The BikeWriter – October 2011

The Prez Sez

John Chester

Fall is in the air. Put on some arm and leg warmers. Once the sun pops up, a fall ride can be beautiful.

The Ghost Rider was the first weekend of October. Many Thanks to VP Scott Ebbing and his co chair Carrie Schneider. Besides all of our volunteers, I would like to thank Sarah DeLaat of the American Diabetes Association for running the Community Methodist United Church Rest Stop. I would also like to thank Greg Thielmeyer of Team Cycling and Fitness for providing bike services at the St John’s Rest Stop and Jonathan Caron – The Bike Medic for providing bike services at Community Methodist United Church.

Speaking of THANK YOU’S- Did you volunteer for the club this year? Serve as a ride leader? Run a rest stop? Sag Driver? Paint Roads? If so, WE WANT TO THANK YOU! On Saturday October 22nd, at 9 AM we will sponsor the annual VOLUNTEER THANK YOU RIDE. Please contact your cluster leader to be sure to be invited. The club will provide pizzas for all after the ride. Remember – if the CCC did not have volunteers, there would be no club.

That’s about it for October – Remember – Get on your bike, go for a ride – It’s FUN!

Two Advocacy/Education Rides

John Chester

Ride the Paint: Sunday October 16th at 2:00 p.m.

This is a ride beginning and ending at Oakley Square in Oakley – Habits Cafe. The route will follow the new bicycling infrastructure installed in 2011 by the City of Cincinnati’s Bike Program, The ride is just shy of 12 miles and mostly level, Well be using sharrows and bike lanes and viewing the new bike signs,

To see the route click here: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/53239536

Lane Position/ Bike Mechanics: Sunday October 23 at 8:00 am

The class will assemble at the Coffee Emporium – OTR on Central Parkway downtown. Using material from the League of American Bicyclist’s Commuting Course we will be learning hands on the proper place for a cyclist to be in a traffic lane and the safe way to maneuver from lane to lane in traffic for required turns. While a small group of riders is practicing on Central Parkway there will be routine bike mechanic instructions being presented by the Cincinnati Cycle Club at the Coffee Emporium-OTR.

Cluster News

C6 Cluster

The C6 Cluster held its annual “picnic” and business meeting on Sunday October 2, 2011 after the College Hill Coffee Espresso and DeCaf rides. 14 CCC members enjoyed FREE PIE. The Five people that rode and have elected not to join the club were sent on their way – pieless!

The Cluster reelected Glenn Talaska and Larry Bloomfield as co cluster leaders. It also decided to create an informal position of SOCIAL DIRECTOR- Mary K Schubauer-Berigan. Mary stated her goal was to add a few more “EVENT” type rides, such as the return of The College Hill Garden Tour on a bike, and The College Hill Farmers Market Ride. New for 2012 will be a bike tour of Urban Gardens.

The Cluster noted it’s accomplishments in the few years it has existed. Since starting with just TWO rides that were a part of the Spokes in Motion Cluster (The Monday night Team Cycling and Fitness Recovery Ride and the Wednesday night Team Cycling and Fitness Hill Ride), the cluster has grown to sponsor six weekly rides. It was noted that the CCC sponsors 25 weekly rides, and thus almost one fourth are sponsored by C6.

For 2012, C6 will sponsor a seventh ride – The CHCC Cappuccino Ride. Not as fast and long as the Espresso, but faster and longer than the DeCaf. All three CHCC rides will strive to return to the College Hill Coffee Company around the same time.

The 2012 Line Up:

Sunday:

• College Hill Coffee Company Ride – Espresso
• College Hill Coffee Company Ride – Cappuccino
• College Hill Coffee Company Ride – DeCaf

Monday:

• Team Cycling and Fitness Monday Night Ride

Wednesday:

• Team Cycling and Fitness Hill Ride

Thursday:

• Thursday Wanderers

Saturday:

• East Side to Findlay Market Ride

Spokes in Motion

October brings a lot of changes to the SIM’s Cluster. On Tuesdays we will now just meet behind Harrison H.S. every week at Dry Fork and West Rd. We’ll have one group and do 20+ miles (no more P & G until next April). We leave at 6:30. Bring front and rear lights.

