Just wanted to throw this post out there for the commrades to see; I said I would report back so here it is.

When people discuss the Critical Mass bike rides that take place monthly in cities across the country, many different opinions and views may come up. In my own personal experience these opinions range anywhere from complete disgust to a near infatuation to a complete lack of knowledge. CM is a widely used cycling advocacy ride whose stated aim is “to celebrate cycling and assert cyclists’ right to the road.” (Taken from the Critical Mass website)

After finding out about the Washington, DC CM ride for January for the first time I decided to go ahead and check it out and ride along and see what it was all about. I met some cool people and had a pretty good ride in a sort of Tour de Downtown fashion. While I have no plans on riding this ride again, I also would not completely write it off and say that I never will.

The group that turned up on the wet but warm winter evening was right around 40 strong and included everyone from bike messengers, to commuters, to casual riders and probably a few people who were in it for the form of general protest which the ride takes. Bikes were decorated with lights and after hanging around Dupont Circle we all took off in the direction of 18th St and Adams Morgan. It started off slow without much opportunity to really cause much of a scene as we started out due to relatively slow and heavy traffic and we made it up through AM with only the sound of the riders’ cheers as well as some “friendly” honks from cabbies and a few other drivers and some folks walking on the sidewalks.

The ride rolled out to 16th Street heading south where we saw our first real confrontation of the evening. A number of cars ended up lined up behind us as we slowly spun down the hill and at one point a guy laid on his horn for at least 30 seconds straight. All the while the riders are yelling to “honk if you love bicycles…” At one point during this stretch one rider actually went back to a car behind and explained what we were doing and why we were doing it; this was by far the most productive thing I witnessed during the ride.

The rest of the ride included similar though not quite as intense or extended run-ins until the one that took place on K St that caused me to separate myself from the ride. We rode through some busy areas, U St and Gallery Place as well as some nearly empty places, down the mall and up to the Washington Monument. After my departure those left in the group continued on to Georgetown also. The majority of run-ins with vehicles were treated with either complete lack of interest or a cheer and overall the cause of cycling on city streets was likely not helped and most likely harmed a little bit.

The incident that drove me from the ride had more to do with the anarchistic approach that I feared from the ride. We were riding down K St (not positive about the street, may also have been Pennsylvania) in the 2 right lanes leaving the third open for the few cars that were on the street there at that time. A police cruiser drove up and asked us to remain in the one lane and leave the others open and ended up having some words with some of the riders. The majority of those around me were saying to just do what he says and stay over and were riding where we were asked. At a red light a number of the riders jumped out back into the 2nd lane though and basically egged on the officer. Lights flashed and sirens wailed and the officer attempted to pull over and stop the riders, essentially using the car as a weapon to do so. The feeling here was of ego’s and tempers on both sides getting out of control and it became evident that some riders had more interest in anarchy then advocacy.

Despite a few things, my overall opinion and conclusions of the ride are positive. Unfortunately with an event such as this that is borderline on being downright illegal, there are naturally going to be people out there who bring that anarchistic feel to the event. This approach and attitude does nothing but aggravate sides and create even farther extremes, likely endangering cyclists in future bicycling activities. If it weren’t for this slight bit of a feeling in the ride I would almost certainly have plans to join up and probably ride it on a monthly basis.

A few additional things I that think could and should be done to increase the effectiveness and decrease to harmful aspects of these rides would be to have shirts or signs proclaiming the ride as a cycling advocacy ride and not just some free-for-all bike chase through the city at the cost of drivers. Also flyers should be brought to the rides explaining the mission of CM and including helpful links to internet resources on the ride that could be handed out to the affected motorists and pedestrians and other cyclists that happen upon the group. Otherwise it just looks like some unruly parade of bikes through the city and does nothing to promote the cause. Letting people know the reasons behind the ride are far more important then showing them you can hold up traffic for four city blocks on bicycles.

(Once I get my internet connection at home back I will get pictures from the ride posted for the write up found here)

I also recieved a comment on this from Freewheeling Spirit that I thought sounded like a great idea:

"I always wondered whether it would be worthwhile to do CM in D.C. I'd prefer a lawful Ride of Silence once a month in memory of cyclists who have been killed."

I know they do this in NYC but maybe we could get something like this organized here in DC with the same sort of route and ideas as CM but with a completely legal approach.

