There’s a worldwide cycling movement called Critical Mass that regularly takes to the streets and upsets drivers and pedestrians in the name of cycling advocacy. (Perhaps you can tell from my tone that I’m not terribly thrilled with the movement.) The name, however, derives from a transportation phenomena that occurred in the once-bike-filled-streets of Beijing.

Bikes vastly outnumbered cars in the old days, when fewer than 70,000 vehicles prowled the streets and quite literally millions of bikes were on the road. (Current estimates put the number of cars in Beijing at more than three million cars.) Traffic lights weren’t as numerous or as well timed as they are now, so a swarm of bikes would come to an intersection where cars had the green and sort of bunch up until there were so many bikes in the same spot that the group started to move together en masse, and then push forward blocking the cars and moving across the intersection.

Biking in Beijing still works mostly the same, though there are vastly fewer bikes these days. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of bikes. There are tons, and tons, and tons of bikes. I’ve seen bikes hauling everything you can imagine out there. Mattresses, giant pieces of metal, lumber, people, food (eggs were my favorite), electronics and much more. There are old bikes, older bikes, and really old bikes. Some have platforms on the back, some carry things with bungee cords, some are just so covered with things it’s impossible how to tell how the things are attached, it looks like it’s just plain magnetic.

The city though can accommodate the bikes because it’s built around them. Unlike any city I’ve visited, bikes are an integral part of the community, in a way that even Amsterdam can’t match. The roads have massive bike lanes, every single one. The main bridges have bike crossings, the ring roads have arteries, the alleys have bike paths. There is nowhere in the city that’s not accessible and the bike is not just a personal transportation device it’s also a moving van, delivery truck and service vehicle.

While Beijing has recently become one of the most car-filled cities on earth, it’s also one of the most bike friendly ones.

Which brings me to riding in Beijing. It’s pretty fair to say that from a purely movement point-of-view (discounting the scenery or the attractions) riding in Beijing has been a tremendous pleasure because of the issue of critical mass. There are two ways to ride a bike in Beijing: cautiously, and the way everyone actually rides. It’s perfectly acceptable to stop at major intersections and wait for the green light. It’s also perfectly acceptable to ride across to the median, hang out for a second and then push forward across the road, even if there is traffic coming.

That’s because Beijing traffic operates under one simple rule: do not hit anyone. Most of my pedestrian friends have remarked that it seems that cars have the right of way, this is simply not the case. Everyone has the right of way, and so at an intersection crossing is a delicate balance of vehicles going around each other, without violating their natural rules of order. Cars and trucks do have a bit of a priority, they’re bigger and larger after all, but when enough pedestrians or cyclists hit the intersection, even vehicular traffic yields.

It’s really a wonderful system, one that allows massive amounts of vehicles to coexist. It’s also, if you’re adventurous something that allows you to turn cycling in Beijing into one big amusement park.

While I love the bucolic back roads and suburban corridors of the lower Hudson, and while I make trips to ride in idyllic locals, urban riding is my favorite. If you’ve ever watched video of bike messengers weaving in and out of traffic, running stop lights, weaving around trucks that cut them off, picking a line and flow dictated by the streets—that’s my favorite kind of ride. But it’s not one that I get to have often, as I’m a rule-abiding rider.

But here in Beijing, there are no rules for bikes. Want to ride 3 MPH blocking a row of busses? Okay. Want to cut across an eight-lane road before the light changes. Go ahead. Weave around bikes? How else can you avoid someone who is pulling a mattress behind them? There’s not really anything to stop you, and in fact it’s the only way to get anywhere. (New rule of cycling: when a guy pulling a cart full of eggs crosses the street, it’s likely safe to do so as well.)

In the four days of riding I’ve done here I haven’t seen a single bike-vs-vehicle or bike-vs-pedestrian accident because everyone takes it on themselves to not only determine their right of way but to be sure that their right-of-way doesn’t conflict with someone else’s. As a result, screaming cars come to a stop (without a honk) when a group of walkers pass by. Bikes flow around cars when they cut off a lane and walkers pause before crossing at a walkway. It is perhaps the most ideal way for vehicles to interact, with every road user having their own place in the overall scheme.

