The LeMond Trek Ordeal: Will the Accusations Finally Come to an End?

The Internet has been rife with opinions about the latest out of court settlement between Greg Lemond and Trek Bicycles.

Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and the Trek Bicycle Corporation reached an agreement in a nearly two year breach-of-contract dispute.

It started with public statements by Lemond accusing Lance Armstrong, seven time Tour de France winner of using illegal performance enhancing drugs. He did so in front of me and hundreds of other people at Interbike in 2008. Those comments were not only unsubstantiated, in effect they were defaming. Those were the tip of the iceberg. Lemond was quoted often in the press making statements about Armstrong's drug use.

Trek is to have said in court documents that Lemond's statements made Trek customers angry, and although Armstrong is not a Trek spokesman, he is the primary rider being sponsored by the company. In the 2009 Tour de France, Lance had more than 10 bikes made by the company, seven of them decorated by famous artists, among them Damien Herst.

First Trek moved to sever its relationship with Lemond, with whom they have been working since 1995 to manufacture bikes with his name. Then Lemond countersued claiming breach of contract.

The terms of the settlement, which came just a month before the case was scheduled to go before a jury in a federal court in Minnesota, are confidential. But a joint statement shows that Trek has agreed to make a contribution to a charitable organization with which LeMond is affiliated.

As a result of the settlement, Trek has stopped  manufacturing Lemond bikes altogether.

LeMond's attorney, James DiBoise, told the Daily News that Trek will donate $200,000 to 1in6.org, an organization that supports victims of sexual abuse. A $100,000 installment was expected to be given within 10 days of the settlement, with the remainder a year later.

But let's forget about the facts for a second and focus on sentiment. The entire event has become a lightening rod for repressed public opinion on either side of the dispute. The forum on cyclingnews.com, the emails on e-bikes in New York, and even opinions published by bike shops who have been selling the Lemond brand of bikes for years--show that people in the sport feel very strongly about the public show of division between these two great riders.

And according to each person's sympathy, not only the facts, but also the rights and obligations of either side has been obscured by personal opinion often guided by sentiment, not fact.

One one side there are ardent supporters of Lemond's right to "voice his opinion," as if it were a God given right to do so.Those same people are flaming the Internet with repeated allegations--again, none of them resulting in an official finding--of drug use.

The pictures I am showing here were taken by me at the 2008 presser at Interbike when Lance announced that we was returning to racing. Lemond sat in the front row and repeatedly made public statements about Lance's VO2 max and how it was impossible for him to have such numbers.

It seemed like the presser was to go nowhere---and after about 10 minutes of Lemond trying to steer the entire event to his issue, Armstrong finally asked him to stop.  After the presser, journalists wagged their heads and lamented what had happened to the once great rider, Lemond.  Had he gone insane?

In this country it is a constitutional right to speak out against our government, but not so against other people, especially if it is not true.

If that weren't so, you could bad mouth your enemies publicly with no retribution. Now wouldn't that be easy? I don't like you, or what you represent so I tell everyone that you've been diagnosed with AIDS or are a psychopath. That is why private persons have the protection of slander laws, so they can take bad mouthing liars to court and either have punitive fines assessed, or put you in jail.
While public persons--like Armstrong--do not share the same strength of protection, they ARE protected from statements which are false. In this case, Lemond's statements have never borne any fruit in any test or official finding and therefore are false.

The difference between a newspaper reporter reporting allegations and making allegations should be obvious--you can always report what someone says if they seem to have some sort of good reason to say it, but you can't say it yourself unless you have something to back it up with. But even reporters and the media have been sued for reporting someone's allegations, if they didn't suss them out properly.

And it makes no difference how many reporters printed other persons' allegations about Lance's alleged drug use--those allegations have never reached the level of proof.


Therefore on even the most elemental level, Lemond could be sued in civil court by Armstrong himself, who could show the many times that Lemond publicly defamed him without proof, and he could ostensibly win a settlement. In the case of a public persona like Armstrong, he would have to prove that Lemond made these statements with malicious intent.

But these legal actions never even came close to examining whether Lemond defamed Armstrong, even though to millions of onlookers he might have. The original suit against Lemond maintained that he hurt the Lemond and Trek brands, as well as one of its primary sponsored racers, possible the most famous man in cycling today.

And that in turn hurt sales of Trek bicycles.

