i always laughed when there was a commercial on television that said that.  some very serious man or woman, wearing a labcoat would gaze earnestly into the camera, remove their glasses and hold up a manilla envelope or folder and say "an important university study has shown that..." 

this was my cue to start ignoring the rest.  at least political attack ads have the courage to cite their sources.  these are generic.  what gives this thing it's credibility?  the quasi-scientist staring into the camera, or maybe the "important" research in that manilla folder?  what gives.  as i got older, i came to appreciate the subtlety of competeing subject matter experts in a court of law and the way that authority, certainty and belief and are assumed and attacked when research is discussed.  this can all be seen repeated in bicycling relevant terms through a nice link from terry: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/freakonomics_on_1.php

-sg

just days ago, i was jabbering on about this.  you probably thought it was just random occurences, and random flux that thye happened in succession.  but i ask you, how many data points does it take to make a trend?

http://bikecentric.blogspot.com/2007/10/can-you-hear-me-now.html

time to take back what is ours.  zero tolerance policy for vehicular traffic on bicycle commuter routes is in effect.  go get a late pass.  step.

several friends, unbeknownst to each other, are waging a vicious battle for web link dominance.  bryan will probably win the war based on consistency, but for today, pete wins the battle and walks away with it for the weekend.  his email jokes about whether unicycles are union approved.  i would stress that it's not the size of your ride but what you do with it.  and this guy makes do.  check it:

http://glumbert.com/wii/view.php?name=unicycle

-sg

an email from pete:

This morning as I was coming back from Washington-Lee, a car was driving along the bike trail towards me (actually there were 6-8 people on this part of the trail). I figured it was a police car, but it was instead an older gentleman simply out for a morning drive.  Florida plates naturally. I asked him if he realized this was a bike trail, but he ignored me and continued on his way -- at about 10mph.  I didn't stick around to see what would happen next... I figure he probably got stuck at one of the curvy sections.

a follow up from bryan

Last year I encountered a motorist on the WOD on the section between the castle and the Custis....

and then it was my turn.  i was coming home from happy hour after hains in dc wed. night. i was just east of east falls church where it parallels 66 when a pickup started coming down the trail.  he was moving pretty good like.  he hit me with the high beams from 75m out which pretty much incapacitated my retinas, but he pulled off the path and drove in the grass.  as he went by, i noticed some logo on his door and his truck was filled with equipment.  i haven't a clue what he was doing.  catching rabbits, patching holes, or maybe just out for a cruise.  it's simply out of hand.  what part of __bike__ path don't they understand?

cool link from bryan

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/bik/444686139.html

it sure looks cool, but one has to wonder how many more hours it will be until those goatee-wearing, mountain dew code red swilling, chain wallet wearing hoodlums ruin it by riding these things on skate ramps and terrorizing our public monuments with their "extreme" antics; jumping it into fountains and grinding and bumping and what not.  in my day, you rode a banana seat bicycle off a piece of plywood in the neighbors yard propped up by a cinder block and called it a day.  in this modern era, with jazz and jet planes, you'd need to ride one of these things off the roof of the mci center, with one hand holding a red bull and video camera and the other hand holding a base jumping parachute to deploy on the way down, in order to get anyone to get up off their ass and give you a second look. 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/protour_oct07.php?id=road/2007/oct07/eroica07

and be sure to check out the pictures as well....

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos_protour_oct07.php?id=/photos/2007/oct07/eroica07/gallery-eroica07

-sg

the racing union blog returns from the idle rantings of the disgruntled with news of all things cycling.  but first, news (via an email from garner) about even more idle rantings.  and belgium.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goldberg9oct09,0,4034634.column?coll=la-tot-opinion

screw goldberg.  he's a tool.  disagree with me? you'll get a chance to bat it around live. 

