Ahhh Twitter. One could create a pretty strong argument that Twitter’s popularity among cyclists is a direct result of EPO. One could also argue that it is simply the easiest way to share your race success with your friends and fans while still gasping for air at the finish line.

So, in a fashion not unlike Follow Friday (but clearly not #FF, because that is all messed up lately) I thought I’d throw out some of the names I follow. This list is by no means complete, nor should you assume that someone that I do not follow is not worth following. But of you are looking for something else to consume data on your smartphone’s data plan, here’s some good ones to follow:

Pro Cyclists and Teams

• Jens Voigt @thejensie – #ShutUpLegs had to be a thing.
• Chris Horner @hornerakg – Because who doesn’t want to wonder why the hell ‘akg’ is in his handle
• Emily Kachorek @EmilyKachorek – Bad ass cyclist from VanderKitten
• Vanderkitten @vanderkitten – Because they’re full of bad ass cyclists like Emily Kachorek. And they also seem to have this whole social media thingy nailed.
• Jonathan Vaughters @Vaughters – Has some funny stuff to say sometimes. And knows a thing or two about cycling
• Johan Bruyneel @JohanBruyneel – He says a ton of funny stuff too. Unfortunately it is usually when he is actually being serious.
• Alberto Contador @albertocontador – We all need a reason to work on our spanish.
• Team Sky @TeamSky – They taught me that Brits race bikes too.
• Fabian Cancellara @f_cancellara – Apparently his tweets are sexier than everyone else’s.
• Cadel Evans @CadelOfficial – It is fun to read his tweets with an Australian accent.
• Phil Southerland @PhilSoutherland – Because diabetic cyclists kick ass. I know from personal experience.

Cycling Media Folks – Bloggers, journalists, photographers, etc

• Veloimages @veloimages – Nice guys taking beautiful pictures. ‘Nuf said.
• Richard Masoner @cyclelicious – Guy spits out blog posts like a sub-machine gun.
• Ted Rogers @bikinginla – Because he’s on the VeloReviews home page.
• VeloReviews @veloreviews – Because I’m under contract to plug them.
• Bike Hugger @bikehugger – Because. Just because.

Tweet away folks…

I ran across this commercial the other day while watching some drivel on TV:

I was immediately struck by the very prominently displayed bicycle line drawing art (which I now want by the way.) I did find myself wondering “Why in the heck would the advertisers do that?” As an urban cyclist, I more often view the bicycle as something to be used instead of a car. It reminded me of a MotorTrend article I had read recently examining the decline in car ownership in the younger generations:

Automakers pitch new small cars, from the Fiat 500 to the Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Sonic to the Acura ILX, as models designed to appeal to America’s urban-oriented Generation Y. Marketing experts fill product presentations with statistics and anecdotes of how tuned-in youth fetishize smartphones, the Internet, and keeping in touch with friends via Facebook from their loft apartments in “walkable” cities.

Cars? Not so much.

The problem begins with the assumption that youth moving back to the cities want A- or B-segment hatchbacks, when they’re more likely to spend the money on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and $2000-plus bikes.

There are actually quite a few articles regarding this topic (maybe start here, here and here if you like) that seem to convey the same basic idea: the so-called Millennials all want to be urbanite hipsters without a car.

It would seem that the ad agency working with Scion is taking this idea seriously. By carefully positioning the bike artwork prominently in the commercial, they are in fact creating a connection to this group that may be inclined to choose the bike over the car. It is saying “Hey, lookie here. These guys are cool, like bikes and still have a car. You want the car they have, because they are just like you!”

Frankly, if my thinking here is correct, I’m kind of tickled by it. If the auto industry sees fit to invest advertising dollars targeting bike owners, we must be rising out of our minority status.

Incidentally, I found one more scion commercial while searching for a link to the above that is far less subtle in this effort:

Lawyers are a highly educated bunch – right? I mean, when they make a statement of law they know what they are talking about (goes the common wisdom). So boy was I excited when I read the following, written by a Nebraska Attorney:

Bicyclists always have the right of way […in Bellevue, Nebraska]

Really? Someone from Nebraska – tell me it’s true!