Lemond's lawyers made the assertion that he was never "told" that he could not voice his opinion of Lance Armstrong. But anyone who has ever worked for any company knows that badmouthing your company, your boss, or its most important symbol is not only bad for business but likely to get you fired.

So what was he thinking? Apparently he wasn't.

Lemond's own closet is hardly clean--allegations of his repeated drug use and womanizing during his hey day (while his wife sat at home) are numerous, including one source who told me he bedded an underage girl on one Tour stage and was punched in the face the next day by her furious boyfriend. That day he said he was too sick to ride the stage, reported my source.

So should now Lance Armstrong go around saying that Lemond is a sexual abuser? To do so would be crazy.

J. D. Salinger: Our New Hampshire Neighbor (c)

J.D. Salinger the famous and reclusive author whose 1951 novel, "The Catcher in the Rye," became a symbol for young and old alike has died at the age of 91.

The author died Wednesday of natural causes at his home in New Hampshire, according to a family statement that his literary agent, Phyllis Westberg, provided Thursday, according to CNN.

And so a page turns in my life too, because for many years we lived next door to Mr. Salinger in Cornish, New Hampshire. He was friendly with my stepfather and mother and a good neighbor, polite, but quiet and not very social.

As young children we used to catch glimpses of him as he rode past our house in his truck, or when we walked past his. We were even friends with his daughter, Margaret, though we never saw the infamous Joyce Maynard who reputedly had an affair with him when she was a college student. 

There were four of us kids until my little brother was born, then there were five. We spent hours talking about Salinger's little house in the woods where he used to go write for hours, but we were too scared to go look for it: the woods were deep there, and our chickens had been killed off one by one when they wandered away.

We even convinced my stepfather Stefan to build us a similar house, though of course it was much closer to our house, and very little writing was done there--more like messing up.

This is the place on earth where we had to suffer the indignity of going to school for the first time, and we hated it. It was about 1 mile away, past the Salinger House, past the Day farm, and down the hill to the right. We were dragged in crying mightily, and that's where we learned how to sing our A, B, C's.

Stefan was a filmmaker and visiting professor of film at Dartmouth College then (as well as professor of film at Columbia University), and he used to talk about Salinger's books and how they were burned in a "famous movie." When I was finally old enough, "The Catcher in the Rye" was assigned to me at school. 

I had a hard time connecting the book to the man. He seemed tall and quiet, polite even. We lived a gorgeous existence in New Hampshire, surrounded by our occasional chickens and goats and goat yogurt, many winters spent skiing till our fingers froze at Mt. Ascutney, and endless days swimming in our pond which was halfway between our house and Salinger's.

Birds trilled endlessly, and later, when we were grown, Stefan's horses C'est Si Bon and her daughter grazed gracefully in the abundant alfafa meadows he had planted.  

There were no neighbors on either side of Salinger or of us, except perhaps more than a quarter mile on his side.

That was the farm of Mr. Day whose land was long ago sold off to a man who turned the property into a site for his home overlooking the tremendous views west over the mountains and towards the Connecticut River and Vermont. Turns out that man was Salinger himself.

The old barn sat across the road empty and unused as a testimony to the days of farming when land and human beings had a strong relationship. 

Now the barn is little more than a marker to the bend in the road, a backstage to the grazing deer in the twilight that we saw the day after Stefan died.

A few miles down the road in the other direction, towards the Connecticut River and the old covered bridge leading to Windsor, Vt., were and still are the famous grounds of Saint Gaudens where we would go listen to beautiful classical music concerts on the grass. Well, we didn't really listen, we just monkeyed around the sweeping grounds while our parents tried to.

We visited the old family house this past summer, where my stepsister now still lives. The old barn was still up, the house had changed dramatically, with additions added almost like rabbit warrens.

I was with my real father and stepmother---Stefan died a few years ago, and was buried on his own land. When we returned to the car, I had a huge flat tire: a massive stone had punctured it. We walked over to the old red Salinger house to seek help. No one was home, but we had a short conversation with two men who were working on the house.  

We were so far up in the hills reception was really poor, and my phone kept going in and out. The workers at least had some phone reception and we called AA to come change the tire, since I did not have the proper equipment to change it. The Salinger house was as I remembered it--nestled into the curve of the road, at an angle to the view of the mountains, like a little house on the edge of a rainbow.

Our pond had changed a lot--it was overgrown all around, and I remembered the big cook outs we used to have with all our friends, and how I used to get thrown into the water by the handsome Hier boys who lived not too far away. 

