Portrait of a commuter as a young (?) racer

(left, Is he commuting or is he racing? Chris Dinsmore competes in cross, road and mt bike events and also commutes to work in downtown Norfolk. Here, he adds style to Trashmore Cross race. Photo by JB.)

Cycling safety on local roads has been in the news the last couple of weeks. In one article, Norfolk council member, Theresa Whibley, spoke about the lack of safety when cycling on Hampton Blvd. She said something about taking her life into her hands while riding a short commute to work.

Next, Tom Coghill canceled his annual Celebration for Life charity ride in Virginia Beach. He said safety for the 1000 participants on biker-unfriendly Virginia Beach roads led to the cancellation. He said he was not happy to learn that the Beach had earned an honorable mention by League of American Bicyclists for being a “Bicycle Friendly Community.” There’s some interesting reading in the 46 comments that readers posted in response to the article. (Scroll to bottom of article for comments.)

Leave it to Kerry Dougherty to actually call the League and find out what the honorable mention designation actually means. She found out that “honorable mention” means only that the Beach is on the “cusp” of being Bicycle Friendly because of its efforts. So, just as Coghill had suspected, there was more spin to the award than substance.

I am not sure things will improve around here unless more cyclists stand up, organize, and start chipping away at the tasks. I ask myself what am I really doing to make things happen around here, and the answer is nothing really.

At the same time, I am discouraged by the avid-cyclist stance against multi-use bike paths. Sure, I think shoulders are ideal and I favor shoulders, but I also think the key to encouraging the average person to commute to work is multi-use bike paths. The Beach has paths on London Bridge Road, Dam Neck Road, Princess Anne Road, Little Neck Road, Great Neck Road, small part of Shore Drive, parts of the Oceanfront, and coming soon to Birdneck Road.

Looking at the city as a whole, I agree with Coghill, Dougherty and most cyclists that Virginia Beach is biker-unfriendly. But we gotta give them credit for the muti-use paths that can serve as key commuter routes once more linking happens. Think about D.C. They are moving slowly toward a goal, and perhaps a few fires under them (cyclists) can move things along faster. I am glad that Coghill did not let his fantastic ride go down quietly.

(above, Cyclists spin through Ocean Lakes neighborhood on 2006 Celebration for Life ride in Virginia Beach. Photo by Bob Devich)

Circle of what?

(right, Blueprint of circle of death planned for Trashmore Cross Sunday. Photo by JB.)

How is it that I had never heard of “circle of death” until like yesterday? This term is of the interdisciplinary sort, encompassing an old movie, a three-way tie, a drinking game, antithesis of circle of life, a Soviet air maneuver, a child’s bike game.

Circle of death in cyclocross I just learned is the concentric circles staged on flat sections of courses to test technical skills and to get you dizzy. I remember rolling through one at Ironcross prologue. I did wonder how it is that we moved toward the center of this no-exit maze and still managed to get out without intersecting lines. I knew the sense of the thing but knew not its name.

I will see up close how it’s designed this Sunday. Hosang is adding one to the Trashmore Cross course, scene of this year’s VA State Cross Championships.

All things aero

Three peat for Conte's women. (left) Annette won the overall women's division at the 1st Cape Henry Duathlon yesterday. (center) Cook won the 35-39 age group and was 4th overall. (right) And Julie won 25-29 age group. There were about 80 female finishers. Photo source: triduo.com

Sludge Art

Mud is everywhere, still, two days after the rainy Urban Cross race. I managed a late-lap endo into the mud on an off-camber downhill section, packing mud into the my helmet rivets (see left). That would be the second time a Specialized helmet did its job for me this year.

The race was staged around the old textile mill in Charlottesville where several murals were painted during a 2004 art show. The murals reminded me that we were making a different kind of art out there. Race photos by Kevin and mural photos by Brian Hall.

It's not about the light

The clean well-lighted place is way overrated. It’s really about the padded back-supported chair. I put my Knoll Bulldog to the test by not moving from it much last week to finish a thesis endurance-racer style. Like any endurance event, it became less about how much sleep I was missing and more about whether or not my tail would endure.

I am indebted to that chair much as I am indebted to my San Marco Regal saddle that has been my longstanding road saddle. In fact, in my delirium I found myself so grateful for the chair and saddle, that I dedicated the thesis to Dave Waters since he is the one who introduced me to the San Marco Regal. He said to always have a back up in a box and I still do to this day.

I am also grateful to a support crew who supplied me coffee and pizza feeds (Sally and Mike), and a tech crew who took my computer crash calls (Robert and Susan). My competitor? The clock of course.