For the confident rider, it’s the most enjoyable type of ride imaginable, on that combines the skills of cyclocross and mountain biking with the smoothness of urban pavement. And Beijing in miles upon miles of wide-bike-lane-meets-sudden narrowing choke point, it’s masses of people creating their own critical masses, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun.

Now I just have to figure out how to make it an Olympic sport.

LINKS

Photos of riding in Beijing on the Rockland Bicycling Club flickr site.

Photos of Beijing in my personal flickr site.

Enjoyed a quick 35 miles through Garrison and Cold Spring this afternoon to make sure the adjustments made to by bike are ready for 75 miles tomorrow.

The Tour de Putnam folks have been busy the past few weeks posting signs and painting directional arrows on the roads. The course looks well marked with plenty of advance warnings for turns, hard climbs and dangerous descents. One very welcome surprise on the 75 and 100 miles routes was the newly paved Route 403 out of Garrison from rt 9D to Rt 9. This makes the climb much nicer and safer. The photo shows a beautiful farm at about the halfway up and just past the crux.

Everything looks ready, time for another glass of water and hope my body is go to go for the ride. Hope to see you out there.

When you go out for your ride, you’ve got your ID with you, right? No? Why not?

I know, you don’t want to lose your driver’s license, or you think “well I’ll just be riding in my neighborhood, if anything will happen, I can just get back home.” Sometimes though accidents happen, and when a cyclist gets into an accident, they’re often incapacitated.

That’s why I’ve always got one of two bits of ID with me (or both). In some of my bike bags I carry a laminated sheet with a copy of my driver’s license on one side and my insurance card on the other. I’ve copied this onto bright yellow paper and written “copy” across it (because technically in NY you can’t duplicate your ID exactly, lest you get charged with forgery) and that’s in my bag. (It’s prevented overzealous cops from ticketing me for operating a vehicle without a license.)

The other ID I carry is the Road ID, a convenient bracelet that contains a few lines of engraved text on which you can put information like your name, address, phone number and blood type. A newer version includes a link to a website and phone number where first responders can get more information, but I figure that in many of the places in the world where I ride, access to the web is not a staple of a medical facility.

In any case, don’t get stuck on the road without something that tells people who you are and how to get you home if some thing’s wrong.

By NAOMI KOPPEL
Associated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP) _ Julien Absalon of France won his second straight Olympic gold medal in men’s mountain biking Saturday, easily holding off countryman Jean-Christophe Peraud for the title.

Earlier, Sabine Spitz of Germany took the women’s title, leading almost from start to finish.

A four-time world champion, Absalon completed eight laps around the course in 1 hour, 55 minutes, 59 seconds to become the first man with two Olympic mountain biking titles.

Absalon broke away from the field in the first half of the race and nobody could catch him.

“It’s never easy to win an Olympic title, but perhaps it was well-managed,” Absalon said. “We got away in a three, so then at least we all had a medal, and when I saw the chance to go ahead, I did so.”

“But in mountain biking anything can happen. You can have heatstroke or a technical problem. The last part of the last lap was very difficult,” he said. “I only knew I was going to win after I did the last descent and came into the stadium, because then I could walk over the line if necessary.”

Peraud finished 1:07 behind Absalon. Switzerland’s Nino Schurter was third, finishing 1:53 behind Absalon and beating fellow Swiss racer Christoph Sauser — the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist and current world champion — to the finish line by two seconds.

“I realized that I was better going uphill than he was,” Schurter said. “I was able to hold him off on the straights, and the last 15 seconds I definitely had the better of him.”

Schurter, 22, is seen as the great hope for Switzerland, one of the strongest mountain biking nations in the world. Absalon said he thought Schurter would be the favorite for London 2012, although when asked if he himself would compete there, he responded, “Why not?”

In the women’s race, which was postponed from Friday because of heavy rain, Spitz added the title to the bronze she won at the Athens Games four years ago.

She finished six laps in 1:45.11. She stopped about five meters from the finish, hopped off her bike and carried it across the finish line.

