Hey Friends! This just in new news from Velo Loco universal headquarters. I am off the bike for the near future. See this update on my personal blog for reasons and details. I'll keep tracking my progress and my random thoughts over there so please check in when you want.
I've got one volunteer to step up with postings for pre-ride meet times on this blog. I think we'll probably see something from him in the near future. If you are interested in being added as permissioned author to this blog drop me a line. The more the merrier.
In other news. Tom F. is running an unofficial unsanctioned event called the hard as chicken lips triathlon on May 4th. It will be a ride (prospector) paddle (chili bar), run (Monroe ridge). Sounds like a really fun suffer fest. If you want more info. drop me a line and I'll forward the flyer--or call Tom.
Finishing on that same day is the Coolest 24 no really, it is the coolest... I know Jerry and Matt plan on being there and I am gonna crew for the boys. So take your pick.
Also, who is doing Death Ride this year. Registration is open. I plan on signing up but I've got no idea what I'll be able to do. Worst case scenario I'll be going and working an aid station.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
And Later that Night...
A few of us went to Smokey and Kary's Pagan Solstice party last night. It was a ripping good time complete with Strong Blond and Smokey's Elk Chili. There is me Phil, Tommy and Randy.
Pagan attire was requested. To me the dirt worshiping tree hugger that I am that means every-day garb,. But for Tommy I guess that means a Sasquatch suit.
I think it might have been Tommy's first night out on the town for the last couple of months. Pictures are worth a thousand words:
Hi Honey, I'll be home later...
Then the DJ got a little too partied out and left the DJ stand... No worries Tori the DJDominatrix was on the job.
The days start getting longer in three days and that is something to celebrate.
Ride Time is 9 AM on sunday. Bring your studded michellins.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Vehicular Assault
I left work early today to go to Daughter 1's Christmas play in her classroom. I don't need much more excuse for a ride in the afternoon than that. I'm still recovering so I didn't really want to climb so I rolled out 49 towards Cool. I made it to Venizio before I bailed and headed back. The Friday before Christmas traffic was just too gnarly and I felt like a target. I rolled back to town but still wanted more so I headed up Prospector. I went up to the culvert before I decided to bail. I really don't want to mess with the recovery roll that I am on... Coming back down I saw a VeloLoco kit headed up. There was fast Danny headed up the grade.
Seeing a brother, I stopped and chatted. Dan was all worked up. Some jackass in a white sedan had taken three passes at him on the road. On the first pass Dan was headed down Cold Springs and on to 49 when the idiot going the opposite direction went over the double yellow to pass another car right into Dan's lane! Dan waved at him in a disparaging way for taking his lane (no finger). The guy did a U turn... came back and took another run at Dan farther down the road. Dan again waved in a WTF kind of way and pulled over. The guy did another U turn and came at him again. Now Dan is standing on the shoulder and the chamois stain of a human swiped by 5 inches from Dan's legs at 50 MPH!
The good news is that Fast Dan got his licence plate number. When I dropped Dan at home later he was on his way to call the Po-Po. Danny let us know what happens. The bastard should be strung up by his nuts.
Watch out out there and keep your fingers in your fists. The last thing we need is to give some more idiots reasons to be pissed at cyclists.
Seeing a brother, I stopped and chatted. Dan was all worked up. Some jackass in a white sedan had taken three passes at him on the road. On the first pass Dan was headed down Cold Springs and on to 49 when the idiot going the opposite direction went over the double yellow to pass another car right into Dan's lane! Dan waved at him in a disparaging way for taking his lane (no finger). The guy did a U turn... came back and took another run at Dan farther down the road. Dan again waved in a WTF kind of way and pulled over. The guy did another U turn and came at him again. Now Dan is standing on the shoulder and the chamois stain of a human swiped by 5 inches from Dan's legs at 50 MPH!
The good news is that Fast Dan got his licence plate number. When I dropped Dan at home later he was on his way to call the Po-Po. Danny let us know what happens. The bastard should be strung up by his nuts.
Watch out out there and keep your fingers in your fists. The last thing we need is to give some more idiots reasons to be pissed at cyclists.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Sunday 12/16 Report
Tip of the hat to Author Pat for this ride report.
The die-hards were out on Sunday this week. As I pulled into Coloma, the temperature reading on my truck showed that it was 28 degrees outside. None the less, Fast Dan, Kary, Jerry and I made a great ride of it. We opted for a nice warm cruise up Hwy 49 into P’Ville. The climb wasn’t too bad and we all warmed up quickly. Jerry made an attack in the tight winding section before we leveled out up top, I answered the attack, sat on his wheel up to w/in a few hundred yards of the P’Ville City Limit sign but Jerry had the stuff and took the sprint.