I remembered how when my uncle Andrei used to come visit.  He was a pole vaulter as a young lad, and used to get the biggest, longest stick he could find--Olympic length-- and vault into the pond.

One day Andrei, forever adventurous, took his two very young boys down the Connecticut River in our canoe. Next we know, he had gone down the waterfalls--I still don't know where those are--near the covered bridge, and all came close to losing their lives. They lost the canoe, but we found it parked in someone's back yard adjacent to the river a few days later.

Behind the house, we used to go to the border of the fields below, spreading out in all directions, and dig into the soil, finding turn-of-the-19th-century-old bottles and other prizes.

On the way back to the house we ate blackberries until our tongues, lips and fingers were stained purple.  My mother Jagna made jam out of the berries, and cooked home made whole wheat bread. She taught us how to dance and we put on entire productions in the living room to the tune of Tchaikovsky's Peter and the Wolf.  I chased the young chickens with a grill--it was all in jest--until one day when they were grown up they cornered me when I was alone and flew up to peck at my face.

Stefan made an old English hand stock and used to threaten us with 17th century torture if did anything wrong. Of course we weren't naughty because no one wanted to be stuck in the stock. But that too, was one of Stefan's big jokes. 

And so with the death of Salinger, passes another great person, and with him, a wondrous way of life. This was the beauty of New Hampshire, but the way it was, is gone forever.

Where Have all the Sidewalks Gone?

Having lived in New York City most of my life, I never gave much thought to sidewalks.

They were almost always there--at least in Manhattan--and one could always find a relatively safe place to walk, with the minor exception of pigeon waste droppings, occasional suicide landings, and the infrequent though often devastating car-curb-hopping, pedestrian-pinning and killing.

All of those events happen at such low rates, one begins to feel that sidewalks are a God Given Right to the Safety of Pedestrians.

And so they are: except for everywhere else.

Once you leave the city, you learn that many communities only expect people to walk--well, if not on the street, then maybe on peoples' lawns in order to get where they are going. Mostly they only expect people without cars--read--"poor people"--to walk. This is true even in Fort Lee, right over the George Washington Bridge, not even a mile from New York City.

It's a prejudice successfully engrained in every little car owner's brain by the years of automobile industry marketing that a person is not whole without 3 tons of steel, to the point where a walker is not only lower class, but a loser. And indeed, because of the danger of car drivers and the lack of sidewalks, they actually are.

Last week I was visiting Bethesda, MD, a small semi-suburb of Washington, DC. You might expect with $650K plus homes, this would be the place where pedestrian safety, especially for children walking to school, would be king. But sidewalks in the community called Westgate suddenly begin and end as if there was no logic to the universe. And there definitely is no logic there.

Children walk to school in the streets, with motorists, however driving slowly on the back streets, barely come by the children's little feet, or their dogs who are in tow.

Hit hard by the recession, the town of Upper Freehold, NJ, a community in southern New Jersey is now considering alternatives to busing their students to school in order to save money.

Upper Freehold children who live less than 2 miles from their local school but do not have a safe way to get to school--read--no sidewalks--are bused to school every day at the cost of $100,000 a year, reported the Examiner on January 7.

Only 412 students are bused those less than 2 miles, which means it costs the municipality about $242.72 per student to send them to school by bus. Some students actually cost more than others, either because of the type of bus, the number of students being serviced per bus, or the actual school they are going to and its total trip distance.


Upper Freehold's Mayor Steve Alexander said the town would consider building sidewalks, but would not do so if they thought the "children might not use them."  


At least one school, the high school which was recently rebuilt, will not be accessible by sidewalk because none are available to it, and none will be built. 

A Board of Education member Patricia Hogan who is quoted in the Examiner said, “Chances are elementary school parents will not let their children walk to school.”

The question is, how can anyone build a town without sidewalks?  It's like building a house without a roof, a second floor without a staircase, a nest without a tree, or a school without children. In the photo left, a house owner has spent thousands of dollars to build a sidewalk to their house. But you can bet they wouldn't want to spend a penny for their local town to build sidewalks for children to walk to school. 

And like a throwback to the days when we rode in covered wagons and carried guns, parents expressed concerns that their children might have to walk to school and "be subjected to places for bullying, sexual harassment, and criminal activities."


Superintendent of schools Dick Fitzpatrick said that sidewalks from the adjacent developments to the campus "could be lit and attended by a paraprofessional with a walkie-talkie." If there had been children--and parents--walking in the first place, they wouldn't need para-professionals or walkie-talkies, because the sidewalk would be in constant use and therefore safe as a community-based walk-through.


