As I watch the snow fall I wanted to thank you for being a big part of my 2008.  Thanks to all the new friends I’ve passed 2,600 miles with. (Please vote how many miles you rode in 2008 in our current poll.) Thanks for the laughs and encouragement during those miles. A special thanks to the “core group” of Mid-Week Maintenance friends. Thanks to Herb Pinder, Editorial Page Editor who asked in the late spring if I’d be interested in picking up David Wilson’s idea of a cycling blog. After a few days of thought I said’ I’d give it a try and recruited to leaders in the cycling community to help provide content. David Wilson who left the paper a year earlier and now is a freelance writer and president of the Westchester Cycle Club and David Schloss, president of the Rockland Bicycling Club and who also happens to be a professional writer and photographer. Thanks to both of you for your friendship and love of cycling. A special thanks to all of you the readers of Cycling Central. Knowing you are reading helps motivate me to ride to help generate ideas and content.
When I moved here in the fall of 2005 I had been riding the flats in Toronto, but starting a new job and being faced with the sharp challenging hills here I put the bike away over that winter. I took one ride with David Wilson that let me know I was not in any shape for the riding here and instead of digging in and getting on the bike I put it in the basement telling myself I’d ride again but to focus on other things for now.
In the winter of 2007 I was getting the inch to ride again. I had kept riding my mountain bike a little on the dirt road I live on. I put the road bike on the trainer and started to ride a half an hour a few times a week. In 2008 my weight was 196 pounds and resting heart rate 56. Now I’m 175 – put on a few holiday pounds and my heart rate has dropped to 52. The highlights include riding in the Tour de Putnam, The Tappan Zee Ride for MS, and meeting some very inspirational people while helping at The Hershey Tour de Pink.
It’s great to be back riding and in better fitness. My personal goals for next year are to drop another ten pounds or more and have a resting heart rate of 48, a beat or two below my age. I also hope to ride 3,500 to 4,000 miles and be comfortable on riding with the A group.
Cycling Central had a successful start in 2008 and has some new ideas kicking around for 2009.
Happy New Years!

Happy Holidays!
In Two days I rode 119 miles on the flatlands of the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland. What a terrific way to work off a Christmas dinner feast. My wife’s family rents a vacation home to bring the family together over Christmas each year. This year we stayed on Chincoteague Island in Virginia.
I’ve been riding on the Eastern shore for many years and would often top off my racing season training with a long weekend of 200 miles or more in late March. This gave me longer miles and high cadence to ready my legs for high speed early season criteriums. These roads are perfect for early season LSD (Long Slow Distance ) miles.
So I printed some maps and headed off the island for a few hours Friday (67 miles)and Saturday (52). The terrain allowed for a high cadence on my 50X21 and 19 and never using the small ring for the short gentle grades. I cannot call them hills really. So the hours in the saddle were spent spinning 110 rpms with little change in tempo. Not something my body is use to along the Hudson. While the peddling was free and easy my legs and back felt the steady position.
The roads are open fields, swamp and a few cedar forests. Small old towns dot the crossroads taking you back 50 years or more. The roads here are safe and smooth with good visibility.
Both days the wind ticked up and made for a long tiring return across the wide-open causeway.
Early spring of 2009 might just find me on the Eastern shore for some long days in the saddle and flat road LSD to move my body from winter training to season ready.

The 2009 Bike MS Tappan Zee Ride seems way off but it’s a great time to learn basic bicycle maintenance and repair. Danny’s Cycles is an official sponsor of the ride and is hosting a free clinic from 7:00pm to 8:30pm, Thursday, January 8th at their shop at 644 Central Avenue, Scarsdale.

The clinic will address the following important things.

• How to care for your bike to keep in great shape


• Minor repairs while on the road


• Basic tools to have and how to use them


• Essential tools for the ride


• Road safety tips


• How to fix a flat demonstration

Refreshments will be served Seating is limited. Please call 914-723-3408 or email info@dannyscycles.com to reserve your seat. Discounts will be offered on tools and maintenance items during the clinic.

Just saw this story from the AP about a cross country map for cyclits. On the Rockland Bicycling Club’s website there’s been a fun discussion about which states have you ridden in? One has hit all fifty. My list is is only 13 states: PA – NJ – NY – CT – MD – VA – NH – VT – MA – ME – NC – WV – DE . Maybe this map will help add to the list.

