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Congratulations to the legend on legs, Francis Laros, who finished today's NYRR Knickerbocker 60k (that's 37.2 for you Americans keeping score at home) in 4:41:19. That effort was good for 6th overall (in a field of 270 finishers), and clocked in at an average of 7:33 per mile. Apparently Francis didn't get the memo about needing time to recover after his 2:41 NYC Marathon two weeks ago, nor did he get the one about how he's supposed to slow down now that he's 48. In fact Francis not only won his age group, but was the first finisher over the age of 35.
I am always proud of our team. Never more than at our annual Beer Mile this past Friday, where we witnessed a tight race in both the men's and women's fields.
The Official Unofficial City Coach Beer Mile all-time records are still held by Naterator and Leanne, both of whom were on hand but not racing.
Some of the beers may not have been in compliance with Beer Mile regulations, which makes them ineligible for consideration at beermile.com, but all are listed below.
WOMEN
MEN
Earlier this season, our good friends Buzunesh Deba and Worku Beyi stopped by for brunch. Buzu had (of course) just won the the UAE Healthy Kidney race. While I'm sure that those grueling 130-mile training weeks in the hills of Van Cortlandt Park contributed something to her success, I'd like to think that the waffles that I served were the primary cause of her second place finish at this weekend's NYC Marathon.
Doesn't this photo make me look like some sort of royalty flanked by two fastest citizens? (For the record, Buzu chose to drape her scarf around me, even though I was undeserving.)
Congratulations again to Buzu for her spectacular race.
Irresponsible & Unbalanced Writing from the New York Daily News
Let me state a couple of things very clearly. First, there are bonehead cyclists who make things bad for everyone. I am not defending them nor am I suggesting that they don't exist. Second, the accidents mentioned in the article were tragic. But that doesn't make the News' reporting any less slanted and irresponsible.
First and foremost, the article is accompanied by a large photo of a cyclist in his sponsor's uniform. The photo shows a reading of 31 mph (6 mph above the legal speed limit) on the radar gun pointed at the rider. But it's clear that the rider in the photo is going at a leisurely pace up a hill, and is obviously not doing 31 mph, and not breaking the law. (Furthermore, the woman pictured walking with a stroller is in the bike lane and is in violation of Park regulations.) This is roughly akin to writing a story about a lawbreaking motor vehicle and then including a photo of a commercial van - complete with company logos - that had no involvement with the accident. It's a disservice to the rider and to his team.
Speaking of lawbreaking motor vehicles, I'll be happy to meet one or more of the four intrepid reporters who wrote this piece in Prospect Park one day. We can use their radar gun and see how many cars exceed the speed limit. They say they witnessed eight cyclists speeding in four hours. It wouldn't take four minutes to find eight speeding cars. (And if they want to talk about dangerous, I'll happily give them a physics lesson on the forces created by a 2000+ pound car vs. those created by a 20+ bike and its rider.) They'll also find numerous drivers illegally cutting through the transverses, walkers and runners in bike lanes, and lots of other infractions that endanger park users.
The News states "two women were nearly killed in collisions with bicyclists in Prospect Park in the last six months — but that hasn't slowed down riders, the Daily News has found" but it's not until paragraph 15 that they mention that she may have been at fault and that the cyclist has countersued her.
If the four authors are too lazy to look it up, I'll tell them how many pedstrians are killed by cars vs. how many are killed by cyclists in this city. And if they decide to take a break from making broad generalizations about cyclists, perhaps they can report on the dangers that we face and how the authorities ignore them. As brooklynspoke.com points out, "the same police force that says 'accidents happen' when explaining away its decision to not investigate the death of a cyclist killed by a hit-and-run truck driver apparently doesn’t apply that philosophy to accidents involving bicycles. Not only that, it now has the resources to station officers and vehicles in the park for hours on end to educate cyclists and enforce slower, safer riding."
No doubt that cyclists need to do better, but that in no way excuses the News for its biased reporting.
Posted at 05:36 PM in Coach's Comments, Cycling Advocacy | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)