Spitz had led almost from the beginning. She said she managed to get ahead of world champion Margarita Fullana on the first lap and from then on she was on her own.

“I was very pleased. I could hear some shouts behind me. Then I was able to get into the rhythm and maintain that. I was relatively relaxed,” she said.

Spitz, 36, is the 2003 world champion and competing in her third Olympics. She said she believed that sometimes being a little older was a benefit in mountain biking.

“Mountain biking is a very tough sport mentally, so with age you can get stronger,” she said.

She added that when she stood on the podium she would have liked to have had a sign that read: “It is possible to win without doping.”

Maja Wloszczowska of Poland won the silver, finishing 41 seconds behind Spitz. Irina Kalentieva of Russia won the bronze, another 36 seconds back.

“I’ve worked very hard for this. It is the work of many people,” Wloszczowska said.

Defending gold medalist Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa of Norway only completed three laps before dropping out, citing mechanical problems. Marie-Helene Premont of Canada, the silver medalist from Athens, had breathing problems and only completed one lap. Fullana also pulled out before the end.

Catharine Pendrel of Canada fought Kalentieva all the way for the bronze medal, but couldn’t keep up with her on the last lap.

“Irina is a really strong competitor. I made a shifting error on the last lap and she got ahead of me. It definitely would be nice to be standing on that podium,” Pendrel said.

The mountain biking competitions mark the end of the Olympic cycling program. Britain topped the table with eight of the 18 gold medals awarded, while Spain and France won two each and there were single golds for Switzerland, the United States, Argentina, the Netherlands, Germany and Latvia. ( AP Photos)

The jet lag does not hit me particularly hard, which is odd because the trip from New York to Beijing (if you count my connecting flight from Newark to Dulles) is more than fifteen hours. A business class seat and an Ambien go a long way to reducing the fatigue normally assoicated with trans-continental flight and so I’m thankful to have a few hours before sunset where I’m not disoriented and groggy.

A friend of mine is already in Beijing working at the Olympics, I’ve come to replace him for the second half of the event, and we catch up in the airport as he heads back to the states. A few pointers about getting around and then I slog my two suitcases—one of which includes my Bike Friday onto the taxi line, and then into my hotel.

The Bike Friday is a rather constant travel companion and thanks to the fact that it’s a complete, albeit odd-looking bike that fits into a standard suitcase, I’m able to get in a lot of riding even when I’m on the road.

Take this trip for example—I’m working in the media center at the Olympics, and I only have about twenty free daylight hours in ten days of working, but thanks to the bike that’s in my suitcase, i can still ride.

It usually takes me about six minutes to go from case to rideable, though this time it’s considerably longer because in my desire to lighten the weight of the suitcase I left some “extra” things at home. One of which is an eight-milimeter wrench, necessary for putting my pedals on the bike.

Another is the full-sized floor pump I usually bring, and so I start to fill up a deflated tire with the hand pump that’s my backup. Just when I’ve got the wheel almost completely pumped, I feel a tear and hear a hiss as the rubber of the valve-stem separates. No worries, I’ve got more tubes, but the second one suffers from a bent and then broken pin that leaves it deflated as well.

It’s now that I realize I’ve made some mistakes. The first is that I’m traveling in a foreign country with Presta valve tubes, one of the two main kinds of bike tube valves on the market, yet the one that’s hardest to find. Schrader, the kind that’s on every car in the world, would have been a better choice because then I could have topped off at any of the million local bike stores.

I manage to inflate the third tube with a C02 cartridge I accidentally left in my seat bag (they’re not allowed on planes) and manage to use the too-small 8mm wrench on my multi-tool to get my pedals on.

My Garmin GPS has been in the window of my hotel this whole time, acquiring signal and figuring out where I am. I set off onto a voyage of the local streets.

Riding is Beijing (and I’m not even in the city center) is an odd game of chess, a game of chess that involves lots of cabs, pedestrians and busses all trying to occupy the same space at the same time. Within the first half-mile I’m nearly killed at least five times, it’s thrilling.

I’m the only person in Beijing with a helmet on, and I’m one of the few occidentals so I’m getting a few looks. Bikes go by with passengers on the bike, motorized scooters whiz by me, we’re all just moving along while the cars sit in traffic.

