Under The Lights

I followed Russell's advice and went to Kenosha to see the races. I'm almost thinking I might like to try the whole track thing after watching it. Looks like a blast. I was going to bring out the good cameras and shoot some artsy stuff, but I didn't feel like workin that hard so this is all you get. I can't make any guarantees about the quality of these photos. They were toned and sized on a new computer I'm not used to yet.

Kenosha Track Racing from Bikesafer on Vimeo.

First Place, Thanks to Keith

Bontrager that is. Well not personally, but thanks to his wheels. Sunday's race was the second time I've finished a race on a Bontrager wheel with a broken spoke. This race I actually started on a broken spoke, or broke it in the first couple hundred meters of the race.
You may wonder how finishing 2 races on wheels with broken spokes is a good thing, well it is because in both cases, while I did hear the distinctive tink tink sound of the spoke bouncing around off other spokes, I never heard a brake rub (yes I'm still the only guy running rim brakes) because the wheel(s) barely went out of true thanks to the way the spokes are offset to reduce stress. So I kept racing as hard as I could go. Eventually I stopped worrying so much about finishing. O.K. that's not true, but I knew the wheel would hold up, I just worried that the spoke would wrap around my derailleur and snap that off.



I was going to let this post only be about the race, but I saw a story on the news I have to comment on.
The story was about how Madison Police gave out 10 tickets to cyclists who ran a red light or stop sign last Wednesday as part of a national bicycle safety education grant.
I'm not condoning running lights or stop signs, but it's my experience that every single cyclist who runs stop signs or lights knows it is illegal and potentially unsafe. It is also my experience that few, if any drivers who buzz cyclists, know anything about the 3 foot law meant to keep law abiding cyclists safe from motorists. So if if the grant is for bicycle safety education, wouldn't the money be better spent educating people about those things they don't already know, like the 3 foot law?
Those cyclists who run red lights are knowingly jeopardizing their own safety. Let's use the education funds to educate those folks who are jeopardizing cyclists safety either because they don't know the law or they don't know how dangerous their behavior is. That might actually do something to keep cyclists safe.
Bikesafer
Jeff

Sneak Peak

Just a taste of what the Alterra WORS race has in store for Sunday. Lots of tasty singletrack with a good switchback climb thrown in to spice things up. Should be fun. Great job with the course.

Alterra Race Course from Bikesafer on Vimeo.