Transportation writer Ken Valenti has been keeping up with cycling issues in Westchester lately. This is his second cycling story in two days. Nice work Ken.

The latest tool for helping drivers and bicyclists share the road has begun to make its appearance in Westchester County.

This particular tool is a stencil-created image of a bicycle with two chevrons pointing in the direction that traffic travels. It’s called a “shared lane marker” or sometimes a “sharrow” for “shared lane arrow,” and they’re already on the pavement on Rumsey Road in Yonkers. Eastchester has a stencil and plans to use it when the weather warms, and New Rochelle is looking at the idea, too.

It may not sound like much, but relations between drivers and cyclists are often testy, and the marker can help make it clear, first, that cyclists are allowed on roads used by cars and, second, where in the lane cyclists should be.

(The photo shows Gannett News Service, Greg Pearson riding in China during the Olympics there in 2008. Looks like Westchester has some catching up to do.)

“It really alerts the motorists that cyclists have a right to the road and that motorists can expect to see cyclists on the road,” said David Wilson, president of the Westchester Cycle Club and co-founder of the Westchester Biking and Walking Alliance. “It’s a very low-cost way for a town to become more bike-friendly.”

Ed Welsh, a spokesman for AAA New York, said the markings were a good safety tool, but only if both motorists and cyclists respected them.

“You have plenty of messenger-type people going through traffic without paying attention to what they’re doing,” he said.

The markings sometimes go where you might not expect. They don’t go on bicycle lanes or shoulders. Rather, they’re painted on streets where cars and bicycles must share the same lanes. In general, cyclists are supposed to stay to the right. But in some cases, such as along roads where cars are parked at the curb, sharrows can be placed a bit to the left, more in the middle of the lanes, to prevent cyclists from being knocked to the ground by an opening car door. That can create congestion if cars have to wait behind a bicycle, but those who use them say they’ll have to get along.

“The cyclist does have a right to utilize the street, and motorists need to be respectful of that right,” said Jeffrey Coleman, New Rochelle’s public works commissioner.

The sharrows are coming now because the Federal Highway Administration included them in the list of roadway devices that took effect this month. Before that, they were allowed only when specifically approved by the FHA for experimental use. Nonetheless, they had been painted in cities, such as New York City, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Ithaca, N.Y.

They still cannot be used on state-owned roads in New York without the approval of the state Department of Transportation, until that agency draws up its own policies based on the new highway administration rules, said Dave Woodin, director of the traffic operations bureau in the DOT’s Office of Traffic Safety and Mobility.

For a place such as Eastchester, that is little hinderance. The only state road is Route 22 — White Plains Road — and the town doesn’t plan to paint them there, Supervisor Anthony Colavita said. They’ll more likely appear on a street such as California Road, he said. The town Environmental Committee is putting together recommendations for which streets should be marked, and the Police and Highway departments will be asked to look over the plan, he said.

Coleman said New Rochelle would look to develop its own policy toward the end of spring, coordinating with neighboring communities so the markings are used similarly from place to place.

Journal News transportation writer Ken Valenti reported this story over the weekend in case you missed it.

Don’t expect bike racks on Bee-Line buses.

Two racks purchased by Westchester County in the summer for its buses were never tested on the road, and with the news last week that state aid to the county’s Department of Transportation could be cut by $1.9 million, Transportation Commissioner Larry Salley said they won’t be. The department needs to cut costs, not take on new ones, he said.

“In light of (the reduced aid anticipated), we feel that we have to make every effort to maintain service for our riders as much as possible, and we just don’t feel that that is a prudent expenditure at this time,” Salley said.

Testing the racks might not add to the department’s costs, but a successful test would only leave cyclists eager for racks the county couldn’t afford anyway, he said. At a price of $1,100 to $1,600 per rack, the cost for fitting all 359 county buses would be $500,000 or more, Salley said.

The news frustrated cycling advocates who had been wondering why the racks had not yet been tested.

Michael Oliva, co-founder of the Westchester Biking and Walking Alliance, called the news “an extreme disappointment” and said the county should test the racks to be ready for better times.

“Eventually states and funding will come back, and we will have money for these kinds of things, so we should be prepared,” Oliva said.

The racks are used on many bus systems across the country, in places such as Seattle and the Connecticut cities of Stamford, Hartford and New Haven.

In April, an official with Liberty Lines, which runs the Bee-Line buses, said the racks mounted on the front of each bus could complicate operations by, for instance, impeding a brief end-of-the-day maintenance check on each bus, when fluids are checked. But then-County Executive Andrew Spano said at the first Biking and Walking Alliance summit in April that he believed the idea was workable.

