Out and about in Durham.

Some pictures of Durham and My girl Candi.

Will Post soon.

Trac bike part II

Ok, so this picture is a little old but it is during the build process. Notice the wheels have no rubber and the stem and bar have been replaced with Deda trac bars and stem. Crank is installed and waiting on a half link for chain.

Trac Bike

Today was the first day of the build of my John Howard. Most of the components are in; Surly new hubs, KMC chain, Deda Trac bars, Cranks, Deep V rims. Here is a picture of the wheel build. I will try to keep a picture diary of the build to share.

Yes, they are gold, so are the cranks, the headset and chain. It's like art you can fly with.

CYCLISTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

WHEREAS, cyclists are considered to be the “indicator species” of a healthy community; and

WHEREAS, cyclists are both environmental and traffic congestion solutions; and

WHEREAS, cyclists are, first and foremost, people - with all of the rights and privileges that come from being members of this great society; and

NOW, THEREFORE, WE THE CYCLING COMMUNITY, do hereby claim the following rights:

1) Cyclists have the right to travel safely and free of fear.

2) Cyclists have the right to equal access to our public streets and to sufficient and significant road space.

3) Cyclists have the right to the full support of educated law enforcement.

4) Cyclists have the right to the full support of our judicial system and the right to expect that those who endanger, injure or kill cyclists be dealt with to the full extent of the law.

5) Cyclists have the right to routine accommodations in all roadway projects and improvements.

6) Cyclists have the right to urban and roadway planning, development and design that enable and support safe cycling.

7) Cyclists have the right to traffic signals, signage and maintenance standards that enable and support safe cycling.

8) Cyclists have the right to be actively engaged as a constituent group in the organization and administration of our communities.

9) Cyclists have the right to full access for themselves and their bicycles on all mass transit with no limitations.

10) Cyclists have the right to end-of-trip amenities that include safe and secure opportunities to park their bicycles.

11) Cyclists have the right to be secure in their persons and property, and be free from unreasonable search and seizure, as guaranteed by the 4th Amendment.

12) Cyclists have the right to peaceably assemble in the public space, as guaranteed by the 1st Amendment.

And further, we claim and assert these rights by taking to the streets and riding our bicycles, all in an expression of our inalienable right to ride!

Loss of a Friend

On June 3, 2008 I woke up to my phone blowing up with calls from the bike shop. "Dude, Clive was hit and killed on his bike over there on pleasant Green road." I couldn't believe what I had heard. I just rode with him the day before. Clive kicked my ass that day. Made me climb and climb. I hope that he knew that.

Made my girlfriend get up and drive me out there to see for myself. I didn't believe it as I stood right there where he died, same place where I have ridden many, many times before.

Now it's the day after Clive's memorial service, and I have had some time to reflect on the whole last week and what I have learned since his untimely death. I would like to share some thoughts since this ugly tragedy. Trying to follow suit of many others who were his co-workers and friends who wrote about Clive on his website http://www.clivesweeney.com/ by starting when I met the man. I worked the past couple of summers at the local bike shop here in Durham. At times, Clive would bring in his old trusty steed he rode for service, advice or just to look around. At First glimps of the man, he was tall and looked like he knew his way around a weight room. Since that time, I started working at West Village where I saw Clive almost every day I worked. Most evenings he would walk in the front door wearing a black T-shirt, black ball cap, terminator style wrap around sun glasses and strutted. I think he strutted because he was ok with who he was and what he did. Hindsite, I know this now.

Finally after months about talking about bikes, bodybuilding, workingout, and more bikes I got up the courage to see if this gentle giant wanted to go for a spin. Here is the exact route we took:

I picked up Clive at his place and we set out for our ride. We stopped at the Carr Mill for water and a breather then headed back. During our ride, we chatted a bit and Clive told me that he hasen't ridden with anyone in over a year. Funny, I thought to myself. A guy like this who rides every day, rides alone? I think Clive had a great time, even tho later after his death I got an email from a friend who knew Clive sent me this link to his blog. http://www.metaconverse.com/2008/05/19/the-online-peleton/ Read it and come back here...... ...... Ok, sure there were times during our ride where I had to soft pedal to wait for the ole' guy, but some days we just don't feel good and the big plus was that he never quit. Many a day with my teamates I get dropped, so I just try harder and that is what Clive did also.

