Confronting the Cars

Bill Strickland of Bicyling Magazine offers the following for the next time a motorist cuts you off, screams, flies the finger or throws something: "do everything you can to catch up — then try this."

Roller Derby?

For those of us growing weary of indoor training rides (it is only Jan. 29, yikes!) Dave Perry has a wonderful solution to end monotony.

Mr. Perry, a Lower East Side bike shop owner and the impresario of New York’s small, seasonal roller-racing scene, is bringing some fun into indoor riding, not with a fancy computer program, but with an old-fashioned machine he purchased at a Sotheby’s auction of vintage bike equipment in 2000. He spent nearly a year fixing it up into racing shape.

Every winter since 2001, Mr. Perry has trucked his machine to dozens of events around the New York City. The last event, in December, drew nearly 300 people, including several Olympic-level competitors from a training center in Trexeltown, Pa. The previous year, Floyd Landis attended, though he did not race.

Read the entire story from The New York Times.

Floyd Landis to Compete in 2008 Ultra-Endurance Series

Floyd Landis has accepted an invitation from the National Ultra-Endurance (NUE) mountain bike series to compete in their eight-race series in 2008. Heading into its third year, the National Ultra-Endurance MTB Series features a schedule of 100-mile races held across the United States.

Read the cyclingnews story for more info.

Want to Test Your Winter Bike Handling Skills?

If your up for some dashing through the snow, check out the Frosty Cross race in Viroqua. Rescheduled from Jan. 19 due to the frigid cold, the event will be held Saturday, Feb. 9, at Eckhart Park in Viroqua as part of the community's Frosty Five Winter Festival.

Let's hope the new date brings some warmer temps, yet not warm enough to turn the race into a winter triathlon.

The Winner of Innovate or Die

Here's the winner of Specialized's Innovate or Die competition: Aquaduct, a mobile water filtration trike.

The contest challenged participants to create a pedal-powered solution for offsetting climate change. There were 100+ qualified entries submitted via YouTube.

One of the comp judges Rich Silverstein, founding partner at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners,said: “It’s up to the next generation to solve the mess we find ourselves in today. The success of the ‘Innovate or Die’ competition gives me confidence that they have the imagination and creativity to succeed.”

Aquaduct was the brainchild of five California-based design students who wanted to address the 1.1 billion people in the world who don’t have access to clean drinking water. The pedal-powered machine transports and filters water without burning fossil fuels or wood, both of which contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions.

All of the comp winners receive Specialized Globe bicycles. Specialized and Google have already partnered to equip Google’s main Mountain View campus with 350 Globes.

Specialized founder and president Mike Sinyard said: “We will continue partnering with businesses, non-profits and city governments to implement bike-share programs with the like-minded goal of decreasing CO2 emissions. Let’s all get out of our cars and onto bikes.”

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Another Local Spin for Another Good Cause

Members of Team Fond du Lac Cyclery, yours truly included, will be raising money for the Wisconsin Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis during a spin session at Fond du Lac's Forest Mall, Saturday, Feb. 16.

Paired with this Saturday's Super Spin Saturday: Ride for Rosita, you now have two local opportunities to put in some training while raising funds for good causes.

Pedal-Powered Plow

If the College is serious about "going green," perhaps Ripon's plant department should replace its ice polishers with these .....

Not enough time to train, you say?

UW Cycling Team to Host Showing of 'Tour Baby Deux!'

The UW-Madison cycling team will host a showing of Scott Coady's film, "Tour Baby Deux!," Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 6 p.m. at the Monona Terrace. The event is part of a nationwide tour of college campuses to benefit the Davis Phinney Foundation and Collegiate Cycling.

Each stop or “stage” on the tour will include silent and live auctions, raffles, door prizes and a premier screening of Coady’s newest film – Tour Baby Deux!, along with surprise guests. In Tour Baby Deux!, Scott lives every cycling fan's dream by following the entire 2005 Tour de France from start to finish, filming all the craziness in this hilarious and intimate look at the Tour. From mountain-top madness in the Pyrenees to partying with Podium Girls in Paris, the film takes the viewer on a wild ride behind the scenes with Lance Armstrong for his final TT win, George Hincapie for his first stage victory, and Cadel Evans, Robbie McEwen, Fast Freddie Rodriguez and their Lotto team.

Purchase Tickets.

This is what it's all about...

If this video from the 2007 Purdue collegiate race doesn't get you stoked, well, then there's little hope for you.

Sign up to receive your 2008 WORS handbook

For those Red Hawk racers in the Wisconsin area, participating in a few Wisconsin Off-Road Series races this summer will be a great way to prepare for the fall collegiate season. Be sure to sign up now to receive the 2008 WORS racer handbook so you will have all the info you need to compete. Deadline to register to receive your very own copy in the mail is Feb. 10. Handbooks are scheduled to be mailed March 1.