Posted by the rookie/newbie/baby/commrade

word is rippling out that a certain local administrative affiliate of the national sanctioning body of cycling has gone and found itself a webmaster.  if you close your eyes, you can probably picture the scene that precipitated this.  sitting around some gigantic table in deeply cushioned chairs, they enjoy canapes and brandys.  their normal expressions; the wry and cynical smile that only comes from the smug and wealthy, the blankness that comes from detachment, the carelessness and inattentiveness of the unaccountable, it has now somehow twisted itself into discomfort.  well, as much discomfort as can possibly be expressed by these people.  "THERE'S A REVOLUTION AFOOT" they bellow.

while they sat around on huge piles of cash, the cyclists and citizens oppressed by their brutal yoke have tired of their servitude.  they have organized and rallied around the great and glorious cause.  they have been encouraging people to ride and then to race.  this movement, from the ground up, threatens the very basis for organized cycling.  will the gravy train run off the rails?  they hope the answer is no, but brothers and sisters, citizens and cyclists, we know better.

this is a last desperate measure on their part.  they are attemtping to develop a communications operation like ours but it won't work: a day late and a ruble short.  their days of reclining while casually indulging in the finer things and tossing bon mots back and forth are over. 

the revoluton has arrived.

the supreme revolutionary council for propogation of message has prepared some new graphics to help you better understand the important differences between how mabra continues to treat racers like serfs on their land versus how the racing union seeks to liberate bicycle racing and bicycle riders.

racing union!!  boldest and brightest.  beacon to all who labor on two wheels.  the banner which all cyclists and citizens rally.  hope for all those who ride, inspiration for those who seek an end to the dominance of the four wheeled hegemon.  union!!  da!!

mabra.  unaccountable tyranny, organizational despot, bitter oligarch, wringing the last few rubles from our pockets in a joyless and mechanical fashion.  an organization that now pretends at supporting the cyclists and seeks to provide a messenging platform.  clutching to it's own pretensions it's sense of self importance, the myth it has created of it's own relevence, but ultimately doomed to the dustbins of cycling history.

the time is now.  citizens and cyclists, heed the word.  rally to the banner.  union!  da!  union!  da!

josh sent me this.  i think it's hilarious.  

i can think of several funny things to say about it but none of them are quite right.  so bring your best material in the comments.  i don't have a prize handy but I'll scare something up. 

- - - sg

note: updated below with informed opinions, as opposed to what i normally publish -sg!

note: updated again with even better material

this is an open thread to discuss the idea that there is some benefit to restricting the gears of junior cyclists.  fixed gear cyclists, put a sock in it for now.  this thread assumes we are talking about riders who choose multiple gears and some mechanism for selecting which gear to ride.  Is there some benefit to restricting what gear the kids can ride?

info from usa cycling: link.

in canada, there is an evolving gear restriction.  link.  juniors under 13 have a maximum possible gear of 42 x 16, juniors under 15 have a maximum possible gear of 45 x 16, and juniors under 17 have a maximum possible gear of 52 x 16.

i am currently trolling for research but it's difficult to find directly applicable stuff.  this article would appear to say that there is little difference.  this article along with this article appear to show that arbitrarily modifying cadence (for instance by riding a fixed gearor using a gear restriction) may lead to suboptimal muscular contraction patterns.  check this as well.  demographically speaking, this is an interesting article, but i don't know if it provides useful proof for gear restrictions.

anyhow, plant your thoughs in the comments.

update (applied experience!): i solicited some feedback from pete lindeman who ran the junior program for ncvc for a few years before becoming their equivalent of maximum leader.  as always, h is insightful and amusing.  he has a lot of experience on all sides of this issue and i think his comments are well worth considering.

new update:  i was sent some more correspondence on this topic.  this is the most coherently argued perspective against this arbitrary rule that i have come across.  i virtually never post anonymous material, but in this case, I will say only that this is from a parent of an active junior racer.  this communique has everything.  be sure to check out the last paragraph.  the ending is brilliant.  simply brilliant.  enjoy...