Two weeks passed since that ride and I gave him a call for a chance to redeem himself. Note this: I called him about 2pm on Saturday the 31st, I live 2 miles from him, and it took me 6 minutes to get there(you do the math). He was waiting for me at the front door (chomping at the bit). This time I gave him the controls and we headed out for a brutal hill climb session that I won't forget. We hit Mt. Siani and climbed that sucker 2 times, mind you this is at the end of our 30 miler. We didn't just climb it twice, he had to add in a little extra loop thru a sub division on Taproot Rd. This is all ups and downs. I wish I wrote all this earlier so he could feel good like he made me feel. Anyway, Clive gave it back for what was dished out too him with a positive attitude and a look of happiness that we cyclist get after a good workout.

I will truly miss you Clive. I think you and I would of put a many miles down togethor.

CLIVE STRONG!

Police Returning to Bicycles

Here is a link ( http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/2939742/ ) on wral's web site talking about how the police departments are going back to bicycle patrol. Here in Durham, our finest have not forsaken the bicycle.

Great Helmet information

Helmets

Bicycle helmets restrict vision and hearing, endangering the user. Response: We have never found this to be the case. Bike helmets do not affect vision. If the helmet intrudes on upward vision it will be evident to the user, who can adjust the tilt of the helmet to raise the front lip. Bike helmets also do not affect hearing, since normally they do not cover the ears. That question is easily settled by riding with and without a helmet, or by standing beside a road with helmet on and off. The US DOT has conducted a study on this question using motorcycle helmets and found that even these larger helmets with additional coverage do not affect hearing, and have little effect on vision. Helmets are heavy, hot and uncomfortable. Response: This is a subjective judgment for each individual, and is easily tested by the user. Most riders find today's helmets light, comfortable and cool enough. Helmets are inconvenient when getting off the bike to shop or go to class. Response: Putting a helmet on takes less time than putting on bike gloves, but it does add another step every time you get on the bike, and we agree that it can be a nuisance on very short trips from one store to another. So is fastening your seat belt in a car, but you do it for safety. The helmet can be left with the bike, locked if the bike needs to be locked in that location. Helmets are not effective except in minor crashes. Response: We have ample evidence from medical studies that helmets are indeed highly effective, and you will find references on our statistics page. Although bicycle helmets are tested in labs in impacts at 14 miles per hour, they usually do a fine job of protecting the rider in a crash where the initial forward speed is higher, because the severity of the impact is normally determined by the closing speed of the head and pavement, not by the rider's forward motion. Research on crashed helmets shows that most people hit the ground at a relative speed of about 10 MPH. If a rider is hit by a car or hits a brick wall at 30 mph and the head takes a direct blow at that speed, no helmet will prevent injury or death. But that type of crash is rare, and helmets are designed for the severity of the most frequent crash types. As a reality check, ask any club cyclist about helmet effectiveness. They have shared experience that gives them more perspective on crashes. Club cyclists were the first to adopt helmets in the U.S., and the first to see the results. You will see helmets on all or most of the riders on virtually any club ride in the US. Among racers, the United States Cycling Federation (now USA Cycling--our road racing organization) adopted a mandatory helmet rule in 1986, because every year two or three riders were being killed in their races and more were suffering head injuries. In the years since it has been rare for a racer to die in a US race, even though their crashes occur at racing speeds. We have a page up on helmet protection limits. Helmets can contribute to injuries by adding weight to the rider's head. Response: When the impact occurs, the helmet is between the head and the hard place, where weight is unimportant. If that were not the case, we would see an increase in head or neck injuries in helmeted riders here, and that has not happened. Motorcycle helmets are much heavier than bicycle helmets, and if there were a tendency for helmet weight to be a factor it would have shown up there. Under normal riding conditions, the weight of a helmet does not destabilize the rider. Competitors in BMX competitions with three pound motorcycle helmets on their heads maintain amazing balance on difficult track conditions and jumps. Helmets can increase the liklihood of hitting the head because they increase the size of the head. Response: A helmet does have a larger diameter than the head. But it would be more accurate to say that the helmet might increase the likelihood of hitting the helmet itself, not the head. Helmets are not designed to protect against rotational injury, when the blood vessels and nerves attached to the brain are stretched or ruptured by the brain's inertia during sudden jerks of the skull. Response: There is no consensus among the medical community on the threshold of rotational injury or how to measure it, although there is probably a rotational component in most serious head injuries. The standards-making community believes that a helmet that protects well against straight through (translational) impacts also reduces the effects of rotational injury, since rotational motion comes from off-center translational impacts. But the damage to the interior of the brain is not simply a function