On Thursdays we will meet at Cleves Drive-In/Nick’s American Grill at 248 S. Miami Ave. Park as far back as you can in the lot. Overflow parks next door. We’ll do 17+ miles and try to stay together. We leave at 6:30. Bring front and rear lights. I’ll be riding my touring bike so I’ll probably bring up the rear. On Saturday’s the Banana ride will now leave at 10 AM., from the parking lot across from Harrison Jr. H.S. at Dry Fork and West Rd. Hope to see everybody!

Northern Kentucky Cluster

The NKy picnic ride was a great success! We really lucked out weather wise and had a near perfect day for a ride and a picnic. We had quite a few riders that rode to Rabbit Hash and enjoyed the scenic route which included great views of the Greater Cincinnati Airport as well as views along the river by Rabbit Hash. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of riders that were making their first trip to Rabbit Hash.

For those who have never ridden to Rabbit Hash you should consider joining us for next year’s NKy Picnic ride. We also had quite a few riders that started at various places around the city that rode to our picnic shelter at Giles Conrad park. Next year we plan on including even more fun and goodies at the picnic ride so watch for the NKy picnic ride next September.

I would like to thank Jim Katenkamp, Barb Rolf, Joe Alicea and my wife for helping to paint the roads and making this ride a success. We did have one mechanical that needed to be sagged back to the shelter but lucky for us he turned out to be a master chef on the grill. Thanks for your help, Bill.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Brevet de Radonneur STILL a Worthy Goal

Jim Lindner

Ever wonder how some cyclists stay motivated throughout the riding year? Riding with friends certainly helps, but so does setting a personal goal. BREVET de RANDONNEUR represents CCC’s ultimate award in recognition of the commitment and determination it takes to achieve a personal best. It’s an award that cannot be bought. It can be earned only by you through riding and providing service to the club. There are three different levels of achievement. Don’t worry about how many levels you think you can or cannot achieve. What is important is that you set your sights on a riding/service goal and achieve it! Here is what you need to do to join CCC/s elite achievers and be formally recognized by your peers at the annual dinner meeting.

LEVEL I – ASSOCIATE RANDONNEUR

Complete 1.1 through 1.4 (ALL)

1.1 Ride on 12 Cincinnati Cycle Club rides.

1.2 Ride on one metric century (62.5 miles – in one 24 hour period)

1.3 Ride 1,000 miles in one 12 month period.

1.4 Accumulate 15 Service Hours (Service Hours are, “Hours of effort by the individual working toward the award that are in some way beneficial to other club members or its mission as described by the club’s bylaws. Examples can be seen in the obsolete point system)

LEVEL II – RANDONNEUR

Complete Level I and (in addition) Complete 2.1 through 2.4

2.1 Complete a Double Century (200 miles in not more than two days) after proper preparation, including at least 4 training rides exceeding 25 miles plus one ride of 100 miles or more.

2.2 Ride 2,000 miles in a 12 month period.

2.3 Complete any Three Substantial Cycling Accomplishments.

Examples:

• Design and build a bicycle (with some unique design features -assembly of “off-the-shelf components” does not count)
• Complete an overnight unsagged trip of 50 miles or more.
• Complete 52 commuter trips in a 12 month period (any trip replacing auto transportation – includes errands and would not be restricted to trips to and from work)
• Participate in a licensed bicycle race at any level (includes hill climbs and time trials)
• Complete an extended tour of 300 miles or more.
• Complete three centuries (in addition to those counted for Level I or in item 2.1 above)
• Complete a ride across one of the 50 states of at least 150 miles in length.

Note that the chosen accomplishments will be read at the award presentation.

2.4 Accumulate 30 additional Service Hours after level 1

LEVEL III – ULTRA RANDONNEUR

Complete Level I, II and (in addition) Complete 3.1 through 3.3

3.1 Complete a double century (200 miles) in 24 hours

3.2 Complete any One MAJOR personal accomplishment preapproved by Randonneur Admin. or the CCC BOT.

Examples:

• Ride 4,000 miles in a 12 month period
• Complete an unsagged tour of 1,000 miles or more.
• Complete a RAAM qualifier (finish the course(s)) as required to qualify.
• Complete a coast to coast crossing of the United States or equivalent sagged or unsagged.

