www.kalamazoobicycleclub.org The
Newsletter of the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club March 2005
Kal Haven Trailblazer Discontinued
Birthdays, Expiring Memberships
Update on Senator McManus Bill 1389
Vice President Rides for a Cure
TNTT Champion Victor Van Fleet has Heart Surgery
Senior Olympics Come to Kalamazoo
What Are New Drivers Being Taught About Bicyclists?
Endurance Cycling: Five Mistakes to Avoid
As I
write the March President's letter, there are freezing temperatures and new
snow on the ground. However, spring is not far off and there will undoubtedly
be warmer riding weather. In the meantime, in order to get ourselves oriented
toward riding on the road with cars again, I thought it might be a good idea to
give a brief overview of the law as it applies to bicyclists.
Every
bicyclist riding upon a roadway has all of the rights and is subject to all of
the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle. Bicyclists are required to ride
as near to the right of the road as practicable. Bicyclists may ride two abreast.
Bicyclists
may be required by local ordinance to ride on a usable and designated path
adjacent to a roadway. A bicyclist may pass on the left of traffic moving in
his or her direction in the case of a two-way street or on the left or the
right of traffic in the case of a one-way street in an unoccupied lane.
Bicyclists are required to
operate their bicycles in a safe manner. They may not encumber themselves with
packages or bundles which prevent the rider from keeping both hands on the
handlebars. Bicycles may not be used to carry more persons at one time than
they were designed for. Bicyclists may not attach themselves to other vehicles
on the roadway.
Bicyclists
are required to use a white light lamp visible at least 500 feet to the front
and have a red reflector visible from 100 to 600 feet to the rear; they may
also use a lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of
500 feet to the rear in addition to the reflector. Bicyclists are not subject
to the mandatory helmet law that motorcyclists are subject to (however, all persons riding in Kalamazoo
Bicycle Club rides are required to wear
a helmet). Violations of these statutes subject the violator or his or her
parent or guardian to a civil infraction.
While all of these requirements
are important, in the context of club rides the most important requirement is
the requirement not to ride more than two abreast on the right side of the
road. We do not want to be pulled over by law enforcement while on rides for
violating this statute. Let’s all be safe on the road this year.
Bikes, Money, and the Law
While I
am on the subject of bicycling and the law, did you know that a portion of the
money that you pay in state and federal gas and fuel taxes is required by law
to be spent on bicycling and pedestrian transportation enhancement? Congressman
Dick Allen (the DA in DALMAC) wrote
a provision in Michigan's road funding law which requires state, county, and
local governments to spend not less than 1% of their road money on bicycling
and pedestrian projects. In Kalamazoo County, the Kalamazoo County Road
Commission had a 2003 budget of $19.6 million; 1% of that is $196,000. There is
an equivalent federal law that requires that 10% of Federal road funds be spent
on bicycling and pedestrian projects.
There
is currently an effort underway to create a county-wide comprehensive
transportation plan. This plan is required to reduce air pollution in Kalamazoo
County. No new road projects can be proposed unless it can be shown that they
would not create new air pollution. There are studies underway to count car and
truck traffic. As of yet, there are no studies on bicycle usage.
There
will soon be a questionnaire on the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club website (www.kalamazoobicycleclub.org) which
will ask you to select a route that you bicycle in the
The
fundamental questions being asked are: 1) what, if anything, should be done to
improve bicycling in Kalamazoo; and 2) are the county and local governments
spending your money appropriately on bicycling.
If you
go to a restaurant and get great food, you go back and you tell your friends;
if you get bad service, you complain to the manager. We are trying to do the
same thing for bicycling in
Mike Boersma, KBC President
Kal Haven Trailblazer Ride
Discontinued
For those of you who looked forward to one of the
first road bike tours of the year, the annual Kal
Haven Trailblazer ride, you’d better schedule something else to do that
weekend. The Trailblazer ride has been discontinued.
As most know by now, Van Buren County
took over operation and management of the Kal Haven Trail from the State of
Michigan in 2004. Due to the success of annual and daily pass sales, they
raised about $60,000.00, more than was needed to cover the approximate $50,000.00
in operating expenses. The excess monies will be rolled over into the 2005
operations budget.
With the Trail once again able to
support itself, the Friends of the Kal Haven Trail, a group that raised money
(much of it through the Trailblazer ride) for building and improvement projects
along the trail, decided to discontinue their fund-raising ride.
And speaking of Kal Haven Trail news, passes
are once again available by mail. Please send checks or money orders to: Trails,
801A Hazen Street, Paw Paw, MI 49079 Make checks payable to: Van Buren County. Fees
remain the same as they were in 2004: $35 for a family pass and $15 for an
individual pass.