In my time writing for JustAnotherCyclist and VeloReviews, I’ve become accustomed to half-truths, or even complete falsehoods, being included in media publications on cycling. I find them and mentally pick apart these articles. I mean, after all it allows me to go through the rest of my day feeling all superior about myself. This guy is a lawyer after all – defending against verbal assaults in his job. So let’s take a look at the article he posted on a media website. The article starts out well enough:

In today’s fitness-centered world, bicycling has become a popular mode of travel and keeping fit.   More and more Americans are relying on two-wheeled transportation to get them to and from work, as well as replacing gym memberships for many avid cyclists.

However, that is immediately followed by the oh-so-common statement:

Cycling brings with it risks of injury that may be different than those in standard automobiles, but certainly no less serious.

Cue eye roll. What is it about American society that is so hung up on safety in completely unbalanced ways? Why do we hype the dangers of some things (like cycling) while intentionally downplaying the dangers of other things (like driving a car on the freeway.) We cover some accidents (plane crashes) on every single channel, while other accidents (like the thousands killed in auto collisions every year) go without even a mention?

I’m poking a little fun at Mr Kelley here for sure. But his article actually captures almost exactly the common wisdom of our society regarding cycling. He talks about the health benefits of cycling quite a bit. In fact, most would probably classify his piece as a “pro-cycling” article. But then he counters that by scaring the hell out of everyone with how dangerous cycling is. Few would even question me if I hit 75 MPH in a 65 MPH zone on the freeway. But ride without a helmet on my bike and oh boy am I taking my life into my own hands there.

I’m guessing that the folks writing these types of pieces don’t even realize the impact they can have. Let’s take a look at his final paragraph:

When you are traveling on the main roads, it is a good idea to avoid wearing earphones and concentrate on the sounds of the road.  Being observant as a cyclist can reduce your risk of injury.  Be sure to use your hand signals when making turns or stopping and remember to wear reflective gear.  Pay attention to traffic control measures and travel at safe speeds for the conditions you are experiencing.  Know the bicycle routes that provide the most visibility and always make sure your bicycle has working equipment and can be easily seen at night.  It is also important to inform loved ones of which routes you are taking and what time you expect to be back so they know where to look if you don’t return on time.  Ultimately, bicycling has become a safe and effective mode of transportation in the metropolitan area, as well as being a great step towards physical fitness! [embedded links his]

I agree with the first sentence. And the last statement I of course agree with. But what may be non-obvious is everything in between. Of course we want people to be safe, but every sentence in that article has an implicit declaration of a hazard that you will encounter if you ride a bike. Instead of providing a list of things to do to keep you happy, the message conveyed is really a list of things that are going to get you maimed or killed if you ride a bike. I fear THAT is the message that many non-cyclists will take from postings like this.

We need to work to reduce the presumption of risk in cycling if we are to succeed in getting more people on bikes. As I have said before, please PLEASE stop the fear mongering. We do it to ourselves as a group. We continue to use the dangers of cycling to motivate lawmakers and city planners to give us infrastructure. Lots of things in life are dangerous. However, compared to most of the things we do in life cycling is actually quite safe. And as a good doctor I know said, not-cycling is quite possibly a whole lot more dangerous than cycling.

I was walking around the city the other day, headphones on, rocking out. I’d just crossed the street, and took a step to the left off of the curb, getting ready to turn left and immediately cross another street. I heard a squeal (which in retrospect was the sound of bike brakes on the rims) and felt a thud against my left shoulder. Before I knew what was happening, I saw a guy smack onto the pavement in front of me. I’d just blindly walked in front of a cyclist riding in the road next to the curb, knocking him to the ground.

The guy popped up – and I could immediately see the blood starting to ooze out of the scrapes across his left arm. He glared right in my face and said “Maybe if you knew how dangerous it is on the streets already you could pull your head out of your ass and watch where you’re going.”