Note that the chosen accomplishment shall be described in detail at the award presentation.

3.3 Accumulate 60 additional Service Hours after level 2

TO APPLY FOR AN AWARD

Contact:

Brevet de Randonneur Cyclist

C/O Jim Lindner

2947 Windom Dr

Cincinnati, Ohio 45251

Phone contact for questions: 513-742-2411

NOTE: In the event a rider chooses to complete more than one level of the Brevet in the same year, the requirements are cumulative. For example: 2,000 miles ridden to qualify for section 2.2 of Level II cannot be used towards 4,000 miles in section 3.2 of level III.

The above requirements do not use the point system below, but for reference each point would convert to about 3 service hours.

FOR ONE POINT:

• Lead a club ride.
• Serve as a volunteer worker at a club event.
• Help with a club workshop
• Have an article or photograph published in the club newsletter.

FOR TWO POINTS

• Organize a club overnight ride
• Have a bicycling letter or feature appear in the local press, radio, television media or national publications.
• Organize a club or cluster picnic.

FOR THREE POINTS

• Attend the club retreat as a working member.

FOR FIVE POINTS

• Represent the club as a bicycling advocate, in a public debate or educational meeting.
• Prepare and lead a club workshop.

FOR TEN POINTS

• Serve as an officer or director of the club as defined in sections V and VI of the club Regulations, for a full year.
• Serve as Editor of the Newsletter for a full year (10 issues)
• Serve as the CCC webmaster for a full year.
• Chair a CCC National Ride
• Serve as Cluster Leader for a full year

NOTE: In all points’ categories, each event counts for the points listed. ‘i.e.: if you lead 5 rides, you get 5 points (1 point each). If you prepare and lead 3 club workshops, you get 15 points (5 points each)

NOTE: Before you attempt to start any level, please contact the Brevet Administrator for any instructions, and to insure you have the current requirements.

NOTE: These guidelines can be updated at anytime as the Brevet Administrator sees fit.

Records

Jim Lindner, Safety & Education Director

Have you broken any records yet? Do you have any personal goals? What are you trying to do? Why ride a bike today?

I mentioned to John Chester that I thought this was an exceptionally bad year for CCC accidents that required reporting to our insurance. He simply said we are blissfully unaware when we don’t need to report them. I am thinking that’s not good, but what I really want to see is positive records. If you have done something on a bike that is a record for you such as rode more miles in a year than you have in the past write an article and tell people about it. I am always glad to hear about a positive accomplishment and I hope the rest of the club will join me in congratulating you.

So far this year I have over 1900 commuter miles (Likely reported below by Don Burrell) and at least 750 additional non-commuter miles. I must admit my goal was abstract and I only wanted to see how much I could commute this year without creating problems.

I may also find myself in an awkward position of earning an award I took over the management of. I have completed the lowest level of the Randonneur Award. It is my hope this will inspire others to complete a level of this award. It was my intent years ago, that someday I might look into this award. I was not too serious as it sounded difficult and one description at an annual dinner was of someone who took it on to finish three levels in one year. As usual the first step of choosing to attempt a task is the most difficult.

As the administrator of the award I will turn over my records to the BOT, just for good measure, but I really found the first level to be not too difficult. Last year I checked and I had done everything but a metric century. I really did not need to commute that far in a day, and most of my recreational riding was with my daughter. It was at that point that I thought if I get a chance to ride with someone at a pace I like for a metric century I should do it. The opportunity came as a commute with some casual cyclist from Cleveland to Conneaut Ohio going to a Family Church Camp. I need to thank the Walk With A Purpose Program and Don Burrell for forcing me to keep records of my miles this year. That activity, keeping records is inspiration to ride more.

The end of the best bike weather and the annual dinner is fast approaching. I would prefer that some others were also receiving this award as it is intended to be given out annually to members at the annual dinner. I did try to maintain the standards of the award when I, with advice, made some changes to make the requirements understandable. I did ask that people working on any level of the award contact me first to avoid confusion, and I have had no contact. I don’t object to reviewing with someone what they have done, or need to do, to earn the award at any time. If you see you might have or be able to earn this award, let me know.