of a turning motion. It results from different parts of the brain moving in different directions at different speeds after even a translational impact. Reducing the severity of the impact reduces that type of damage. There is potential for improvement of current helmets eventually when rotational injury is better understood and means of predicting it in a crash are developed and accepted. Because this is an area requiring further research it has always been an easy target for raising doubt about the performance of current helmets. But in fact current helmets are a long way from perfect in almost any respect, and this is just one element that can be improved. That does not negate the benefits of wearing today's helmets. They work very well despite their imperfections! Helmets are made of plastic, and plastic may contain dangerous chemicals. Response: Although polycarbonate is used in many helmet shells and is suspected as one of the sources of the chemical BPA in the environment, there is no evidence yet that the helmet shells pose any danger to the wearer. We are more concerned about materials used in the interior of the helmet in contact with the skin. See our page on plastics in helmets for more info. Helmets are expensive. Response: Like any piece of wearing apparel, you have a choice of cheap or expensive. In the US market, cheap helmets are less than $10 (everyday prices at Wal-Mart and Target start at $7.14), and are just as protective as the more expensive ones. A study in New Zealand suggested that helmets there were not cost-effective, but in the US the analysis prepared by the National Public Interest Research Institute in 1994 suggested that every dollar spent on bicycle helmets saves $25 to $32. Since that time the cost of the average bicycle helmet here has fallen and health care costs have risen steeply. Helmets give a false sense of security. A helmeted rider will take more risks, and is more likely to crash. Response: We have not observed that phenomenon. Riders here were just as careless in the 1960's and earlier without helmets as they are today. We have never been able to identify a case where a rider we knew began wearing a helmet and changed their risk-taking. The individual's perception of injury risk in a bicycle crash is generally not centered on their head, but on body parts. Most riders do not consider the head the most vulnerable part of the body. They are primarily concerned with the road rash and broken bones that are much more frequent than brain injuries. Helmets do not change those risks. Helmets protect only the head. Many motorcycle riders here who reject helmets still use leather clothing for skid protection. Once accustomed to a helmet, riding without it does make the rider feel vulnerable - - for the first half mile. Similar effects can be seen with seat belts, where the risk compensation argument also was used at one time, and even anti-lock brakes have been accused of making car drivers more aggressive. Nobody uses helmets in the Netherlands. Response: Actually, some do, and increasingly parents are helmeting their children there, as evidenced by this report on helmet promotion by their Foundation for Consumer Safety. But the cycling tradition is so ingrained in Holland that most adults do not see any need for helmets, despite the injuries documented by the Foundation report. They benefit from uniquely safe bicycle facilities and drivers who are expecting them on the roads because they are so numerous and who give them full right of way when appropriate. When compared to the US, there are significant differences in road design, road surfaces, trails, traffic, signalization, motorists' attitudes, cyclists' attitudes, legal consequences of a car/bike crash, the bicycles themselves, car lighting, bike lighting and accessories, climate, the type of riding people do, the normal uses they put bicycle to, the number of cyclists on the roads and a whole range of other factors. We would not tell the Dutch they need helmets, although we wear one when cycling there. But we would tell a US rider that we think you need one here. (For a view of what we need to be doing in the US to improve our road environment, check out this campaign, one that we have supported and have attempted to advance without any success.) Helmet statistics are generated by pro-helmet researchers and the studies that support helmet use are flawed. Response: Many attempts we have seen in the U.S. to measure helmet effectiveness or helmet use nationally based on general statistics of bicycles on the road or rider surveys are indeed not useful. Anyone who has worked with bike riders in this country would not ask the question "How much did you ride last year/quarter/month" and expect a valid answer. Exposure data calculated from such surveys, including the survey by CPSC, are not in our opinion valid. The New York Times published an article in 2001 written by a reporter who missed that point, and reached some startling -- and invalid -- conclusions. We have a page up on that article. But we do consider valid a number of clinically-based studies in the U.S. on helmet effectiveness. We have parts of several of them included in our statistics page, including the landmark study by Thompson, Rivera and Thompson done at Harborview Injury Prevention Center and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1989. The same team completed another study that adds helmet analysis to the clinical data. You can find it on the Snell Foundation Web site. The study is old, but helmets sold in the US have actually improved since the data was collected, so we regard the conclusions as still valid and probably conservative. More importantly, the protective effect of helmets has been demonstrated in the field so thoroughly over a period of decades that statistical analysis based on poorly gathered data adds nothing to the knowledge base.