My immediate reaction was “Me? What if *I* knew how dangerous it is on the streets? Do you know who I am???“

OK. So in actuality the story above is entirely fictitious. I’ve never actually walked out in front of a cyclist on the streets. However, early today I did almost do that. Or rather, I was preparing to turn left, looked and was surprised to realize how close to the street I was, and an actual, flesh and blood, non-imaginary cyclist that was riding in traffic. That’s when it dawned on me how amazingly easy it is to have a momentary lapse in attention and get yourself in that situation. I then imagined the scenario described above as I stood there waiting for the cross signal to turn.

It was something of a revelation.

You see, I can see me reacting exactly as my imagined cyclist above did. I could see me chewing the guy out for stepping in front of me and knocking me over. And I could see me doing that, all the while assuming that the guy was just a “stupid pedestrian that had no idea about bikes, or riding in traffic, or the dangers.” And that guy losing his attention for just a moment could be a pro cyclist, or the president of the League of American Dudes that Ride Bikes, or the president of Trek Bicycles, or whatever. All I would think in that moment of rage and frustration was that he knocked me over, therefore he was my enemy, and by extension the enemy of cyclists everywhere. (Oh c’mon. Before you go labeling me an egotistical prick, really really think how you would react in the same situation.)

The revelation for me was how often we, as cyclists, tend to look at ourselves as vulnerable – as victims on the road. But is this accurate? I’ve ridden in traffic for a while now and I’ve only made contact with a car in a way that was a surprise once. All of my accidents that resulted in broken bones or scraped flesh were a result of road conditions, hazards, or (yes) my momentary laps of attention while I was on the bike. I’ve drawn more blood working on my bikes than I have riding them.

A lot of the effort to push for safer cycling infrastructure has an unfortunate side effect – it makes cycling look dangerous to the population at large. But is it really? Well, according to data shared on helmets.org, in 2010 616 people were killed in cycling accidents. Obviously there is no denying the impact those unfortunate deaths had on the people that knew them. Each of those 616 cyclists were someone’s riding buddy, mother or father, son or daughter. But if you compare that number to the deaths of people walking on our sidewalks, or riding in cars on our highways, it is statistically almost nothing. According to the 2010 US Census, there were 308,745,538 people living in the United States at that time. That means less than one out of every 500 thousand people were killed in a cycling related accident.

Since I already likely pissed off half of my readers with my “stop talking about helmets” rants, I might as well piss off the other half with this statement:

I really really wish bicycle advocacy groups would stop using the danger of death and injury to cyclists as a tool in their arsenal to effect change.

There have been so many relatively fit, active and receptive folks that I’ve talked to about dropping the car and cycling to work that cite safety as their primary reason for not riding. They’re convinced that if they start cycling on a daily basis that eventually they will get run over by a car. That’s simply not true, and the numbers cited above speak to that. In addition, if places like those glorious northern european cycling utopias have taught us anything, it is that more cycling can actually (and counter-intuitively) result in less cycling related deaths instead of more.

Believe me – I’ve done my fair share of feeling like a victim while I ride on the road. However, the more I reflect and look on that objectively instead of emotionally, the more I realize that it simply isn’t the case. Sure, I’ve been told to get out of the road, to put on a helmet, to get the hell out of the way by motorists. But that is a social, human problem – not a safety problem.

I feel safer on my bike these days then I do when I drive my car. Yes – I even feel safer when I’m travelling along side or amongst all those SUVs that the common wisdom would tell me are trying to mow me down on a moment’s notice.

Knock off the fear mongering folks. If you truly want to get more people out riding bikes (and thus voting for things that support cycling) stop scaring the hell out of them and instead show them how safe it is – even with the crappy cycling infrastructure we have in most places in the US.

I’m quite frankly sick to death of hearing about Lance and his apparently inexhaustible ability to be targeted by, and just missed by, doping investigations. More importantly, I’m tired of it being the only story the main stream american media seems able to cover related to cycling.  Well, that and a cyclist killing a pedestrian. For americans this was an amazing year in bike racing, but you barely heard anything about in on the talking picture box. Two major pro level stage races in the United States. An American team battling it out in the olympics. American cyclist Chris Horner apparently inheriting the reigns of Cycling Media Ambassador for the american Audiences. These are exciting times for those of us in the states that are paying attention. For the rest of the population, apparently cycling is only about allegations of cheating from over a decade ago.