Active subscriptions in
KBC: 225
March Birthdays:
Diane Berry
Gary Bigelow
Joe Bigelow
Lisa Bigelow
Sheila Bigelow
Jamie Clark
Morgan Clothier
Ron Doering
Logan Freer
Rebecca Gaff
Rosie Grzebyk
Jeff Hutchison
Henry Kalkman
Robert Keller
David Naegele
Mark Olson
Laura Steurer
Barb Updike
Cheryl VanDer Meer
Joe Williams
New Member:
Christopher Bloch
March Expiring Memberships:
Michael Birmann
Family
Alice Hoekstra
Jim Kindle Family
John Mathieson
Mike Miles
Jeff Newman Family
Cheryl & Mark Olson
Kevin Vichinsky Family
KBC’s regular monthly meeting was held
The February meeting began with Mike
Boersma giving the floor to David Sperry and Team KBC. Sperry is
working on new KBC Race Team bylaws and states that they will fall in line with
and model the existing bylaws of the club. He will report back to the club when
he has everything together. Sperry also stated that he has been contacted by at
least 20 people who wish to join the team and expects at least 15 people will
be signed up by the end of the month. This includes two new members who have
joined the club just to be on the team. Sperry also has acquired two major
sponsors for the race team, Little Caesars and Central Manufacturing Services.
The monies from the sponsors will go toward new race jerseys with “Little
Caesars Hot and Ready” and Central Manufacturing Services logos on the race
wear. Kathy Kirk informed Sperry that a link on the top menu of the club’s web
page can be inserted so as to connect directly to a KBC Race Team information
web page.
Database Manager Paul Bruneau reports that he
still has 50 club member e-mail address confirmations outstanding. KBC needs your e-mail address to let you know where
to find the online PedalPress Newsletter. Randy Putt and Kathy Kirk volunteered to help Bruneau in contacting as many
people as possible to try to get these addresses confirmed. Bruneau also stated
that he is now working to include multiple e-mail addresses for households
where the family members each have their own email address for the online PedalPress.
The feedback of the first online PedalPress from
club members present was very positive. If you have any suggestions
about how to make this newsletter better, please contact the editor or
webmaster.
Mike Boersma,
KBC President, discussed a road and facility survey as part of an evaluation of
how to make the Kalamazoo area more bicycle friendly. This survey can be
completed by downloading a Bikeability Checklist. This list is put out by the
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and the U.S. Department
of Transportation. Possibly by accessing this (an online version) through the
club’s website and getting feedback from group rides, then collecting all the
data, we as a club can forward our findings to the KATS (Kalamazoo Association
Transportation Study) and the Road Commission and hopefully make a difference.
The Checklist can be found at http://www.bicyclinginfo.org
Randy Putt,
KBC Ride Captain, informed the club that the Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday night rides this year will stay the same, and we will also continue the
weekly Saturday ride that began last fall starting at St Tim’s Church on BC Ave
between Gull Lake and M-43. Putt stated that we still need ride leaders for
these rides. Anyone interested please contact Randy Putt.
There will also be a Tuesday ride starting at Pavilion
Township Hall at the corner of
Member Joe Branch asked about starting a group
ride on Mondays that incorporated pulling a child behind in a trailer. He
suggested this would be a 10 to 15 mph group and asked what safety issues that
would entail. After some discussion it was deemed to be feasible if a less
traveled route could be worked out. A route on 10th Street from Q Ave.
to U Ave. and back to Texas Corners was one option suggested. This would allow
members with families more options to ride. Zolton Cohen even gave the
ride a name, The K.I.T. Ride, for Kids in Trailers.
Reporting on the FlowerFest, Zolton Cohen noted
that several new routes, submitted by FlowerFest volunteer Mike Krischer,
are up for review. The route changes had been requested by some riders in
recent years. Cohen also noted that we should start to advertise the ride
online and in the PedalPress.
Feedback on the Recovery Party on January 22nd at the
home of Chris and Marion Barnes was by all accounts a great success. The
club extended Chris (Cricket) Howard many thanks for his homebrewed beer
and excellent slide show. Thank you notes will be sent out to local bike shops Breakaway Bicycles, Alfred E Bike, and
Village Cyclery, all of whom contributed schwag for the party.
On another topic, a discussion of opportunities to
educate the public on safe bicycling and with the effort to enhance cycling in
the Kalamazoo area, Zolton Cohen, KBC newsletter editor, informed the
club that he and Vice President Jim Kindle were contacted by Marsha
Meyer, director of the Portage Public Library. Meyer asked if a one hour
presentation on Beginning Bicycling could be given some time around June 13th –
15th. It would likely be attended by 15 to 25 people and consist of informing
the group on the types of bikes that are available to cyclists, desirable
clothing, group riding with KBC, and safety aspects. Kindle and Cohen are now
collaborating on putting such a program together.
Cohen has also come up with a concept for a KBC Bike
Camp. His ideas include starting a 10-week training season for all ages
that would incorporate a seminar on bicycling; how to ride, what type of bike
to ride, what to wear, and all safety aspects of bicycling. The rides
themselves could be incorporated with regular KBC club rides and the training
would get everyone involved working toward the ultimate goal, to ride in the FlowerFest.
Cohen states that this concept comes from the
successful collaboration of Gazelle Sports and Borgess Hospital’s Run Camp
where 250 to 300 people attend a 13-week program of fitness and fun to get athletes
ready for the Big Run, Borgess Run for the Health of It! Discussion on
this concept was very positive with members volunteering their help, and with possible
additional help from Mark and Cheryl Olson (Pro Trainers) and Paul
Wells of Breakaway Bicycles
contributing a mechanic to help speak about various items. Cohen stated he
would have a proposal worked out to submit to the club at the next meeting.