The 2008 WORS schedule is as follows:
May 4 Iola Bump & Jump, Iola
May 18 Treadfest, Lake Geneva
June 1 Big Ring Classic, Wausau
June 14&15 Subaru Cup, Mt. Morris
June 22 Reforestation Ramble, Suamico
July 6 Chippewa Valley Firecracker, Eau Claire
July 27 Alterra Coffee Bean Classic, Franklin
Aug. 10 Sunburst Showdown, Kewaskum
Aug. 24 Border Battle, River Falls
Sept. 7 Smokin Spoke, Rhinelander
Sept. 28 Wolf River Rendezvous, Shawano
Oct. 12 Wigwam MTB Challenge, Sheboygan

Urge Wisconsin Politicians to Reject Assembly Bill 600

I apologize for the political nature of this post, but our sport depends on the availability of quality mountain bike trails.

If you live in Wisconsin, please review 2007 Assembly Bill 600. Read this bill carefully. If it becomes law, it will adversely impact the composition of the Governor's State Trails Council which represents all types of trail recreation in Wisconsin. I urge you to contact your state legislators and ask them to reject 2007 Assembly Bill 600 as introduced November 29, 2007 by Representatives Mursau, Montgomery, Kleefisch, Lemahieu and Townsend, cosponsored by Senators Breske, Grothman and Lazich.

The State Trails Council, created by statute in 1989, is a nine-member council appointed by the governor to four-year terms. Members must be knowledgeable in various recreational uses of trails. The STC provides advice and consultation to the Department of Natural Resources on the planning, acquisition, development and management of trails in Wisconsin. The council represents trail users in Wisconsin, which includes more than half of the state's residents. The council is also responsible for providing counsel in administering Federal Recreational Trails Program funds. This program provides millions of dollars to be distributed to trails throughout the state. The STC serves as Wisconsin's state recreational trail advisory committee for the program and is necessary for Wisconsin to participate.

Currently the law does not provide specific designations for the Council members. The law designates nine members but grants the Council privilege to represent specific user groups. The user groups or activities currently represented are:

1. The Ice Age Trail
2. Off Highway Vehicles
3. Equestrians
4. The Department of Transportation
5. Trail Users with Disabilities
6. Nordic Skiing
7. Water Trails
8. Snowmobiles
9. Bicycles

AB 600 seeks to increase the number of representatives from nine to eleven and specifies that four of them will represent the following motorized user groups:

1. All-Terrain Vehicle users
2. Snowmobile Users
3. Users of motor vehicles with 4 wheels that are manufactured principally for off-highway use
4. Users of motorcycles that are manufactured principally for off-highway use

The bill does not designate any representation of non-motorized user groups. In the bill only four user groups are protected and all of them are motorized.

The Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) assesses the supply, demand and participation rates of outdoor recreation in Wisconsin. According to the latest SCORP report, motorized outdoor recreation participants represent a much smaller percentage of users than non-motorized users.

Consider the percent of participants for the following activities cited in the SCORP report:

1. Walk for Pleasure: 85.8%
2. Bicycling: 49.3%
3. Day Hiking: 35.0%
4. Off-road driving with an ATV: 23.4%
5. Canoeing: 20.5%
6. Mountain biking (off-road): 20.4%
7. Inline Skating: 20.0%
8. Trail Running: 18.6%
9. Snowmobiling: 18.3%
10. Mountain biking (single track): 18.0%
11. Off-road 4-wheel driving (SUV): 17.7%
12. Skiing, Cross Country: 11.4%
13. Horseback Riding: 9.8%
14. Backpacking: 6.9%
15. Off-road motorcycling: 5.9%

Using these statistics, it is clear that if a separate representative is designated for off-road motorcycling — the smallest percentage of users, all other activities that have a higher percentage of participants should be guaranteed representation. In fact, logic would dictate that if a separate representative is designated for off-road motorcycling, then the number of council members dedicated to represent pleasure walkers should be 14, and proportionately 8 for bicyclists, 6 for day hikers, 4 for ATV riders, 3 for people who canoe, 3 for mountain biking, etc. I exaggerate, but I hope you see my point.

Expanding the Governor’s State Trails Council to 11 members with four of those members designated to represent motorized recreation would give non-motorized users disproportionate, unfair and unjustified power on the council.

While I do believe that it is fair for motorized users to have representation on the Council, I do not feel the bill addresses the issue appropriately in its current form. I also believe that at a time when the societal ills of obesity, fuel consumption and pollution are adversely affecting our health and the well-being of our habitat, the state should not be giving more credence to motorized recreation. On the contrary, I believe the state should be discouraging such.