Stolen from Drunkcyclist.

EBR

Trudging up a trail at about 11,000 feet near Salida, Colorado, I began to notice that I had stumbled upon some kind of mountain-biking destination spot. Dozens of lycra-clad mountain bikers were sailing down the trail at what I regarded to be insane speeds. Some were angered by my presence, and told me I was going “the wrong way.”

I eventually learned that most (if not all) of them had gotten rides up a paved road to a pass and were coasting back down the trail.

At one point I stopped for a rest and saw four people — four! — take over-the-handlebar spills. One looked pretty hurt and I could hardly believe the others were not also, given how fast they were going. I privately congratulated myself on my prudence and higher sense of caution, and worryingly surmised that crashes like that would probably put me in the hospital.

Well, reader, behold the rockpile I tumbled into a short two hours later, on my own descent down an old fire road:

You are going to need to click on that photo to appreciate it in its full glory.

I went right over the handlebars and down off the side of the road.

I somehow channeled myself as a 16 year-old member of the Ashland High Ski Team, and with cat-like reflexes* twisted in mid-air and landed on my hip and shoulder. I knew for a fact I was going to break my elbow, collar bone, shoulder, and hip before I even landed.

After an appropriate period of wailing and howling in which I was upside down and trapped on my back with my legs in the air like Gregor Samsa after he gets turned into a cockroach in Kafka’s Metamorphosis, I gradually began to realize that actually I seemed to be pretty much okay. I collected my rickety bag-of-bones body back up and rode, humiliated and sore, the rest of the way back to my camp.

Once at my camp though, the guy across the way came running over to me asking me if I knew what happened. It appears that somebody found his wife unconscious on the trail and had driven her to the hospital in Salida. I told him I didn’t know anything about it, but would watch his stuff for him, and he roared off to go find her.

About ten minutes after that a second guy comes up to me and asks to borrow my car. His friend took a fall on the way in and was now wandering around covered in blood and in a daze, with a concussion, a broken hand, and an open wound on his face that was exposing a good deal of bone.

And I thought: WTF is wrong with these people??? This is a dangerous sport!

–Erik Ryberg

*that would be “cat” as in “Caterpillar”

Tom Thivener, the Bicycle & Pedestrian Program Manager for Tucson, sent me this. Incredible footage of wacky bikes from long ago, including several designs I’ve never thought of or heard of.

I particularly like the three-person pedal-powered sewing machine on a bicycle. That is, three people pedal, one person sews.

Don Broderick, a news writer at Fox, has been arrested for dragging a cyclist 200 yards with his SUV, Gawker has confirmed.

Brian Dooda, a 34-year-old resident of Brooklyn, told the New York Daily News on June 10 that Broderick knocked him down, forcing him to cling to the hood of the car. Dooda said that as Broderick accelerated, the two made eye contact through the windshield.

“He was expressionless, he didn’t say anything,” Dooda said.

It’s not getting any better out there.

–Erik Ryberg

I had the opportunity yesterday to ride an Azor Secret Service bike for a few blocks in Manhattan. The Dutch consulate and NYC put on a short bike tour to celebrate Queen’s Day and the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage, and the Dutch government provided 200 Batavus bikes (painted orange) to raise awareness. Anyway, one of the consuls owns the regal Azor, and I was quizzing him about it as the group rode through Central Park, and when we came to a stop so the group could tighten up he offered to swap bikes for a spell.

There’s so much to wonder at in that paragraph I almost can’t even start.

The Dutch consulate and NYC put on a short bike tour. . . . Waitasecond, the Dutch consulate and NYC got together and put on a short bike tour??!?!?!! Why doesn’t stuff like that ever happen here?

and the Dutch government provided 200 Batavus bikes (painted orange) to raise awareness. Did he just say the Dutch government provided 200 Batavus bikes to raise awareness???!!?!? For their little bike tour? I’m moving to Manhattan right now.

. . . one of the consuls owns the regal Azor

A consular official riding around town on a bike. Will we ever see any city, county, state, federal, or foreign official other than Matt Zoll, bless him, on a bike in this town?

Well, someday we will.

–Erik Ryberg

Copenhagen is so cool they even have cargo bike races.

My friend Jenny is moving there soon. I am so envious.

–Erik Ryberg

But here’s something to look at as a target for where we need to be. A good start would be a forced viewing by all TPD traffic officers. Check it out.

My favorite part is where the officers remark that they have to take a report any time a bike is injured in a collision. And the general attitude that bicyclists actually have rights to the road. That alone would go a long way to improving things with Tucson PD.

Hat tip to Allison for point this out to me!

–Erik Ryberg

Every Sunday, Mexico City closes down the entirety of Avenida Reforma between the huge city park and downtown.  I knew about this and headed out to ride it.  I thought it astonishing that the City would close an eight-lane boulevard that crosses the city diagonally, but sure enough, when I got there there were people everywhere bicycling, in-line skating, jogging, and also in wheelchairs.  In all eight lanes of Avenida Reforma!  It is difficult to fathom, much less express, what a mess this must create for Mexico City drivers, because Reforma is the main artery through the center of town.  This city was laid out in the 16th Century, and isn´t exactly easy to get through with Reforma closed.

The City also rents bikes for free to all-comers.  It isn’t limited to adult bikes, either.  They rent a lot of bikes–probably most of them–to kids.  It was especially encouraging to me to see so many young girls getting bikes, because it is very, very rare to see a woman riding a bicycle in Mexico.

And for the really young kids, they have tricycles available, too!  (Also kid’s bikes with training wheels!)

The real surprise though came when I got the end of the route and noticed that people were continuing on into downtown.  The streets were closed and police were at every single intersection, making cars turn around.  The ride zig-zagged through the historic district and I continued on, following the route along the cobble-stone streets.

The route just kept going and going, so I kept trudging along.  Pretty soon I was well off my map and far away from anyplace I’ve ever been in Mexico City.  But I certainly didn’t have to worry about getting lost because there were bicyclists everywhere and police at every intersection. 

My admiration for the City’s committment to this ride grew with every mile we rode, because they were closing down major streets to traffic, and they must have employed hundreds of police to manage this thing.  And they were friendly police, too!  Proving once again that bikes make everyone happy.

Eventually we ended back up at the historic district, but I was pretty tired when we got there!  It turns out this is a 30 kilometer circuit that they open on the last Sunday of every month.  The streets are closed from 9 AM to 2 PM.  I would guess thousands of people take advantage of this ride, and a third of them or more are women.  Entire families were doing the whole circuit, and the City provides water and mechanic’s stations at regular intervals.  Gatorade gives out free drinks, too. 

And the idea that this City would rent bmx bikes — hundreds and hundreds of them — to kids for free to ride on a Sunday morning is really cool, given how many families in this city of 24 million people cannot afford to buy their children bikes of their own. 

I hate to be the critic all the time, but it puts Tucson’s efforts in a little bit of perspective.

–Erik Ryberg

As a reader said on the site I stole this from, some of this stuff isn’t even possible in video games.

–Erik Ryberg

Readers of TBL no doubt remember the above YouTube video of the NYPD Officer lunging at and knocking over a bicyclist in a Critical Mass Ride.

Now it appears a grand jury has indicted the officer and he will also face charges for falsifying his police report!

Thanks I. J. for the link!
–Erik Ryberg