The Pres Sez

John Chester

Why in the world is the Pres Sez photo a picture of an Ale-8-One and a Moon Pie next to my bike?  EASY – THIS IS WHY I RIDE! No, not for the actual Ale-8-One and a Moon Pie, although those are quite yummy and a perfect symbol of Kentucky Culinary Bliss.  No riding season is complete for me without a bike ride with my friends to Rabbit Hash (The Center of the Universe).  That’s what the photo means – time on a bike with my friends. Which is truly the reason that I have been a member of the CCC for 18 years, and why I, and others, devote time to be on the board of the club and to volunteer to lead our weekly rides. You don’t need a club to ride a bike, but having the club around, with all of these riding options –WITH MY FRIENDS – is the main reason I belong.

While many of our members ride all 12 months of the year, I’m not a big fan of cold or dark. So, unless we get an unexpected sunny and warm weekend, I will be found either on the exercise bike in my basement, on a spin bike, OR IN FLORIDA!!!!

During the 2011 Riding season, the CCC sponsored 25 recurring weekly rides.

It has been estimated that the CCC puts over 500 people on bikes on an organized ride EACH WEEK.

We are currently in discussion with two people that are considering adding two more weekly rides to our mix. Once they agree, and everything is set up, we will announce them. Let’s just say that if one of these does happen, I will enjoy bringing back one of the rides I used to lead – THE BACHELOR’S INVASION OF THE LADIES IN LYCRA.

Now, for the business stuff. Our Treasurer – Steve Wegener – will be retiring at the end of year. Steve has been my VOICE OF REASON the last few years.  Joe Bohlen is looking for an assistant to help with Membership. Joe has been the quiet backbone of the board for over a decade.  If any of you would consider assisting the club with either of these positions, please contact myself or either Steve or Joe.

Now for the fun stuff. I am hoping that Santa puts some bike stuff under the tree for me this year.  Have you considered asking him for a CCC Jersey? And while sometimes the Elves forget, I hope all the new bikes under the tree come with a new helmet!

As this Bike Writer is a joint November / December issue, I want to wish all of you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING. HAPPY ST. NICHOLAS DAY! HAPPY DARKEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR! HAPPY HANNAKUH, HAPPY DAY ELVIS MET NIXON and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Remember – Get on your bike, go for a ride – It’s fun!

Holiday Shopping Guides from Mr. Cranky and Jim Lindner

Jim’s List:

SAVE THE DATE

Saturday January 21, 2011

The 2012 Cincinnati Cycle Club Annual Dinner

Terwilleger Lodge

7PM

Details and tickets on sale soon. Check the CCC website for details.

And by popular demand – We will be bringing back the Appetizer and Pie Competitions! Winners receive their choice of a free CCC membership or National Ride.

2012 Ride Planning

Off season? What off season? There are plenty of CCC and Charity Rides available. Start your planning and training now!

Sat, April 14 – Spring Opener

Sat, May 19 – Chili Century  (TOSRV is 5/12-13)

Sun, Jue 10 – Ride Cincinnati Breast Cancer ride

Sat, June 17 – Lebanon Tour De Cure

Sat, July 7 - Chili Repeat  (Kevin)

Sat, August 11 Caesars Creek Ride  (Irv)

Sat-Sun Aug 25-26 – MS150 Ride at Camp Kern

Sat, Sept 15 – Hope Ride

Sat, Sept 22 – CF Cycle for Life

Sat, Sept 29 – GGRR

Sat, Oct 13 – Volunteer Bash and Ride ( Hilly 100 is 10.20-21)

Train with a former Grand Tour Racer

Michael Carter of Echelon Sports Performance draws on his 30 years of racing experience to create the best training program for you. Carter raced in all three Grand Tours and served as a Director Sportif for Pro Continental squad Team Type 1. In addition, he has served as coach for several regional, national and world champions and former Olympians.

Both Web-Based (via Training Peaks) and Personalized training programs are available. Personalized plans focus on your goals, time to train, strengths and weaknesses.

Carter also offers training camps and trips. From February 24^th to March 9^th, he’ll be setting up camp in picturesque Solvang, California with a Competion Camp (February 24 to March 2) for those looking to race and a Gran Fondo camp (March 3 to March 9) for the serious recreational rider. He’ll also be taking a group of riders to Marostica, Italy from July 30^th to August 9^th for a trip through the Italian countryside – the food, wine and the riding are sure to combine to make for the most wonderful trip imaginable – you will not want to leave!

For more information, contact Echelon Sports Performance by visting their website (www.espcycling.com) or call 303-591-3812.

Commuter News

Good grief – only one quarter left for 2011. Here is the latest as of Dec. 1 for the December BikeWriter. I snuck a peak at the Dayton Cycling Club miles and they have 53,000 miles as of the end of October.

Get on your bikes and ride!