The 4 of us had a nice mellow ride through town and up the bike path to “Jake-way” Road and then up Carson to Abel’s Acres. The weather at this point was just beautiful, sunny and calm. I think that Jerry, Dan and I were a bit overcome by the nice weather because it was at this point, standing in the parking lot soaking up the sun that we decided to extend the ride by a good bit. We couldn’t talk Kary into the loop, something about being home sick.
We started off down Union Ridge then said good bye to Kary at Mosquito Rd and the 3 of us took the decent down Mosquito to the River. The Bridge was very icy and slick and we walked it. The climb out was sweet. We decided that the loop was much better that direction. After climbing out of the canyon, the nice roll down Rock Creek Rd couldn’t have been better. The temp was perfect and we really enjoyed the scenery, company and empty road. It wasn’t until we were almost back to Hwy 193 that we realized how much longer the ride was going to take and what sort of promises we had made for our return home.
Hwy 193 up towards Kelsey was perfect as usual. Jerry lead out the sprint for the Kelsey sign again after a nice push tempo climb. I finally made my attack and took the sprint, but a close one.
We then had a nice roll down into Green Valley and on down Marshal Grade arriving at 1PM a bit later than we had planned but a beautiful and excellent ride all around.
Hope to see more of you out next week, it sure can’t be any colder.
The die-hards were out on Sunday this week. As I pulled into Coloma, the temperature reading on my truck showed that it was 28 degrees outside. None the less, Fast Dan, Kary, Jerry and I made a great ride of it. We opted for a nice warm cruise up Hwy 49 into P’Ville. The climb wasn’t too bad and we all warmed up quickly. Jerry made an attack in the tight winding section before we leveled out up top, I answered the attack, sat on his wheel up to w/in a few hundred yards of the P’Ville City Limit sign but Jerry had the stuff and took the sprint.
The 4 of us had a nice mellow ride through town and up the bike path to “Jake-way” Road and then up Carson to Abel’s Acres. The weather at this point was just beautiful, sunny and calm. I think that Jerry, Dan and I were a bit overcome by the nice weather because it was at this point, standing in the parking lot soaking up the sun that we decided to extend the ride by a good bit. We couldn’t talk Kary into the loop, something about being home sick.
We started off down Union Ridge then said good bye to Kary at Mosquito Rd and the 3 of us took the decent down Mosquito to the River. The Bridge was very icy and slick and we walked it. The climb out was sweet. We decided that the loop was much better that direction. After climbing out of the canyon, the nice roll down Rock Creek Rd couldn’t have been better. The temp was perfect and we really enjoyed the scenery, company and empty road. It wasn’t until we were almost back to Hwy 193 that we realized how much longer the ride was going to take and what sort of promises we had made for our return home.
Hwy 193 up towards Kelsey was perfect as usual. Jerry lead out the sprint for the Kelsey sign again after a nice push tempo climb. I finally made my attack and took the sprint, but a close one.
We then had a nice roll down into Green Valley and on down Marshal Grade arriving at 1PM a bit later than we had planned but a beautiful and excellent ride all around.
Hope to see more of you out next week, it sure can’t be any colder.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Community Though Suffering
I've been busy as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest lately but I wanted to get a post up. I've got a bunch of stuff on my mind and some on my hard drive to share.
First off, there was a fundraiser on Sunday night for Kelley Kalafatich. I know some of you don't know who KK is so I'll 'splain. Kelley is an old time River Guide who has worked around the world on some of the most challenging rivers and in some of the most remote locations. She was one of the first women to work on the Zambezi river in Africa. She was also on the first descent of the Blue Nile and was the stunt double for Meryl Streep on The River Wild. Those include her professional resume but what is more important is that she is one of the kindest, most humble gentle generous people that you'll ever meet. She is the kind of person that once you've met her, you wont forget her.
There is a blog setup for daily updates on her but the story is that she has a rare disease called transverse mylitis
So the fundraiser went really really well. I don't know if there was an official tally on the money raised but it was over 20,000. There were more than 200 people stuffed into the Sierra Nevada House all of whom have been touched by Kelley in some way.
It was great to see such a strong response from our community. I am sad that we are all in one place for that reason but it is still great to see it.
That brings me to something else that's been on my mind; Suffering. As cyclists we have an unusual relationship with suffering. We seek out opportunities to test ourselves in the face of adversity whether it is getting to the top of a big hill faster than last time or winning a sprint in out of a charging pack or just going as far as possible in one day. If we don't get out and do this often enough some of us get antsy and some of us get downright grumpy which is a form of suffering in its own right. So we keep coming back for more suffering.