This Juniors gear ruling is not founded on any empirical research that I can uncover. I've done a lot of research on the origins of the rule and it appears to come out of the UCI, based on nothing more than popular opinion. I believe USA Cycling has adopted the rule only to ensure that US Juniors and Espoirs remain compliant with and competitive in international competition. If that's the case, then why don't they so state. Is there a body of knowledge with the Espoirs National Team supporting the rule? Who knows? Other countries like Australia and Great Britain have even more restrictive Juniors gear rules that change with each racing age year from 12 to 23. Queries to clubs and organizations there have turned up a lot of support for the rule, but no rationale and no origin.

 

Our position of coordinating the 2008 US Air Force 60th anniversary bike race came out of my queries to USA Cycling as to the origins of the Juniors gear restriction rule. No one that I addressed at USA Cycling would discuss the rationale or origins of the rule. In fact, they wanted to get off the topic as quickly as possible.

 

As you know, 15 - 18 year old juniors must be Cat 3 rated or higher to qualify for National Championships. Here are some obvious facts that tend to question the merits of the new ruling that Juniors now must use restricted gearing in Seniors races as well:

 

1. The vast majority of Cat 5, 4, 3 races are flat-ground criteriums decided by a mass sprint in the final 500 meters or less. Loss of control from spinning out (150-200 RPM) in a 40 mph mass finishing sprint presents far more dangers to young riders than potential stress on joints and muscles from larger gears.

 

2. A large body of physiological research indicates that younger atheletes (under 23) are virtually incapable of self-induced stress injuries to muscles or joints, particularly in a sport like cycling, but are more highly susceptable to impact injuries, such as crashing, due to lack of skills and expereince (combine this with #3 above). In fact, adults over 23 are much more susceptible to repetitive stress injuries than juniors from lack of core strength, diminishing muscle mass (30+) and flexibility, and a more sedentary lifestyle.

 

3. USA Cycling cannot rule, measure nor enforce a rule on a minimum pedaling cadence, which is the stated rationale for the rule. Moreover, a bike race is not the place to teach or learn high-cadence pedaling technique. A fixie bike on a track is likely the best place to teach spinning. But in a race, instincts take over, and no amount of screaming from the sidelines will influence a kid trying to win a race, or just hang on to the pack and finish.

 

4. Pedaling stress on joints and muscles is relative to terrain, speed, wind, bike weight and measures, rider weight and measures, rider fitness, rider genetics, and rider pain tolerance, and NOT on the available gear selection. So, a 150lb. Juniors rider ascending a 20% grade at 17mph in a 52 X 17 gear is placing far greater stress on joints and muscles than a 120lb. Junior going 15mph in an illegal 53 X 12 gear on a flat course criterium. Moreover, every competitive Junior trains with one to two days of intervals to increase speed. There are tons of empirical data that support interval training as the only effective way to increase your speed.  So when Juniors spin out doing intervals on flat terrain, they seek nice long really steep hills to get HRs into Zone 5 - rule and rationale defeated.

 

5. Neither NORBA nor USCF Cyclocross rules have Junior gear restrictions, despite encouraging far lower cadences and radical terrain changes with steeper climbing grades.

 

6. There is no empirical data that I can find showing 80 rpms as the universal optimum cadence for men, women and children, in any cycling venue, but its taught and published 10,000 times a year. Where did this optimum come from and when? What types of riding and bikes were around when someone suggested this cadence? What empirical data supports the suggestion?

 

Year after year, I've watched Morgan Gerlak go off the front early in a Junior's race, pedaling at a godawful slow cadence in his largest 52X14 gear, while his mother screamed red-faced at every lap for him to pick up his cadence. He never did. He usually won. He's never had a stress-induced injury from mashing a large gear at a low cadence. He goes right from road racing into cyclocross every year and does suffer injuries there from crashing. Sean Yates (Motorola) was known for his slow cadence, while Lance Armstrong debuted his newly reengineered 120 rpm TT cadence at TdF win #5 I believe. Within the most successful of the pro ranks, there's a huge variance in pedaling cadence, so I conclude that the Juniors gear restriction rule is based solely on popular opinion from some outdated and outmoded cycling official who thought it was a good idea at the time.