I often say “Get on your bikes and ride!” (from an old Queen song), and here is some inspiration to do so from one of our Challengers, Alan Weinrich. Last June, Alan was experiencing light-headedness while cycling or exercising and was diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia, which sent him to the cardiac ICU for a week. This cut his second quarter miles off at 855. He now has an implanted cardioverter defbrillator (ICD) to keep his heart in rhythm. Due to his excellent physical condition, from cycling of course, Alan has had a rapid recovery and was spinning and swimming in July. By August, he was biking to work and for errands again, including new trips for physical therapy (?). So Alan just turned in 1,044 miles for the third quarter. Congratulations Alan!

Ride Line Posting Policies

There are currently 836 members on the Ride Line email list.

It has been suggested that ride announcements include as much information as possible; etc,  Who, What, When, Where, How Long, How Fast, Full Name of Ride Leader.  A posting should have enough information so that someone unfamiliar with the ride can understand it.   Don’t assume that the reader knows about you or your ride.

Clarification of posting policies and member access.

About Ride Line:

• Impromptu Ride Announcements
• Ride Reminders
• Cycling Related announcements for Cincinnati area cyclists.

Posting Policies

• Reply to the Sender
• Do not use Reply to All
• Do not cross-post to multiple lists.
• Do not post advertisements or promotions for private businesses.

Access

• Anybody can view group content
• Anyone can join
• Members can create and edit pages
• Members can upload files
• Only members can post
• Messages from new members are moderated**

**New members are moderated.  This is set this way to screen for spam.  Posts by spammers are deleted and their email address is banned.  Once a new member posts their first acceptable message their status is changed to “always allow post”.   If you are a new member and have never posted, please consider that your first post is moderated and may take several hours before it is approved and passed to the list.

Abuse of posting policies will result in the member being returned to new member status per above.

Safety and Education

Jim Lindner

Christmas Lists

Ok, maybe this is not a title you expect for Bicycle Safety and Education but, I should write an article that is informative and, I need to make up a Christmas List for after Thanksgiving Dinner. The Bike Writer editor asks for the article and Dianne’s family has a tradition for the List. So I figured I would write about what is on my mind and see if it looks like it will serve both purposes. I split the list into two parts after it was written. It is up to the editor if he want to put it all in, but I figure my bike related Christmas List may give some members a laugh or an idea where to find some cheaper gear or get some extra use out of your bike. Please remember I am a utility cyclist, perhaps you will read that as cheap or frugal and you may have ideas of your own. Feel free to use my personal list however you like, but I don’t expect you to get me anything if you are not family.  If you can help with the Club and Community list please do.

Club and Community

This past year it sees that a lot of the BOT is getting tired of carrying on the regular activities of the Club. I think we have people out there that are willing to help, but we are not the best at asking for the help we need. So first on my list are volunteers that are willing to take up positions in the club. We have a number open and some additional ones opening up.

I heard about more accidents this year than I thought the club should have. I am glad the insurance the BOT has could possibly help some. Good manners and HEPA prevent me from thinking I should know what the insurance provided, but a little feedback would be nice. By the way I sure hope everyone is recovering nicely. If anyone feels like writing an article about their own accident I think others may be interested. I think it would be something educational. I should also mention that some accidents involved non-members not on their first ride. Ride leaders should be more active in encouraging the visitors to join.

We had a good Annual Dinner last year. The food was great as was the company, but we were a little short on attendance. We need a quorum to be able to do any real business. I hope this encourages readers to be there. It seems that we pick a really nasty night so no one should be out on their bikes except those with the proper gear. Last year is the first I remember with no bike commuters riding in. I hope that is not the case this year. I will recommend a prize for the longest bike commute to get to the dinner by the start. I might try for it, but I think it should come with a SAG home if that was not prearranged.

Quite reasonably I am happy that Steve Magas has been active in advising me and the club for a long time, so I want to support him in some small way. I sure don’t want to personally need his legal help, but I do want a book he has contributed to, Bicycling & the Law. I understand it can be ordered for $15 from him at bikelawyer@me.com $15.  I put this on the community list as I would like to encourage others in bike education, but it also belongs on my personal list.

Bike infrastructure always seemed less important than changing the culture/ attitude of drivers. The biggest positive step I have seen in that category is a new Sharrows Sign that says SHARED LANE [CHANGE LANES TO PASS] showed to me by Frank Henson on the Ride the Paint Ride. On the other end of the spectrum is a sign I don’t understand.  It says bikes yield to right turning vehicles It is a small yellow and black sign that I cannot believe makes any sense as used. If the curb area with a double white line was a bike lane (it is not marked as such) and they said, “Do not stop bikes in turn area” it may make sense to some, but if I am riding in the road or on the paved shoulder approaching the intersection my best move here looks to me to be as far left as possible to avoid a right hook indicate I am going straight and if a car wants to turn right they could do so on my right. In any case I don’t know how I am supposed to read the dinky sign, and know if car overtaking me may turn on its blinker and turn right and even if it does where do they want me to go? Oh, and by the way a yellow sign is a warning sign so I guess the idea is to warn me that cars now have the right of way to ride over me from behind, if I don’t get out of the way. Ouch!!!