KBC Vice President Jim Kindle informed the club
that on June 5th, 2005 he will be participating in a 100 mile endurance bike
ride to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The Society has a goal of
curing blood cancers through the research it supports. Anyone can make a
donation online by going to Jim’s TNT website at www.active.com/donate/tntmi/jimkindle.
Treasurer Tom Keizer reports that we have
$9,019.00 in savings and $3,945.00 in checking.
With no further business to attend to, the meeting was
adjourned at
Respectfully submitted, Mike Berry, KBC Secretary
Mid-Winter Ramblings from the Ride Captain
I get a bit optimistic at this time of year. The worst
of winter is typically behind us, spring is on the horizon, the great annual
holiday party is history, I watched “American Flyers” for probably the 10th
time, and my annual trip to
The Senior Olympics is being held in
If you are thinking about a cycling
trip this summer, start planning now. There are many opportunities. If you like
the mountains check out Pedal the Peaks (
Plan on the usual
rides for 2005 as described in the February newsletter. We are always
open to route changes and new rides. As a matter of fact, KBC is planning a
couple of new rides this year. Look for a 25 – 30 mile ride on Tuesday evenings,
starting at the Pavilion Township Hall at the corner of
Also, we hope to continue a weekly
Saturday Ride that was started last fall starting at St Tim’s Church on BC Ave
between
We’re not done yet.
Renee
Mitchell and Jelania Haile are interested in establishing a morning ride during the
week. The day or days of the week and starting times have not yet been
established.
Stay tuned for updates on KBC ride
schedule.
Also, we plan to continue the special
weekend rides in 2005. The rides were once again successful last year. We now
have 7 special weekend rides and there is always room for more. Mark your
long-range calendars for the special weekend rides this summer.
·
The 5th annual W
Ave Ride (48 miles) from Vicksburg High School April 30 or May 7 (Yes, Rick Whaley will be back from Ann Arbor
to lead the ride he created. Thanks once again, Rick.)
·
The 7th
annual Old Car Festival Ride (about 60 miles) from
·
The 8th
annual ride to South Haven with a stop at the beach (100 miles) on July 9
· The 3rd annual Family Ride from St Tim’s Church near
·
The 8th
annual Ride Around Kalamazoo County (100 miles) August 6 or 13
·
The 34th
KBC Anniversary Ride September 17 (~40 miles)
·
The 2nd
Fall Ride October 1 or 8 (~40 miles)
The dates for some of these rides are not
firmly established for 2005 yet. If you have comments about the above-mentioned
rides or have suggestions for other rides, contact Randy Putt by phone or
e-mail.
March Ride Schedule
The
roads are dry, at least today, and the temperature is in the mid-30’s,
so I took a short ride. I suspect I wasn’t the only one. It did feel good to be
on my bike outside on the road. There is still snow on the ground, so it is
interesting to ride with snow along the side of the road. You never know when
the next suitable riding day with present itself, so take advantage of it. On a
more positive note, your beloved ride captain is planning a trip south soon. A
warming trend will be on the way for him. I’m not so sure the local weather
will be so cooperative.
It
is the time of year to start planning for rides as the weather starts to
improve into more spring-like conditions. I guess I’m an optimist so let’s plan
some informal rides for March in preparation for the 2005 ride season. There
are no official rides scheduled for March, but I know there will be riders
ready to ride as soon as the weather improves. When the weather cooperates,
impromptu rides will most likely materialize in the next couple of months.
· Meet at
· Meet at
· Meet at
· Meet at
· Meet at
The
riders who show up at any of these locations can determine the length and pace
of the ride. There will no official ride leader or maps provided in March.
Impromptu weekend rides can happen
anytime the weather is suitable and someone is willing to organize, especially
in March and April. Contact a few friends and spread the word via email and
riders will likely come. If anyone would like to lead a weekend ride in March,
give me a call and/or send me a description of the ride via e-mail, or send the
ride info to the KBC e-mail group. If the roads are dry, there will be riders
ready to ride. I have a lengthy e-mail list of riders, so the information can
be transferred quickly and on short notice. If any of you would like to be
added to the e-mail list, send your e-mail address to me at srpbike@yahoo.com or sterling.r.putt@pfizer.com. In
March these impromptu weekend rides are likely to become more common. KBC plans
to offer at least a partial weekly ride schedule in April as the weather
permits. Look for details in the April newsletter.
Update on Senator McManus Bill 1389
Many of you may recall that in November 2004 the PedalPress
reported on the status of a bill proposed by Senator Michelle McManus of Lake
Leelanau, bill # 1389, that would have significantly changed the way bicyclists
and other non-motorized vehicles could use Michigan’s roadways.
The bill proposed striking from the
Michigan Motor Vehicle Code language that currently allows riding no more than
two abreast and replacing it with the more restrictive “A person riding a bicycle shall not ride abreast of another person
riding a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, motorcycle, or
moped, except as otherwise provided by state law or local ordinance.”