Outside of big, old cities like New York, the world is composed of steel wagons traversing one another's paths at great speed, never having the opportunity to say "Good day," never reading the expression on the other's face, never for once having a chance to glance down at what color one another is wearing, nor for a moment the chance to smell their perfume. 


Thanks to the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian News Digest sent by email from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center, of the Voorhees Transportation Center at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, for alerting me to this subject matter. To receive a once daily digest of listserv messages or to unsubscribe, go to: https://email.rutgers.edu/mailman/listinfo/nj_bikeped

More Bikes Appear in High Fashion

Well, we've been watching for a few years now, with select fashion models and so-called image icons riding around town casually on their bikes.

It's been a more or less three-year phenomenon, with bikes now coming into fashion so much so that the riders don't wear lycra, special shoes or even helmets when they dash around town.

Almost as if to add an exclamation point to the trend, February's issue of Harper's Bazaar has a whole spread with a model cycling with (or without) her pretend boyfriend.

It's actually an extremely tasteful spread with great looking, colorful clothing. The model is wearing high heels in all the pictures, as well as colorful skirts that would look really bad and in fact be ruined by a spot of grease.

To see this spread however, you'll have to buy the magazine on the newstands, because this particular fashion piece is not online.

One clear indicator that fashion still has no idea what cycling is, the bikes they used are not a well known brand, and all of them appear to be steel three speeds. Possibly this is because it was the only bike brand they could get for free for the shoot.


A little investigation revealed that the bike brand Linus currently makes four  models of bikes, and the one used by the Harper's Bazaar model in one picture is a three speed with back pedals for brakes!  She's wearing high heels and one foot planted on the ground! Now that makes for a good back story.

However, you have to give Harper's Bazaar credit for the choice of the bike. On the Linus Bike website, they write that this model, the Roadster Classic, is a "stripped down, elegant ride is the bicycle in its purest form...a simple, clean profile inspired by French and Italian cinema from the 50’s and 60’s."

That it is: with its steel, cream colored, narrow frame, and rounded handlebars with leather look brown handles, they have a look of real elegance. And their price at $389 is definitely democratic, with the most expensive bike on their site about $550. Still I wonder how many chicas in high heels will be able to pedal backwards to stop.

The use of a low cost bike is also a warm welcome from previous attempts by the fashion industry to throw fashion at the art of bike manufacture by creating expensive bikes that have more fashion incorporated in their frames than function.

Chanel's $17,000 bike was resold on some sites for up to $28,000 reported the Purse Blog. Most of the extras on the bike were made to ensnare fashionistas, like fancy bags and handlebars.

But little could be said about the clunky-looking frame. Okay, it has nice fenders, and a great looking pump and a classic 1940's style lamp on the front, but hardly worth the chunk of change being asked.

There was also the Hermes bicycle for about $3,500, admittedly with gorgeous WWII lines, a sweepingly rounded top tube, and retro dark steel colors with luggage brown accessories and details. That bike had great looks, but was heavy and not the kind of bike you could book away from a speeding vehicle with.

Gucci also came out with a $6,300 bike, much less attractive than the Hermes, though it has the Gucci name on the side--a big seller for Gucci slaves. But it's hard to imagine real Gucci fashionistas getting on a bike, let alone walking down the street in their towering spike heels. Hailing a cab or stepping into a limo is more like it. And what with all the sweat, and the cars! Oh my! I have yet to see a Gucci horse sporting a Gucci bike.

That difficult relationship is also reflected in the inherent contradiction of the bikes themselves. With prices all over the place and no clear relationship between price and the function or design of the bicycle and its components, it's no wonder that making fashion bikes went out of fashion as quickly as it came in.

That's not to say that Louis Vuitton wasn't a trend setter in integrating bicycles with fashion. Much of the emphasis on bike and fashion at Vuitton comes from LVMH chairman Renaud Dutreil who rides a black Dutch Gazelle bicycle to work every day in his pinstripes.

Dutreil has been amazingly supportive of cycling in the city, acting as a judge in Transportation Alternative's New Amsterdam Bike Slam last year that was so successful.

This past spring they sponsored a contest  at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York to create stylish, practical and affordable bike gear. The results of the contest were pretty disappointing: the students didn't seem to get it. 

We think the marriage of bikes and fashion has a long way to go.