Back in July when many of us gathered at the Velo Loco Annual meeting I was thinking that the next round of Jerseys should say something like "community through suffering" on them. I am curious what you all think of that.
So that leads me to the last thing, at the party on Sunday, there was a confirmed Anderson sighting. That's right Tommy AND Terry were at the party. Terry is rockin' a sweet new hair do and has a funky zipper on her scalp and looks stronger than Mario Cipolini on a six pack of Red Bull. Tommy is hanging super tough after taking a long hard pull for his family. Sounds like they both have some work left to do so send some good thoughts their way. I think we'll be seeing them at the bakery soon.
So I've got to run but I wanted to share a super cool blog that I'll be adding to the blog roll soon. Go check it out.
Please comment below. And if any of you are interested in doing some posts shoot me an email and I'll set you up as an author for this blog.
First off, there was a fundraiser on Sunday night for Kelley Kalafatich. I know some of you don't know who KK is so I'll 'splain. Kelley is an old time River Guide who has worked around the world on some of the most challenging rivers and in some of the most remote locations. She was one of the first women to work on the Zambezi river in Africa. She was also on the first descent of the Blue Nile and was the stunt double for Meryl Streep on The River Wild. Those include her professional resume but what is more important is that she is one of the kindest, most humble gentle generous people that you'll ever meet. She is the kind of person that once you've met her, you wont forget her.
There is a blog setup for daily updates on her but the story is that she has a rare disease called transverse mylitis
So the fundraiser went really really well. I don't know if there was an official tally on the money raised but it was over 20,000. There were more than 200 people stuffed into the Sierra Nevada House all of whom have been touched by Kelley in some way.
It was great to see such a strong response from our community. I am sad that we are all in one place for that reason but it is still great to see it.
That brings me to something else that's been on my mind; Suffering. As cyclists we have an unusual relationship with suffering. We seek out opportunities to test ourselves in the face of adversity whether it is getting to the top of a big hill faster than last time or winning a sprint in out of a charging pack or just going as far as possible in one day. If we don't get out and do this often enough some of us get antsy and some of us get downright grumpy which is a form of suffering in its own right. So we keep coming back for more suffering.
Back in July when many of us gathered at the Velo Loco Annual meeting I was thinking that the next round of Jerseys should say something like "community through suffering" on them. I am curious what you all think of that.
So that leads me to the last thing, at the party on Sunday, there was a confirmed Anderson sighting. That's right Tommy AND Terry were at the party. Terry is rockin' a sweet new hair do and has a funky zipper on her scalp and looks stronger than Mario Cipolini on a six pack of Red Bull. Tommy is hanging super tough after taking a long hard pull for his family. Sounds like they both have some work left to do so send some good thoughts their way. I think we'll be seeing them at the bakery soon.
So I've got to run but I wanted to share a super cool blog that I'll be adding to the blog roll soon. Go check it out.
Please comment below. And if any of you are interested in doing some posts shoot me an email and I'll set you up as an author for this blog.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Sunday 12/2 Ride Report
Riders present; Jerry, David, Pat, Fast Dan, Spencer, Joel (new guy), Bill.
It was an eventful ride this Sunday. Temps were in the low 30's when we rolled out under cloudy skies. We went up Lotus Grade and across Gold Hill to 49 to complete the Kelsey loop. I spent the whole day off the back so I dont have much to report from the group. Thanks for waiting for my sorry a$$. I do think that Jerry took bragging rights at the Placerville sign and Patrick got Kelsey but I dont know...
As i rolled upto the P.ville sign there was Pat on the side of the road fixing a flat. The group gathered to help any way we could including farting in his face. Sorry Pat, but not that sorry. He proceeded to discover an 2nd goat head in his tire afer the first patch. Then as he was fixing that both Dan and Joel discovered they also had been goat-headed. So four out of seven of us flatted in one spot.
Going up 193 to Kelsey Joel and I nearly had a heart attack when a Cal Trans truck snuck up behind us, lowered its plow and scraped the pavement about 15 yards back. It sounded like the world was coming to an end. Later at the bottom of Prospector there was the same truck telling Jerry that it was illegal for us to ride on the road. Jerry aka doctor transportation set the shovel prop straight.
Jerry Sent me this today as info for all you cycling lawyers.
The Vehicle Code:
21200. (a) Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division, including, but not limited to, provisions concerning driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs, and by Division 10 (commencing with Section 20000), Section 27400, Division 16.7 (commencing with Section 39000), Division 17 (commencing with Section 40000.1), and Division 18 (commencing with Section 42000), except those provisions which by their very nature can have no application
HOWEVER:
21207. (a) This chapter does not prohibit local authorities from establishing, by ordinance or resolution, bicycle lanes separated from any vehicular lanes upon highways, other than state highways as defined in Section 24 of the Streets and Highways Code and county highways established pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 1720) of Chapter 9 of Division 2 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(b) Bicycle lanes established pursuant to this section shall be constructed in compliance with Section 891 of the Streets and Highways Code.