If this bill had passed it would have meant great
changes – to say the least - in the way bicycle clubs like KBC conduct club
rides. It also would have essentially banned bicycle racing in the state.
Fortunately, according to Lucinda Means, Executive Director of
the League of Michigan Bicyclists, “We’ve had one meeting with Senator McManus
and are having another one tomorrow. She appears to be supportive of some
bike-friendly legislation and her staff has drafted some language that is much
more bike-friendly than her previous bill. I think the first bill was to
satisfy a peeved constituent and I know that she was extremely surprised by the
number and tenor of the negative responses she got
from bicyclists from Michigan and across the country. Her chief of staff
told me that in 10 years of legislative work she’d never seen anything like it,
including the mourning dove bill. However, as my grandmother used to say, “There’s
many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip” so until some actual bike friendly
legislation is actually passed, we will continue to work very closely with
Senator McManus and her colleagues on this issue.”
When queried further about the meaning
of “bike-friendly” legislation, Means had this to say, “The Senator's staff is
working with us to draft legislation concerning Michigan's "vehicle
Code" (Michigan Compiled Laws dealing with traffic) that will
incorporate language that is more bike specific and bike friendly from the
current Uniform Vehicle Code, on which states including Michigan base their
vehicle codes. (This description is VERY simplistic, to avoid lapsing into
jargon.) The version of the UVC Michigan used is older than the current UVC and
Michigan hasn't made any changes to the bicycle language in recent memory other
than removing the mandatory sidepath rule for riders older than 16 and removing
the handlebar bell requirement.”
“One example that we are
pursuing would be to list conditions under which bicyclists can legally move
left and not stay as far right as practicable, such as avoiding road hazards,
parked cars etc. Other states around us list those conditions explicitly,
Michigan doesn't.”
“It is going to be critical that
all cyclists in Michigan support us, WHEN THE TIME COMES, by expressing their
support for bike friendly laws. We may need to ask the clubs to disseminate
email calls to action to their club members a little later this year to contact
their legislators. If so, we want to time this to some extent so that the
constituent calls don't happen prematurely, before the proposed legislation is
actually in process.”
“I would like KBC to invite me to a
club meeting soon to talk about this.” Stay tuned…
Vice President Rides for a Cure..
KBC Vice President Jim Kindle is tackling the peaks around
Jim writes, “I am training to participate in an endurance event as
a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. All of us on Team in Training are raising funds to
help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloma from taking more
lives. I’m completing this ride in honor
of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real
heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line
- a cure!”
“The ride will be 100 miles (known as a century ride)
around
“I decided to get involved in this for a few
reasons. My daughter did a tri last year as a part of this program, and I
helped her with her fund raising. My wife and I then went to the event to
support her effort, and were tremendously impressed with the Organization
(Leukemia and Lymphoma Society), and the organization that they exhibited in
putting these teams together. I think I mentioned at the KBC meeting the other
night that there were just over 600 TNT members at this tri and they raised over $6.1 million for patient/family support,
treatment, and research.”
“Each team has what is called an
Honored Hero that we dedicate our efforts to. This Honored Hero is a
patient in the area who is fighting for his life or may be in remission,
but still requiring treatments and testing. Each participant may
also have another person they wish to dedicate their effort to that has
been touched by the disease. There are some fairly emotional times when you
learn, what for the most part are children, these patients and families have
and are going through.”
“I do not know anyone closely who is
currently suffering from Leukemia, but a hockey teammate of my son Tyler died
from the disease back when he was about 12. It was a pretty rough time. A
member of our church just had a 2 year niece pass away from Leukemia, and that
child’s mother was recently diagnosed with the disease also. It seems to touch
a lot of people.”
“And finally, I decided that since I
would be riding my bike anyway, why not use it to help
others? I would like to do 4-5 charity rides this season. I currently
have 3 planned. Those being this TNT ride, the WAM ride to benefit the
Michigan Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the DAL-MAC to
benefit bicycling.”
“Please make a donation to support my participation in
Team in Training and help advance the Society’s mission. Each donation of $25 or more will receive a TEAM IN TRAINING
wristband similar to Lance Armstrong’s.
I hope you’ll
visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress.
Thanks for your support!”
TNTT Champion Victor Van Fleet has Heart Surgery
KBC’s 2004
Most Improved Time Trialer, Victor Van Fleet, suffered a ruptured aortic aneurysm in January
and is at home recovering from emergency surgery to correct the condition.
His wife, Judy, reports that Vic is sore from the surgery and bears a foot-long
scar down his abdomen, but is in good spirits and expects to be back on the
bike by April to begin training to defend his title. At this time he cannot
receive visitors, but well-wishers can write him a note or a card at:
Victor
Van Fleet
5934
Wood Valley Road
Kalamazoo,
Michigan 49009
According to the March/April issue of AARP Magazine,
“biking clubs” are a great place to meet men. Sallie Foley, a marital and sex
therapist in Ann Arbor, answered a female reader’s question about the wisdom of
signing up with an online dating service with this advice, “Forgive me for
playing to stereotypes, but think of interests you have that men are likely to
share. For example, political groups, biking
clubs, and land preservation organizations are all male magnets. Knitting
clubs will probably not be fertile ground for you.”