tomorrow, the glorious revolution in cycling and the social order calls like the sirens of hellenic mythology to all those who ride: it’s voice unavoidable, it’s message irresistible, it’s appeal undeniable.  but this time, the call is not to duty, but to time spent riding with friends.  for those who have the luxury of free time and seek greater adventure on two wheels, please be advised that tomorrow, wednesday oct 10, we will be meeting for a very friendly ride around hains point with many like-minded cyclists: some racers, some recreational, some that fall in the “other” category.  this is to be immediately followed by the consumption of cool frothy beverages at real food and drink and the attempt to curse goldberg's name in as many languages as we can summon with our minds clouded by strong brown belgian ale.

also be aware that i will be passing the hat to raise money for the racing union benevolent fund.  though contributions are technically voluntary, our expectation is that people’s zeal for the revolution and fervor in fostering safe cycling throughout the dc metro area will bring slightly better that 100% participation.  anyone who makes a contribution, no matter how large or small is eligible for some fun door prizes i will be giving away.  i will also “auction” off a very nice piece of cycling memorabilia.  it is not in great condition but i will pass it around the table for people to check out and will take offers with all money going towards our current hair-brained scheme to foster safer cycling in and around dc.  details on said scheme will be made abundantly clear at the bistro.

and taking no rest in our labors, we transition to thursday bike polo with the dc street pirates at 12 & d se.  7:00 pm +/- 30 minutes.  be sure to use a beater bike if you want to turn out.  spectators are welcome.

-scott

the racing union hereby acknowledges solidarity with our comrades in deutschland

The 135 colleagues of the bicycle factory Bike Systems GmbH in the Thuringian Nordhausen, who keep the factory occupied since 10th of July 2007, decided to resume the production of bicycles in self-management. For this aim 1,800 binding orders on bicycles must be received till 2nd of October. So the collegues are working together with the anarcho-syndicalist union FAU (Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union – Free Workers-Union), which formed for this campaign the internetpage www.strike-bike.de.

The Supreme Revolutionary Council for Propagation of Message announced that upon arriving at the airport following the return from his listening tour, Dear Leader was escorted to a helicopter and flown to an undisclosed location. In his place, General Hector Ortiz Chuega has assumed control of the Supreme Revolutionary Council for Internal Security.

Citing a growing threat to the Union by capitalist forces, General Chuega has instituted martial law for all provinces effective immediately. All non-party members have been instructed to report to their respective local party administrators.

Members of the American Council for the Advancement and Procurement of Goods for the People (tm) [ACAP GP] were rounded up in trucks late last night. According to General Chuega, these "capitalist slugs attempted to drain the lifeblood of the revolution and required swift and dramatic action to protect the people and restore our clear path to victory." They will no longer threaten our children with their dangerous rhetoric.

The treasonous position of the TLRFWU must be condemned in no uncertain terms.  While it is true that the democratic principle of "one vote per bike" is a needless bourgeois convention that will become unnecessary once the glorious revolution in cycling and the social order has become complete, Dear Leader is the wrong vehicle for this step in the revolution.  He is an SUV when what we truly need is a sturdy cyclo-cross bike.  We cannot stand idly by while society careens forward in such an ill-advised manner.  The development of the motorized society cuts from under its feet the very foundation on which the bourgeoisie produces and appropriates products.  What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers.  And so it goes with our opponents in the TLRFWU.  Their's is a path that is paved with potholes, and our society has not yet reached the perfection and poetry that is cyclo-cross.  The fall of TLRFWU and all other cronies of Dear Leader and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.

-MLLFRWU

The True Liberation Front of the Revolutionary Word of the Union (TLFRWU) announces the full support of the People for Dear Leader's recent reforms and announced tour among the masses.  It is only through interaction with the masses that Dear Leader can learn of the great support for his - and our - glorious cause.  The hooliganism and nay-saying that has reached the upper levels of the Racing Union's revolutionary bodies is reached a truly intolerable level.  The only real course to stay in communion with the voice of the People is to be among the People, and to cut loose from the chains of democratic principles.  TLFRWU always regarded the principle of "one vote per bike" as an unnecessary convention of an imperfect past.  Dear Leader's truly revolutionary reforms are the only means by which the democratic voice of the masses can be heard above the din of nay-sayers.  FORWARD EVER, BACKWARDS NEVER!

- TLFRWU