Now, however, Salley said the county must deal with a cut that would leave the Department of Transportation with $43.3 million in state aid. It comes in Gov. David Paterson’s $134 billion state spending plan.

The amount of time that has passed since the county bought the racks for some $2,500 led Oliva to believe that officials never really wanted to test them.

“I think the budget problems gave them a good excuse that they’ve been looking for,” Oliva said. “Andy Spano said this was doable at the bike summit, and nothing happened for 10 months.”

But Salley said the county had taken steps to try out the racks. First, Liberty Lines tried the two racks on a couple of buses to see how they affected the running of the buses at the garage on Saw Mill River Road in Yonkers. After that, the county and bus company were waiting for spring to try them out in warm weather, when more cyclists are out.

Salley said the county will likely sell the two bike racks rather than wait for the economy — and state aid — to rebound. “They may be old and corroded by the time that happens,” he said.

By STEVE McMORRAN, AP Sports Writer, ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) /  Lance Armstrong said criteriums weren’t his strong point, then he undermined that claim by taking a daring, leading role in Sunday’s 31-mile prelude to cycling’s Tour Down Under.

The seven-time Tour de France champion promised a conservative approach before the race, saying he would sit in the pack and stay out of trouble, but shelved that script and headed a breakaway that led the race for 11 of 30 laps.

Armstrong was joined by 2006 Tour de France champion Oscar Pereiro in a five-man breakaway that led the race from the 17th lap, dwindling to three riders before being caught by the peleton two laps from the finish.

New Zealander Greg Henderson went on to win the race, beating Team Sky teammate Chris Sutton of Australia. Britain’s first ProTour team was making its international debut, as was Armstrong’s United States-based Team Radioshack.

Armstrong fell back to finish 62nd among 133 riders, 8 seconds behind the winner.

“Sometimes it’s better to be up in a small group rather than fighting with 100 guys for every wheel and every corner,” Armstrong said. “I had a small desire to be in a group like that. That one stayed away longer than we all expected.”

Armstrong took a prominent role in the breakaway, leading out repeatedly and crossing the start-finish line in first place after the 19th and 22nd laps. Wearing the red and gray uniform of Team Radioshack and the yellow and black helmet of his Livestrong foundation, the Texan supported his claim that he is a better, stronger rider than when he finished 29th overall in last year’s race.

“I feel good,” Armstrong said. “I’ve been training hard and training with some intensity and I feel strong.”

Armstrong stationed himself near the head of the peleton through the early stages of the race on a a tight street circuit in Adelaide’s eastern parklands.

He was on hand to join a 17th-lap break that featured Spain’s Pereiro, riding for the Kazakhstan-based Astana team, France’s Mikael Cherel and Mathieu Perget, and Slovakia’s former world junior mountainbike champion Peter Sagan.

The small group set a sapping pace, eventually opening leads of up to 13 seconds over the peleton. Pereiro took his turns in front, leading across the line after the 23rd and 27th laps with Armstrong close on his wheel.

Slowly, the peleton began to draw the leaders in and after 24 laps their lead was down to 11 seconds, then 9, then 5. On the 28th lap, the breakaway group was gathered in and first Team High Road, then Team Sky took the front.

Henderson anticipated a bunched finish and nestled near the head of the pack before timing his sprint to cross the finish line inches ahead of Sutton, winning in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 33 seconds.

The New Zealander said his teammates could not have dreamed of such a successful international debut.

“We had a team meeting before the race and our objective was just to make a presence for Team Sky,” Henderson said. “One of the team said a dream start would be a win and to achieve that is unbelievable.

“To start a team off in this way is just unheard of.”

The official first stage of the six-state Tour Down Under takes place Tuesday in rural South Australia rate and the race finishes Sunday.

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP)  Lance Armstrong says he’s much better prepared and fitter for the Tour Down Under than he was a year ago in his comeback race after more than three years away from cycling.

Asked about his mindset for the Adelaide race, which runs from Jan. 17-24, seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong told Australian Associated Press from Hawaii: “Totally different, because last year it had been 3½ years since I had raced.

“I don’t even know what my mindset was — (it) was: ‘I’m just going to get back into the thing, I don’t know what the sport is like these days, I don’t know what the tempo is like these days.’”

He said his focus this year will be on winning his eighth Tour de France title.

“There will be definitely more emphasis on the race from me, but that will probably be consistent throughout the year,” he said.

“My time and training and focus and emphasis on racing will be a little more than it was last year. I’m really doubling down on the racing side of things to see if we can get an eighth Tour (title).”

One year of racing helps his 2010 preparation, he said.