It’s no secret that KBC rides are
attended in large part by men (or boys pretending to be men, as one acerbic
female wit once described the weekly club riding scene). But if KBC rides and
events are not “fertile” enough ground for you, Foley concludes, “If you have a
tomboy streak and love model rockets or railroad trains, you’re set.” We
forgive her, barely, for playing to stereotypes…
Senior Olympics Come to
The Michigan Senior Olympics will be
held in
The Senior Olympics are held for the
benefit of participants 50 years of age and older. Age groupings are
incremented; 50-54 years, 55-59 years, and so on up into the 90’s for some
athletes. And make no mistake, there are some very tough competitors even up
into the upper age ranges. State cycling records for the 50-54 age group time
trial races are often exceeded by times from athletes ten or more years older.
Cycling events are held in accordance
to USCF rules; of course everyone must wear a helmet.
Other Olympic events, for instance
running and track and field, will be held at the track at WMU. The time trial
and road race courses are yet to be determined.
For more information on these games,
please visit http://michiganseniorolympics.com
What Are New Drivers Being Taught About Bicyclists?
[Editor’s note: In the April 2004 issue
of the KBC Pedal Press, we printed
the section of the Michigan Motor Vehicle Code that pertained to bicycling on
roadways. The idea was to give readers a frame of reference for that issue’s President’s Letter, which addressed
cyclists’ rights. Since then, we’ve been wondering what – if anything – new
drivers actually are taught about sharing the road with Michigan bicyclists. KBC’s Mary Cohen
offered to put that question to a couple of driver’s education representatives
and here’s what she learned.]
Driver’s Ed Pros Talk about “Sharing the Road”
By Mary B. Cohen
Every time my cycling spouse heads out for a ride, he
rolls away to a volley of my standard sendoffs. “Have a great ride!” “Say ‘hi’
to your biker pals.” “What time will you be home?” “I love you!” The sequence
of well wishes changes, but I’m predictable. Even if he’s in a hurry, I will
run down the driveway waving and calling after him.
And the last of my cries is always the most important:
“Have a safe ride!”
That’s because while cycling is his joy, it is not
without hazards. Road conditions, weather, state of alertness, the condition of
his or her trusty two-wheel steed – a responsible cyclist prepares as much as
possible. But no matter how savvy and sensible, a rider cannot anticipate all
the variables. And as any regular cyclist will tell you, the most unpredictable
factor is the other folks on the road.
That’s why a group of KBC cyclists out for an early
spring ride last year were astonished to be pulled over by a Kalamazoo County
Sheriff’s Department deputy in Texas Township. The officer said his department
received angry calls and complaints about cyclists – no doubt some of the same
people who roar past bikers hugging the right edge of the pavement, and
sometimes shake their fists (or fingers, or whatever’s handy) to punctuate the
point.
The truth is that bicycle riders have every right to
tool along
Now anyone who has ever tried to get a teenager to
clean her room or pick up his soccer equipment probably cringes at the thought
of all those newcomers getting behind the wheel. Makes you wonder: What could
driver’s education instructors possibly do or say that would drum “sharing the
road” into new drivers? To answer that question, I talked with representatives
of two respected driving schools in our area. Here’s what they had to say.
The “Eyes” Have It
Dave
Van Dyke, director of education for Sears Authorized Driving School based
in
“Our instructors explain what to do when encountering
cyclists,” he says. “And the process is illustrated very well in the films we
show.” In fact, “sharing the road” is part of the curriculum covered in course
materials, discussion, and instruction. The hard part is giving new drivers the
chance to practice doing it.
“There’s not a cyclist every mile down the road even
in good weather,” Van Dyke acknowledges. So the key to safety in his mind is
observation skills. “If you develop observation skills, it’s safer for the
driver and the cyclist,” he says.
Did you ever see somebody make a wide right turn,
tailgate the guy in front of him, or brake suddenly and cause a flurry of
little skids as a result? Van Dyke says those are signs of poor observation
skills. “The driver is looking through the lower portion of the windshield
instead of looking up into the lane ahead,” he says. Van Dyke calls that
“low-aim steering” – keeping the eyes pegged a few notches below where they
need to be. “The eyes need to stay up high; I say they should be roughly one
city block ahead of the path of travel,” says Van Dyke. “That gives the driver
a bigger picture.”
And it’s not just a matter of road perspective or
ability to anticipate upcoming hazards. Honing observational skills by keeping
the eyes high is a preventative strategy for road safety.
“The car will go where the driver looks,” Van Dyke
explains. “If the driver’s eyes are on the cyclist, the car will drift toward
the cyclist.” So a driver nervously eying a pack of riders will unwittingly
edge closer to them. Van Dyke suggests the same principle holds true for cycling.
Head down and eyes focused on the pothole you’re trying to avoid will aim you
right for it. Eyes up a little higher with a search pattern that moves
“sidewalk to sidewalk” helps both drivers and cyclists navigate safely.
Since driver’s ed can only provide
students with experience based on time of year and local road conditions, Van
Dyke says Sears instructors emphasize the eyes. “If our students are learning
good observation skills, they will take the proper and safe action necessary,”
he says.