By CALVIN WOODWARD – Associated Press Writer – WASHINGTON (AP) — At first glance, everything seems out of place on the map of a new interstate road system taking shape across the nation.

Interstate 95 runs down the stunning sweep of the Pacific Coast, not the congested blandness of the Eastern Seaboard. Route 1 meanders along country roads, not strip malls. And you’ll get your kicks on Route 76.

Mapmakers gone wild? Not quite.

State officials and bicycle enthusiasts are stitching together more than 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers) of pedal-friendly pavement to form a vast network of bicycle routes connecting byways, cities and offroad trails in a system like the one created for cars and trucks over half a century ago.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, working with the Adventure Cycling Association and other groups, recently approved a plan, four years in the making, that lays the foundation for the network. Now it’s up to each state to create the routes and put up signs.

“It’s a big turning point,” said Jim Sayer, executive director of the Adventure Cycling group, the authority on transcontinental bike travel.

“We’re coming down out of the clouds, having created the overall national plan, and getting to the nitty-gritty of creating interstate routes on the ground. It’s a great opportunity for the U.S. to establish what could be the largest bicycle route network in the world.”

The effort relies on cartography instead of construction, signposts instead of earth-movers.

Working from a bewildering tangle of existing roads, planners mapped a web of corridors where the national bicycle system should go. They considered traffic volume, terrain, amenities and ways to link together lightly traveled byways, secondary roads, urban trails and already established transcontinental bicycle routes.

Each corridor on the map they approved is a broad swath 50 miles (80 kilometers) wide; the precise routes within each corridor are still to be designated, numbered and given signs.

To avoid confusion, the proposed numbering system is reversed from interstate highways. For example, Route 10 is the southernmost east-west interstate for motor vehicles; bicycle Route 10 runs east-west close to the Canadian border.

Long-distance bicycling is catching the imagination — and in some cases, purse strings — of governments worldwide as they look for ways to encourage people-powered travel and tourism. If completed as planned, the U.S. network would outdistance anything offered in other countries, or even continents.

In Europe, a dozen long-distance routes are coming together in the 38,000-mile (61,150-kilometer) EuroVelo network, about one-third complete. For a route to qualify, it must have traffic volume under 1,000 vehicles a day, a grade no steeper than 6 percent and enough width for cyclists to ride two abreast.

In Quebec, the 2,700-mile (4,345-kilometer) Route Verte, or Greenway, was finished last year at a cost of more than $80 million Canadian from the provincial government and millions more from localities along the way.

Quebec set rigorous conditions for operators who want business from the cyclists. For example, certified campgrounds must guarantee space to cyclists, reservation or not, and offer a sheltered place to eat. Participating hotels must offer high-carb meals, fresh fruit and secure storage for bikes. Amenities and public transportation are offered at set intervals.

The U.S. is a long way from that level of organization and is unlikely to adopt rigid nationwide standards for what constitutes a bike-friendly interstate route. The lay of the land is such that busier roads with wide shoulders are included along with quiet roads with no shoulders.

Adventure Cycling has thoroughly mapped 38,000 miles (61,150 kilometers) on its own. The new corridors incorporate many of those routes, perhaps most notably the TransAmerica Trail, the mother road of transcontinental bicycling connecting Virginia and Oregon over 4,262 miles (6,859 kilometers).

The interstate plan marks a revival of sorts for Route 76, the 1976 bicentennial bicycle route that shares most of the same roads with the TransAm. Virginia has already put up Bicycle Route 76 signs for the new system — signs that will rise again across the country if the vision of the planners is made real.

AP Photos

On the Net:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/nbrn/usbikewaysystem.cfm

In Africa, a bike, the simple two-wheeled object many of us take for granted, can transform a life. In fact, it can transform many lives. Each bike on average helps twenty people in Africa, which is why the site DoubleBikeMatch.org is so high up my list this holiday season for charitable donations. World Bicycle Relief gives the bikes to AIDS workers and other relief workers in Africa. Your money couldn’t go farther.

Backed by the bike industry and a “generous supporter” the site is raising money for World Bicycle Relief a 501©(3) nonprofit. Between now and December 19th any monies given to the site will be matched one-for-one by the mystery donor. It costs $134 to supply a bike, but even small amounts help.

Take a moment to give a little bit and help out if you can. Visit Double Bike Match. If you want to be really moved, watch this video about the program from the Today Show.