 

Popular opinion also taught us that the world is flat and the center of the universe; that spinach is full of iron and good if you're anemic; that bathing causes the black plague; that beer and wine are good for hydration on long, mountainous, hot stages of the TdF; and that the atmosphere is warming and the polar ice caps are melting. Well, sorry Popeye but spinach has no iron. The troposphere has only risen 1 degree Farenheit in the last 100+ years, while the stratosphere and the eastern Pacific ocean have experienced much more significant cooling in the last 20 years. The same supercomputers that are pumping out this doomsday crap about waterfront in DC by 2025 can't even predict the weather three days from now. There's been no significant change in the total ice mass of the poles for decades - it melts a little over here and grows a little over there. 2006 was the calmest hurricane season in decades with the least amount of property damage for a long, long t ime, but that fact isn't newsworthy because it doesn't support Juniors gear restrictions.

 

One thing USA Cycling will accomplish with the new rule is the enduring angst and mistrust of a generation of up and coming Juniors, likely for the rest of their cycling careers. <name withheld> already competes against juniors that are 10, 11 12 months older because he was born in December. What difference would it make to USA Cycling to have your racing age change on your birhtday, rather than the calendar year? That's how it works with drinking age and voting. Now they're going to force Juniors to compete in sprint finishes in Cat 1/2/3/4/5 Seniors races (<name withheld>'s goal is Cat 2 before season end) with a 20% gear-inch handicap (52x14 vs 53x12).  That makes about as much sense as adding weight to a Junior's bike so he'll learn what it's like to race when he gets older and fatter.

Thomas Circle in more simple times

As those more familiar with me know, I have been ranting for some time now about the bike lanes that were included in the reconstructed Thomas Circle, which is on my commute to work from Petworth here DC to downtown Washington.  I’ve even taken my rants to various blogs (such as here:  http://www.dcist.com/archives/2006/10/24/go_home_already.php, and here:  http://washcycle.typepad.com/home/2006/03/street_renaissa.html) . 

I confess that I’m sort of agnostic when it comes to bike lanes in general.  I see their utility, and can recognize that they may encourage some to ride their bikes when they otherwise wouldn’t.  I also recognize that maybe, just maybe, they could lead to some semblance of recognition on the part of motorists that bikes are on the road.  At the same time, I’m troubled that sometimes it could lead motorists to assume that the only place on the road bikes are allowed are in bike lanes, and that they could lead to a false sense of security on the part of the cyclist.

Martin Luther overlooks the circle -

it's severe, but one of my favorite statues

in the city.

Thomas Circle is a more extreme illustration of the some of the pitfalls of bike lanes, as I see them.  The right lane of motorized traffic in the circle is for those moving forward around the circle and for turning vehicles, so the appropriate spot for a bike lane is to the right of that lane.  However, we all know the behavior of motorized vehicles in circles – the right lane is treated entirely like it’s a turning lane.  And, while you’re supposed to turn on your right turn signal if you’re driving off to one of the roads going out of the rotary, people rarely do.  This is the case even for those who are normally attentive to such matters.  Many of those driving around the circle – indeed, by my experience, most – are paying no attention to any cyclists to their right.  You can see where that problem leads.

Under construction -- looks much better today!

I wrote off to the DC Department of Transportation’s guru on bicycle issues, Jim Sebastian, about my issues with the circle.  And, in the interest of fairness, I thought I should share his response (I did obtain permission to reprint these comments).  In fact, I think it’s a good response, and it sounds like the DC government, in this case, is doing all it can to make sure motorists comply with their legal obligations.  I’m still going to do what I always do, however – take my rightful place in the middle of the right lane of motorized traffic while traveling through the circle.  (By the way, it’s worth mentioning that, in a follow-up email, Mr. Sebastian tells me that they’ve been assured that the blue painting is, in fact skid-proof.)

Mr. Sebastian’s email follows:

As for Thomas Circle, you raise a valid concern, one we considered in the design of the pavement markings.  In most rotaries or roundabouts one would not include bike lanes.  However, these large, signalized, multi-lane circles are rather unique. If you stretch out the circle, you actually have a 4 lane street with a series of intersections, just like the rest of 14^th street north of the Thomas Circle. While we would never put a bike lane to the right of an exclusive right turn lane, we do place them, almost always, to the right of a right/through lane. The difference here, and it's an important one, is the angle of the right turn.  As you point out, most vehicles do not signal (or even slow down) when exiting the circle.