With all of this hoopla, you think that the Armstrong events were absolutely critical to the sport of cycling. But what impact with the USADA / Lance debacle actually have?  Well, only one of two.

Scenario One: The (still) immortal Lance

There will be continued bickering, lawyering-up and public statementifications (read that carefully) until ultimately, some obscure court that no one has ever heard of will completely side-step the doping allegations, In this scenario, the Court of Arbitration for Sport will decide that the USADA has no authority to strip medals and wins. If this happens, historians will need to rewrite the name “Armstrong, L. United States” across the white out they just recently placed across his name.

Scenarion Two: Lance only had 9 lives (and already used up 8)

Alternatively, the ruling may stand. Lance may be stripped of his wins for all posterity. The sport will be cleansed of the evil dopers – oui? No. In fact, almost all of the 2nd place finishers that would be promoted to first if Armstrong is stripped of his titles are themselves accused and/or convicted dopers. That’s progress, right?

Lance’s characterization of these allegations as a “witch hunt” may be true. However, unlike the madness in Salem of oh-so-many years ago, this time around thar be real witches in the woods.

Nothing draws attention to cycling like a celebrity spotting.  I mean, if celebrities are gonna jump on the saddle, then maybe— just maybe— us mere commoners can.

OK.  Enough with the snarky comments on my part.  When I ran across the link whose title started with “LeBron Rides His Bike To Work…” I thought I’d have to at least give it a glance.  However, I found that the actual title had a little more to say than that: “LeBron Rides His Bike To Work, Thinks Safety First” [emphasis mine].  I could feel my eyes rolling.  Sure enough, the predictable helmet stanza was highlighted in the otherwise short article:

Not only did he lower his carbon footprint, he did it while giving children a great example of someone not “too cool” to wear his helmet.

My frustration, for those unfamiliar with my many, many, many ramblings on bicycle helmets, it that this article is fostering a stereotype and misinformation regarding bicycle safety.  The idea that the only reason someone would ride a bike without a helmet is because of fashion or “coolness.”  That assessment is patently false.  There are a great many reasons that a well informed, intelligent cyclist may make a conscious decision to not wear a helmet.

If right about now you’re thinking that JustAnotherCyclist is off his rocker and one of those radical anit-helmet guys, I suggest you take a moment to actually look at the data.  I came to my opinions on helmets (which are not anit-helmet, for the record) through a lot of reading, research and reflection.  If you are interested in starting that journey, I might recommend www.cyclehelmets.org to start.

Hmmm…  I happen to know a particular fitness editor that has ribbed me a couple of times about riding up to Integrate Performance Fitness without my helmet.  Maybe we should hash this out on the next podcast.

Stage races in cycling are simultaneously odd and beautiful.  The ebb and flow, the dynamics of the group, are something to behold.  People peel off the front, hoping to either capture their 5 minutes of fame, or establish themselves as an alpha member of the stage, expected to ride on to great things.  In the peloton, whole groups of riders can work together for the greater good.  Or, a momentary lapse of attention can take out half of the group.  On climbs, the tired, weary and injured with gather together, spontaneously helping each other regardless of team or affiliation, just hoping to survive.

However, it was on my commute this morning, as I was thinking something roughly along the lines of the words above, that I realized how great a description that is of life in general.  This is even more poignent for me right now – as I transition out of one phase of my life and look to the possibility of new adventures.  Life changing experiences have a habit of making us reflect a bit – at least they do for me.  That process seems to lend itself well to using cycling as a metaphor for life.

Some of my more dedicated readers may have noticed the several months silence here on JustAnotherCyclist, or over on VeloReviews.com.  That is due almost entirely to a personal journey I’ve been on.  In that time period I’ve gone from “status quo,” through terrible times, to interesting discoveries to finally arrive today at what can only be described as happiness.  So how did I get through all that?  I just kept pedaling.

