Month: April 2010

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Driving laws appear to get green light in Annapolis

By Michael Dresser Getting there
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It also seems likely that the state’s bicyclists will get their wish as the General Assembly seems inclined to approve a bill requiring motorists to keep 3 feet of distance from our two-wheeled friends.

Drunken drivers, cell phone addicts, traffic scofflaws and folks who like to play Buzz the Bikes might disagree, but those proposals collectively represent significant advances in state law. The measures aren’t nearly as aggressive as highway safety advocates might dream of, but each in its own way would improve upon the status quo.
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Cyclist Killed on Butler Road, Baltimore County

From the MABRA-USCF list:

I know very little details except I was riding east bound on Butler from Reisterstown towards Falls road today at 6:10pm. When I arrived at Dover and Butler the road was blocked. The police officer standing guard said that a cyclist had been killed up the road. He even mentioned that the person’s wife had already arrived at the scene. He said I probably couldn’t make it through but said I could ride up the road to see if the road had been cleared.

The accident happened less than ½ mile from where Butler ends at Falls Road. From what little I could see the cyclist was riding up the dreaded false flat heading west. I couldn’t see anything, fortunately. There had to have been 5 Baltimore County cruisers blocking the road. I was instructed to turn around and leave the scene.

What can you say when something like this happens on the roads many MABRA riders regularly ride? I am cyclist with a 2 ½ year old and an 18 month old and I had a lot of trouble focusing back on my ride. My heart goes out to the family, whoever they are, at the loss of a husband and maybe father. I hope that his family can take solace that he must have been doing something he loved. No amount of love for the sport can replace the loss that his family will feel.

I guess I’d like to know the details, if anyone has them, but ultimately that isn’t important. Keep your head up, helmet on and don’t ever forget to tell your family you love them, even if you are just going out for a spin.

This incident has affected me, that is for sure.
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By Baltimore Sun reporter

A car struck two cyclists, killing one, Tuesday afternoon in Baltimore County.

Police said a sedan vehicle struck an adult male on a bike near Butler and Falls roads around 4:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other cyclist was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and their condition is unknown, police said. Police did not have additional information on the victims.
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A Velorution is in progress… we just need to tell the rest of the world…

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Challenge car culture by spreading an optimistic message about sustainable transportation. Leave stickers and flyers in cafes, on bulletin boards, on car windshields and spread the word. Too lazy to get out there? It doesn’t have to be such a chore. Just make sure to pack a few stickers/flyers into your bag, and when you’re out on the street, just leave one behind now and again. It’s no big deal, plus it’s fun.
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For women, battle of bulge just got tougher

(Reuters) – Women need to get at least an hour a day of moderate exercise if they hope to ward off the creep of extra pounds that comes with aging, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
The weekly total of 420 minutes is nearly triple the 150 minutes of moderate daily exercise currently recommended by U.S. health officials and illustrates the challenge American women face in maintaining a healthy weight.
Winning that war will require individuals to make changes in their daily routines — like walking or biking to work — but it may also take a shift in policy to make it easier for people in fit exercise into their lives, researchers said.
Two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, and adding about $150 billion a year to U.S. healthcare costs.
"From a public health perspective, it would be better to prevent the weight gain in the first place," said I-Min Lee of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Lee said there is ample research on people who are already overweight, but little on how to prevent weight gain as people grow older.
Current U.S. exercise recommendations differ, with 2008 guidelines recommending 150 minutes of moderate exercise — brisk walking, gardening, ballroom dancing — as a way to improve overall health, and a 2002 report by the Institute of Medicine, one of the National Academies of Sciences, recommending an hour a day.
If people exercise vigorously, by running or cycling hard, for instance, less time is needed to get the same benefits.
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DC proposes closing 14th Street bridge nights and weekends to close budget gap

by Matt Johnson

This article was posted as an April Fool’s joke.

Mayor Fenty’s proposed FY2011 budget, released today, calls for a complete closure of the 14th Street bridge on evenings and weekends to save maintenance dollars.

DDOT estimates that closing the 14th Street Bridge would save approximately $10,000 per day. Spokesman John Truthle says people will still be able to get to DC by transferring to the George Washington Parkway to Rosslyn and crossing the Potomac on I-66 or the Key Bridge.

