According to a news article from The Daily Review, Alameda County in Northern California is proposing a law that would require “organizations with advertised rides and 50 or more riders” to pay costly fees for permits and informational road signs along the route.
The article states that “For years, bands of bicycle riders have irritated residents living along rural roads”.
County Supervisor Nate Miley said “we want people to ride bicycles, and not to impose unfair burdens on people who live along (rural) roadways.”
Is it really an “unfair burden” for local drivers to have to slow down for a few seconds, and be a little more careful when driving? I’m not sure how they are measuring this “burden” that these “bands of bicycle riders” are causing.
Should bicyclists pay extra for their right to travel on public roads than other road users? The Supreme Court has stated that the right to travel “is a right that has been firmly established and repeatedly recognized”, and went on to say that the right to travel “is a right broadly assertable against private interference as well as governmental action.”
I’m not a lawyer, but it seems like these types of laws that aim to restrict groups of people from traveling on the road is a slippery slope. There is a lot of traffic on the freeway that is a burden to a lot of people. Maybe the government should set up checkpoints and charge people extra if it is determined that your car trip isn’t as nessesary as someone elses. Not a good idea.
I wonder how many of the complaints are due to organized tours versus your average weekend club ride with groups smaller than 50 riders. This type of law is only going to cause a burden on charity rides, and probably will not do much to solve conflicts between bicyclists and local residents who think bicyclists shouldn’t be on the road.
In response to a lawsuit due to a bicyclist that was killed in the RAGBRAI bicycle ride, supervisors in Dallas County, Iowa are set to vote on an ordinance that “would require liability insurance for any organized bicycle ride featuring 20 riders or more.”
Just how this would effect less “organized” cycling club group rides is unknown, but it could have a big impact on any charity rides, bicycle tours, or road races in Iowa.
As usual, the comments associated with the news article bring out the cries from the anti-bike crowd to require insurance and license fees for all cyclists.
The Boston Herald reports Cycling surges in Mass., fueled by high gas prices. Are gas prices providing extra motivation to drive less and make more trips by bike? A lot of recreational and club cyclists like to put their bike on the car rack and drive to the meeting place a group ride, or to an area where roads are more bike friendly. I know at least one person I talked to recently said they were doing more rides starting from home instead of driving to group rides, and I’m sure the price of gas will turn some of the “fitness” cyclists into “transportation” cyclists.
I just saw the preview for this film today while watching Paris-Roubaix. The Flying Scotsman is a movie about Graeme Obree who broke the World Hour Record by adopting a unique aerodynamic position on the bike. MGM is listing The Flying Scotsman as opening in the following North American cities on May 4th: Boston, Chicago, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Washington DC.
Overall I’d say this is a must see film, one that has so much heart and emotion that before you know it you’re tied emotionally to the characters and willing each forward. They’ve all been written so well on the screen and MacKinnon has done a wonderful job of bringing Obree’s passion to film. I must admit that I was so captured by the character of Obree that I found myself close to tears at some moments of triumph, darkness and his confession. A must see movie.
NBA superstar LeBron James has acquired minority ownership of Cannondale according to USA Today. Don’t look for James to be the suiting up for the Tour de France, but he says he does use a bike for cross training.
Cannondale is one of the premier cycling companies in the industry,” James said Monday in a statement. “Biking is an extremely important part of my training routine, and I like to invest in what I know.”
The deal came a day after the world’s second richest man Warren Buffett came to see James play. Maybe there is a connection there? I don’t know if I will be investing in Cannondale, but I was considering buying one of their tandems.
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