The new 11 speed Campagnolo road gruppo, a gift certificate for the hopeful January release of the electric Dura Ace Di2 gruppo or the SRAM Red gruppo to outfit your favorite road frame?

Santa, if you’re listening I’d like a SRAM Red group set with a 172.5 50/34 crank set.
I’m still riding 8 speed and happy with my gearing. I never feel lacking for a gear to suit my cadence or road condition. So I’m having trouble feeling the need and the cost for 22 gears. It’s difficult for me since I’ve loved Campy from my first Nuevo Record rear derailleur and down-tube shifters. Campy has always been dependable and repairable. I still love the workmanship but just cannot see the cost. But for $3,270.50 for the Super Record 11 gruppo from Competitive Cyclist I’d be happy with Red for $2,040. That extra $1,230 would buy a very nice set of wheels that would make a huge difference ride quality and overall speed advantage. Campy does win this contest for looks alone, just love Itilian design.

Electric shifting, I’m just not sure I need the headaches. Sure it’s snazzy and new – sorta. It’s been testing on the pro bikes for two years now, but still on hold for the weekend worriers. I also remember racing a guy with Mavic Electric shifting in the Killington Stage race in the mid-nineties and never wanting to draft him because his gears were either jumping on their own or not shifting to a larger sprocket under climbing pressure.
I’d guess that Dura Ace Di2 is better and works great, but still seems like just something else to go wrong and difficult to set up. The price is still up in the air as well, but rumors say as much as $3,000 for the levers, front and rear derailleur and battery kits. That’s over the standard 7900 Dura Ace price of $2,600. I’d guess a price of $3,800 to $4,000 for the group.

American company SRAM has rave reviews, light-weight, and best price. Here’s a blog item from pro bike mechanic Ben Oliver who handled the Bissell Pro Cycling Team this year . These guys know more about bike parts then the pro riders. If he’s doing his job the racer thinks every part is perfect, because the mechanic has adjusted or replaced the part before it fails.

Please vote in the current pole and leave your comments on your favorite gruppo.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer seen in a YouTube video knocking a bicyclist to the pavement during a protest in Times Square pleaded not guilty Tuesday to related charges.

Patrick Pogan, 23, was arraigned on two felony and three misdemeanor charges in state Supreme Court. He was released without bail and told to return to court Feb. 4. Link to video

Pogan is accused of knocking Christopher Long off his bicycle without justification on June 25 during a bike ride organized by a group that promotes alternative transportation. Pogan had filed charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing government administration against Long, but those charges were dismissed.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said Pogan was charged with falsifying business records and filing a false instrument. Both are felonies punishable by sixteen months to four years in prison.

He also faces misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault, second-degree harassment and making a punishable false written statement.

Morgenthau said Pogan falsified details in the criminal complaint and other paperwork related to Long’s arrest, claiming Long steered his bike into the officer and injured him.

Morgenthau said the incident was recorded by an onlooker and that the video posted on YouTube showed “Pogan singling out Long and purposely body-checking Long off the bike.”

“The bicyclist’s actions before my client took action caused him to take the action he did,” defense lawyer Stuart London said as he left court.

Long suffered a back abrasion, lower back pain and small cuts and bruises, Morgenthau said.

Long’s attorney, David Rankin, said his client was grateful to prosecutors.

“I am grateful that my client was not more seriously injured during the incident, and particularly grateful that a video emerged which depicted what actually occurred that evening,” Rankin said. “If it were not for that video, my client … would most likely still be facing charges for assaulting an officer.”

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, “It’s certainly sad and disappointing to see any officer indicted, particularly one who had only been out of the Police Academy three weeks.”

Assistant District Attorney Richard Buckheit said Pogan, whose father is a retired detective, was suspended from the police force. Because he is a probationary officer, Pogan could be dismissed from the force even if he is cleared of all criminal charges.

The YouTube video has received some 1.6 million views. Daniel Castleman, Morgenthau’s top deputy, said the investigation of the incident resulted in large part from that video.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer has been indicted after being caught on video knocking a bicyclist to the ground. Please click the image below to view video.

Lawyer Stuart London says Patrick Pogan must report to the Manhattan prosecutor’s office on Tuesday morning.

Cyclist Christopher Long was arrested in July during a Critical Mass ride through Times Square. The monthly bike rides are meant to draw attention to alternatives to motor vehicles.