To address this, we are planning to paint the bike lanes a different color and install new signs (see attached).  We're actually doing a before and after study.  We've been taking videos of bike/car behavior since the circle was completed. We will do more after the pavement markings and signs are installed. 

So far we haven't had any complaints (other than yours) or reported crashes.

In the end, we can always take the Thomas Circle lanes out if they do not prove safe and effective.

As for bike lanes in general, you're right to assume they are intended, in part, to encourage basic cyclists to ride, and also to send a message to motorists that bikes are on the street in DC, and to curve out some space for bicyclists in a congested city.  They are not targeted primarily at advanced cyclists like you and me.  But even when we implement the entire bicycle plan for the District, there will only be about 50 mile of bicycle lanes, less than 5 percent of the city's streets.  So 'sharing the road' will continue to be the primary bicycling situation.

Thanks for your interest and please continue to give us your input and ideas.

anyone who races as a junior in 2007 will need to make junior rollout.  this doesn't just mean junior races, this means all races.  a junior doing their categorized race or the senior race will still need to do rollout.  here's a very good link to understanding the details.

http://www.usacycling.org/forms/rules/JUNIOR_GEAR_ADJUSTMENTS.pdf

i believe that the quicksilver winter solstice series will again offer free entry to juniors.  anyone intending to show up there or at tradezone should be prepared to do rollout before the event.  read up on it if you need to familiarize yourself and share this information with anyone you know who might be affected.  i know pete lindemann had a couple of sources for special gear that makes rollout so if you're in the market, you can probably drop him a line for additional info.

-sg

documentary evidence that people don't observe the world around them.

incidentally, this is the same reason that bike lanes are hardly the answer to our problems.

- - - posted by scott

alton brown's energy bar recipes. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9956_38665,00.html

I've started producing them and will try to bring some to group rides.

- - - posted by scott

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/aaa/213715274.html

if this link is dead, drop me a line and I'll include the message text.

-sg

just south of the plaza de la revolucion, above the command bunker and next to the congress of people's deputies is the supreme revolutonary council for message propogation.  this building houses the tireless servants of the revolution, the very heart and soul of the glorious cause.  they spin endless strands of silky smooth language designed to help people better understand the necessity of change and the centrality of the bicycle.  it's hard work but they excel at it.

and while their operation is usually a seamless, well-oiled and efficient one, they are currently in turmoil.  when it comes to propoganda the language of liberation, we take a back seat to no one.  but the enemy has recently developed some advanced rhetorical methods and constructions that appear stunningly powerful,and beyond our ability to match.  while union forces clearly have solid chops, they have been humbled by the sheer power of this technique:

HENRY: You know, going back to September 2001, the president said, dead or alive, we're going to get him. Still don't have him. I know you are saying there's successes on the war on terror, and there have been. That's a failure.

TOWNSEND: Well, I'm not sure -- it's a success that hasn't occurred yet. I don't know that I view that as a failure. 

simply amazing.  a success that has not occured yet.  this type of pravda is powerful magic.

but i will not be intimidated.  in fact, let me try it out.  as you all may remember, in my last correspondence with usa cycling, i modestly and reasonably argued that the racing union best represents the ideals of cycling and should obviously be recognized for this while other clubs are punished for their mindless devotion to the status quo.  as can be seen here, the clarity of our message was lost on them.  but we can use this new construct to declare victory.  the racing union's ascendancy over all other cycling organizations is merely a success that has not occured yet.  yes, i think i like that.  i think i like that a lot. far from failure, our complete domination of all things cycling is merely a success that has not occured yet.  yes, 2007 is looking like it will be a very, very good year.

- - - posted by scott

http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/5/fast_and_reliable/

thanks to erik for this nice link. 

http://rodale.typepad.com/bi_audio_blog/2006/12/getting_fixed.html

and thanks to bryan, our mad hectic fixie rider for this link...

- - - posted by scott

updated

I can't help myself...

awesome :: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1s3hxcp5bs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LmAhsEvl7c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LW_VkWyWN8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWc9w-ep1_A

and of course: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EaJMr26F5w

p.s. who out there is still interested in a fixed gear pub crawl/poker ride for charity?

bryan b comes through a link that's pure money: what rock opera should have been.  pete townsend and his ilk would likely turn up their noses at it but this smells like revolution to me.

rock on!