MTA Workers Steal Seats from Paying Customers

This just in from BBB's underground journal: an MTA worker who can't move his COAT off the seat for a crowded car of people because, well, he just doesn't want to.

When a woman got on the train and asked him if she could sit down, he refused to budge, and pretended to not even notice her, studiously burying his head in the trashy novel he was "reading".

That's why we have increases in the MTA fares, and decreases in service: because of the arrogant self entitled people like him working for the MTA.

He should be fired--for at least the reason that every single time he rides the subway, which is presumably twice a day, he is stealing two seats from paying customers. One for his seat, which he does not pay for, and the second for the seat his coat is on.

If you multiply that times half the payroll of the MTA, voila, there is your budget deficit--all in their big butts and antisocial, self indulgent behavior.

Surviving the Winter (c)

With that first major snowfall of the year, the heart of a cyclist goes into the stage of sorrow, and their mouths go into a silent scream. They know from now on they'll have to watch and wait for clear streets ahead before they get back on the road .

Photo Credit Michael Oryl MobilBurn.com

But many cycling maniacs still ride not only through cold weather--defined as below 35 degrees Fahrenheit, but also through the snow. ( I don't say below 32, which is freezing, because of wind chill--more on that later).

Gavriel Epstein reported he rode through fresh snow this morning.  Here is his ride on Map My Ride--about 50 miles round trip from Fort Lee to Haverstraw and back. Many cyclists take their chances riding alongside massive snowbanks, melting and re-iced snow, and reduced width roads. One site, Icebike, is all about riding your bike in the snow.  The site even has an entire page dedicated to classifying 10 different ice road conditions, from dry asphalt to "glare" ice.  

There is also a long discussion of "windchill" which I am happy to report to Eugene Boronow of Mengoni who always runs off to Arizona in the winter but nevertheless insists that there is "no such thing" as wind chill.


I am happy to report that the ice bike experts confirm that there IS windchill, Eugene, and that it is calculated in the following way by the U.S. National Weather Service:

T(wc) = 0.0817(3.71V**0.5 + 5.81 -0.25V)(T - 91.4) + 91.4

T(wc) is the wind chill, V is in the wind speed in statute miles per hour and T is the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

The relief is that wind chill no longer operates at negative 40 degrees, so if you are riding at 15 miles per hour in minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it will actually feel like -40 degrees and no more (or is it no less?) So when it is negative 40 degrees, Eugene, you are right, there is no windchill!

Zakopane - Tatra Mountains - Poland (Piotr Chilecki)

I have seen some cyclists with studded nails in their wheels so they can ride on snow and ice.  It can be pretty exciting, the fresh snow under your tires making it a little slippery, the fresh air, the gorgeous white stuff all around you, it's quite a rush.

But if you ride on the road, the presence of snow and ice add to the statistical average that you will have an accident or worse be struck by a vehicle. Cars also are less predictable and are more likely to slip or skid --with you in the way.

So when it snows or dips below 35 degrees (25 degrees is my absolute limit) you're better off joining a gym and signing up for some tough spin classes and swimming or enjoying some outdoor winter sports like cross country skiing.

Before you do, check out some Artic bike riding tips by blogger and author Jill Homer to see what you are really missing.  Some of these are really useful, like "Stay away from Moose tracks."  At least in Alaska there is no chance of being hit by cars as you cycle across the Tundra. Another tip, use wider tires and let some air out.


Spin Classes

Spinning is a great way to prevent the winter weight from taking control, and often the intensity will allow you do get away with a one hour work out instead of three hours of road riding.  But spin classes are designed for non-cyclists and are often taught by non-cyclists.  So you will need to adapt your workout to suit a cyclist's needs.

For one, spin instructors often mistake standing up as a better work out. Actually, it's a better way to ruin your knees.  You'd be better off practicing a full 50% of your sprints in the saddle than out of it.

Just mention to them at the beginning of class that you are a cyclist and therefore need to watch your knees and won't do every move that they tell you to do, so they won't humiliate you in front of everyone by pointing out what you are doing wrong. Eventually spin instructors will get the message and learn how to protect cyclists' knees.

Another thing that spin instructors don't warn you to do: from a saddle position to a stand up position requires increasing the tension by at least a full turn of the handle, again otherwise you can really hurt your knees.

And finally, make sure your position on the bike is not too high or too low--this also can really damage your knees. Take the time to check your seat position carefully before you start.

