Monday Musings

Greg LeMond once said something to the effect that the Lance Armstrong story was either the greatest miracle of all time or the greatest fraud of all time.

By the way, does anyone remember Greg LeMond once had his own successful brand of bicycle built by Trek, and Trek stopped making LeMond bikes because Greg kept on insisting that Lance Armstrong (Who Trek were sponsoring at the time.) had doped.

Not good when a man has a business ruined and a steady income taken away from him for saying something that turned out to be right all along.

The other person I find myself having some sympathy with is Floyd Landis. Although far from "Lilly White" himself, the poor guy really got screwed. When it was found that he had doped, he was immediately stripped of his Tour de France win in 2006 and suspended for two years.

Other riders serve out their suspensions then return to the pro pelotons, but not Landis; his career was over. Compare the way his case was handled to that of Alberto Contador.

Contador also found to have doped in the 2010 TDF, was not immediately stripped of his win. In fact we didn’t even know of the positive test for clembuterol until the fall of that year, when someone leaked the story of a positive lab test.

The UCI (Union Cycliste International.) then managed to drag out the case for another year, and Contador was allowed to ride and win the 2011 Giro d’Italia, and compete again in the 2011 TDF. Eventually Contador was found guilty, stripped of his 2010 Tour de France and 2011 Giro win.

However, his two year suspension was retro-active all the way back to the end of the 2010 Tour. After only a little over six months out of competition, Contador is now back riding in the Vuelta a Espana. So it appears there is one set of rules for the rich and famous, and another for lesser riders like Floyd Landis.

Lance Armstrong could have helped Landis out and put some money his way to pay his legal fees. He could have also given him a place on his team after his suspension was over, or used his influence to get him back in the pro ranks. Not being a little kinder to Floyd Landis is probably one of the biggest mistakes Lance Armstrong made.

We have not heard the last of this saga. I am now reading stories that the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD.) regularly tipped off Armstrong when random drug test were about to happen, and that the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who he regarded as a personal friend, pulled strings for the rider.

Another story of a drug raid by French Police on a hotel where the US Postal team was staying during the 2005 TDF. That raid was mysteriously called off at the last minute as police were actually outside the hotel waiting to go in.

Only when the full extent of the corruption that there appears to be in this case, is revealed, and top officials including those at the UCI are held accountable, can the sport of cycling start to become fair and clean.

On a totally different subject are you following the Vuelta a Espana? It is turning out to be one of the best of the Grand Tours this year, and with almost two weeks to go the race is still wide open. Above was the highlights from last Saturday’s stage.

Today is a rest day, you can watch the Vuelta live on Steep Hill TV. Go to “Live Coverage” click on EuroSport.

                       

The other Moulton bicycle

Still to this day I will get emails from people asking for information on their small wheel Moulton bicycle. When an A&E “American Pickers” program featured a small wheel Moulton the pickers found; people again emailed me and friends approached me saying, “I saw one of your bikes on American Pickers.”

And once again I had to explain it was not one of mine but one made by Alex Moulton, or rather by the company he started. We share the same last name; however Moulton is a fairly common English name and we are in no way related.

Sir Alex Moulton, is his title; he was Knighted by the Queen for his lifetime achievements. He is now 92 years old.

His bicycle company he started in 1962 has just celebrated 50 years in existence, and is still going strong.

There is a saying that in order to be successful in any venture, one must be first, best, or different.

Alex Moulton was both first and different with his small wheel bike, and his timing was perfect too.

It was the swinging sixties in England, the economy was booming and Beatle Mania would soon be upon us.

Into this mix came a small wheel bicycle, a Mini Bike if you like; to go with the Mini Car and the Mini Skirt.

It captured the imagination of the media and the public. Alex Moulton was first and different because before that bicycles had diamond frames, and wheels somewhere between 26 and 28 inches. The bicycle had been that way since its invention in the late 1800s.

In fact the bicycle business worldwide was on the decline, as the world economy grew and working class Europeans especially were dumping their bicycles as a means of transport, and replacing it with the automobile. However, to own and be seen on one of these mini-bikes was indeed trendy.

The reason bicycles had always traditionally had large wheels was because they roll over the bumps easier.

Imagine running into a deep pot hole with a small wheel.

The Moulton bike overcame this problem by adding a simple suspension system that consisted of a swinging arm that pressed into a block of rubber.

In the 1950s Alex Moulton had first invented a similar suspension for cars; his invention lead to the iconic British Motor Corporation’s Mini car, designed by Sir Alec Issigonis.