“I know all of those things now — as I sit here and train in Hawaii, there’s no guesswork for me. I’m not curious at all and that helps, a lot.

“Then, the fact that I’ve done a full racing season … that just helps build the base I didn’t have last year.”

Armstrong does not expect to contend for the Tour Down Under after finishing 29th overall last year.

He said the initial goal for his new RadioShack team will be stage wins and their principle rider will be Belgian sprinter Gert Steegmans. And Armstrong will share the main billing for the Tour with Australia’s world road race champion Cadel Evans.

Asked if he was fitter than 12 months ago, Armstrong replied: “Probably yeah — but whenever I say that, expectations go up.

“It’s human nature for people to have those expectations and the one you can’t do — you don’t want to say ‘I have to win’, but you can’t completely let them down. I certainly don’t expect to win, but I expect to be stronger than last year.”

RUTLAND, Vt. (AP)  Advocates for bicyclists and pedestrians are urging planners to accommodate their needs when designing the new bridge that will cross Lake Champlain between Addison, Vt., and Crown Point, N.Y.

Nancy Schulz of the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition says the bridge that was demolished last month after it was found to be structurally deficient couldn’t safely accommodate cyclists or pedestrians.

Construction on a replacement bridge is set to begin later this year.

John Zicconi of the Vermont Transportation Agency tells the Rutland Herald bridge planners are considering designing bridge with wide lanes, 5-foot shoulders and sidewalks on both sides.

The cost of the new bridge and a temporary ferry is estimated at about $110 million.

LOS ANGELES (AP)  A former emergency room doctor who deliberately braked so that two bicyclists rammed into his car in a road rage assault was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison.

Christopher Thompson, 60, wept and apologized to the two injured riders before he was sentenced in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

“The physical and mental scars are my fault,” he said.

He has recurring nightmares about one cyclist smashing through his car window, Thompson said.

Prosecutors had sought an eight-year term while Thompson’s attorney argued for probation.

Thompson, who worked at Beverly Hospital in Montebello, has been jailed since he was convicted in November of assault with a deadly weapon, battery with serious bodily injury, reckless driving and mayhem.

Thompson deliberately hit his brakes, causing the bicyclists to hit the back of his Infiniti sedan on July 4, 2008, prosecutors said. One rider smashed through the back window, breaking his nose and front teeth. The other crashed to the pavement, separating his shoulder.

Ron Peterson, who crashed through the window, told the judge that he was permanently scarred.

“My nose was nearly torn from my face. … I’ve had plastic surgery,” he said. “The scars on my face remind me of the pain and trauma I went through because Dr. Thompson didn’t like cyclists riding on his road.”

At trial, Thompson said that he and other Brentwood residents were angry because some bicyclists were ignoring stop signs or riding abreast, impeding cars on narrow Mandeville Canyon Road.

“If my incident shows anything, it’s that confrontation leads to an escalation of hostilities,” Thompson said in court.

Thompson said several cyclists who were riding side by side had sworn at him and made a rude gesture after he told them to ride single file. The physician said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone and only stopped to photograph the riders.

The bicyclists, however, said Thompson had aggressively honked and driven past them, then pulled in front and suddenly braked. A police officer testified that Thompson said he hit the brakes to “teach them a lesson.”

Prosecutors said Thompson had braked suddenly in front of other bicyclists four months earlier but nobody was hurt.

The case prompted a deluge of letters and e-mails to the court. About 160 people wrote to support Thompson while more than 270 messages, including some from bicyclists and doctors as far away as China, urged a tough sentence.

“Here in the U.K., the cycling community has a saying that, ‘If you want to harm or kill someone, a motor vehicle is the weapon of choice,’” wrote Tony Raven, of Cambridge, England.

The letters were submitted to the court by the prosecutor.

“It is time that motorists learn that they must share the road with people on bicycles and that the courts will view assaults on cyclists by motorists as seriously as other assaults with deadly weapons,” Deputy District Attorney Mary Hanlon Stone wrote in court papers.

Judge Scott T. Millington said he did not take into account the hundreds of letters and e-mails from bicyclists when considering the sentence. However, the judge said he believed Thompson had not shown remorse during the case.

The judge also said the bicyclists were particularly vulnerable and urged the creation of more bike lanes.

WILTON, N.Y. (AP)  Former mountain biking world champion Melissa “Missy” Giove (gee-OH’-vee) has pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge for helping run a ring that smuggled marijuana from California to the East Coast.

