Dave Moulton

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Wednesday
Jan192011

Babies on Bike Ban

The State of Oregon has a new bill on the books,sponsored by State House Representative Mitch Greenlick.

The bill if passes it will make it illegal to carry children under six years old in a seat attached to a bicycle, or in a trailer towed behind a bicycle, under the penalty of a $90 fine.

Greenlick justifies the bill by stating “If just one child’s life is saved by this bill it will be worthwhile.”

I am left to wonder, where is the evidence to back up this idea the large numbers of toddlers are being killed or injured while being transported by bicycle.

There is evidence to show that the biggest cause of infant death is due to car crashes, is there a proposed bill to make it illegal for babies to ride in cars? The second biggest cause of death is drowning, so let’s ban swimming pools from households with young children.

This is just another example of a politician who probably doesn’t ride a bike, catering to a car-centic society by selling the idea that riding a bicycle on the public roads is inherently dangerous.

I’ll tell you what is dangerous, the precedent this bill sets if it passes in Oregon.

There are families out there who have only one car, or no car. How is a mother supposed to transport her children if no car is available?

The mother pictured above could be quite simply escorting her son to school and naturally has to take the baby along.

The trio is highly visible and there is no reason why they should be in any danger except for this strange notion we have that people be allowed to drive cars without paying attention to other road users. 

I see mothers with a child in tow on my local bike path, some have to ride city streets to get to the path; the mothers are getting exercise and I’m sure the kids love it too. It would be a damn shame if this was outlawed.

The chart above is from The Center for Disease Control’s 2007 statistics on causes of death to children under six years old.

 

More on this on Tree Hugger and on Bike Portland.org

                         

Monday
Jan172011

Peter Post: 1933 - 2011

With the sad news that Peter Post had died on Friday in Amsterdam at the age of 77, cycling has lost one of the greatest personalities and talents the sport has ever known, both on and off the bike.

Born in Amsterdam in November 1933, his childhood years were spent in Nazi occupied Holland.

He turned professional in 1956 for Legendary Amsterdam bicycle makers RIH Sport.

By the time his pro career ended in 1972, he had ridden for some of the most famous teams in the history of cycle racing. They included Flandria, Faema, Solo-Superia and Willem 11.

As a road rider Post won the Paris-Roubaix in 1964 and there were podium places in Paris-Brussels, GP E3, Fleche-Wallonne, Rund um Koln and Dwars door Vlaanderen.

Peter Post on the right, with teammate Rik Van Looy.  

On the track Post is best remembered as a six day rider; his 65 wins beat the previous record held by Belgian rider Rik Van Steebergen, and stood as a world record for a number of years. Today he is placed fourth in the all time rankings behind Patrick Sercu with 88, Rene Pijnen with 74 and Danny Clark 72 wins.

(Picture left.) Peter Post on the right with Fritz Pfenninger as European Madison Champions.

To get a true grasp of Post’s standing as a Six-Day rider one has to understand that during their careers, Sercu competed in a total 223 Six Day events, Pijnen 233, and Clark rode in 235.

While Post’s 4th place in the all time rankings was achieved competing in 155 Six-Day races; which means he won 42% of the six day races he started.

Incidentally, Peter Post's first Six Day win came in 1957 in Chicago, when he parnered with Harm Smits; back when America still hosted Six Day events. 

He won most major European six day races at least once – Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Bremen, Brussels, Cologne, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Gent, Grenoble, London, Milan, Munster, Rotterdam and Zurich.

I was fortunate enough to see Peter Post in 1968 when he partnered with Patrick Sercu and won the London Six Day event at Wembly Stadium.

As a measure of his versatility, in Antwerp 1965, Post set the derny-paced hour record of 63.783 km, (39.63 miles.) beating Stan Ockers' record which had stood for nine years.

(Above left to right.) Patrick Sercu, Peter Post, Rik Van Looy. The fourth man is a Derny pacer.

In his day, Peter Post was one of the world’s best pursuit riders, he was a multiple Dutch champion and took bronze and silver in the world pro pursuit championships; he happened to be competing in a golden era of pursuiting against such greats as Bracke, Faggin and Porter.

When Post’s professional career ended in 1972 a new challenge awaited him. British bicycle manufacturer Raleigh launched a pro team in 1973; the team’s initial showing was less than spectacular. All this changed when Post was recruited to manage the team for 1974; and so began the story of perhaps one of the most successful teams in cycling history.