Share The Road

Here is a link and copied text from Dave Moulton's blogger. http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/what-does-share-road-really-mean.html

"I agree that we all share the roads, etc. What I do not understand is cyclists who will steadfastly ride in the middle of a thoroughfare lane while cars back up for blocks behind them not being able to pass.Sure, bikes have as much right as anyone else to be on the street, but what they do not have the right to do is block a lane or impede traffic.Politeness and common sense dictate that they get out of the way and allow others to pass if they cannot keep up with the flow of traffic."To many non-cyclists “Share the road” means, “Okay I accept that you have a right to be on the road, but just stay out of my way.” This comes through in the last sentence of the above comment.Politeness and common sense need to prevail on both sides, otherwise it is not a true “Sharing” of the road. I would be happy to stay out of the way and ride to the extreme right, if in return other road users would have a little concern for my safety and not pass me at 50 or 60 mph, missing me by inches.Most people drive in the middle of the lane leaving equal space to the edge of the lane on either side. Many will simply hold that line when passing a cyclist, when “Politeness and common sense” would suggest steering to the outside edge of the lane thereby leaving more space on the inside.If it is a two-lane, divided highway, and there is no one along side or about to overtake, signal and move to the other lane, or at least put the car’s wheels over the line. The same on narrow rural roads, cross that center line if it can be done safely, if not, stay behind for a brief moment, and then pass. A cyclist is less than 7 feet long and 3 feet wide, it is not like passing an eighteen-wheeler.Many states are bringing in new laws to give cyclists a minimum of 3 feet when passing. If politeness and common sense prevailed, these laws would be unnecessary. So in the mean time, I exercise my right to “take the lane,” in other words move to the center of the lane when it is unsafe to pass.A good example of this would be where there are cars parked at the side of the road. I will not ride within 5 feet of a parked car because people will fling open car doors without warning. Five feet will usually put me in the middle of the lane, if I ride any closer cars will still continue to pass at their normal speed.If someone opens a car door I have nowhere to go. I am not only injured by running into the edge of the door, I will most likely fall in the path of a passing car. It is unfortunate that city planners allow parking for long stretches of city roads, without understanding the real danger this imposes on cyclists.Another situation where I would take the lane is if I want to make a left turn ahead. (Right turn in the UK.) On a multi-lane highway I may need to start the maneuver several blocks before I actually turn.From the right lane I will wait for a gap in traffic, signal and move to the center of the lane, stopping any further traffic from passing. I cannot safely get into the second lane from the extreme right edge of the first lane.Then when there is a gap in traffic in the second lane, I signal move over again. Sometimes an impatient driver will also see this gap and try to go around me. If this stops me from changing lanes then all the traffic behind me continues to be delayed because one selfish driver didn’t allow me to get over and move out of the way.When I reach the left turn lane, I stay in the middle of that lane. If I move to the left of the lane, cars will pass me on the outside and after I complete the turn, I am now stuck in the middle, needing to get back over to the right. If I move to the right side of the turn lane, now I have traffic passing at speed on both sides. If one should hit me, I would be knocked into the path of another vehicle.This is often a left turn at a traffic light. Everyone is rushing to make the green light, no one is concerned for my safety except me, so forgive me if I appear a little “selfish” at this point.More people would commute to work by bicycle but they see it as dangerous. As time goes by, economic reasons will force some to overcome this fear. Every bicycle on the road means one less car; people will become more aware of bicycles and drive slower and with caution. People will actually get to their destination quicker and safer because there will be less congestion.

Celebrate National Bike to Work Week.

May 12-16 is National Bike to Work Week. See link below for more info.
http://www.bikewalkdurham.org/

N.C. Bicycle Laws

Follow this link to the NCDOT website for laws in this state regarding bicycles and peds.

http://www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/laws/laws_bikelaws.html

Here is another link for more bicycle rights information:

http://www.humantransport.org/bicycledriving/

Bicycle Safety Month

NCDOT Reminds Motorists and Bicyclists to Safely Share the Road
The month of May is traditionally recognized as National Bicycle Safety Month and with more than 900 bicycle-motor vehicle crashes reported to the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles each year, the N.C. Department of Transportation reminds bicyclists and motorists to safely share the roads and be more alert during the spring and summer months. Click links for more information on the NCDOT, Bicycle Safety Press Release, Safety, and Crash Data Tool.