Tread lightly

Send anyone who is interested in how to commute in traffic to a workshop Wes and I are conducting Saturday, 11am, Farm Market near the ice skating rink at MacArthur.

I admit that I have not commuted to work in years. I live a mile from the job, so gearing up bike and clothing for such a short ride that will not give me a workout is not appealing. Plus, I carry books and would need to change clothes. . . dang, I am making excuses! I can at least commute on dress down Fridays. I am suddenly motivated to ride to work tomorrow.

I did not have a car for a few years in my early 20's. I biked to work and to TCC as I worked on a 2 year degree that took me 4 years to complete. I remember best the cold, but secondly the pride of self-sufficiency and accomplishment.

I am not expecting a great turnout since the workshop is not listed on Fair Trade Festival's calendar. We have tried to advertise with flyers. Both Wes and I have a vision of a more dynamic cycling population in Norfolk. This is the beginning of more workshops and strategies for riding in town.

ALSO, Critical Mass Norfolk is this Friday, Nov 30.

AND, Norfolk's second ever Alley Cat race is happening Friday, December 14.

Peloton Pageantry?

(left, Gavin joined us for the Conte's ride Saturday.)

I wonder what can be done around here to get more blacks and other minorities involved in competitive cycling, or in performance style cycling that is distinguished from riding around the block. I can think of half dozen things immediately and all involve a time investment. I think the first part of the investment should be to start talking about it.

Part of it (part of it I say) has to do with lack of role models in our ranks. I miss Super Joe and Rocketman Dave who competed for years before moving on to other things. I can think of 3 guys I have seen on local group rides this year. Women? I have never ridden with a black woman at all who lives in this area. Has there ever even been a black woman from Hampton Roads to compete (duathlons perhaps, but what about pure cycling which requires lots more skill)? It’s not like we live in a rural Midwestern town—we live in a region that is roughly 30% black. The little bit I know about social dynamics is that it's fair to ask "what can we do better" when a group that is huge part of our community has hardly any representation within a subgroup.

Gavin from Brooklyn does the Saturday rides when he visits his Virginia Beach family on holidays. His jersey reminded me of Major Taylor, a bike racer I had never even heard of until I saw his picture on Gavin's team jersey last Christmas. 100 years ago, Major Taylor broke world records in cycling long before Jackie Robinson and Althea Gibson broke the color barrier in their respective sports. Here is an excerpt from his biography:

August 1896 -- Taylor unofficially breaks two world track records, for paced and unpaced 1-mile rides, in Indianapolis. But his feat offends white sensibilities and he is banned from Indy's Capital City track.

December 1896 -- Taylor finishes eighth in his first professional race, a six-day endurance event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1898 -- Taylor holds seven world records, including the 1-mile paced standing start (1:41.4).

Aug. 10, 1899 -- Taylor wins the world 1-mile championship in Montreal, defeating Boston rival Tom Butler. Taylor is the second black world champion athlete, after bantamweight boxer George Dixon's title fights in 1890-91.

Nov. 15, 1899 -- Taylor knocks the 1-mile record down to 1:19.

September 1900 -- Thwarted in previous seasons by racism, Taylor finally gets to complete the national championship series and becomes American sprint champion.

Read articles about Major Taylor.

A collegiate cycling team in Indiana also draws inspiration from Major Taylor. Team Major Taylor worked to break into all-white Little Indy 500 bike race, a competition made famous by the film “Breaking Away.” Five guys pushed to be the first minority group represented in Little Indy and they worked against a school history of tactics to keep them out. (Example: the school organized a picnic for blacks that took place at the same time as the Little Indy. How many bike racers would rather attend a picnic when the most famous collegiate bike race in the country is happening 2 miles away??)

Anyway, these guys got into the race in 2002, but not without police escort, and yes, they even endured jeers from some in the crowd who did not want them there. (Yes, 2002, not 1902) Best I can tell, TMT's best finishing place was 2nd in 2003 and I assume they have fielded a team each year since then.

Read about TMT in the magazine links.

757 CX @ Trashmore

These kids shared in the future of cyclocross racing today at Mount Trashmore. Brett in the green won the GC.