If nothing else, that was the core of what I came to understand on my commute this morning: just keep pedaling.  As I’ve gone through this transition in my life most of my riding has pretty much stopped.  Yes – I’ve become “that guy” in the local club ride.  The guy that everyone seems to know, and used to apparently be something of a “big deal” but for whatever reason hasn’t been riding in a long time and is now “getting back into it.”  Luckily in my case this period of time can be measured in months and not years.  It is true folks – I can’t actually recall the last time I was in lycra, and my legs have grown hairy.  But luckily I am in a situation where a bike is one of my primary modes of transportation, so I’ve never really been out of the saddle.  Without even realizing it I just kept pedaling.

Even when I was just out there commuting, there were moments when I was reminded of how much I really love these two wheeled contraptions.  The little rush of adrenalin you feel as you pop up out of the saddle, start thrashing the bars back and forth racing imaginary opponents to that city limits sign.  The feel of the bike beneath you as lean into a turn.  I’d feel these moments, but unfortunately I’d too quickly return to whatever was the issue of the moment.  Sit down in the saddle, adjust the straps of the backpack and just keep pedaling.

However, this particular morning I didn’t quickly return to whatever was the issue of the moment.  Instead I thought about that love – that passion.  It occurred to me that a passion for cycling is just an extension of a passion for life.  It is in the last few months that I’ve finally gotten that back.  I know I’ll be going out on some rides again in the very near future that aren’t just about getting from point A to point B.  I’ll be going out to ride because I love it – because it is my passion.  And by doing that, I will rekindle the passion in all things in my life.  My children and the people I care about and spend time with – they benefit from my cycling too, because a passion for life naturally translates into a passion for the things in your life.

We all have those moments – either on the group ride, or in life – when we have to make ourselves just keep pedaling.  Those moments ultimately make the times when we go pedaling because we love it all the more enjoyable.

Let’s go for a ride.

We all know “Its all about performance”  Well – if you don’t know, then go find out now!  Next up in line is an all new serious cyclist.  It is good to make fun of yourself!

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If you are reading this, there is a fair chance you are a fan of cycling blogs.  Obviously I am…  So in true Follow Friday (#FF) fashion, I thought I share some of my favorite cycling blogs.  Well – favorite other than JustAnotherCyclist.com or VeloReviews.com that is.

The Lazy Randonneur is a recent discovery for me.  Based on the number of comments on the posts it appears to have a pretty active following.  While technically not exclusively about cycling (there are surfing, kayaking, snowboarding and other sports throw in there as well) that vast majority of the articles are indeed about casual cycling.  The author also has a rather extensive collection of photos and each post if full of images along with the text.

Australian blog Cycling Tips always has a well-grounded view on cycling, while tending to focus more on performance and racing.  While their logo is fairly simple, it has the distinction of being one of my favorite blog logos out there.  Oh yea – and they sell “Shut Up Legs” shirts.  How can you not like that…

The prolific writer Richard Masoner brings us Cyclelicious.  While there is an emphasis on commuting and casual cycling, there doesn’t seem to be any area of cycling that the blog doesn’t touch on.  Cycling advocacy, racing, products – you name it and you can find something related to it at Cyclelicious.  Richard is also an avid photographer with an amazingly large collection of photos.  This blog also has the (perhaps dubious) distinction of being what inspired me to start the now-defunct blog SacraFrisco.com which eventually evolved into JustAnotherCyclist.com.  On twitter @cyclelicious.

With consistent daily updates that usually included an extensive collection of cycling related links after an interesting story, BikingInLA could easily be your starting point for any days cycle-related reading.  While the stories are usually focused on advocacy or the legal issues surrounding cycling, the links included in the posts cover the entire range of cycling interest.  If this blog isn’t on your list of regular reads, it should be.  On twitter @bikinginla

EcoVelo is an amazing blog catering to the classics/cycle chic/lifestyle cyclist crowd.  He also has some of the most beautiful photos of bikes to be found.  It is also the only blog on the list that exists at a .info web domain – which somehow just makes it cool.

Author of a book, writer for Bicycling magazine and freakin’ hilarious.  What more is there to say about Bike Snob NYC?