The Mini car (Left.) with Moulton’s rubber suspension and small wheels enabled Issigonis to design a car that was much smaller than anything before it, but with the seating capacity and performance of a much larger car.

The Moulton Bicycle Company was bought by Raleigh Industries in 1967, and they produced the bike until 1974 when they ceased production. Not to be discouraged, Sir Alex redesigned the frame, and in 1983 re-launched the company and the new Moulton bicycle to great acclaim.

The reason the company is going strong today is the same reason it was a success in the first place during the 1960s. The bike fills a niche market. There are other companies making small wheeled bicycles, but the Moulton Bicycle Company was the original, they were first and still acknowledged by many to be the best at what they do.

You can read more in this article and view another video at the end of the piece

                       

100 miles, solo

Ever since I got my new Fuso at the end of June I have been enthused to ride more and ride longer distances. The last two weekends I have ridden 75 miles and I felt I was ready to try 100 miles.

It was an ambition that I had for some time now; I put the word out with the local group I ride with, that I might try riding from Summerville to Folly Beach, but no one showed interest in joining me. So last Saturday I decided to set out on my own.

The plan was if I didn’t feel up to completing the distance I would turn back early. I did not choose the direct route for two reasons. Hwy. 61 (Ashley River Road.) the direct route from Summerville to West Ashley, is not a safe road to ride a bike.

A narrow two lane highway with a lot of dangerous curves through old growth forest. A pretty road to drive, but make shift memorials of crosses and plastic flowers nailed to large trees all along the route, mark where drivers ended their days. The second reason, the longer route made the distance 50 miles one way; 100 miles out and home.

For my local readers the route I took was: 61 Hwy. for about 4 miles actually going away from the coast. Left on Summers Drive, a brand new road built in the last year or so; wide with bike lanes on both sides, and light traffic.

Left again on Clubhouse Drive, to Hwy. 165 briefly then Countyline Road another quiet country road that goes all the way down to Savannah Hwy. (17.) which is not a pleasant road to ride on, being the main route from Charleston to Savannah.

Traffic is extremely heavy, but there is a shoulder with a rumble strip to help keep cars off, and I was only on it for a couple of miles, before turning off on Main Road and over the Stono River Bridge (Below.) to John’s Island.

Left on River Road, left again on Maybank Hwy. Over the Stono River again to James Island. Right on Riverland Drive which bypasses the dangerous part of Folly Road and links with it where the bike lanes start.

Over two more bridges and finally on to Folly Beach; also known as “The Edge of America.”

Folly Beach is a narrow strip of sand that is a barrier island.

It has a nice beach, a pier (Picture below.) and a light house.

It turned out that I picked a perfect day for the ride. I had left at 6:15 am. when it was barely light. It was cloudy, overcast, even a little foggy in places; temperatures were in the 70s F. (21C.) The sun didn’t show until around 10 pm. just as I reached Folly Beach.

I took a 40 minute break and had breakfast at a restaurant on Folly Beach Pier. Omelet, hash browns and toast; two large cups of coffee, and several glasses of water. I also filled my water bottles for the return trip.

I felt good on the return trip; I started to sag a little at about mile 85. I stopped, took a 10 minute break, and drank a lot of water. That did the trick, I felt fine after and actually finished the ride at a pretty good pace.

Temperatures were around 85F. (29C.) by the time I got home; not too hot for South Carolina at this time of year. I arrived home soon after 2:00 pm. 7 hours actual riding time.

A nice sense of achievement to have completed 100 mile bike ride; my first in the US actually. The last time I rode a 100 in one day was back in England in the mid and late 1970s; and that was with a group, not alone.

                        

Six Day Racing

The above video is a brief look at a Six Day Bicycle Race held in Tilburg, in The Netherlands. If you click on this Vimeo link you can watch it in full screen mode.

Six Day racing started in America in the late 1800s and the reason it was six days was to avoid riding on a Sunday and offending the religious element.

Originally riders rode continually for six days on a tiny indoor track, but in 1898 the states of New York and Illinois, alarmed for the health and well being of the competitors, ruled that no cyclist could ride more than 12 hours a day.

The promoters, not willing to open the event half a day, realized if they made it a relay race with teams of two riders, each would only be riding the required 12 hours. Speeds rose, distances grew, crowds increased, money poured in.

This type of relay race became known as a Madison, after Madison Square Garden in New York where these races were held. In France it is known as the "American race" (course à l'américaine) and in Italian and Spanish as Americana.

Six Day races are no longer held in America unfortunately, but they are in Europe during the winter months when it is the off season for professional riders. I went to quite a few held at London’s Wembly Arena in the 1950s through the 1970s.