I take a wandering route around the neighborhood stopping to watch a yard full of people practicing a kite routine, stopping to buy some delicious chicken using the finger pointing method (point, hold up the number of fingers for the number of pieces you want. They hold up fingers for the price.) After a great leisurely five miles or so, I decide to head back to the hotel and I set the GPS to guide me back to my start. I’m surprisingly close to my waypoint, and when I get to the corner where the GPS points, I realize it’s no where near the hotel.

This is when I panic.

I realize now, as the sun sets in a city with millions of people who don’t speak English, that I’m on a bike without a printed copy of the name and address of my hotel. I’ve set a waypoint in my GPS that must be off because when I set the point the unit hadn’t gotten full accuracy from the satellites. My hotel could be a few hundred yards in any direction.

I’ve also realized that I’ve left my phone in my hotel, I have no idea how to use pay phones in China and while I’ve got enough money for a cab (and a folding bike that fits easily therein) I’ve got no way to tell the driver where to go.

It occurs to me suddenly that the GPS allows me to route back to the starting point, which it would set from when I activated the bike computer, something I did in the courtyard of the hotel where I (hopefully) had more signal. I follow the route as the sun goes from twilight to “off” and try to pick out landmarks that might help. There’s the Crown Plaza (they probably speak English), there’s the moon (it’s not going anywhere for a while), there’s the Olympic stadium.

As panic sets in a bit, I work my way back through the dark, finding I’m the only cyclist in Beijing with illumination. I’m headed against the bike flow on the wide lane, and trying to find the hotel.

Soon I hear the honking and motor noises of the ring road alongside of which my hotel is located, and my panic subsides. I coast a bit (almost being taken out by a few more busses and an unleashed dog) and get to the hotel.

As I enter the lobby, a woman stops me and says “I’m sorry sir, we don’t allow the bike in the hotel.” Three bellman come up to assist her in preventing my entry. (They were all smiles and “ni-hao” as I left the hotel with this same bike.

“No problem!” I proclaim, “it folds,” and I proceed to collapse the bike, which while not changing the physical “bikeness” of it, makes them decide to let me in.

Back in my hotel room I’m feeling a bit of relief at having survived yet another stupid situation on a bike, and glad that I got to spend some time tooling around the local streets instead of running on the treadmill in a cramped fitness center in the building.

By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING (AP) _ Halfway through the BMX men’s gold medal race, Mike Day knew he was beaten, and the notion of leaving Beijing with only a silver medal represented an unfathomable disappointment.

An hour later, the magnitude of the accomplishment having sunk in, he was filled with glee.

“Incredible,” he said, holding the shiny prize that dangled from his neck, “is how I’d describe it.”

By then, all that mattered to Day was this: On his sport’s most historic day, he became an Olympic medalist — and two of his teammates reached the podium as well. Silver, bronze and bronze for the U.S., the nation that invented the genre of cycling known as bicycle motocross nearly 40 years ago.

No gold, but no complaints, either.

Day finished second in the men’s Olympic final Friday, one spot ahead of Donny Robinson, while Jill Kintner survived a crash-filled women’s main event to win her bronze. That meant U.S. riders took half of the medals awarded at the first-ever Olympic BMX finals, something the Americans pointed to with pride.

“Silver medal, after 3½ years of training, I can’t complain. We had all the resources to make this happen and we’re excited to be here,” Day said. “Two men and a woman on the podium, I’m pumped.”

So was USA Cycling, which now has five medals at the Beijing Games.

American bikers have exceeded that total only twice before, winning nine in 1984 when the Eastern bloc boycotted, and claiming 21 in 1904, when the U.S. was the only nation racing.

And the significance wasn’t lost on the American racers.

“First woman for America, in the first event ever, first medal, it’s such a piece of history,” said Kintner, who rides with a shredded knee ligament that’ll require surgery soon. “I’m so glad I can represent and be a part of it. Mikey and Donny and me, it’s huge for American BMX. Think about it. This’ll bring a big boost to our program. It puts us on the map again.”

World champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia won the men’s gold, sweeping to the front at the start of the winner-take-all final and never losing control. The French duo of Anne-Caroline Chausson and Laetitia Le Corguille took gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s title race, where Kintner rallied from far back in the pack to win her medal.

“We put on a great show,” Robinson said, “and kind of showed everyone that the sport is really awesome.”

The day was filled with crashes, especially in Turn 1, a tight, banked, asphalt bend where mayhem broke out with amazing regularity.

But the Americans largely stayed out of trouble — and in the women’s final, Kintner benefited from the chaos.

Near the back of the eight-woman pack after a poor start in the final, Kintner kept pumping the whole way, hopeful for a break, which British racer Shanaze Reade provided. Reade, who crashed three times during the Olympics, went down again in the final turn, and Kintner maneuvered around her into third place.

“How is that! Talk about stuff flying all over the track everywhere,” Kintner said. “People were going for broke, so I was patient, I waited, I avoided all the problems — and there it was.”

After crossing the finish line, Kintner hopped off her bike, put her hands atop her helmet, hugged some of her competitors, then thrust her fists into the air, all while Reade writhed on the asphalt 50 yards away, realizing she’d just blown a medal.

Reade claimed that Chausson cut her off, but in BMX, nearly anything goes.

“I believe she made an error,” Chausson said. “All the better for the French team.”

All the better for Kintner, too.

She’s a former world mountaincross champion who came back to BMX only for the pursuit of an Olympic medal, which she wanted in tribute to her father, who died two years ago and was essentially the driving force behind her cycling career as a kid.

Dad would’ve been proud Friday, without question.

His daughter had “4 Dad” written on her gloves, giving them a kiss before every ride.

“I was thinking of him,” Kintner said.

Day was the dominant rider in the men’s field, winning the time trial and all three of his quarterfinal heats Wednesday, then winning his first two semifinals on Friday.

But in BMX, the fastest rider doesn’t always win — not with eight people looking for the best line.

In the men’s title race, Strombergs found it, and within moments Day knew he was riding for second, that the Latvian couldn’t be caught.

“I had a good start,” Day said. “I was right there. Just couldn’t get in front of him.”

Throughout the competition, success on the 35-foot, severely sloped starting ramp was critical. Without a good start, no racer could find the best lines going into Turn 1 — where American three-time world champion Kyle Bennett suffered a dislocated shoulder Wednesday. That turn saw crashes in eight of the 12 semifinal heats, where racers vying for position inevitably got tangled with one another.

“It’s like playing pinball out there,” said Bennett, who raced Friday with pain, but barely missed qualifying for the final.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” Kintner said. “That’s kind of the beauty of our sport.”

Now’s the time to mark your calendar and register for this year’s Golden Apple, to be held Sunday September 14 at the Goldens Bridge train station. We’re expecting a big crowd – we have 330 riders signed up already, and we are projecting to have at least 1,000 riders that Sunday in later summer. It’s Westchester’s biggest participatory recreational event.
Register now for $25 and you’ll get a t-shirt. After Sept. 3, the cost of the ride rises to $35.
Register online here.

We’ve been working to make the 2008 Golden Apple will be the best ever, with amply stocked food stops, and a filling lunch when you get back to Goldens Bridge.
We go out of our way to provide everything you need to make it a perfect day of bike riding. With something for everyone, we will have 25, 50, 75, 100, and 125-mile routes. Every turn is marked on the ground. We provide maps, cue sheets, and an emergency number just in case. All the routes beyond 25 follow a figure eight pattern past the stop for maximum flexibility. Beginning and ending at the Goldens Bridge Railroad Station, we provide four remote food stops plus a hearty lunch served at the end.
Northern Westchester has some of Metro New York’s greatest roads, uncluttered by cars and full of beautiful sights. You will pass through horse country, past magnificent reservoirs, through quaint villages, and find a welcome rest to refuel at regular intervals.
The Golden Apple benefits Friends of Karen, a local charity for terminally ill children, and the New York Bicycling Coalition, a leader in New York statewide advocacy.