BUT WAIT...There are no El Dorado County ordinances...
AND...
Operation on Roadway
21202. (a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:
(1) When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction.
(2) When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
(3) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge, subject to the provisions of Section 21656. For purposes of this section, a "substandard width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.
(4) When approaching a place where a right turn is authorized.
(b) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway of a highway, which highway carries traffic in one direction only and has two or more marked traffic lanes, may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of that roadway as practicable.
Amended Sec. 4, Ch. 674, Stats. 1996. Effective January 1, 1997.
Relevant Links:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/tocd11c1a4.htm
http://www.cicle.org/cicle_content/pivot/entry.php?id=574
http://www.sctransit.com/bikesafe/vehiclecode.htm
I will be placing a call to a local CHP contact I have to see if anyone is actually delivering false information to Caltrans workers. I am inclined to believe that the Caltrans worker misconstrued the info as it was told to him. I didn't find a thing in the vehicle code about bicycles not being alllowed on roadways, even though I know bicycles are not permitted on sections of US 50 and I-80...
-Jerry
I always refer to this website when I have a cycling related legal question.
Thats it for the ride report. Remind me to bring my camera and I'll put some damn pictures up one of these days.
It was an eventful ride this Sunday. Temps were in the low 30's when we rolled out under cloudy skies. We went up Lotus Grade and across Gold Hill to 49 to complete the Kelsey loop. I spent the whole day off the back so I dont have much to report from the group. Thanks for waiting for my sorry a$$. I do think that Jerry took bragging rights at the Placerville sign and Patrick got Kelsey but I dont know...
As i rolled upto the P.ville sign there was Pat on the side of the road fixing a flat. The group gathered to help any way we could including farting in his face. Sorry Pat, but not that sorry. He proceeded to discover an 2nd goat head in his tire afer the first patch. Then as he was fixing that both Dan and Joel discovered they also had been goat-headed. So four out of seven of us flatted in one spot.
Going up 193 to Kelsey Joel and I nearly had a heart attack when a Cal Trans truck snuck up behind us, lowered its plow and scraped the pavement about 15 yards back. It sounded like the world was coming to an end. Later at the bottom of Prospector there was the same truck telling Jerry that it was illegal for us to ride on the road. Jerry aka doctor transportation set the shovel prop straight.
Jerry Sent me this today as info for all you cycling lawyers.
The Vehicle Code:
21200. (a) Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division, including, but not limited to, provisions concerning driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs, and by Division 10 (commencing with Section 20000), Section 27400, Division 16.7 (commencing with Section 39000), Division 17 (commencing with Section 40000.1), and Division 18 (commencing with Section 42000), except those provisions which by their very nature can have no application
HOWEVER:
21207. (a) This chapter does not prohibit local authorities from establishing, by ordinance or resolution, bicycle lanes separated from any vehicular lanes upon highways, other than state highways as defined in Section 24 of the Streets and Highways Code and county highways established pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 1720) of Chapter 9 of Division 2 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(b) Bicycle lanes established pursuant to this section shall be constructed in compliance with Section 891 of the Streets and Highways Code.
BUT WAIT...There are no El Dorado County ordinances...
AND...
Operation on Roadway
21202. (a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:
(1) When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction.
(2) When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
(3) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes) that make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge, subject to the provisions of Section 21656. For purposes of this section, a "substandard width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.
(4) When approaching a place where a right turn is authorized.
(b) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway of a highway, which highway carries traffic in one direction only and has two or more marked traffic lanes, may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of that roadway as practicable.
Amended Sec. 4, Ch. 674, Stats. 1996. Effective January 1, 1997.
Relevant Links:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/tocd11c1a4.htm
http://www.cicle.org/cicle_content/pivot/entry.php?id=574
http://www.sctransit.com/bikesafe/vehiclecode.htm
I will be placing a call to a local CHP contact I have to see if anyone is actually delivering false information to Caltrans workers. I am inclined to believe that the Caltrans worker misconstrued the info as it was told to him. I didn't find a thing in the vehicle code about bicycles not being alllowed on roadways, even though I know bicycles are not permitted on sections of US 50 and I-80...
-Jerry
I always refer to this website when I have a cycling related legal question.
Thats it for the ride report. Remind me to bring my camera and I'll put some damn pictures up one of these days.
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