He dropped many of the British riders from the team, which didn’t set too well with the UK cycling establishment; after all Raleigh is a British company. The team was made up of mostly Dutch and Belgian riders; Peter Post was branded as anti-British.

Scotsman Billy Bilsland, one of the few Brits who survived the cut, once stated; “Post wasn’t anti-British, he was anti-failure!” Peter Post was a tough task master and would accept nothing less than a total commitment of effort from his riders.

The results speak for themselves. 1974: 55 wins; 1975: 55 wins; 1976: 71 wins; 1977: 68 wins; 1978: 94wins; 1979: 99 wins; 1980: 120 wins; 1981: 94 wins; 1982: 92 wins; 1983: 100 wins.

During this period the team won virtually every important one day race on the calendar - including the world professional road title with riders like Jan Raas, Gerrie Knetemann, Roy Schuiten and Dietrich Thurau- and the 1980 Tour de France, with Joop Zoetemelk. That year also saw the team win 11 stages in the Tour.

Due the team’s success, Raleigh’s brand recognition had reached its highest level by the early 1980s. The company decided it had achieved its intended goal, and eventually ended sponsorship. Post was always the shrewd businessman who could negotiate with companies to obtain the best deal for the team and its riders; he obtained sponsorship for his team from the Japanese electronics company Panasonic.

Post’s men continued to be a major force in the sport of professional cycling into the 1990s. Post retired in 1995 having changed forever the way cycling teams are presented and managed.

Results-wise he is the second most successful cycling manager in the history of the sport; only Guillaume Driessens bettered Post’s record, and his success could be largely attributed to the fact that Driessens was Eddy Merckx’s boss.

One of his contemporaries said; “Peter Post was hard on riders – but was hardest on himself.” Hard or not, there were riders who spent their whole careers with him; but there were also riders who never again performed at the level they achieved with Post after they left Raleigh having had ‘better’ offers from other teams.

Eric Vanderaerden who won the Tour of Flanders in 1985 and Paris-Roubaix in 1987 as a Panasonicman said, “Post was a great motivator, we might have had our doubts about the weather, the strength of the opposition . But during the course of a pre-race meal he had such an effect on us that we rose from the table thinking; “we are unbeatable!”

(Above.) Three generations of the worlds greatest six day stars. L to R Peter Post [Holland], Gus Killian [Germany] and Torchy Peden [Canada]. A total of 137 victories between them.

Peter Post during his lifetime was an outstanding road and trackman, and a six day super star. When that was over he became one of the world’s greatest in the role as Directeur Sportif.

Although a tough team manager, he no doubt had the respect of his riders because he had previously earned respect himself as a rider. It is always easier to take directions from someone who knows first hand exactly what you are experiencing.

Peter Post’s nickname as a rider was “de Lange,” or “Big Man,” because he was tall for a cyclist. Last Friday 14th. January 2011, the world of cycling lost a Big Man indeed.

 

                       

Friday
Jan142011

Cotter Pins

The racing bicycle developed through the 1920s and 1930s, becoming increasingly sleek and lightweight.

However, aluminum alloy was not widely used for bicycle components as it was considered unreliable at that time.

All this changed in the 1940s due to WWII and aircraft production; huge strides were made in metallurgy and improvements made in aluminum alloys.

However, there was reluctance immediately after the war, both by manufacturers and consumers to use these new alloys for high stress bicycle components like cranksets.

My first race bike that I bought in the early 1950s had steel cranks, held to the bottom bracket axel with cotter pins; a somewhat crude method of attachment that had been around since the early days of the bicycle.

Never-the-less the cotter pin was cheap, simple and reliable, providing they were fitted correctly. I used to buy my cotter pins “Plain,” and file my own flats on them.

The procedure was to file a flat, tap it into the hole in the crank arm using a hammer; the relatively soft cotter pin would butt up against the hardened surface of the flat on the bottom bracket spindle.

This would create a shiny spot on the flat of the cotter pin; the pin would be removed and the shiny spot would then be filed off, and the pin refitted.

This was repeated until there was perfect contact along the entire flat portion of the cotter pin.

Periodically, usually before an important race the cotter pins were driven out, making sure there was a block of wood under the crank arm, (Right.)

This was so the frame or the BB bearings would not be damaged by hammering on the cotter pin unsupported.

