Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycling, bike, Dave Zabriskie, Floyd Landis, Francisco Mancebo, Miller Motorsports, mountain, Snowbird, Stage 3, Stage 4, time trial, Tour de France, Tour of Utah, utah, Yellow Jersey
I was able to catch two stages of the 2009 Tour of Utah last week. Stage 3 was an individual time trial held at Miller Motorsports Park, and Stage 4 was a brutal 96 mile cross country ride ending at Snowbird ski resort. Here are some pictures…
Tour de France alumnus Floyd Landis warming up for the Stage 3 time trial:
A local rider representing Canyon Bicycles finishing the Stage 3 time trial:
Lance Armstrong?… No, but a rider for the Trek team with a very cool looking outfit:
Yellow Jersey holder Francisco Mancebo looking relieved to finish the brutal 10 mile climb up to Snowbird at the end of Stage 4:
Floyd Landis finishes Stage 4:
Dave Zabriskie, fresh off of the 2009 Tour de France, finishes Stage 4:
The winners of Stage 4 on the podium:
Francisco Mancebo, who went on to win the Tour of Utah, with the Yellow Jersey at the end of Stage 4:
Attending these races was a lot of fun! I had never been to a bike race before, and wasn’t sure what to expect. The atmosphere was very casual and open, and spectators were free to walk around and visit with the teams. There were some incredible bikes, and lots of excitement in the air. I look forward to next year.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycle, bike, cold, commuting, comute, Florida, snow, utah, vacation, warm, weather
Well, I’m clearly past due on another post. I have been home from Christmas vacation for over a week now, but it has taken me a while to get back in the groove of day to day life.
I was in Florida while on vacation, and it was interesting to see the differences in the biking environment compared to my home in Utah. Here are some things I noticed:
- The roads are a lot less bike friendly. Lots of high traffic roads with no bike lanes and small shoulders.
- The drivers seemed less bike friendly as well. I didn’t ride at all while I was there, so this is kind of an assumption based on my observations, and some conversation with a Florida bicyclist.
- In spite of the above, I saw a lot of bicyclists. Large, small, old, young, rich, poor… bicyclists of all types were everywhere.
- A lot of the bicyclists I saw were riding on the sidewalk, often going against traffic. Maybe this was a response to the less than optimal riding space on the roads.
So I have to give props to all you Florida bicyclists, but I’m glad I get to ride in Utah.
It was good to get home after being gone for over two weeks, but it has been a struggle to get back in the saddle on a regular basis.
It was 9 degrees last Monday when I ventured out for my first ride of the new year. Wow, that was my coldest ride yet, and yes… that was COLD! I got creative with my clothing and added a couple of extra layers. Some parts of me were too warm, some parts were just right, and some parts were numb. Add that to the fact that I felt pretty tired after not riding for a couple of weeks, and Monday’s ride was not very enjoyable.
I ended up working from home the rest of the week due to weather, so I haven’t ridden since then, but I’m planning on riding tomorrow morning. Temps are supposed to be in the high 20s. Hmmm… maybe bicycling in Florida wouldn’t be so bad after all. 🙂
Happy New Year, and thanks for reading.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: beauty, bicycle, bike, commute, commuting, sunset, utah, Wasatch
There was a beautiful sunset while I was riding home yesterday…
Since the days are shorter this time of year it means that I often end up riding when the daylight is either coming or going. That is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s been a slow process, but I’m learning to take more time to stop and smell the roses (enjoy the sunsets?). I hope you enjoy your ride today.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycle, bike, cold, commute, commuting, snow, utah, weather, winter
It has been snowing almost non-stop for the last eight hours.
I’m working from home today, so I didn’t ride my bike in this, but I wanted to give you a perspective on how deep the snow is getting. I probably have 8-10” of snow outside my house right now, and I have heard rumors that there are 3 feet or more up in the mountains… and it is still going strong.
It would seem that the first snow storm of the year has come to Utah in a big way. This is great for my snowboarding, but not so great for my bike riding. Maybe later this afternoon I’ll put my gear on and try riding around the neighborhood a bit to get a feel for riding in the snow. It will give the neighbors something to talk about while they are out shoveling their driveways. 🙂
UPDATE: Snowbird just announced that they have enough snow that they will be open this Friday! That is the second earliest opening in the resort’s 38 year history. Yes! (And no, I will not be riding my bike up Little Cottonwood Canyon to get there)
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycle, bike, bike transit center, cars, commuting, FrontRunner, light rail, news, Salt Lake City, transportation, uta, utah, utah transit authority
Our local mass transit agency, the Utah Transit Authority, made a bold proposal last night in favor of Bicycle Commuters. They held an open house to get public opinion about building a “Bike Transit Center” with indoor parking and all kinds of amenities for use by bike commuters.
According to their website:
A bicycle transit center is more than a few bike racks. It’s a resource that reinvents the park-and-ride lot for bicycle transportation. Bicycle transit centers could feature secure indoor bike parking, bicycle repairs, bike rentals, showers, a shop for bike accessories and refreshments, and cycling information including maps, classes, registration and more. A bicycle transit center has the ability to add more cyclists to streets and to transit like no other public amenity can.
The UTA recently opened a light rail system here called FrontRunner, and they have had so many bike commuters riding light rail that they have had to remove some seats to make room for the bicycles. Ever since gas prices have gone up there has been a large increase in those commuting by bike in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas. According to a local newspaper:
The number of Utahns who use their bikes as commuting vehicles has increased. "Gas prices probably have something to do with it, but there has been a skyrocketing number of bicyclists out there," said Carrie Bohnsack-Ware, UTA spokeswoman.
"At one point, somebody in the office counted 23 bikes in one door of FrontRunner," Bohnsack-Ware said. "They were piling them on. And you know it’s not fair to riders without bicycles because they are having a hard time getting on and off. But then, we don’t want to say ‘no bicycles."’
UTA will study surveys it distributed Tuesday to determine how many people ride and what inconveniences block bicycling.
The bike transit center is "really preliminary," Bohnsack-Ware said. "There’s no money. We have no money yet to do anything."
The local Fox News affiliate did a story with some video here.
I’m encouraged that our local agencies are taking Bike Commuting so seriously. There are obviously some people there who have a vision for what kind of difference bicycles could make for public transportation. Unfortunately it looks like the budgeting and proposed timeline mean we won’t be seeing this facility anytime soon.
Drive My Bike 