Rob and Kevin shared a bike after both of theirs broke in a crash. The 757 CX cooperation has never been more evident.

Lots of people including Robert shared their talents to make the race happen.

Some folks shared the hill. That's Amanda home from JMU and Young Mark.

Others shared a bench.

And we all shared the pain. Tony did 2 races, ouch.

Here are some race photos someone took. (Gilbert perhaps?)

Woods Bite Back

So we're just barely riding along (maybe 2 mph) after a regroup on Ipswitch trails when a boom-a-rang-shaped stick snatched Tom's bike. It yanked the derailer and hanger off in a second. >>>>>>

No one in our group of 6 had a chain tool to take out links to make a singlespeed. We waited for rescue by the other 10, but the sole chain tool among them was a broken one. (Photo by Mike Park.)

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Tom's tattoo (or am I referencing the wrong arm?) says in Chinese something about friends sticking around through trouble, so the idea to have him call a taxi for a ride home seemed a little out of context. >>>>>>

(Found out that the right arm pictured says, "Knowledge is power" and the left arm text not seen says, "Never forget your friends.")

The guys took turns towing him on the road back with pushes and stick pulls. Fun to watch them get him over the Campostella Bridge.

Read about the politics of spelling derailer.

Info about the Wed night ride from Conte's Norfolk to Ipswich trails.

The Bully Within

Apparently, various forms of "Bully" need to be added to the road cycling dictionary. I have extensive knowledge of bullys since I have front row seating at the back of the peloton:

Pull Bully--camps out in front position 100 cranks or more too long. People like me like pull bullys since pace stays more steady.

Push Bully--pushes his/her way to the front then refuses to take a pull. I have done this plenty.

Gossip Bully--spreads the latest gossip while others in the peloton are breathing too hard to dispute rumors or to respond.

Attack Bully--turns in front of cars when there is not enough time for whole group to make the turn safely. Said bully then attacks as the group is stopped. (Also known as stupid bully.)

Aero Bully--one whose aero position is so well dialed in that those behind get no draft advantage.

Squirrel Bully--sends out memos to neighborhood squirrels, telling them to keep away from speeding peloton. That way, s/he can monopolize the terror with jerky movements and ill-timed jumps.

Clueless Bully--says things like, "Oh, you were on the ride today?" or "I never saw you" since s/he was too busy monopolizing the first 5 slots. (Also known as faster-than-me bully.)

Blanket Bully--one who touches on all bully categories.

(above photo by JB).

Living Car-Light

(left, Susan and Jennifer transition from the run up at Trashmore Cross '06. Photo by JB.)

Trashmore Cross, again the VA State cyclo-cross championships, will be held in Virginia Beach Sunday, Nov 18. New for this year is a kids race (12 noon) and a surprise course change that Hosang says will replace the "spiral of death" in the field. Conte's has donated an S-Works Specialized Cross frame and carbon fork for the raffle to benefit Meredith Nicholls.

Call out to A women: we need more of you down here! LOOK, I (Slow me) am the defending champ! There is something wrong with that! Get down here and kick me into the barriers or lap me or something. Register now.


Wes and I are holding a bike commuter workshop as part of the Fair Trade Festival Dec 1 in Norfolk. The brochure describes it as a "sustainable Hampton Roads workshop" for "living car-light in this area." Other workshops include green roofing and buying wind power. Our workshop meets at Sacred Heart Church in Ghent and we'll hit the streets from there. (Life lesson--read the brochure BEFORE teaching the class.)

The festival's main events take place outside MacArthur Mall:

Local musicians, dancers, and poets! Great local and Fair Trade food! FREE CHOCOLATE TASTINGS! Holiday shopping from local artists and farmers, and artist and sewing cooperatives from around the world. Everything at the Fair Trade Festival is made or grown under fair labor standards- no sweatshops, no slavery. And GREAT prices! (hamptonroads.com calendar)

Also, a DC band Scythian is playing a concert to benefit the festival at The Boot restaurant Wed, Nov 14, at 9pm. Who wants to go after the Wed Night Ipswitch ride? I will make reservations. $10 donation.