The cotter pin was touched up with a file again and refitted. After several refits it was necessary to buy new cotter pins and start over.

The rule I was always taught was that “When the pedal goes down, the cotter goes up.” On the downward stroke of the crank, the nut on the cotter pin was on the top.

The idea is, when the left crank is driving the tendency is for the cotter pin to be pulled in tighter. However, the cotter pins have to be installed in opposite directions; otherwise the cranks will not be in the exact same plane.

With the BB spindle now driving the chainwheel from the left, the right cotter pin is tending to be pushed out and the only thing stopping it is the nut. So one could argue that it doesn’t matter which direction the cotters go, one of them is bound to be in the wrong direction. 

All I know is I always fitted them the way I was taught, I checked them regularly and I never had a cotter come loose while I was riding.

Most people reading this will probably never have to concern themselves with a cotter pin; unless you are into collecting vintage bicycles.

But you never know you might find yourself working on an old roadster bike, and now instead of staring at a cotter pin and asking, “What do I do with this?” You at least have the basics. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                         

Wednesday
Jan122011

Creating Havoc

It seems to me there is a basic human instinct to create, and by creating we affect the lives of others.

Every act we do in our everyday lives, even down to a simple thought, affects someone somewhere; there is a ripple of cause and effect that can travel to the ends of the Earth and back again.

It seems that children and young adults often do not know how to create in a positive way, so they do so in a negative way. For example there is a local paved bike trail I regularly ride on, and there is a constant issue of broken glass on the path.

I think I can safely assume that the perpetrators are children or teens. If someone accidentally drops and breaks a glass bottle, they would kick the pieces off to the side of the trail. But not so in this case; the glass is ground into small pieces then spread over a wide area.

The act of smashing a glass bottle is creative, albeit negative creativity. The person responsible has created small pieces of broken glass on the trail, knowing that it will puncture the tire of some unfortunate passing cyclist. 

They will not even be present to witness the possible flat tire, but the thought that this may be the outcome has satisfied the basic instinct to create something; even if all they have created is havoc.

The tragic events in Tucson, Arizona this week follow this same simple pattern.

This one senseless act has affected the lives of millions. It has certainly affected the lives of the loved ones of those killed and wounded.

It has affected everyone who lives in Tucson, and possibly the whole state of Arizona. Tucson like Oklahoma City from now on will be remembered for this one heinous crime.  It has affected all of us living in the USA.

The perpetrator has now assured his place in history, which I’m sure, was his intention. There will be no remorse, but instead a warped sense of satisfaction that it was he who affected the lives of millions. 

It requires very little effort at all to obtain notoriety for a negative act; it is relatively easy. Whereas, to do the same in a positive way often takes a lifetime of hard work and dedication. 

What possible good can come out of this? It should be used as an opportunity to teach children and young adults not to give in to these primal instincts to create havoc. Causing pain and suffering to others by acts of vandalism and other crimes.

Negative creativity comes easy and it may satisfy the basic instinct, but with a little more thought and effort these youngsters can engage in acts of kindness that are far more satisfying and rewarding in the long run 
 

                          

Friday
Jan072011

Smoking and Cycling

I have never smoked although growing up in the 1940s and 1950s it was an era when it seemed everyone smoked including many cyclists.

It was always strange to me to witness a finishing sprint in a race and then see many of the riders collapse exhausted at the side of the road and immediately light up a cigarette, usually followed by a bout of coughing.

The picture below I sure you have seen many times; it is from the early days of the Tour de France and shows the riders taking a cigarette break.

Below is a pretty cleaver modern day re-enactment of the above famous picture. Note the guy in the second row, center crouching down, and the rider further back holding up his water bottle.

In 1978 I was lucky enough to see Eddie Merckx race in London towards the end of his career. I was surprised to see him light up a cigarette at the finish line of the event. In later years I saw Merckx several times at various trade shows throughout the 1980s and witnessed him smoking several times.

This is how Eddie looks today.

Just kidding, that is not Eddie Merckx.

I couldn’t find any pictures of Eddie Merckx smoking, but here’s a shot (Below.) of Italian pro cyclist Mario Cipollini taking a drag while riding. Cipollini’s career highlights include World Road Championship and the Milan-San Remo in 2002.

 

Of course the whole key is, you have to start young.


The rest is just training.