Fighting Off-Season Weight Gain

Bill Johnson

The days are getting shorter and it will soon start to get cold. For those of us who love riding, depend on it to stay in shape, and provide us with some motivation, it is with a certain dread that we see the cold months ahead. We have worked all summer to get in shape and now that we are there it could easily disappear if we don’t get our regular riding in.

There are lots of ways to keep your legs and heart in shape, avoid that off season weight gain, and be in shape when warm weather rolls around:

1. Buy lots of warm clothes and good lights; refuse to let the elements deter you from riding. There are a lot of hearty riders that ride outdoors year round. However, I bought all the stuff and tried it, but wasn’t having that much fun. After spending 15 minutes getting dressed, I still ended up with cold hands and feet and soon tired of it. When temperatures hit the mid 40’s I started losing interest in outdoor riding and wondered if it really game me much benefit. It is hard to get a good work out when you are wearing 3 or 4 layers of clothes.
2. Hook up your bike to an indoor trainer. A couple of tips: Set a fan in front of your bike and put something on the floor to catch the sweat. Also use an old tire on your rear wheel or a special tire designed for trainers. Indoor trainers eat tires and a few hours on the trainer will destroy a good tire. If you have an old bike, set it up on the trainer and just leave it there. For me this worked for a while, but it soon became boring. I then moved it in front of the TV. After a while I found myself watching TV and not working very hard. I was just killing time and accomplishing little.
3. Ride rollers. This can be quite challenging and is definitely a good workout. This is about the closest thing to outdoor riding as you can do inside. It takes some getting used to in order to maintain balance so that you don’t fall off and fly across the room. The good thing about rollers is that they force you to pay attention to what you are doing rather than let your mind drift. Rollers also teach you a smooth pedal stroke and how to be really stable on a bike. If you are good on rollers you will be great in a pace line
4. Take spin classes. Greater Cincinnati has one of the largest numbers of certified spinning sites per capita of any city in the U.S. Of all the winter training methods, I tend to like this best. The bikes allow you to control resistance to simulate flat roads and hills. The best parts are the camaraderie, the high energy music, and an instructor who pushes you. It is far more fun than riding the trainer all by yourself in the basement.

If you choose to go the Spinning route check out the facility before you invest a lot of money in a membership. Each facility has its own focus.

Some gyms tend to be only exercise oriented and most of the participants and instructors never ride bikes outside. These classes bear little resemblance to outside riding. Other facilities try to make the rides as close to outdoor cycling as they can. The best facilities focus on a variety of training. Some rides are geared towards strength and others towards endurance or heart training. If you really want to do it right, find a place that encourages use of heart rate monitors and teaches you how to train in certain zones for specific results. You can also work on specific skills like smoothing out your pedal stroke, standing for long climbs, building aerobic capacity, and lactate threshold training.

If you are interested in learning more about winter training contact me at Bjohnson2106@AOL.com. If you would like to try indoor spinning, Fusion Studio offers a free session to try it out and has a special discount winter rate for Cincinnati Cycle Club members http://TrainAtFusion.com.

Drunk driver pleads guilty in Columbus – How can YOU get involved now?

Steve Magas – Ohio’s Bike Lawyer

Steve Barbour was a beloved Columbus cyclist. He was a retired civil engineer from O.D.O.T. A long-time member of Columbus Outdoor Pursuits, he had been a ride leader since the 1980′s. He was on his way to lead a C.O.P. ride the morning he was run down and killed by Ed Miller.

Mr. Miller was accused of being drunk when he hit and killed Steve. His BAC was in excess of .10%.

I have written about Mr. Miller’s criminal case at some length on my Bike Law blog – www.OhioBikeLawyer.com. He was tried in March and focused his defense on blaming Steve Barbour – the first trial ended with a hung jury.

In Columbus, a jury was selected in late September for his re-trial. Columbus Dispatch reporter John Futty covered the first trial reported that Miller was going to give up his right to a jury trial and plead GUILTY to the “lesser of two aggravated vehicular homicide charges” and to a DUI charge.

Sentencing is November 8. He faces up to 5 1/2 years in prison.

