Thank goodness that's over for another year

[MajGenl.Meade]

[Gob]

Snnuuurrttt

[BoSoxGal]

Wot, no helmets???

[Guinevere]

And yet, weren't you cheering Chris Froome to victory last year?

This was a terrific Tour, full of excitement and drama, with some great racing. I loved the days in England, and loved the cobblestones, and loved how the Shark of Messina was able to take command and how hard he raced even when he was well ahead. I hope and pray he is clean.

[rubato]

I'd like to see the TdF make a comeback and for cycling as a sport to become more popular here in the US. I used to enjoy following it (mostly in the press) in the 70s and 80s. Like baseball cycling is a literary sport; both began in the era before broadcast journalism and both led to the development of great writing. The Tour itself was propoted largely a means of developing a newspaper.

yrs,
rubato

[Guinevere]

It's pretty popular around here. I live on a regular riding route and my Swede is a very serious cyclist (albeit not with the typical cyclists' frame - but he does well regardless). Regular bike commuters, too.

What really needs to happen is for drivers to be more aware of, and attuned to bikes, and for both cyclists and drivers to follow the rules of the road better. Just last Friday a cyclist was struck and killed in my town by a left-hand turner.

[rubato]

If you're talking about cycling in general then Santa Cruz has been a world center since the 70s and still is. It is dangerous though. I had a bad concussion from a motorist pulling out of a parking lot in front of me. Cost me my beloved Keith LIppy custom bicycle frame and an expensive trip to the ER.

yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

Can you send me his address?

[Lord Jim]

I had a bad concussion from a motorist pulling out of a parking lot in front of me.

Nah, that's just too damn easy...

[Guinevere]

STOP IT, both of you! Did you not read what I read -- a cyclist in my town was killed on Friday. It's NOT FUNNY.

[Jarlaxle]

I see so many cyclists doing SO MUCH stupid and/or illegal things that it no longer surprises me. I have had bike riders HOLDING THE DOCK STEPS on my work truck in Boston while I drive. They ignore traffic lights, turn restrictions, and often one-way streets. Basically: they want all the rights of motor vehicles and none of the responsibility.

[rubato]

Can you send me his address?

The last time I was in touch he lived near Bend Oregon. He had stopped making singles (for the most part) to focus on tandems. But that was a long time ago, 1990-ish. I got my frame in ca 1976 via a shop called "The Bicycle Center" in Santa Cruz after ordering a series of Masi frames which were all so badly made the shop owner volunteered to send them back before I said anything. Anyway, the downtube and forks were badly bent so I gave the frame to the guy who makes Rock Lobster frames to salvage the tubes (Paul Sadoff). I found a used Lippy frame which is a little small for me (57cm) with the idea of building it up for my wife which is still in the garage. Not as nice as the frame he made for me.

I have a cousin (once removed) who makes frames, or used to.

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/USA/fattic_doug.htm

Steel framed bikes are beautiful and have a soul to them. The current bikes are fine functionally but look like they're all stamped out of a mold, no personality at all.



yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

STOP IT, both of you! Did you not read what I read -- a cyclist in my town was killed on Friday. It's NOT FUNNY.

It's really not. We've had a few bicycle fatalities in recent years. Most of the local cyclists are pretty aware but the exceptions do stand out.


yrs,
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[BoSoxGal]

Gob, LJ, it's quite clear you can't stand rubato - but that was in really poor taste, and you only diminish yourselves by crossing that line.

[Gob]

Apologies Guin, I did not remember...

[rubato]

From those two it is a continuous shit storm. Its what they do.

yrs,
rubato

[Guinevere]

Apologies Guin, I did not remember...

I'm not the one you owe the apology to.

And Jarl, yes, there are bicyclists who do not follow the rules (which is stupid) but there are lots more drivers who do not follow the rules, and they are driving a deadly weapon. I've seen and experienced it often while on my bike, and it is terrifying, how little regard drivers have for cyclists. It's even worse now, with even more distracted driving than ever.

From a friend of mine, just last night (who happens to be a traffic engineer) in the midwest (Detroit/Minneapolis)

Tonight, biking down 1st Street I saw, in order, a fire truck, a bike with a taco'd wheel, a sea of staring people, and a body on a windshield. This shit has got to stop. We lose the equivalent of a SMALL TOWN every year to traffic crashes, and we've been brainwashed into viewing these incidents as acts of God. Or, somehow the victims fault. I would lead a charmed life if I never read another goddamn crash report narrative where the at-fault driver claims they "didn't see" the person they mowed down in a crosswalk...we've done such a good job of insulating cars and requiring so little attention for the driving task that people forget that there might be other human beings in the world that just want to get where they're going.
Honestly, this shit is our damn fault. We invented these machines, and built an entire infrastructure around them. An infrastructure, I should add, we can't even afford to maintain. An infrastructure that is slowly killing us in other ways (hello car-commute related obesity). Why do I feel like I'm the only one who is outraged that the roads in Michigan killed 951 people last year. And 375 in Minnesota. And 35,000 in the whole country. If the street system was a foreign dictator, we would've LONG rolled in with tanks to try to end it.

Cycling is good for us, it helps keep our bodies healthy and fit, it doesn't pollute, and it can be incredibly social. We need to do a much better job valuing and protecting cyclists than we do.

[MajGenl.Meade]

I'm not the one you owe the apology to

I've tried this before (but it's never worked)

[rubato]

Meanwhile ...

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/santac ... safety-law

"... SANTA CRUZ >> Drivers who pass within 3 feet of bicyclists can get hit with a $35 ticket in September, as a new state law aims to curb crashes.

While many Santa Cruz County cyclists praised the new law, some law enforcement officers said it might be challenging to enforce because of the strict distance and also because drivers simply might not pass cyclists in the presence of a cop. At its core, the law seems more of a symbolic attempt to keep cyclists and drivers apart, cyclists said. More than 20 states already have similar laws. ... "

" ... From 2007 to 2010, a cyclist was in a crash nearly once every two days in Santa Cruz County, according to the CHP. There were 751 reported wrecks in that time. ... "

This is a very cycling-intensive area and most cyclists know what they're doing but there are always less-experienced people out there who get into trouble. The percentage of drivers who are oblivious is much higher.


yrs,
rubato