I feel a need to thank those who are building a Bike Culture in Cincinnati. I know many members of the CCC are part of a bike culture that has provided fitness and recreational rides for Cincinnati for many years. It seems that other parts of the country have advanced beyond us in the social and transportation areas.

Now socially I do not expect us to ever host an (caution nudity on links) International Naked Bike Ride in Cincinnati like Portland, but I love seeing more bike commuters. I congratulate UC for their research linking higher property values to multi-use trails and a University of Wisconsin health effects of bike riding research  for giving numbers to the benefits of bike riding.

I do question the finding that, “If Midwesterners ran half their short-distance (2.5 miles one way) errands by bike rather than by car, 1100 deaths would be avoided each year and $7 billion would be saved in reduced health care cost. I suspect the effect would only delay deaths as the final mortality rate for humans is 100%. Still I want to be one that does not die this year.

I want helpful seminars for Ride Leaders. The club really owes a lot to the people who lead our rides each week. I am hoping we can get groups of Ride Leaders together and discuss how to improve the club rides. My biggest concern is safety. As a club we want the rides to be safe and still provide the wide variety of venues we currently have. A few members will be getting together and planning for the seminars. We discovered this year that all Ride Leaders need the tools to report incidents to our insurance promptly. Other information and Ideas will be discussed to keep our riders safe.

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,

After reading about the drunk driver in Columbus hitting a cyclist, I want to know what I can do to prevent being hit by his friend who will have to drive the next time because his buddy isn’t allowed to.

Annonomusty

Dear Annonomusty,

While I am sure the Club’s Safety and Education Director would be the best person to seek advice in this matter I am always glad to share my useless and worthless thoughts.   The best defense against a drunk driver is the same as any driver.  Carrying a bazooka like Versus’s Cycling Commentator suggest might be a little extreme but there are a few safety tips to consider.

1. Make yourself visible. Only buy clothes that are bright colored AND have reflective material sewn into the fabric.  Its obvious that ambulance chasing lawyers control most of the clothing manufacturers these days, why else would they produce so many black and dark colored jerseys and jackets that are mostly worn when there is the least amount of sunlight.  I seriously think it’s a conspiracy to eliminate cyclists!
2. Make your bike visible when riding at night. Mount multiple tail lights and mix them up so that some are on solid and some blink.  The solid helps give some depth perception while the blinking light draws attention. Be sure to use a bright head light, I use a pair of 900 lumen Magicshine lights and some people think I’m a motorcycle or car coming down the road. These days you can get very bright head lights very inexpensively. I remember when my 6 watt generator driven light was all I had and it amazes me how much technology has helped make night time riding much safer.
3. Use reflective tape on your bike and your helmet. Road ID has some nice reflective tape called FireFly High Viz that I have installed on the back of my helmet.  They also have a nice Fire Fly blinking light that can mounted to the rear of your helmet.  Both of these help tremendously when it comes to lighting up your helmet area.
4. Ride on the roads with the least amount of traffic even if it means adding a little extra distance and time. Ride defensively, get a mirror and use it.  In the cooler months most people ride with their ears covered so remember to listen a little more intently.
5. Be aware of the traffic patterns of the roads and intersections you traverse. Do people regularly run the yellow lights? Does this intersection have a two way light system or is it four? Are there turn arrows? Is there a lot of right turn on red traffic? Try to anticipate traffic flows and move with them.
6. Try not to go it alone. There is safety in numbers.
7. Lastly, don’t go to battle with a car. It doesn’t matter if it’s a drunk, a red neck, a texting teen or a mad mom late for a soccer game.  They all win when it comes to contact. Its much better to concede than to press your position.  As a running partner used to tell me when it comes to dealing with cars, “ You may be right but you will be dead right.”

Happy Hollerdaise and keep on 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.

Cyclists Wanted:

The OKI Regional Council of Governments publishes Bike Route Guides for roads in its seven county planning area. The Ohio county Bike Route Guides for Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren Counties are being updated this year from the 2005 edition. Now that the cycling season is winding down, and while the roads toured are fresh in mind, we are collaborating with several area bike shops to host meetings for cyclists to come and review the maps for cycling suitability. The value of these maps comes from the first hand knowledge of experienced cyclists who ride the roads. Meetings are scheduled in December at these five area shops:

DATE/TIME: Sat., Dec 17, 2011,  3:00 pm

LOCATION: Bishop’s Bicycles, 313 Main St.,  Milford

DATE/TIME: Tue., Dec 20, 2011,  6:30 pm

LOCATION: Montgomery Cyclery, 8483 Beechmont Av., Cherry Grove

DATE/TIME: Wed., Dec 28, 2011,  6:30 pm

LOCATION: Oakley Cycles, 2709 Observatory Ave., Hyde Park

For more information, contact: Don Burrell, 513-621-6300, dburrell@oki.org