The facts of the case carried some unusual twists.

Miller was out partying that night with Gabe Spiegel – a former Columbus television news anchor and personality. According to news reports of trial testimony from the first trial, they met at 1:00 am at “Sloopy’s Pub” in Hilliard, Ohio, for some drinks then went to Spiegel’s apartment at 2:30 before heading BACK out on the road to stop in at “Vanity” – an after hours strip club with a “bring your own alcohol” policy.

Like many drunks, Miller and Spiegel claimed they did a self-evaluation, determined they were “OK to drive” and left the strip club. On the way back from the strip club, sometime around 6:00am, Miller ran into the back of Steve Barbour’s bicycle, killing Steve.

Miller submitted to field sobriety tests, which he flunked, and a breath test, which showed a BAC of 0.109%. He challenged the alcohol tests in the first trial.

He also spent a lot of time in the first trial “blaming the victim.” He claimed that Steve’s bike didn’t have lights [it did], that they were not activated [hard to believe a traffic engineer who was riding to the start of a ride HE was leading didn’t have his lights on] and that Steve was guilty of the crime of wearing “dark clothing” [it’s not a crime, of course, and he wasn’t].

The plea deal spares Mr. Barbour’s family the agony and stress of a second trial. I expect that MANY local cyclists will be in the audience November 8 when the sentence is handed down.

Do YOU want to contribute your thoughts on sentencing to the Judge?

According to the Dispatch story, sentencing will be handed down by The Honorable Stephen L. McIntosh. YOU can send your letter to Judge McIntosh and tell the Judge what you think the sentence should be or how this case has impacted the cycling community.

The “community’s” feelings about sentencing are certainly one thing judges are permitted to consider when crafting a punishment to fit the crime. This is YOUR time to tell the court what you think of Mr. Miller’s now admitted crime.

You can send letters to Judge McIntosh at:

Reference:

State v. Ed Miller

Franklin County Common Pleas Court

Case No. 09CR4797

Steve Magas is an avid cyclist and Ohio trial lawyer who has handled some 300 “bike cases” – representing injured cyclists and the families of those killed while riding.

Ask Mr. Cranky

In case you missed me last month, my friends call me Mister Cranky. Each month I will try to offer worthless advice to your insincere cycling questions. And if I don’t get enough questions I’ll just make up some to help you get over the fear of asking me something I cannot answer. So if you have a few worthless questions about riding a bike you have come to the worst possible place for advice.

Dear Mr. Cranky,

The weather is turning colder any suggestions on how to stay comfortable when the weather is not?

Todd

—————

Dear Todd,

Let me start off by saying that I hate the cold. I was meant to ride Caribbean beaches all my life but somehow I ended up with a drunken stork who thought the package said Cincinnati and here I’ve been stuck. Over the years I’ve been compared to the Michelin man and the mummy when it comes to my winter riding attire. Of course, back when I started riding you had two choices, itchy wool or wet cotton, not much of a selection. Today you can buy clothes with all kinds of fancy fabrics, even some that are made from recycled two liter bottles – like that makes any sense! I’ve always wondered if someone wearing one of those jersey crashes will their helmet pop off their head like a two liter bottle does when you drop it in the supermarket?

Actually I think the first high tech clothing I bought was made of polypropylene, later disguised as Polypro wear to keep us from figuring out that we were wearing plastic clothes! Luckily technology has progressed and the companies have become much wiser. The clothing today is capable of keeping you dry, warm and reasonably comfortable if you use it correctly. Before you go rushing out to buy this clothing you should decide what your temperate zones are on your body, everyone’s zones are different. If my hands, feet, ears or core enter the ice age my ride is done.

Other riders I know are less concerned about their core and more concerned about their arms and legs. You need to determine how much protection each part of your body needs to guarantee you are comfortable. Once you have decided these levels of protection you are ready to start purchasing clothing based upon those requirements. So if your feet get really cold quickly look for good booties instead of toe covers, if your core gets cold quickly look for wind block vest or jerseys. If your arms and legs get cold easily get thicker arm and leg warmers. If you hands get cold consider getting wind block gloves. You will also want to follow some of the simple rules when it comes to riding in the colder temperatures.

