SB Nation User Blog: JFS_PGH

Cyclist-wounding doctor wins acting award?

JFS_PGH — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:35:26 -0000

Cyclist-wounding doctor wins acting award?

This the the ER doc who slammed on his brakes after cutting in front of cyclists on a winding downhill (upper Mandeville Canyon Rd.) He now emotes and claims he wanted to get a picture so he could educate the cycling community. Luckily, there's also a 911 transcript. I suppost it'll come down to how deep bike hatred runs in the jury, I guess.

Lance to CA, not Giro (supposedly final)

JFS_PGH — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:43:53 -0000

Lance to CA, not Giro (supposedly final)

Italian press all a-twitter over his tweet. see also here.

Video from the Ghisallo--more trip description, locale pix, viddy and museum bike p*rn to folllow,...

JFS_PGH — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:44:45 -0000

Video from the Ghisallo--more trip description, locale pix, viddy and museum bike p*rn to folllow, once we have a faster internet connection. in case the HTML embed fails, the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UvcQ5toAq0

anti-bike legal stuff

JFS_PGH — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:31:13 -0000

anti-bike legal stuff

Bad idea compounded with a weak response. Where do drivers get the idea that it is more appropriate to remove cyclists than to slow down? And where do urban cyclists get the idea that cyclists, including both bike-as-transportation are recreational cyclists, don't exist outside of urban areas? Yeah, the skills needed to cycle safely and comfortably on rural roads are not quite identical to the skills needed to cycle safely and comfortably in city traffic. So what? They're both safe if done right, and dangerous if done wrong.

This is getting quite some coverage on Iowa radio, it seems.

there is no "i" in "team"--who can best say that with a straight face?

JFS_PGH — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:41:29 -0000

Of all the people to make the "there is no “i” in “team” comment, Lance wasn't the first to spring to my mind, or the second, for that matter. More specifically, Jens was the first, and Renshaw was the second. Use this space to give love to the rider(s) who, for you, most epitomize "team player." If that's too broad, you can limit it to the tour, or pick one guy per team, or a team that has fantastic "all for one and one for all" attitude. No rider is too obscure or too well-known (I think of some of Cancellara's mountain stage pulls, for example).

Despite my mild opening snark, I'd hope to keep this as a "white unicornish" thread--a lot of love. If you don't share someone's love (it's blind, so very blind), avert your eyes, and post a mash note of your own for another masher.

You, I, and conflict resolution

JFS_PGH — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:51:47 -0000

You, I, and conflict resolution

Some people will roll their eyes--doesn't everyone know this crap? Um...based on recent evidence? No comment.

Note that this is not about weakening an opinion. It's about a) not projecting onto others and b) not claiming that our opinion is fact. "I loathe kitties and puppies and Lance with a deep personal antipathy, and every word or yip or mew they produce grates on my brainstem"--that's an "I" statement, and no-one can (or rather, no-one should) challenge your right to have, and state, that visceral reaction.

"You must be nuts to hate apple pie or Cance's butt"--that's a you statement. And innocuous though it looks, it may rub the wrong way if someone is diabetic, or gluten-intolerant, or on a diet, or just doesn't like...apple pie.

If someone's wrong on a fact, correct that fact. If someone's "wrong" on tone, it's harder to correct. They may know that they commonly piss people off, but not have any sense that their conversational patterns are triggering the problem.

In general, remember to

a) speak for yourself, not for "people" or "everyone" or your state / country. Or at least, don't confuse the two.

b) avoid telling other people what's going on inside their heads or second guessing their motivations.If people wanted free, unsolicited psychoanalysis via blog post, they'd be logging in to ShrinkCafe.

c) distinguish between discussions (or attacks, even) on riders and discussions (or attacks) on people posting on this board.

d) if you use a rhetorical device or phrase that can be misread as an insult, and someone gets insulted, don't tell them they're idiots for being insulted. Re-read to see what you said and correct it, or go with "I said that badly, no insult intended."

e) de-escalation means you win.

f) White unicorn has sweetness. Black unicorn has wit. Embody one or the other most of the time, and much will be forgiven.

Just the PR cycling needs / warning to you pros

JFS_PGH — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:54:55 -0000

Just the PR cycling needs / warning to you pros

BBC is highlighting a new study about incredibly low rates of normal sperm in cyclists. Of course, they didn't look at RR pros, they looked at triathletes...Spanish Triathletes.

got italy / lombardy area bike info?

JFS_PGH — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:21:07 -0000

Details still sketchy, but spouse has a conference in Trento the week after the Giro de Lombardia, which is on Oct. 17. We're intending to do some bike touring the week before the GdL, so we'll be in shape to hit a couple of spots on the GdL route somehow...and then conference time.

We'll be flying into Venice or Verona (frequent flyer miles finally pay off!), then getting to Lombardy / Trento by some combination of bike & train. But what combination should that be? Train to a strategic location, then rent bike? Bike ASAP, then navigate trains with bike? Complicating matters, we're hoping to either rent a tandem in Italy (presumably not as falling-off-a-log easy as renting a couple of standard road or touring bikes) or ship a tandem (scary and potentially expensive). Anyone know the rules on tandems in Italian trains? (They were surprisingly unwelcome inotherwise bike-friendly Dutch trains.) Good vs. bad stretches of road? (Rolling terrain is ideal for tandems.) Best/worst camping options? Ideal bike rental spot / source?

Also, basic question...how do you say "tandem" in Italian, in a way that makes it clear you're talking about a bicycles, not, say, a romantic proposal?

Finally, while steephill and Cyclingfever both confirm the date for the GdL, I can't seem to find an actual official site for the race. Anyone know more?

Prisoner's Tour de France--WTF?

JFS_PGH — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:27:50 -0000

Prisoner's Tour de France--WTF?

It doesn't seem to be dated April 1, so I suppose it's real. But, WTF? And who's paying for the bikes? And how bad do I have to be to get put into prison in France within the next couple of weeks (or get hired as a guard)?

sicklist: Mollema has mono

JFS_PGH — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:41:08 -0000

Watch those water bottles, folks... and those fan smooches.

Mollema reports he has the Ziekte van Pfeiffer. Which appears to be that strength-sapping, spleen-weakening disease, Mono/EBV. Which is bad news for any sustained effort in the next few weeks (that's assuming antivirals are not on the drug ban list, otherwise, maybe longer).

Poor dude. Poor all of us with him on VDS, too. But at least he's got years in front of him.