Month: May 2010

	Associate Professor Peter Shoemaker travels 12 miles on bike lanes, bike paths and city streets to commute to CUA from Greenbelt, Md.

Peter Shoemaker begins his 12-mile commute in Greenbelt and passes through other Maryland locations on his way to work at Catholic University. Along the way, it’s not a sea of brake lights that gets his attention. It’s the scenery and wildlife.

One of a growing number of CUA faculty who bike to work, Shoemaker passes Lake Artemesia and travels along the northeast and northwest branch bicycle trails on an old mountain bike during a 50-minute ride into Northeast Washington, D.C.

“There’s some nice scenery along the trails and a good deal of wildlife,” says the director of the University Honors Program and associate professor of French. “I’ve seen fox, bald eagles, blue herons and hawks. Lake Artemesia has wintering waterfowl — ducks and mergansers.”

Shoemaker isn’t alone on the trails and bike lanes. Colleagues from the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and other CUA departments choose two wheels over four for their work commute as a way to stay physically and mentally fit and save money. Some of them will mark Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 21, just as they do many days — by biking to CUA.

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Continue reading “CUA Professors are Pumped about Pedaling”

by washcycle
From the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association listserv via Chris about the tacks on the bicycle race course story
"the DC101.1 radio show Elliot in the Morning had a mention of this incident this morning. one of the co-hosts (i think her name is Diane) mentioned that police were still investigating the case and Elliot interjected saying that ‘it made for a really funny video.’ Almost immediately they received a lot of feedback denouncing his comment, after which he spent the next half hour defending himself in a way that just made him look more of a jerk. Even his co-hosts were backing away from him. His defense that none of his listeners would be encouraged to do something similar to other cyclist backfired on him when 3 listeners immediately called in and shared stories of their own "pranks" done to injure or scare cyclists. So far he’s yet to apologize and the negative feedback is apparently building up."
Continue reading “Elliot pulls a Kornheiser”

My husband and I have lived in Mount Airy for seven years, and have continuously been touched by the compassionate nature of this community.
A recent tragedy in our family has prompted me to speak out about a serious problem I have noticed over the past few years. A little over a month ago, my husband’s youngest brother was killed while riding his bicycle on Butler Road in Baltimore County.
He, and his best friend, who was riding directly in front of him on the edge of a country road similar to Buffalo Road, were hit by a motorist who saw them and thought that she moved over enough not to hit them. My brother-in-law died instantly, and his friend was seriously injured. There was not a car coming the other way that prevented the driver from moving all of the way over into the other lane to avoid hitting them.
Here’s how this relates to Mount Airy: numerous times when my husband and I have chosen to walk our dog along Buffalo Road outside of our neighborhood, we have been almost hit/run off the edge of the road by people who refuse to move over to give us some extra room for safety.
I could go into details, but that would be a whole article. This stretch of Buffalo Road, coincidentally, is the same stretch of road that runs along the property that Dr. Full wanted to develop as a recreation center that children from town could walk or ride their bikes to.
On Saturday morning, on the way to the Garden Club’s plant sale, I was behind a bicyclist in a bright yellow jersey. I stayed behind him going down Main Street from Buffalo Road, and saw a minivan pull out of Prospect Road dangerously in front of him.
I followed him through town, heading up the hill getting ready to turn left into the church parking lot. The person driving the car behind me got visibly annoyed at the fact that I was not passing the bicyclist because I guess he was in a hurry to get up the hill.
Sorry, man. I’m not taking any chances with someone else’s life because you are in a hurry to get somewhere.
Everyone needs to be aware that pedestrians and bicyclists have the legal right to use the roads. The "three-foot" rule passed the Maryland legislature, and will be law starting Oct. 1.
Three feet is a minimum from the outer edge of your side mirror. Please start obeying this law immediately. It is really just common sense.
It is too late for my dear brother-in-law, who was 10 days short of his 44th birthday. He left behind a wife, two young daughters, many family, friends, neighbors, business associates, fellow avid cyclists and a wonderful life. Think about that when you encounter a fellow human being walking or riding along the road.
You are protected by tons of steel and air bags. They are vulnerable. By the way, bicycle helmets do not protect you from a crash of that magnitude.
Sherry Bensky, Mount Airy
Continue reading “Give bicyclists more room”

by Nathan Carrick | Gazette
Until last week, Alison Horton never had been chased by a dog while riding her bicycle.
"I was at the dead-end part of Emory Grove Road," she said. "It was a little, white poodley-type dog."
The chase was quick and somewhat less than terrifying, she said. But it still was a surprise.
"I was down the hill and it was over," she said.
Horton, a California native, rides every Tuesday from her home in Gaithersburg to Washington, D.C., where she volunteers with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
This week she will have lots of company as WABA and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments put on Bike to Work Week, which culminates with Bike to Work Day on Friday.
The national event is meant to bring awareness to bicycling as an alternative mode of transpiration.
Coincidentally, this also is Dog Bite Prevention Week, intended to raise awareness of how to prevent altercations between man and his best friend.
"Dogs instinctively chase moving objects," said Jim Huband, co-owner of Bark Busters Home Training in Montgomery Village. "The best thing to do is to stand completely still."
More than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs in the United States each year, and one in five bites is serious enough to require medical attention, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"I think we do see more chasing than actual biting," Glen Harrison, WABA’s bicycle education program director, said in an e-mail. "First of all, running dogs and bicycles are dangerous — for the cyclist, because the dog will often dodge in front of the cyclist which will cause a serious crash. If the dog is simply running around, the cyclist should slow down and either stop or be prepared to stop immediately."
That’s not always possible.
Harrison recommends pointing and telling the dog to "go home," squirting it with a water bottle, or even trying to outrun the dog if there is adequate space.
Liz Ehrstein, Huband’s wife, agreed that spraying the dog with water might work, but stopping and putting the bike between you and the dog might be better.
Also, cyclists are urged to stay calm.
"A dog chasing a cyclist doesn’t necessarily have aggressive intentions," she said. Dogs do not have the best eyesight and sometimes chase out of curiosity.
"I feel like it usually happens in rural areas," said Henry Mesias, bicycle education coordinator for WABA. "It’s one of the hazards of cycling."
But it should not keep anyone off their bike, he said, and in the past it certainly has not.
Started in the early 1970s by WABA, Bike to Work Day has become a national event.
In 2009, more than 1,700 cyclists in Montgomery County checked in at designated pit stops along major commuter routes for breakfast, T-shirts and camaraderie, Mesias said. More cyclists probably rode and never stopped to be counted, he added.
More than 8,000 cyclists were counted in the Washington metro area, and that number is expected to increase by 500 this year.
WABA does not keep statistics on cyclists chased or bitten by dogs.
Dog chases or not, Horton said, the D.C. area is not the most accommodating for cyclists. Challenges include a lack of bike lanes, poor trail connectivity and drivers who do not consider the safety of cyclists.
Bike to Work Week is meant to improve such conditions, Harrison said.
Horton, who rides in all weather, including hail, is not deterred.
"I should be able to ride to Trader Joe’s, which is a mile away, without getting killed," she said.
Continue reading “Dogs are not always a cyclist’s best friend”