1. Use layers instead of bulk. You can always peal a layer, you cannot add a layer you aren’t carrying.
2. Dress for the coldest part of the day. Keep in mind that something might go wrong and if you have to walk to find help you don’t want to freeze on the way.
3. If it’s under 60 degrees cover your legs to keep them warm, all of your leg. Why someone wears knickers is beyond me, maybe they like frost bite lines to match their tan lines.
4. What works in the summer may not work in the winter. If your chamois cream has an icy cool menthol feel it may not help in the winter. Fuel line freeze up might be a problem.
5. Consider wind block carefully even if its breathable. Wind block can create a rain forest pretty quickly if its not properly vented.
6. Your baselayer needs to be skin tight to wick properly. Also consider the thickness of the material and its effectiveness. Companies like Craft make baselayers that are temperature specific to help make that decision easier.
7. Consider wool especially for socks. Today’s woolen socks no longer feel like brillo pads and are quite good at insulating as well as wicking.
8. Carefully select your ear and head covering. You want to make sure that they fit comfortably with your helmet on and don’t block out so much sound that you wont hear approaching cars. I have a nice wind block head band that blocks so much sound that its not safe to wear when riding.
9. Consider functionality when it comes to gloves. If the gloves are too thick you might not be able to grip the brakes properly. And if you want a good laugh just watch someone try to open a power bar while wearing lobster gloves.
10. Make sure when you dress that you have enough pockets to carry anything that is removable. When the sun comes out you will want to remove the vest, the arm and leg warmers, the head band and the gloves. You will need pockets somewhere to store these. Some jackets and vest now pack into a pouch which has straps that let you attach it to your bike which is a great feature.

Happy Cranking,

Mr. Cranky

Do you have a question you need help with? Ask Mr. Cranky by sending a self addressed email to AskMrCranky@gmail.com and watch for a response in an upcoming newsletter.

Disclaimer: The advice provided on Ask Mr. Cranky is, at best, of a general nature and cannot substitute for the advice from a knowledgeable bike shop or cyclist. Neither the individual contributor or the Cincinnati Cycle Club nor anyone else connected to this newsletter can take any responsibility for the results or consequences of any attempt to use or adopt any of the information or disinformation presented in this article.

It’s The Little Things

Coach OB

I was on a ride a few days ago with my training partner. It was 70 degrees and sunny and I was wearing arm-warmers and leg-warmers. When we met up, he looked at me and said, “You cold?” “Nope!” I replied. “I have a standing rule; I cover my legs if it is sunny and 70 or cloudy and 75. It is extra important to keep them warm when the weather is changing—like now.” “I’m not cold,” he came back. “But this is just one of the little things I do to make me fast!” I said. He came back with, “So if I wear leg-warmers I will be fast too?”

The more you put into this sport, the more you get out of it! You can go full-gas and your riding reflects this. Or, you can dabble in it and your riding will reflect that as well. It is up to you. This is where coaching can often make the difference. A seasoned coach, like me, can make sure all those little things are in place to help you reach your goals. In addition to advice on how to dress correctly coaching will provide you with the big things like a strength plan in the gym, a structured indoor trainer plan, and help in maximizing your diet. These are just some of the things that will help you get the most out of your training when spring is here.

For each of my riders, I build a custom training plan based on their goals and designed to maximize training time. My detailed indoor trainer workouts are tailored to your fitness goals. In addition, my programs include specific gym workouts that focus on making you stronger on the bike, as well as diet consultation if desired. My clients range from those riders that just want to lose weight and stay fit to Category I racers. Check out my website at www.coachob.com and read my rider testimonials. Whatever your goal, I will help you get there!

As a special incentive to Cincinnati Cycle Club riders, I am offering you a Coach OB Special:

Any Coach OB Service

NOW

Agree to 6 months, get 1 FREE, Agree to 12 months, get 2 FREE

Send me an email with any questions.

Coupon Code: “CCC”

Offer expires October 15th, 2011

Email: coachob@coachob.com

I am always available to answer questions regarding your cycling!

Eat Well! Sleep Well! Train Smart!

Third Quarter Commuter Challenge

Don Burrell