Twisted Spoke provides in-depth and insightful updates from the world of pro-cycling, all with the tounge firmly planted in their cheek.  Another one for the “hilarious” category.

Another great commuter-oriented blog is Bike Hugger.  I mean – c’mon…  Doesn’t the title of the blog say it all

Well, that’s all for today.  This is obviously not an exhaustive list – there are hundreds of cycling blogs out worth reading (and a couple perhaps not worth reading.)  What else are your going to do with your time and internet connection when you’re sitting in your cubicle at work?

I feel like I need to preface this post with the statement that I’m not looking to embarrass or disparage any sponsors. Corporate sponsorship is absolutely critical to the sport of professional (and amateur) cycling. It clearly takes a lot to run a pro cycling team – a delicate balancing act between athletes, sponsors, crew and media.

But these names are making it really really hard for me to cheer for you as you go flying by me.

The problem actually seems to stem from the fact that the sport has a difficult time finding individual companies willing to invest enough in sponsorship to provide most of the funding a team needs.

There are some obvious exceptions to this in the pro peloton.  Team Rabobank is just ‘Rabobank.’  That makes it easy when you want them to win.  “Go Rabobank!!” rolls off the tongue like a tubular across smooth tarmac.  Team RadioShack is in the same boat – perhaps even easier.  They’ve got a nick name to go off of – ‘The Shack.’  Bissell is just Bissell – they officially don’t even put ‘Team’ in their name.  Makes it super easy to cheer for them:  “Suck it up Bissell!!”  or “Drop that wheel suck Bissell!!”

All of the above teams have the advantage of a major title sponsor that is footing a majority of the bill.  They all have other sponsors, but the title sponsor gets the honored spot in the name.

So what happens if you don’t have a title sponsor as a team?  Well, you get more than one sponsor to work together, and combine their names in convenient ways.  Saxo Bank used to be just Saxo Bank, but when funding started to get difficult they became Team Saxo Bank Sungard.  Then we’ve got our hyphenated teams.  HTC-Highroad, for example.  Or Team Garmin-Cervélo.  But those are still easy names to use.  You can even opt to use only part of the hyphenated name and folks will still know what you are talking about.  “Go Garmin!” is just as effective as “Go Cervélo” and everyone will know exactly who you are cheering for.

But things get more complicated quickly.  This particular affliction seems to effect the Pro Continental teams – where luring in corporate sponsors to the “title sponsor” role is more difficult.

Introducing the “Presented By” – or p/b – moniker.  Teams started using the hyphenated naming conventions, then throwing in an additional “presented by” – a hyphenated name further hyphenated.

There is the UnitedHealthcare team.  Simple name, right?  Well, Maxxis just happens to be one of their major sponsors, so the official team name is “UnitedHealthcare presented by Maxxis.”  That’s a mouthful.

Some teams like to mix it up a bit.  Instead of simply being presented, they are “Powered by.”  Team Spider Tech powered by C10.  Hmmm… Still not too bad I guess.

But Kenda really takes it up a notch.

Like I said – this is not in any way a disparaging remark against the Kenda tire company.  In fact, they sponsor a comparably huge number of cycling teams at all levels, and for this I applaud and salute them.  However, they seem to be the company that results in some of the longest names.  Prohibitively long names, that is.

Things start out innocently enough.  There’s one of the oldest pro cycling teams in the US – Team Jelly Belly presented by Kenda.  OK, that’s still not so bad.  I can easily cheer for them when they fly by.  “Go Jelly Belly!” works great.  But as soon as Kenda steps into a shared title sponsorship role, things go completely south.  I present to you:  “Kenda/5-Hour Energy Pro Cycling presented by Geargrinder.”  Are you serious?  I honestly don’t think I can even say that name verbatim in my head in the amount of time it takes the peloton to buzz by me.

Frankly, I think us bloggers should adopt this strategy.  JustAnotherCyclist is clearly too easy to say.  From now on, I’m thinking we call this blog “VeloReviews/JustAnotherCyclist/Integrate Performance Fitness/PROBIKEWRENCH powered by WordPress/Ning presented by Hostgator/Ning.”  And that’s not even with the minor sponsors included!