"If Metro can get passengers to do that on the Yellow and Blue Lines, surely they’ll do it in cars," said one driver on Shirley Highway. Others disagree. Wanda Jones, who commutes from Woodbridge to L’Enfant Plaza, was livid: "what kind of crazy idea is this? Any politician who makes us go halfway around the city just to cross the Potomac is going to have a tough fight in November."

When asked whether she supported higher gas taxes to support better roads, Jones said, "Of course not. Every year they ask for more money at the pump and the quality of our roads is still declining. Why should I have to pay more?" Charlie Green, who commutes daily across the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, thinks he has a solution to the funding mess. "Why not just take the money from Metro to fund roads. I hear no one rides it anymore because it’s too crowded."

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Police enforcing pedestrian safety is "breathtakingly dangerous" says Councilman

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A car does not stop for a Glendale police officer dressed in a rabbit costume crossing the street at Central and Garfield avenues Wednesday. The driver was pulled over for not yielding to a pedestrian. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

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But the operation infuriated Councilman John Drayman, who said he learned of the sting only after it had taken place.

Calling the enforcement sting a “stupid traffic stunt” that was “breathtakingly dangerous,” Drayman said city resources would have been more appropriately used to clamp down on speeding motorists — an issue that prompts daily complaints from the public.

“The police may be experts in public safety, but they don’t have a padlock on common sense,” he said. “This is not law enforcement, this is taking public safety personnel, dressing them as bunny rabbits to confuse, disorient and shock drivers and then cite them with traffic tickets.”

Drayman added that he planned to raise the issue at the next City Council meeting.

Political fallout notwithstanding, police officials said they decided to seize the holiday moment and use a rabbit costume. The bunny suit also cuts down on the ability of drivers to claim they didn’t see the decoy, they said.

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Cyclist Gets Doored … You want a report? I’ll give you a report!… Get a reflector on that bike, that vest does not cut it.

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The officer then walked back to his vehicle, Seymour said, returning ten minutes later with the report in hand. But that wasn’t all. He’d also brought over two summonses. The first was for riding a bike without a bell, which Seymour admits he lacked. The second cited Seymour for riding without reflectors on the wheel. According to Seymour’s lawyer, the law only requires reflectors on new bikes for sale. Seymour noted that his bright orange reflective vest and reflective helmet should have made him perfectly visible—that and the fact that it was just before 10 a.m.
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BBC’s 26th ANNUAL INSTRUCTIONAL RIDE SERIES

The BALTIMORE BICYCLING CLUB’S popular Instructional Ride Series will begin with an orientation to be held on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 10:30 a.m at the Ridgely Middle School in Baltimore County. Directions to the school are provided below.

This series is offered to anyone over 16 years of age interested in learning the basic skills of cycling, including doing minor road repairs and improving as a rider. We want to help people new to our sport find a comfortable riding level and develop so they can at least ride on the BBC casual rides by the end of the series and to permit experienced riders who are new to club riding to meet and to learn about group riding. The ride series will cover both road and recreational trail riding.

At the orientation, we will demonstrate cycling skills and techniques and discuss bicycles, equipment and clothing and answer any questions about the program. We will watch a short, informative video on cycling safety and bike handling. If you bring your bicycle to the orientation, we can check it out for you and show you how to do a pre-ride bike check. The indoor orientation will be held RAIN OR SHINE. Weather permitting, anyone who wants to do so can join us for a short ride following the orientation. You must have and wear a helmet in order to ride. Below is the full ride schedule.

DIRECTIONS — Ridgely Middle School is at the southeast corner of CHARMUTH and RIDGELY Roads. Take Exit 26 of the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and go North on YORK Road for approximately one mile. Then make a Right on RIDGELY Road, go for one long block and make a Right on CHARMUTH Road. The school is on your left; enter the first driveway, park and walk to front of school.

THIS YEAR’S SCHEDULE —
ORIENTATION — Sunday, May 2, 2010 – Ridgely Middle School at 10:30 a.m.
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The American way of treating cyclists comes to Copenhagen

An American driving a rented car in Copenhagen hits a cyclists who had the right of way. "According to the Danish newspaper BT, the police have said that the American woman wasn’t used to watching for cyclists and, after the accident, couldn’t understand that it was her fault."
"American Express, through a collection agency, has been hassling Helle Kühl for $3106.41 – about 16,000 Danish kroner – for the damages to the car.
Helle Kühl said to BT newspaper: "This is completely insane. I’m an innocent victim and now they want me to pay 16,000 kroner because I got run over. This is an Americanization of the situation"."
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