From USA Cycling Monument Email....

Dear Friends,

Many of you have expressed your enthusiasm about the design of the Cycling Monument. Recently, someone asked me why the sculpture looks like it does, and why there are no recognizable bicycles in it?! Though I am as reluctant as any artist to limit a viewer's experience of a piece, I am perhaps more reluctant than most to alienate viewers who might potentially feel some resonance from the work. I've just posted a piece on the logic of the form.

The Artists Statement to that question

The skillful speed and freedom of a painter’s brush making a purposeful mark was the initial vision that arose as metaphor for the total experience of a bike race. The spatial intent of the form was to create a visual bridge between the plain of the park, the mountain backdrop and sky. This vision was held and honed through a 4-year design process, involving adherence to stringent code and engineering requirements for the structure.

Recently on 303Cycling we have been trying to review underrated products in the Boulder Denver area and/or products made my companies located in Colorado. This time we are focusing on quality commuter shoes, the Chrome Midway Pro shoe. Where do can you get quality commuter gear in the Boulder area (sorry, can't speak for Denver area)? Maybe REI, maybe Performance and a few shops sell some gear but for some reason commuter products are simply underrated in our area. All of my cycling shoes have been retired race shoes, which are fine but they are just that, retired race shoes, lacking style and fucntion until I found the Chrome Midwway Pro shoe.

After 4 weeks of using the Chrome shoes for commuting and life here were my thoughts on them and commuter shoes in general

Pros

Crosswalk at Folsom and Walnut

The proposed 8mph for cyclists in Crosswalks is coming to a vote soon. The proposal will require cyclists to activate a flashing signal if one exists and to not exceed 8mph. According to officials this proposal is needed due to so many accidents related to cyclists in the traffic features. According to the Daily Camera article linked below, Dan Grunig of Bicycle Colorado fears liability falling onto the hands of the cyclist if involved in an accident while in these traffic features. Comments from our press release of this a few months ago stated the problem of few cyclists knowing exactly what their speed is at any given time since few have odometers on their bike

From the Daily Camera

Cowern said a disproportionate number of accidents at the city's 15 flashing crosswalks involve bicycles, and Boulder needs to adopt regulations that speak directly to the city's large cycling population.

In a study conducted a few years ago, the city found that in 70 percent of accidents when a person was hit crossing at a flashing crosswalk, a bicycle was involved. That, the study concluded, was despite the fact that less than half the crossing activity was bicycle-related.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the motion on a first reading Tuesday. Public discussion and a final vote on the measure would occur at a later date.

Read the rest at Daily Camera

Let's Talk about this

This week's coffee talk has to do with racing and parenting. Can great bicycle racing and great parenting coexist? Coffee talk discussion gives me the chance to rant and you a chance to fire back with your 2 or 4 cents.

I was recently reading an article on a local healthy-family website, ZisBoomBah.com about a mother who had just completed her first triathlon. Her spin was that parents have the power to inspire kids to participate in athletics. Case in point, after finishing her first triathlon, her daughter was so impressed that she asked if she could take swimming lessons in order to "swim like mommy".

I am sure this is the case for many of our local bike racers, their kids watch the races and want to race too. Fortunately for us in Colorado, many race promoters oblige by offering lots of fun events for kids. Besides the obvious health and fitness benefits, kids who get involved with bike racing learn about commitment and training to prepare for races, tenacity to finish a race (even if it has a huge hill) and great sportsmanship, learning to both win and lose gracefully. Cycling has the added advantage of being a very individual sport which can be attractive to kids who don't care for team sports. Even if your kids aren't inspired to race bicycles, racing parents are setting a great example of being active and getting outdoors. They also show kids and other parents alike that athletics aren't just for kids. How many adults do you know who stopped exercising once they graduated from high school or college?