Rural bicycle fatalities

Lisa Grace Marr’s recent article in the Hamilton Spectator (July 20) is entitled: “Bicycles provide workers with the freedom to move around. But they also spell danger on rural roadways.”

She goes on to state that 15,000 migrant farm workers come to Ontario each year, and that an estimated 10 to 14 of these workers die every year in roadside accidents while cycling or walking on the side of the road. However, it is difficult to gauge the scope of the problem because these accidents often occur after working hours and are classified as motor vehicle accidents by police. The author reports that some progress is being made to offer workers at least one bus ride weekly into a neighbouring town to make a phone call and pick up groceries, and avoid the use of bicycles and the higher risk that entails.

Well! Can anyone else spot the irony here? …
Ok, so here’s my take on it:

1. Implying that it is the act of bicycle riding that is the problem, and thus tragedy could be averted by driving in a motor vehicle.

What’s wrong with this? Let’s be more specific: the problem could be that the victims were riding in the dark without proper lights and reflectors, it could be that the pavement was rough and dangerous, that the roads were narrow and bordered by steep ditches, that the rider’s bicycle was in poor condition, that the drivers and/or riders were inattentive and not following proper roadway rules, that the motorists were aggressive and/or speeding, or a host of other possibilities.

To avert roadside accidents we need to determine the real cause or fault, and not be so short-sighted as to suggest that the use of bicycles should be avoided. After all, why not ban cars from rural roads? That would certainly reduce fatalities to near zero, cut greenhouse emissions, save gas money … you get the idea.

2. Luring foreign workers to Ontario for work which cannot be performed locally… because the wages are too meagre and the conditions too unsafe/ unsavoury, and then being cheap about letting them have one bus ride per week into the “city” to make a telephone call home.

Oh, that treatment is so distasteful that I don’t want to get into it!

3. I’m going to hazard a guess that many of these workers are too poor to own motor vehicles in their home country; thus, they don’t have much driving experience, and certainly they are not accustomed to sharing the road with perpetually rushed and short-sighted North Americans.

Why don’t we brief them on rules of the road? Why don’t we offer bike maintenance clinics to ensure they are riding on road-worthy and properly-sized equipment, and outfit them with lights and reflectors? Why don’t we keep harping on motorists to share the road with cyclists as required by law? And yes, why don’t we organize a few more bus rides to the necessary amenities? Is this really so hard!?

Code Lobster

I will depart from my usual blog fare today to vent about Code Lobster.

Now as it happens, I have been the subject of some gentle teasing with regard to… well I shall say, an old “crush” (oh do I ever hate that word!) on a member of the local cycling community. I have also been given the deadline of August 1^st to discover the marital status/ availability of the gentleman in question, and if availability is indeed established, to gauge potential interest. The project has been dubbed: “Code Lobster”.

Inasmuch as this is somewhat fun and diverting, it is not particularly my style. Actually my style is usually to do nothing and see what happens, which rarely produces the hoped-for result, but is significantly less awkward. And bashfulness aside, I’m not exactly sure the whole thing is a good idea anyways. I’m no star athlete, and still priding myself on the recent accomplishment of readjusting my bars and seat position without stripping the darn bolts. It was just yesterday that I finally managed to swim 300m non-stop, and faster than the 70-year-old in the lane next to me. I’m hardcore loving the triathlon experience, but definitely not a hardcore triathlete.

Kind of a weird juxtaposition then, eh? Plus, I've never been a fan of the aggressive girl approach; I think it gives the nicest guys the worst ideas. Gonna let that clock tick down, and other fish to fry...

Slowly Rolling

Last night, I flipped my stem over; this essentially dropped my bars by about 2cm. But that’s not the important thing… rather, I did this myself… without breaking anything! I haven’t ridden my bike yet however, so that will be the ultimate test of my (un)mechanical ability. I also adjusted the aerobars, painstakingly, millimetre by millimetre… to try and find the perfect spot for my long-suffering wrist. Why is my left wrist a hotbed of pain, while my right is ok? Has all the jar-lid twisting I’ve done in my life made my right a seething mass of muscle?

I seriously doubt it.

So here I am, fitter than last year and yet… mysteriously… slower. I’ve had multiple bike fits and traded a few parts, and definitely spent a few bucks. I’m about the same weight in mass, but have a bit more muscle. What is slowing me down?

This isn’t so much fun anymore, not as much as it used to be. I used to go on rides with buddies on hybrids and mountain bikes just for fun, sit on the pier and have a snack, go touring and get lost somewhere near the airport and follow the planes home. I used to get funky sunburn lines and not care what I wore. I used to take a break at Timmy’s and walk in there all sweaty and dirty and ask for a bagel and an Iced Cap, then sit on the curb and chat with my friend. I used to sit up and enjoy the scenery or ride no-hands and now I’m always looking at the computer, or the cyclist in front of me, feeling my legs and lungs give out and wondering what the hell is going wrong.

I’ve gone to see sports docs and physiotherapists and massage therapists. I’ve tried to put all the stuff that is non-sport related out of the way. I’ve even tried to defeat the fact that I’m a girl, and no research on the ECP has conclusively proved that athletic performance is hindered in any significant way. And yet I still roll along, slower and sadder.

I need to re-bond with my bike.

Go go go

By 1:30 PM today, I had already:

• Biked up to Champlain Lookout (about 60km in total)
• Walked/ jogged about 8 km
• Had a medical appt
• Attended a meeting at work for two hours
• Had a swim coaching session

Adrenaline is keeping me going … needless to say, it was an early start …