“All the Rights and Duties of a Vehicle”
You
might see Dave Hybels
in the passenger seat of a “Student Driver” vehicle headed down
“I love you guys,” Hybels says
genially when I mention the KBC. “Most of the time,” he adds, with a laugh.
Hybels and
his colleagues at E-Z Way teach their clients that “the bicyclist is entitled
to his space,” he explains. “We insist that kids share the road, slow down, and
give riders plenty of room.” At an intersection, students are taught to check
for a cyclist, and signal so that cyclist knows where the car is headed. “A
cyclist has all the rights and duties
of a vehicle,” Hybels says E-Z Way tells its 1,500 students each year. But not
all cyclists illustrate that point every time they strap on a helmet.
“You see cyclists in the middle of the road, who don’t
stop at the traffic light, who don’t signal,” says Hybels. From the passenger
seat as an instructor, he’s seen the rider who tries to make it through a
yellow light meet up with the car trying to make a left-hand turn in the
opposite direction. Oftentimes it’s a well-outfitted rider with all the gear
who should know better. And that’s the kind of thing that catches a new
driver’s attention. “A student will say, ‘He didn’t stop! Why should I follow
the rules if they don’t?’” Hybels explains.
“For young drivers, it takes some practice to share
the road,” he says. That’s why Hybels says he’d welcome a little help teaching
by example. “We’re trying hard to educate kids to do it and do it right – to operate their vehicles
safely,” he says frankly. “We’d like you guys to do it, too.”
Signs of the Times
Both Van Dyke and Hybels
are sympathetic to cyclists who experience “road rage” on
“You also get that in a regular car with a student
driver at the wheel,” says Van Dyke. Hybels agrees, and points to the number of
cars on the road, pavement conditions, and limited law enforcement as related
factors. “In the 1950s, most families had one car; now some have four,” he
says. “We’re not making roads any bigger and there’s even less money in city
budgets for repair and maintenance.” On top of that, budget constraints limit
the ability of local police departments to enforce speed limits and other
safety laws.
“If the 25 or 30 mile per hour speed limit was
enforced on Oakland Drive, wouldn’t you feel safer on a bike?” Hybels asks.
“I’d feel safer teaching kids to drive, too.”
Until that happens, it sounds as if both
driver’s ed professionals and cyclists each have a role to play in educating
new drivers and seasoned ones about how to share the road with those of us on a
bicycle.
Endurance Cycling: Five Mistakes to Avoid
By Chris Kostman, contributing
editor to UltraCycling magazine
For more information
on endurance cycling go to www.ultracycling.com.
Can you ride a century every month – including two makeup rides for winter?
Sign up for the Year-Rounder Century Challenge at www.ultracycling.com/standings/year-rounder.html
Centuries, double centuries, and
brevets are the bread and butter of most endurance cyclists. They provide a
good challenge, great training, an opportunity to test the efficacy of training
and nutrition, and a nice day (or more) on the bike with fellow riders. But
they’re not easy and are not to be taken for granted. Here are five mistakes to
avoid as you train for, and ride, endurance events.
Mistake #1: Not Using Speedwork
One common endurance training mistake
is just “putting in the miles.” The mentality is that if you put enough miles
in the bank in your training, you can withdraw them later as endurance, maybe
even miraculously fast endurance. But this approach is boring, a waste of time,
and you won’t get substantially faster!
Many cyclists overlook the fact that
the majority of the top RAAM racers over the past twenty years were, or are,
also competitive cyclists in the traditional sense (i.e., USCF racing). Pete Penseyres, Michael Secrest, Rob Templin,
Danny Chew, George Thomas, and Franz Spilauer are just some of the top RAAMers
who raced at a national level (and were competitive there, too). Others, like
Michael Shermer and Seana Hogan, train with a racing club at least once a week.
High intensity training is an important, or even critical, part of endurance
training.
You only get faster by riding faster!
In practical terms, you need one or two days a week focused on high intensity
speed training. Though hill repeats, interval training against the clock, or
even a spinning class can be effective speed training, the best way to increase
your speed is to ride with those who are much faster than you are. Joining a weekly racer club workout or weekly
crit series is the ticket here. Get out and hammer with the big boys and girls
in the pacelines, sprint for the city limit signs, and do your best not to get dropped.
Be forewarned, though: it can be humbling for a while, if not for a long while.
But you’ll get faster for the long haul.
Another bonus is that, on event day,
you won’t get dropped right from the get-go when the lead pack of riders takes
off like they’re doing a 40km road race, as they inevitably do. You want to
hang with them in the first hours so that you’re not breaking your own wind,
and setting your own pace, all day. It’s a shame to get dropped: don’t let it
happen to you!