Another thing cyclists really have to watch for is BOREDOM when either spinning or doing any other indoor sport. So choose your gym and your classes well--make sure the teacher is inspiring and you like the music and the people around you. I like gyms where the cyclists scream in pain, it makes me feel like we're actually working (if you live in New Jersey, try the Jewish Community Center in Tenafly, they're the best.)

If you don't have access to a gym, you can buy a trainer. But be warned, even though trainers are more convenient and you can watch your favorite TV show while you work out, the lack of competition from other spinners around you, as well as the absence of a driving, screaming instructor, makes home-based work outs less effective.


Cross Country Skiing

Although it takes really good snow coverage to get a run in, we already have had a huge nor' easter, with more than a foot of snow today (well if you don't know that you're either living in another part of the country or you're not among the living). Skiing was possible this weekend even in New York's Central and Prospect Parks.

Often it's best to plan your ski run first thing in the morning when there are few cars, and less chance for the snow to melt. Just after a major snowfall in the middle of the night--like 2 a.m., can be a great time to ski especially if there is some moonlight (though some parks are officially closed after midnight, so be careful.)

The trail ahead, Tallman Park, Dec. 20, 2009 (Benepe) 

In the burbs, many private and public golf courses can be the perfect place for a midnight run.

During the daytime, parks are best for skiing. In New York state, Tallman Park, a mere 20 minute's drive or a 45 minute bus ride from Manhattan offers up to 5 miles of trails.  You can also ski the Old Erie Trail from Orangeburg to Nyack, NY, so round trip will be more than 10 miles.

And if you can drive to Nyack Beach in Nyack, you can ski from Nyack to Haverstraw along the Hudson River--a distance of about 12 miles out and back.

Though skiing does not offer the same intense, long distance work out that cycling does, it allows you to work on muscles that rarely get any work at all-arms, stomach and full leg stretches.

Ah, the joys of winter: The sun faintly coming through the trees, Tallman Park, Dec. 20, 2009 (Benepe)

Swimming and Weights


If you can join a gym, try to find one with a pool. There are many reasons for this. For one, swimming is excellent for recuperating any back issues that you've kept tensely wrapped up in your body from ride to ride all summer.

The stretching motion of a standard swim stroke also lengthens and strengthens stomach, back, shoulder and arm muscles, the most neglected parts of a cyclist's body. Many cyclists have excess fat around their stomachs even in the middle of the summer, which means, working on your stomach now will pay off later.

But the best solution to prevent weight gain is to do at least two spin classes a week coupled with at least two 50 to 70 lap pool workouts.

Add to that weight lifting for both arms and legs. Yes arms, because now you are swimming, but also because now that you are not riding as much, your arms will lose their fitness quickly. Leg muscles are a must too because these weight workouts will allow you to retain strength for the spring season.

Hiking

Hiking is a great way to be outdoors and not freeze your butt off if skiing and running are not your cup of tea. It's also a great way to bond with the people and pets you have ignored all year while you take both Saturdays and Sundays to do three to five hour rides.

Two caveats--one, conditions on rocks can be icy, adding to your potential for injury.  And storm conditions can make hiking hazardous if you get caught on a mountain at the wrong time.

Ana Banana, BBB dog going on a cross country ski at Tallman Park, Dec. 20, 2009, after she was let out of the bag (see below).


Many mountains do not have cell towers nearby, and you can find yourself in a fading light with freezing weather conditions and dangerous ice or snow underfoot, and no way to communicate with the world. Some areas without cell communication include most of Bear Mountain and Harriman State Park, the hike to the old burned out hotel above Woodstock, NY, and all of the major trails at North and South Lake near Hunter, NY. 

One year I climbed a mountain after a major snow fall only to find on the way down that there was a fine sheet of ice under the snow, so every step would send me flying. I had to make my way down the 3 mile hike on a sliver of a 5 inch strip along the edge of the trail while also carrying a freezing dog in one arm wrapped in my down jacket.

If you plan to do a lot of winter hiking, invest either in a pair of snow shoes or clip on spikes for your hiking boots, and make sure you have adequate water and clothing for the colder trip down.

And make sure you have provisions for woman's best friend too (like Ana Banana here, wistfully packaged in a warm bag.)

Running

I saved this for last because most cyclists don't really like running which is why they ride. For one, it feels distinctly uncomfortable on the feet and knees, and it is certainly a lot less refined.

However, if you can invest in a good pair of shoes, and assuming you didn't start cycling because you ruined your knees running, it's a very good way to stay in shape over the winter.

