank god this jerk is being charged with felony criminal assault, but frankly, I was a little disturbed by the interviews with his Mandeville Canyon neighbors on KCAL. One man said that it’s such a narrow road and there are so many cyclists, it was only a matter of time before there was an accident. ACCIDENT?????????

I hope that this neighbor is simply intimidated by the psychopathic doctor on his street and and is trying to avoid saying anything to further enrage that man. If that’s not the case, then someone needs to buy this poor neighbor a dictionary so that he can familiarize himself with the meaning of the word “Accident.” That was not an accident, nor was it an inevitability. It was a deliberate act by someone who feels entitled to hurt people who annoy or slightly inconvenience him.

This emergency room doctor should lose his license immediately. He’s obviously not capable of caring for living things.

I also hope the cyclists make a swift and full recovery and can get back to riding again soon. From all reports that I have seen, though, that’s unlikely to happen for months.

Source: laist

I have been meaning to put up some pictures for a while but have been so busy that I haven’t really had a chance to sort through them. However, I just went through a few folders this morning and dug up some cool pics of my bike that I want that I want to share. These were take at the single track in Sullivan Canyon about a month and a half ago. Enjoy!

Woo-hoo! Check out this stylin’ bike!

Here’s a close-up of my new bicycle seat. I love it because it looks so sleek and is surprisingly comfortable.

That blur is me flying down the single track!

Stayed tuned for more pics in the next few days!

It’s now official: you won’t get a ticket for riding your bike on a sidewalk in West Hollywood. While this is great for bicyclist who fear getting struck by road-raging drivers, it is a little worrisome for pedestrians and sidewalk cafe dwellers.

I have mixed feelings about the news. On one hand, I totally understand how scary it is to ride a bike in Los Angeles traffic. Plus, hardly anyone walks in LA, so the sidewalks aren’t really be used anyway. But, it is a bit more dangerous because drivers pulling out of driveways or making right turns aren’t always expecting bikers to be on the sidewalk. And since West Hollywood is one of the few areas around LA that is actually really pedestrian-friendly, I wouldn’t want walkers to get annoyed or even injured by bikers. I guess I am cautiously optimistic that the WeHo sidewalk law will work out well for everyone, but perhaps they should require all bikers to have bike horns as well.

CNN reports about a man in the UK who has developed an inexpensive, fully recyclable cardboard bike. They can withstand rains and parts are easily replaceable, which makes it a great choice for people who are looking for a good bike for commuting and aren’t interested in a lot of expensive bike gear. And according to the creator, there is less chance of the bike being stolen because it’s so cheap. No word on if or when these will hit mass market, but I will be keeping my eyes opened.

The Teva Mountain Games were held this past weekend in Vail, Colorado. I have been a big fan of Teva sandals ever since my first pair, and I especially love the company’s community activities. Sadly, I did not get to attend the Games, but luckily there was plenty of blogging to keep me up-to-date on the action. It’s one of my goals to get to the Teva Mountain Games in the next few years because it seems like a really great gathering of cool people who are all into the same thing: enjoying the great outdoors, having some fun and getting some exercise. Maybe if I step up my training now, I’ll actually be able to participate in some of the events. They have cycling, trail running, climbing, kayaking, bouldering and even fly fishing, so there are activities to appeal to every personality. They have events for dogs too, but I am pretty sure Big Old Dog is more content to be a spectator.

Here are some more links about the Teva Mountain Games:

• Active.com: 2008 Teva Mountain Games
• IFSC Bouldering World Cup Coming to the 2008 Teva Mountain Games

We are planning to head out of town on a little bike trip this weekend in spite of the ridiculous gas prices, and I am really looking forward to the trip. My new bike seat is working out great, and my brakes and lower bracket were just replaced so I am feeling adventurous and ready to investigate some trails a little further from home.

I found a really cool site called Bikely that has great information and bike route maps, but I think PIC has a route in mind he wants to try. PIC also told me that he’s going to teach me to change my own bicycle tires in case of a flat. I wonder if that means I will also have to start carrying my own bicycle pump. Oh well, at least I will be learning a new skill!

Looks like this holiday weekend will be filled with lots of local activities. I think that maybe we’ll do some bouldering at Stoney Point, but I can’t see traveling much further than that at these ridiculous gas prices. At least the rising gas prices will help put a curb on some traffic though - that’s one way to help the environment!

Thankfully we have access to a lot of great biking opportunities here in Santa Monica, like Sullivan Canyon and the bike path on the beach. I cannot help singing the Three’s Company theme song whenever we are on the bike path, but luckily Partner-in-Climb claims not to find this behavior too embarrassing. However, we tend not to ride the bike path too often, and maybe that it part of the reason. The other part of the reason may be all the people who disregard the “Bicycles Only” signs and use the path as a sidewalk, creating a dangerous situation for bikers and walkers, but who can say.

It is also a bonus that it is drizzling right now and it’s supposed to be much cooler this weekend than it was last weekend. I was sweating buckets by the end of our ride last Saturday! I also rapidly depleted the water in two bottles, so now I am thinking it’s officially time for a CamelBak. Luckily, my Memorial Day holiday starts early and I can make a trip to Helen’s or Performance this afternoon to pick one up.

I am hoping it stays damp and hazy through tomorrow, because this is my favorite kind of weather to ride in. The trails don’t get really muddy and soft, but there is a nice cool mist and it adds a sense of adventure to even really familiar trails. Riding up the Westridge-Canyon Back fire road without sight of the usually expansive vistas somehow transforms the experience and makes it more focused. You can’t see the road ahead or behind, you have no way to gauge how far you have gone or have to go, and so you are really forced to be in the moment and commit to just accepting what lies ahead as it comes. It makes it really fun to come upon a slight downhill and cruise down it when you aren’t expecting any temporary relief at the moment. It’s like a great surprise. Sigh. Too bad I can’t hit the trail right now!

Only 5 hours til the weekend! Happy Memorial Day!

Tomorrow, May 16th is National Bike-to-Work Day! Save the environment, gas and your money while getting great exercise by riding your bike to work. Check out bike to work week info from:

• Bike to Work Week 2008
• League of American Bicyclists
• California Bike Commute

Don’t forget your bicycle helmet, and bring a bike light if you will be riding after dark.

I have said before that I am not that into “girlie bikes”, but my bike is starting to get girlie in a different way. It started with the Rock Shox Judy fork and now I am getting a Terry saddle…my bike is turning into a regular sorority!

The cool thing about the Terry Butterfly Carbon women’s saddle it is lightweight and reportedly one of Terry’s most comfortable bike seats. I love the design, which is much sleeker than many of the gel saddles I’ve been looking at. I am so exited about my new seat and can’t wait to get out on the trail!