Mistake #2: Doing Long Slow Miles
Don’t confuse “steady” and “slow” and
just put in the long miles at an easy intensity. This is a waste of time
because the only thing accomplished physiologically by riding slowly is
learning how to ride slowly. “LSD” doesn’t stand for “Long Slow Distance,” it
stands for “Long Steady Distance.” Some endurance riding is necessary to train
for endurance events, but while you’re putting in those miles, do so at a good,
steady intensity and keep these additional goals and benefits in mind:
- “Keep it steady and keep it moving”
should be the mantra while riding LSD: Don’t dilly-dally while refueling,
fixing a flat, or reading the route sheet. Don’t bog down while riding, either,
whether on the hills or flats. Use your bike computer to push yourself to
maintain an average speed; use your heart rate monitor to see how low you can
keep your heart rate while maintaining a challenging average speed. When
quicker riders pass you, pick up the pace; riding steadily doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t push it sometimes, too.
- Base Fitness Training: LSD rides
will allow you to slowly but surely rebuild your body from the inside out.
You’ll increase the efficiency of your cardiovascular system and get in touch
with your heartrate and breathing patterns. This is particularly important in
the early season, when you’re laying the foundation for the year.
- Equipment Testing: If you’re not
comfortable on your bike, you won’t ride far. Use your LSD rides, not events,
to test saddles, shoes, pedals, aerobars, and such, plus variations on their
position. What seems comfortable for 30-50 miles will not necessarily be so
after 100 or 200 miles.
- Nutrition Testing: Food and drink
choices also won’t reveal their effectiveness until you get way out there. Use
your long rides to see which fuel and hydration systems work for you. Whatever
you eat and drink, it should be portable, go down well, provide consistent
energy (no highs and lows), and keep you hydrated. If you don’t want to carry
100 or 200 miles’ worth of food and drink during your events, find out what the
event promoters will serve and train on that. Then when you do the event you
won’t need to carry all your own fuel. (But if the event is going to serve
Danishes and hot dogs, as some do, you’ll want to carry your own fuel.) By the
way, essentially all top distance cyclists use a primarily, or exclusively,
liquid-based (or liquid-, pill- and gel-based) fueling system.
Mistake #3: Doing the same thing all the time
The third common mistake is doing the
same workout on the same day, week after week. This is boring and unnecessary,
so lose those crazy “Tuesdays are for speed work, Wednesday are for
hill-climbing” kinds of rules or club ride schedules. As long as you get in the
variety and intensity of training necessary, it really doesn’t matter which
workout you do on any given day, as long as you recover in time for the next
workout or event. Finally, don’t skip training days during the week with the
intention of making up for it on the weekends. Use your lunch hour, bike
commuting, and even night training so that you are training, on the bike, four
or five days a week, no matter what.
Many riders put in their big miles
every weekend, because more time is available then. But it’s also important to
mix your weekends up and avoid ruts there, too. Some weekends should be
back-to-back long rides. Some should be a long ride one day and either a
recovery ride or speed work on the other. And some weekends you should just
relax with your family after doing a fast club ride on one of the mornings.
Mistake #4: Not allowing recovery
Hey man, give it a rest! The
complimentary ideas of “rest days” and “recovery rides” are lost on most
athletes. In training, you’re either improving by pushing yourself or
recovering by resting or going easily so that you’re ready to push yourself
again. Training at a mid-level intensity is only useful during LSD rides. The
rest of the time, either hammer or go very, very easy (or don’t ride at all).
Each week should include one true recovery ride and one day of complete
inactivity except perhaps a walk after dinner (a good habit every day).
If you’re not recovered, your resting
heart rate will be elevated and/or you’ll feel listless on the bike. If that’s
you, park the bike and rest another day; training on tired legs is a waste of
time. Make your training time count, but also make your recovery time count.
The point is to keep building, ever higher!
Mistake #5: Staying on the bike all the time
Common mistake number five is never
getting off the bike to work out. All cyclists can improve their cycling
comfort, endurance, and speed by training off the bike, as well as improve
their overall health and fitness.
I’m amazed at the number of overweight
endurance riders I see. Either the extra weight is a result of poor dietary
habits (fast food for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner?) or these riders are
stuck on a plateau, no matter how many miles they train, or how many long
events they finish. They need to incorporate more intensity into their training
and they need some cross-training to
shock their bodies into pushing itself to a higher level. So do the rest of us!
As discussed on other occasions in
Ultra Cycling magazine and my website, off-the-bike training should include
yoga, Pilates, and/or strength training (i.e., weight lifting). Think of it as
filling in the blanks that are left by the huge volume of sports-specific
training done on the bike. Swimming and running are two other great compliments
to cycling that will not only increase your overall health, but also your
cycling ability through increased muscular endurance, strength, and overall
joint, muscle, and connective tissue health.
On-the-bike cross-training variations
are great, too: mountain biking and spinning classes can do wonders for your
road riding. I cross-train in all of these manners regularly and they pay off
for me, not only when doing an Ironman Triathlon, but also as I ride doubles,
and even as I sit at my desk writing this article.
Avoid the five mistakes outlined above
and you should be able to say “make mine another century or double” with a
smile and confidence. Enjoy!
Copyright
2004 by the UltraMarathon Cycling Association.
Reprinted with permission.
Chris Kostman
began riding doubles in 1983. Besides
producing the Furnace Creek 508 each October since 1990, he also organizes the
Death Valley Century and Double Century in March and October each year. Visit
www.adventurecorps.com for all the info.