A small ten laps to the mile wooden track is constructed in an indoor stadium. Racing is no longer continuous, but is a series of different events with the same riders competing, and held every evening for six days.

The last main event of each evening is usually a one hour Madison. Because the track is only a tenth of a mile around, it is possible for a rider to break away from the pack, and by riding flat out for several laps will catch the tail end of the pack, thereby gaining a lap.

The number of laps ridden are added up for the complete six days, and a clear winner comes out. Both riders of a team are on the track at the same time. One is racing; the other is circling slowly high on the banked track, resting and conserving his energy.

At any time the riders choose they may change off by touching the other rider. This usually takes the form of a hand sling. The rider in the race, as he approaches his team mate, grabs his hand. This has the effect of slowing him down. He then slings the fresh rider into the race.

Other races throughout the evening might be:

A Scratch Race: All the riders start in a pack and race over a predetermined number of laps. This is not a relay, but team members may block a chasing group, if the other team member is in a break. Or one team member may lead to other out in the finishing sprint.

The Devil Take the Hindmost: A race where the last rider over the finish line each lap is eliminated until you only have two riders left who sprint it out for the finish.

A One Lap Time Trial: This is shown in the video where one rider gives his team mate a hand sling for a flying start for timed lap.

Derney Paced: A Derney is a specialist built motorcycle for pacing in these type of events. The Derney has pedals so its driver can accelerate smoothly by pedaling. It is a highly tactical event, the rider with the inside track has less distance to travel than someone overtaking on the banking. The Derney driver has time his attack precisely; if he accelerates too fast he will drop his rider.

More on Six Day Racing and its history on Wikipedia.

                       

Wasting Space

Mark Twain once said, “Buy land; they’re not making it anymore.” As the world’s population explodes it is pretty easy to understand the amount of real estate each individual has at their disposal, gets less and less because… “They’re not making it anymore.”

I’m not just talking space to live, there has to be space for businesses for people to work and buy food and other necessities. The biggest user of space in our society is the automobile. If each individual has an automobile that vehicle uses more space than the individual that owns it, if you include roads, and places to park, etc.

Each factory or shopping mall has a parking lot bigger in area than the actual building structure. Every highway takes up at least twice the space of the actual paved road, if you include the verges at the side of the road, the median between lanes, and bridges and intersections can take up acres and acres of space.  

It is not by accident or some act of governments the two of the smallest countries in Europe are also the most bicycle friendly; Demark and Holland. (Netherlands) It is not so much that these two countries developed a bicycle culture; they never really opted out of it, while after WWII the rest of Europe followed the United States and gradually switched to a society dependent on automobiles.

Up until the 1960s even Britain still had a bicycle culture. Not only did the majority of the population not own cars, but most had never learned to drive. People rode bicycles to work, children rode to school, and ladies did their shopping on a bicycle with a basket on the handlebars. There was also a good public transport system; trains and busses.

Lack of space forced Denmark and Holland not to opt for an automobile society? When you look at the size of these two countries it is easy to see why; Denmark’s area is a total of 16,629 sq. miles while Holland is 15,892 sq. miles. Both these countries could almost fit into my current home state of South Carolina, at 31,113 sq, miles, and South Carolina is not a particularly large state. Compare this to California with 158,706 sq. miles, or Texas 268,820 sq. miles.

It is hard to convince the average American that we are wasting space it would seem there is still an abundance of it, but the more space used to accommodate the automobile, the more people are forced to live further and further away from the city center, and more space is required for roads to get people to and from work, and still more space to park once they get there. Not to mention the cost of fuel and wear and tear on a vehicle.

It then gets to the situation you have in Los Angeles/Long Beach/Riverside, California, where urban sprawl has reached 4,850 sq. miles. It is not unusual for people to commute 80 miles each way to work, because the only home they can afford is out in the desert somewhere east of the city. Five and six lane freeways still fail to move the volume of traffic, and become parking lots during rush hour.

In the above picture I count approximately 8 cars per lane, from the bridge to the foreground of the picture. With one individual per car that is 40 people using up this huge area.  

Let’s forget for a moment that fossil fuels will eventually run out. I can remember 50 years ago people said that oil would run out in 20 years, and still we keep finding more. Let’s also forget for now that burning fossil fuels is causing global warming. Both these may be sound arguments, but are a hard sell to many people.

One of the biggest issues I see with the automobile is the terrible waste of space. In time technology may find alternative fuels, but apart from multi story buildings and a few underground tunnels, technology cannot produce more space.

We can no longer support a situation where every individual owns an automobile; families will have to share one car. This means someone in the family will have to ride a bike, at least some of the time.