The weather forecast looks great Sunday is the 11th Tour de Putnam Cycling Festival and my first time riding this great ride. The Putnam County Visitors Bureau has added some extras this year for the 800 to 1,000 participants. The “Taste of Putnam” raffle will give everyone who rides a chance to win a number of valuable prizes such as gift certificates to: Cathryn’s Tuscan Grill
Plumbush Inn
Hudson Valley Outfitters
Bikeway
Gift baskets from Highlands Baskets
Family 4 pack from Thunder Ridge Ski Area
Jewelry from De Kraft Designs

So far 400 have registered online, but that is closed no. But you can still ride the 15. 30, 50, 75, and 100 mile routes through historic Putnam County. You will receive a healthy lunch, t-shirt, and even free massage after your ride.

The routes will take you through beautiful country roads filled with history. You may ride along Peekskill Hollow Road where teenager Sybil Ludington passed during her 40-mile nighttime horseback ride to alert her father’s troops of battle in Danbury during our revolution. Along 9D the chains that helped protect the Hudson River were placed to prevent the British Navy moving North or South, we’ll at least until the British defeated at Fort Montgomery across the river. As you descend a fast and tricky Winston Lane you will pass through Continental Village where 2,000 to 3,000 troops camped throughout the war.

I’m looking forward to meeting many of you and snapping some photos along my planned 75 ride.

The signs alerting motorists to the event are up but remind your friends to give the cyclists a little extra room as they drive though Putnam.

Wrap up from the Olympic  velodrome. Britian is clearly head of the class on the velodrome this year winning seven of the ten gold  medals and a number of silver’s as well. They also won the women’s road race. The US was shut out on the track for the second Olympics in a row.

Hoy wins men’s track cycling sprint gold

BEIJING (AP) _ Britain’s Chris Hoy has taken his third gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, beating teammate Jason Kenny in the men’s track cycling sprint.

Hoy, the silver medalist from Sydney and reigning world champion, defeated Kenny in two races in the final at the Laoshan Velodrome to complete a perfect week. It was the last gold to be decided in the velodrome and left Britain with seven of the 10 gold medals in track cycling. This AP photo captures Hoy wipe a tear while holding his three gold medals.

The silver was Kenny’s second medal. He took gold alongside Hoy in the men’s team sprint on Friday.

France’s Mickael Bourgain beat Germany’s Maximilian Levy of Germany for the bronze.Argentina wins gold in the track cycling madison

BEIJING (AP) _ Britain’s Victoria Pendleton has beaten Australia’s Anna Meares for the gold medal in the women’s track cycling sprint.

Pendleton, a three-time world champion in the event, swept Tuesday’s best-of-three final, 2-0.

Meares — who suffered a near-catastrophic injury at a World Cup race near Los Angeles seven months ago — won the bronze in the sprint at the Athens Games four years ago. This AP photo shows the tactics of forcing your opponent in the sprint to take the lead. The referee is timing them and watching to make sure they do not go backward.

BEIJING (AP) _ Argentina’s Juan Esteban Curuchet and Walter Fernando Perez have won the gold medal in the men’s madison, their nation’s first track cycling medal of the Beijing Olympics.

Argentina had eight points, one more than silver-medalist Spain and two more than bronze-winning Russia on Tuesday.I think this photo captures the emotions and pride these men have in their win and their homeland.

It was an upset loss for Britain, the heavy favorites with Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins — who was bidding to pass Burton Downing of the United States as the most-decorated Olympic track cyclist of all time — finishing eighth.

The madison is a 200-lap, two-man race where teams collect points in sprints held every 20 laps. Only one rider from each nation is racing at a time.

Pendleton wins women’s track cycling sprint gold

China’s Guo Shuang beat Willy Kanis of the Netherlands for the bronze.

One month has past since Cycling Central began. We wanted to thank everyone who is reading and sending in comments. So far, thanks to you we have enjoyed a terrific number of page views for a new blog.

Two new additions are David Wilson, President of Westchester Cycling Club and David Schloss, President of Rockland Bicycling Club have been added to the team. We will also be adding some other items in the near future.

Please suggest ideas to make the site more useful to you. What should we do more of or less of?

In the meantime we’ll keep posting.

See you on the road.