For one, it is about the only thing you can do when the temperature slips below 20 degrees, and still feel warm.  As long as you have a warm hat and very warm gloves, two upper layers and one lower layer should be enough in 20 degree temperature.  Running on packed snow is one of the most beautiful experiences in the world, while running in deep, soft snow is not so great. It's best if you can do a minimum of three miles. If you're on the home work out plan, add an hour of indoor training to get the equivalent of three and a half hours of cycling (it's not as much, but it should do.)

Finally, stop eating so much


The hardest thing for a distance cyclist to do is to eat less. Just look at professional cyclists when they stop competing--they balloon out into caricatures of their previous selves.  It's always very sad to see, but cyclists know in their hearts of hearts that it isn't because they stopped taking speed and other performance enhancement drugs. It's because they didn't stop eating as much as they used to.

As much as I love dispensing this advice, I often find myself being one of the best candidates for motion control when it comes to consumption.

So here are some tips on how to cut down on the invisible calories that are ruining your physique. Don't listen to all the pundits about eating breakfast in the morning. My advice, don't eat unless you are hungry. Repeat after me: don't eat unless you are hungry. That includes the morning.

Why? It's your body telling you that you don't need food. If you like a cup of coffee in the morning, make sure you have milk with it so you don't ruin your stomach. And if you aren't hungry until lunch eat something nutritious but low calorie, like a whole wheat bread sandwich with turkey, or home made chicken soup and low fat cheese.

And then don't eat again until dinner time. Two meals a day are best for cyclists with reduced work outs, even if you are doing a back-to-back swim and spin, or run and train.

Here's another tip. Stock up on lean meats and lots of vegetables, stay away from butter, and cook vegetables and meats with juice and a tiny bit of oil instead of lots of oil.  And if you have to eat sweets, make them yourself. Why? Home made cookies and sweets are infinitely more nutritious if you load them with oatmeal, whole wheat flour, nuts, cranberries and raisins. And because of this, you'll eat fewer of them.

In any event, winter should be your opportunity to fight the boredom of riding the same route 100 times over and over again, and give you the chance to re-balance you leg-heavy muscle ratio.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and move!

The Emperor's New Clothes, 5BBC Bash, HV Fashion Show and More

There is so much going on I just don't know where to start!

Okay I just can't help it. Lance got his new kit, you saw it first here (though of course I think it must have hit the airwaves already.) Thanks to Doug Daniele for his sleuth work.

Now, a poll. Please tell me what you think of this new kit (entries below).

Frankly for the many millions of dollars riding on this sports relationship, you would think they would have hired someone who knew what they were doing when they designed this jersey.


Next: real New York gossip, via the Five Borough Bike Club party last Saturday.

It was a cold, dark, rainy, almost snowy night when I trudged my way through the subway system to get to the annual 5BBC party being held in the Woolworth Building.

Today I still have a hangover from the three glasses of champagne I consumed.

Don't ask me why I did that, it may have been because earlier that day I fell and sprained my wrist and finger, and both had blossomed with pain and I walked around the party wearing a massive ice pack on my wrist like a corsage.

Pic: Bob Castro, Noah Budnick, and Beth Katz (Benepe) 

I have never seen such a huge gathering of New York personalities except perhaps at a Woodstock political gathering for a liberal candidate. 

The 5BBC is one of the biggest cycling clubs in New York at almost 1400 members only matched by New York Cycle Club, and Century Road Club Association (the latter is a racing club, ergo, it's a mystery to me why we need two recreational clubs).

Last year bbb missed the party out of sheer bimboism, having bought the ticket but spaced the date. (Now why is that a surprise? )

This year no such error was to be repeated considering all the fun I would be missing and also that my alter ego, that rapacious capitalist Hotvelociti CEO was giving away a jersey in the end of night raffle.

 Steve and Linda Faust

First let me say all the greats of cycling came to the party. That includes Danny Lieberman who leads many of the group rides, in particular the ice cream tasting ride held mid-summer.

Danny started ebikes, the most central and pivotal electronic exchange for cycling politics in New York. He bought me my first glass of champagne and from then on it was downhill.

Nick Asadourian, Ed Bruno, and Deborah Lehrer

There also was Barry Hartglass, program manager for the club who arranged this swanky soiree at Kitchen. At $20 a head in advance it was well worth the price---food was ample, though Lieberman did get yelled at by the owner for starting to put salad on his plate before the rest of the entrees had been brought out.