By Axel Kleat
I read an interview long ago with some
wizened old pro. He was doling out pearls of wisdom acquired from his
umpteen-bazillion kilometers of racing and riding. The tidbit that really stuck
with me was to avoid puddles if at all possible. His reason was a good one—you never
know what’s at the bottom. There might just be the mother of all potholes
lurking down there.
This afternoon I found myself
pondering a man-made puddle and wishing I could avoid it for entirely different
reasons—my own nasty sweat accumulating under the trainer as I slogged away
getting no place fast. Riding outside on the few rideable days (which lately
means at least 30 degrees and reasonably dry roads) that came our way in
February has made the return to indoor riding occasioned by this latest blast
of winter more insufferable than usual.
I spun the rollers yesterday till I
felt my sanity beginning to waver; so today the plan was some low-RPM,
high-gear cranking to work on leg strength and power. I suited up in some of my
finest too-lousy-to wear-outside-anymore shorts, plugged in an old Tour video,
and hoisted a thigh over the crummy old beater strapped to the trainer—all the
while vaguely hoping that the corrosion growing like rare mushroom spores from
that old steel frame would finally cause something in the general area of the
bottom bracket to break, providing the perfect way out.
No luck. Before long, Lance was
looking calm, cool, and collected on the TV putting the hurt on the peloton in
the Alps, his hundred RPM cadence doing serious damage. On the trainer, I was
panting and cranking hard at 60 RPMs, trying to keep things smooth and
controlled when I happened to look down to find my own personal salt-water
puddle growing beneath the downtube. The low winter light caught the surface of
my briny puddle of sweat just so—and I was surprised to see my own reflection,
cloudy and vaguely misshapen, looking back up at me.
Well, it doesn’t take much to break my
concentration on the trainer, and seeing my visage underneath my bobbing knees
was more than enough to do the trick. My cadence dropped off and I was all over
the bike as I began thinking about the silliness of the situation. A bicycle is
such a beautiful thing, the most efficient mode of transportation devised by
man. And there I sat, clamped upright and unmoving to a bicycle’s dreariest
attachment, rear wheel an inch off the ground, churning some high-tech fluid
inside the trainer clamped on the back.
Looking at my own reflection has long
been a starting point for introspection, though generally this takes place in
the bathroom mirror for a few seconds at a time. What is it to be alive? Who am
I really? What am I doing here on this planet at this time? Do I like whoever
it is that I am? Should I try to grow a beard?
But this time I was firmly strapped to
the trainer by the remnants of my off-season training resolve, and I still had
half an hour to go. Possibly due to the fact that my heart is no longer capable
of sending sufficient blood to my brain when my thighs are churning, a
different batch of philosophical questions coursed into my frontal lobes. What
am I doing here? Why in the world am I engaged in so singularly unrewarding an
activity as this? If I’m pedaling my bike but remain stationary, am I actually
riding? Wouldn’t it be nice to be riding somewhere nice and warm right now?
The face below reflected back
discouraging answers. “You’re suffering, you fool, paying penance for the fun
of riding outside in nice weather…For every yin, there’s a yang, and this one
is the price of middling fitness come spring…Riding? Of course this isn’t
really riding, that’s why they call it the trainer…Don’t you realize that
clever entrepreneurs make millions of dollars selling videos and DVDs so you
can engage in enough self-distraction to remain sane while subjecting yourself
to this torture and tedium? If you really wanted to get tough, you’d be out
there riding anyway…yes, a trip to Arizona or even Mexico is sounding really
good just now.”
That guy staring back at me…he can be
pretty cruel. Only another 25 minutes.
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2005 KBC Executive Committee:
President: Mike Boersma Phone: 269-720-1409
email: m_e_boersma@voyager.net
Vice President: Jim Kindle Phone:
269-382-8053
email: remax.kindle@charter.net
Secretary: Mike Berry
Phone: 269-427-7204
email: tourmalet03@yahoo.com
Treasurer: Tom Keizer Phone:
269-382-4737
email: tom.keizer@juno.com
Other Important KBC Folks:
Database Manager: Paul Bruneau Phone: 343-6016
email: paul@ethicalpaul.com
Newsletter
Editor: Zolton Cohen Phone: 344-0200
email: zcohen@ameritech.net
Ride Captain: Randy Putt Phone:
649-1814
email: SRBike@aol.com
Social Director: Michele Intermont Phone: 373-8929
email: intermon@kzoo.edu
Webmaster: Kathy Kirk Phone: 388-5045
email: klkirk@ameritech.net
Monthly club meetings are held on the
second Tuesday of each month (except January), at the YMCA on Maple Street in
Kalamazoo. Time is 7:00 PM. All members are encouraged to attend.
Membership fees for the
Yearly Adult
Membership-----------------------------$15.00
3 Year Adult
Membership-----------------------------$40.00
Yearly Family
Membership---------------------------$17.00
3 Year Family Membership---------------------------$45.00
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Membership--------------------$13.00
3 Year Senior (60+)
Membership--------------------$35.00
Please go to our website at www.kalamazoobicycleclub.org
to sign up for membership and for more information about KBC.