She was arrested in upstate New York last June after one of the ring’s couriers was intercepted driving a truck carrying 350 pounds of marijuana in Illinois and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities. Giove, who’s 37 and lives in Chesapeake, Va., was under surveillance when she met the courier and drove off with the truck. Authorities said she was taken into custody trying to unload the shipment at the Saratoga County home of another man charged in the case.

Under a plea agreement Monday in Albany, Giove is expected to be sentenced March 25 to up to five years in federal prison.

Planning for Bike Summit 2010 is underway thanks to the leadership of The Bike Walk Alliance of Westchester/Putnam (yes, they changed their name). They are seeking to include more communities in the effort to make our region more walking and biking friendly.

The next meeting is Tuesday January 19th at the Bronxville Public Libarary at 201 Pondfield road at 7:00pm. During the meeting you’ll hear about the accomplishments in Eastchester, where they have formed a new Eastchester Environmental Committee. David Wilson reports, “They held a bike week in June and won town permission to emblazon “sharrows” on north-south routes that are amenable for bike traffic. Sharrows are large road marking that go on the travel portion of the road that alert motorists that the road is shared with cyclists.”

Besides Eastchester the other communities with bike committees are, Croton-on-Hudson, Tarrytown, Briarcliff, and Bedford.

Some other achievements by these groups are new bike racks in Tarrytown and public support for sidewalks in Briarcliff.

The BWAWP hopes more local groups can form and hold meetings to set goals before the early May 2010 bike summit.

For more information please go to the BWAWP website, click here.

NEW YORK (AP)  Bicyclists who planned to go topless to protest the removal of a Brooklyn bike lane have switched gears. Some pinned plastic breasts over their jackets as they rolled into a snowstorm.

Dozens of protestors biked through an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of the Williamsburg section on Saturday.

Bike messenger Heather Loop organized the event. She says the lane was removed because the neighborhood’s Hasidic Jews “can’t handle scantily clad women.”

Some Hasids say the issue is not showing leg, but safety for children being dropped off by school buses.

The protestors had said it would ride through the streets without their tops, but wintry weather forced them to stay dressed.

The bikers’ plastic tactics did not amuse faithful Hasids leaving synagogue services with their families on the Sabbath.

Eds note – A reader of Cycling Central was surprised to learn it’s legal in NYC for women to go topless. He did a little reseach and discovered that .. : New York is the only state in the country where women can be topless legally, after a 1992 ruling in the state’s highest court.”

NEW YORK (AP)  Bicyclists planning a Saturday protest ride are calling it their “Freedom Ride” — free of clothing, that is. And they may be pedaling naked in a fierce snowstorm, if the forecast holds.

The removal of clothing is meant as a protest over the removal of a bike lane in Williamsburg, an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn.

The activists want to go topless in front of Hasidic residents who “can’t handle scantily clad women” on wheels, bike messenger Heather Loop told a local newspaper earlier this week.

The newspaper, The Brooklyn Paper, suggested the scantily clad protesters might roll into the neighborhood at sundown Saturday — just as families leave synagogue services on the Sabbath.

Bicycling advocates claim Mayor Michael Bloomberg erased the bike lane because conservative residents don’t like seeing women in skimpy clothing riding by every day.

Members of the Satmar branch of Judaism “don’t want to see women in shorts,” says Baruch Herzfeld, who runs a bike-sharing program in a community where Jewish women wear hefty skirts and blouses with long sleeves and men heavy coats and hats, even in summer.

“The rabbis want to keep their people in the 18th century, and they don’t want the world to intrude into their enclave,” says Herzfeld.

Not entirely true, says Leo Moskowitz, a resident with five children. He insists the main issue is safety.

“Kids can be knocked over because school buses are not allowed to stop in the bike lane — it’s dangerous,” says Moskowitz, a salesman at a telecommunications company who acknowledges that he feels “very uncomfortable” seeing women bare their legs in public.

The bike lane battle is pitting Hasids against hipsters and, in some cases, Jew against Jew.

Marc LaVorgna, a Bloomberg spokesman, says the city always consults members of a community when making changes that affect them. In this case, he said, city officials want riders to use a much safer lane nearby that he called “the Cadillac of bike paths” — a two-way path separated from car traffic. That bike lane also drew the wrath of some Satmars last year, but it stayed.

The participants in the ride do not have the support of Transportation Alternatives, a major cycling advocacy group.

“A ride with people in provocative undress doesn’t make Bedford any safer, and it undermines efforts to bring the neighborhood together to solve the problem,” says Wiley Norvell, a group spokesman.

The biggest challenge for the topless riders, however, might not be the law — it’s legal to go topless in New York in public — but the weather: Forecasters are predicting as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow and brisk winds.