Saturday, October 17, 2009

need for speed at Bike DC



Bike DC 2009.  Rainy, windy, 46 degrees F'ing.  These are the days when I prefer to ride fast.  Only the anticipation of a good rip like at the Crystal Ride got me out of bed at 6:30 am Saturday morning.  While Bike DC is not a race, what's wrong with a little speed?  Riding at 25 mph is more fun than riding at 15 mph.

Bike DC put local bike racing legend David "Super Dave" Osborne and his Artemis teammates at the front.  They apparently had instructions to keep the pace under 15 mph.  Osborne could have ridden the course at 30 mph...on his full-suspension mountain bike.  Everyone was also required to stop, in the cold, in the rain, at the rest stop 7 miles into the 25 mile ride.  That's no fun. Why not allow riders to motor where conditions are safe for it?  Even better, why not have Super Dave lead the ride at, say, 70% of his race effort?  Many local cyclists would be thrilled just to try to hang with him at a reasonably challenging pace.

Overall Bike DC was very well organized.  Spectators actually were out on road about 8:30 am and cheered the cyclists along.  Bike DC went by the Capitol and by the White House.  It had a nice climb to the National Cathedral.   At that point, I decided that I did not want to stop at a rest stop and I did not want to continue riding so slowly.  So I went home and back to bed.  I slept from a little after 9am to 11am.  Very enjoyable.  Sleeping can be more fun than cycling!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Ode Street Tribune seems to mix up news and editorial opinion. The factual news about Bike DC was very interesting. I was impressed that Bike DC had rest stops for older riders and the less experienced riders. The mixed-in editorializing by the author who must be an experienced and young rider would have been better if it was placed in a separate article entitled "Young Athletic Riders do no Want to be Hindered by Older and Slow riders"
--- comment by a faithful reader --

Douglas Galbi said...

The problem is that our whole editorial staff and our whole reporting staff are joined in one body. If our faithful readers could raise a few million dollars to support this worthy enterprise, we could hire separate staff and buy them separate disks and separate chairs, too.

Anonymous said...

I am surprised that the editor of the Ode Street Tribune is seeking to become "main stream" by raising "a few million dollars". It is hard to believe that the editor of the Ode Street Tribune wants to turn this hard hitting news outlet into just another one of the Old Time Media Outlets that has "profit" as its main objective. If the Ode Street Tribune is successful in raising a "a few million dollars" I fear the pioneering spirit that has given the Ode Street Tribune its character will be lost. I hope it does not happen!

Douglas Galbi said...

Good points, anon, but don't worry, it won't happen. The Ode Street Tribune will always be an unprofitable enterprise. The appreciation of readers like you helps to keep it running.