Adult Bicycle Helmet Laws In the US

Bicycle HelmetAdult bicycle helmet laws draw no end of passion on both sides. We don’t call them the “bicycle helmet wars” for nothing. But until recently I was under the mistaken belief that there were few – if any – jurisdictions in the United States that actually had laws regarding adult usage of bicycle helmets. This belief was shattered on a recent trip to Washington state where, coincidentally, two totally different people completely unconnected made comments about King County Washington having a helmet requirement for adults.

Me being Mr. Skeptical of course went to the one and only authority as soon as I got home – Google. I was admittedly surprised. Keep reading →

“The Program” – a movie review

The Program - a movie about the career of Lance ArmstrongI just finished watching “The Program” – a dramatized version of the events of Lance Armstrong. The movie itself credits its inspiration to David Walsh and his book “Seven Deadly Sins.” Somehow I had been aware of this movie and had (incorrectly) assumed that it was another in the line of documentary works that come out since the Oprah Winfrey interview with Lance Armstrong. After watching, however, I realized this was a bit different.

This movie was a dramatization in that there were actors playing all the roles. The astute cycling fans will recognize the moments of actual footage scattered throughout the production. But there is no denying that Lance Armstrong, Frankie and Betsy Andreu, Johan Bruyneel and other key figures were played by actors. That sets it apart from the majority of the films published since Lance Armstrong’s admissions. Keep reading →

The feel good story that keeps getting better

13467596_573088359537395_671161118_oNot too long ago I I related to you the ‘Feel good story of the day‘ that I’d stumbled upon on Facebook. It is an epic tale that should have been titled Michael and the well ridden bicycle. Our intrepid hero Michael had run into a lovely lady and her bike in need or repair. Well, there is now a second part of that’s story. That’s right – Michael actually connected with the bike’s owner and lived up to his word. Keep reading →

Two more diabetic pro cyclists emerge

TeamNovoNordiskProCyclingThere was a time when the idea of diabetic pro cyclists was rare. Common wisdom held that diabetics had too many obstacles to be competitive. However, thanks to the continued efforts of Team Novo Nordisk, we’ve seen that diabetic pro cyclists can compete at the highest levels of the sport. And do it successfully.

Recently two additional riders with type 1 diabetes have made the transition to the pros. Frenchman Quentin Valognes and Dutchman Rik van IJzendoorn have moved up from the Team Novo Nordisk development squad onto the men’s pro squad as stagiaires for the remainder of the 2016 season. Keep reading →

Why sell ’em? Just give ’em away.

A parking lot for bicycles in Niigata, Niigata, Japan

There is no such thing as too many bikes. There is, however, an unfortunate condition known as “too little space.” Because of a chronic case of too little space, I reluctantly made the decision that I would need to clear out a couple of bikes.

I don’t like talking on the telephone. I also don’t care too much for meeting random people. I especially don’t care too much setting up times to meet people that don’t show. So… selling the bikes on classified services like Craigslist was not really appealing to me. I did have a different idea however – why not just give them away? Keep reading →

Random American Flyers Trivia

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Why is he holding a bottle of ketchup?

Keep reading →

Women’s cycling week… err, weak?

This year has been huge for the advancement of women’s cycling. But it underscores the fact that women’s cycling has been neglected. The very fact that it still needs “advancement” is in and of itself indicative of the problem. That is why I have really mixed feelings about cyclingnews.com declaring “Women’s Cycling Week.Keep reading →

Team Novo Nordisk: From California to Paris

Team Novo Nordisk, 2016 Tour of California
David Lozano, Team Novo Nordisk, 2016 Amgen Tour of California Individual Time Trial

You’ve definitely read a lot about Team Novo Nordisk here on JustAnotherCyclist.com recently. The reasons for that are pretty clear to my frequent readers. But for everyone else, their results alone – aside from their mission – are worthy of note

The team, made up entirely of professional cyclists with Type 1 diabetes, have been at the Tour of California for three consecutive years now. But this year has been particularly successful for the team, driven in a large part by World Tour veteran Javier Megias. Javier took 14th overall in the general classification at the Tour of California, going head to head with some of the best cyclist in the world. In addition to the GC success in California, Martijn Verschoor was able to cross sabres in stage 1 for a 5th place sprint finish. Keep reading →

Stop light sprints

Photo by Mikael Colville-Andersen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_advocacy#/media/File:Bikecultureincopenhagen.jpg
Cyclists queued at a stop light. Photo by Mikael Colville-Andersen

Thanks to a little something I call stop light sprints, those damned self-entitled cyclists are helping me get faster. If you find yourself working a lot, you start to get creative with your training. I don’t drive to work – ever – therefore I always have an opportunity to take my leisurely 5 mile commute and turn it into something less leisurely.

First off – let’s talk about the gorilla I just invited into the room with the title. Stop signs. Stop lights. Those things where we all know that outside of Idaho and a few places in Colorado we are all supposed to stop. And the place where many of us don’t stop. Stopping and training. Aren’t those terms mutually exclusive? Keep reading →

Those darned self-entitled cyclists

A parking lot for bicycles in Niigata, Niigata, Japan
A parking lot for bicycles in Niigata, Niigata, Japan

We hear it all the time. “Those damned self-entitled cyclists!” We hear the word privilege thrown around too. Terms generally used to refer to socio-economic issues. They are often invoked in discussions about running through stop signs and stop lights. I’ve always found it frustrating, as I suspect that many of the people that are saying it are using it as a slur without really understanding what it means.

So what is the term “self-entitled” even supposed to mean, if anything? I think we can all agree to the context there. It implies that some people believe that cyclists believe they have a right to ignore certain traffic laws. Yes – I know that was confusing, some people believe that cyclists believe… I’ve always tried to be very pragmatic about stop sign and stop light running. We all know it is illegal in most places. Many are working to change that, but until then I couldn’t imagine any cyclist honestly believing that running through stop lights was their “right.”

Damn I’m naive… Keep reading →