South Bay weekly round-up
June 1, 2016 § 10 Comments
Off to the races, or rather, back from them …
- Heartfelt victory: Bart Clifford of Surf City Cyclery won the Barry Wolfe 45+ crit on Sunday, an event he’s been trying to win for years. Bart lost his daughter when she was only fifteen, and Thousand Oaks was a place filled with memories for him as he and his daughter lived not far from the current race course. We spoke the day after the race; no words can do justice to what he’s been through, or what it means for any parent to lose a child. Hats off to you, Bart. WE LOVE YOU.
- Shout it from the rooftops: The City of Palos Verdes Estates has a traffic safety committee meeting on Wednesday, June 1, at 7:30 PM. Show up and tell these folks that we won’t tolerate any more violence against cyclists in their supposedly “safe” city. Agenda here.
- Crime reporters: Several cyclists have shown up at various law enforcement agencies and filed reports for assault with a deadly weapon. That’s what it’s called when a car tries to hit you and fails. Here’s a link to an editable Word doc that you can use to file your own crime report when a driver tries to hit you. Whether the police investigate the crime or not, the report becomes a statistic that they’re required to report annually to the FBI, and statistics, unlike cyclist lives, matter.
- Licking their wounds: South Bay racers returned from masters nationals in North Carolina deploring the horrific crash-fest designed by the incompetent, greedy boobs at USAC. The local ER went into triage as a result of the bloodbath, and the idiots at USAC didn’t even bother to inform the hospital that there was a race the day of the crits. My lone appearance at masters nationals in Bend convinced me that as crazy as I am, I’m not crazy enough to do a race where there are half a dozen big crashes in a 60-minute crit. Jeff Koontz writes a very restrained criticism of what was a shitshow put on by a confederacy of dunces.
- Rise again: Local South Bay artist, icon, and lifelong cyclist Steve Shriver is on the mend after a horrific collision on PCH. So great to know that this gentle and talented guy is going to be back. Also cheers to local rider Marvin Campbell, back on his bike after a horrific collision last year in which he was hit by a car.
- Pizza and crime reports: South Bay cycling club Big Orange is going to put on a workshop for crime reporting so that you can have the tools of the trade at your fingertips when some asshat tries to kill you for exercising your legal right to ride in the road. Details coming soon.
- Top of the heap: South Bay cycling club Big Orange, according to USAC stats, has the most wins/podiums/race entries of any club in Southern California. Just sayin’!
- Bragging rights (but not worth falling off your bicycle for, please): SoCal elderly fellows’ state crit championships happen on June 12, courtesy of the occasionally courteous Chris Lotts and CBR. Come on down and watch the people who always win, win again. The flyer’s not up or I’d post it. Special guest: My 7-month-old grandson.
- So fly: I got a Cycliq Fly-12 handlebar-mounted video cam. It records for 10 hours on an infinite loop, installs easily, and will get its first test tomorrow morning, which is the day off that I’m not going to ride at all, not even a little bit except for maybe just a touch. You know, stretch the legs, recover from the racing, record some crimes …
It’s beginning to look a lot like “cockpit.” And Peyton, is 200 Nm’s too much for those carbon bars?
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Cycling in the South Bay 
Small typo maybe, but 200 nanometers (nm) is nothing to brag about. 200 Newton meters (Nm) IS a force for change though! I could go on about how your carbon isn’t really 100% carbon, but with climate change still debated I figure there’s little point.
Hahaha! I wouldn’t know a Newton meter if it fell off a tree and whacked me in the head. Fixing now!
Come on down and watch the people who always win, win again.
Funny how that works. Just after the first realization hits, you walk into your garage with all the bike stuff. Right at that moment the full scale of the futility of being average strikes.
I read a funny/insightful post about that the other day. I’ll try finding the link.
No. 9 — Thanks for walking the walk.
That was for you, sir.
With reference to the Traffic Safety Committee Meeting Agenda, Old Business Staff Report, Actions for 812 Via Del Monte. I wonder how many of the speeding vehicles were bicycles?
This committee has “lame” stamped all over it.
Assuming the TSC meeting is at their city hall. Accordion to goggle maps it’s there behind the fire station.
That’s a question.
Yes, in the city council chambers.