Danny would not let us forget it until dessert rolled around, and I have to say, I didn't know he was so sensitive! You have to realize though that there is a disconnect between the world of cyclists and the rest of the world: I have never seen so many people so hungry when that food finally arrived. They practically knocked the food right out of the waiters' hands as they brought it to the table, their plates, forks, and knives poised appropriately for the pounce.






One family member who seemed to do very well for herself in the food competition was 3-year-old Isabella Delarosa, who not only jumped to the front of the line before anyone, but also ate all the hors d'oeuvres. Here she is sucking on a lime! Nothing like learning early from older cyclists how to get food fast!


Isabella,  Naylani, and Eddie Delarosa and cousin Kyron Sepulvuda

Dec 1st marks the end of the fiscal calendar for 5BBC, thus also the changeover in board members. So the old and the new were there. Please don't ask me to keep track, because there is no way.

But among them were the greats of the greats in cycling like Steve Faust and his wife Linda, Ed Ravin, Ed DeFreitas (who miraculously won two lottery drawings), Noah Budnick of Transportation Alternatives, Andrea Mercado, Debbie Lehrer and Nick Asadourian, Bob Castro, and so many other personalities that have been defining cycling in New York for decades (in Budnick's case it must have started on the tricycle.)

Lynette Chiang (left) showed off her sprightly folding bike body with a bright red dress. Chiang is a bike blogger and bicycle bag maker as well as a businesswoman. Here is her story on pole dancing.

Scroll down to see the picture of how she did on her first pole. More on pole dancing below.


One couple said they had been members since 1962.

I checked this little factoid with Barry Hartglass and this is what he said:" The 5BBC was formed in 1990 and was an outgrowth of The Metropolitan Bike Committee of The AYH Hostel (dating back to the 1960's).  The 5BBC was part of AYH until I believe 1/1/01 and then became an independent organization."

So then, it HAS been in existence since 1962, just under a different rubric.

There were even members at the party who used to ride, like one who now has to move around in a wheelchair. He doesn't care, he likes the memories, the good company, and the idea of being around a bunch of cyclists.


SPEAKING OF POLE DANCING.....

You're not getting off so easy, buster!

Hotvelociti, the rapacious, capitalist alter ego of BBB, is having a 2010 Collection Fashion Show, Pole Dancing Party and Sample Sale TOMORROW.

Here are the details:

Dec. 9, 2009 at 244 East 51st St., at Haven NY, from 6:30 pm to 9 pm. So far at least 50 cyclists from New York and New Jersey will be there. Don't miss this fun time.

Among the models will be sexy Crisy Roman, a pole dancer who now teaches; fabulous Mai, and sizzling Nicole. Among the men will be Javier, the national champion in triathlons in Dominican Republic (hot! the country I mean.)

There will be no nudity: the POINT is to show off the clothing, remember?

You'll also get to buy Hotvelociti samples at 50% off retail at this event!

Stay tuned for more party news: the next one is Dec. 15th.

Cassell Cause of Deadly Crash Under Investigation

Contrary to mainstream news reports, officers at the Greenburgh police department did not blame Cassell for his crash with the Westchester Bee Line bus on November 6.

The crash that killed Merrill Cassell, 66, of Elmsford, NY is still under investigation said Captain Joseph DeCarlo of the Greenburgh Police Dept.

For that reason he said, they still have not determined what was the cause of Cassell's death, and perhaps if the driver of the bus was careless when he came around him on Route 119 going east. The incident occurred at the intersection of Tarrytown Road and Aqueduct Road, at about 3:30 p.m., not during rush hour said the Captain.

He also noted that the weather was clear and there was good visibility at that time.

Route 119 has four lanes, two in each direction. The roadway is bordered with parked cars, and businesses, and there is no bike lane on either side of the lane.

There also is no extra space, requiring that motorists traveling in the right hand side--as the Bee-Line bus was--must move out into the other lane in order to pass a cyclist.

Capt. DeCarlo ruled out the state of the road and whether a rock or potholes was a factor, or anything else suggesting that it was Cassell who lost control and not the driver who made an error---as some of the media have suggested. "It is still under investigation," he noted, saying that they had not made a determination in either direction.

The Greenburgh Police will also be interviewing passengers who were on the bus, and seeking other witnesses who may have seen what happened.

"Something happened that caused him to fall," said Capt. DeCarlo. But determining what that was, "is part of the ongoing investigation."