Police said Long was obstructing traffic and deliberately steered his bicycle into an officer. Charges were dismissed.

A video of the body-check that knocked Long over was posted on YouTube and has been viewed more than 1.6 million times.

Pogan has been stripped of his badge and gun and been assigned to desk duty.

Camille-Camille

Not to old, not to young and not to perfect,
your scents, your voice echoes on the streets
found in New York, New York and Cape Cod.

No one told you to go, no one told you to leave us
alone on the streets of New York, New York;
the beaches of Cape Cod on wave after wave.

They try to explain life’s tragedies as love,
that blossomed before your smile awaked
the life you held so dear, so pure to end.

None will forget you, your witty ways,
your one in a million steps to heaven,
a heaven you took with you Camille.

This poem and tribute is written by a Camille’s good friend Thomas McGowan of Cape Cod, They met most Wednesday nights for a poker game friends and shared many laughs throughout the summer.

By ANDREW DAMPF – AP Sports Writer – VENICE, Italy (AP) — Lance Armstrong is getting a warm reception from the Italian cycling community for his decision to enter the Giro d’Italia.

Perhaps nobody in Italy has a closer bond with Armstrong than Ivan Basso, who still recalls how the American took time away from the pursuit of his 2004 Tour de France victory to help Basso’s mother fight cancer.

“I have a very special memory of Armstrong for what he did for my mother,” Basso said at Saturday’s unveiling of the 2009 Giro route. “During the Tour, he was there for me and very sensitive.

“Even though he was busy trying to win the Tour, he got in touch with his foundation and found a therapy that helped my mother. My mother had three months to live, and thanks to him, she lived for nine months. … For me it was a very significant gesture.”

Basso finished third behind Armstrong at the 2004 Tour and is now returning from a two-year doping ban.

Armstrong is coming back to cycling in 2009 after three years of retirement and has entered the Giro for the first time.

“Armstrong was always popular in Italy. He lived by Lake Como early in his career,” said Candido Cannavo, a former longtime director of the Gazzetta dello Sport and still a columnist for Italy’s biggest sports newspaper. “But he always preferred the Tour as his sole objective.”

Despite his seven straight Tour victories, Armstrong remains a controversial figure in France, where he has faced unproven doping allegations.

“The problems should be taken in the context of cycling’s overall problems,” Cannavo said. “You can’t consider yourself beyond the problems that exist. You’ve got to remain confident in people first. Then, if you discover you’ve been betrayed, have no mercy.

“Say what you want but he’s the protagonist of one of the greatest sports human interest stories of the last century. Someone who recovers from testicular cancer and then wins seven Tours, what else do you need to say? It’s not quite a miracle, but it goes beyond the imagination.”

Even old nemeses Filippo Simeoni has reached out to Armstrong and said he hopes to race alongside the Giro if his small Flaminia-Bossini squad is invited. Simeoni wants to do a charity event with Armstrong.

“We’re very happy that Armstrong is racing this Giro,” Cannavo said. “The big question is, which Armstrong will we see after three years of retirement?”

Armstrong has tapped 2006 Giro winner Basso as the pre-race favorite, and Basso has a strong teammate in Franco Pellizotti, who finished fourth in this year’s Giro — only two seconds off the podium — and won the strenuous mountain time trial at Plan de Corones.

“It’s good for cycling,” Pellizotti said of the Austin cycling great’s presence. “More press, more news in the papers. Now we’ve got to see what level he’s at. But knowing him, I don’t have any doubt he’ll come in form to win.”

With a long individual time trial of 38.34 miles in stage 12 considered one of the race’s signature stages — and time trials also opening and closing the race — some have criticized organizers for designing a course perfectly suited to Armstrong.

The Lampre team’s top riders, 2004 Giro winner Damiano Cunego and world champion Alessandro Ballan, were no-shows at the course presentation in what was taken as a silent protest.

“It’s an insult to the historic valor of this centennial edition,” race director Angelo Zomegnan said. “A Giro is never designed for one rider. In 1979, everyone said the Giro was designed for (Francesco) Moser and his rival (Giuseppe) Saronni won.”

Still, Zomegnan — a long-time friend of Armstrong’s — acknowledged that the route should please Armstrong because it passes through 16 cities, “enabling him to promote his cancer foundation.”

Zomegnan also said he was in talks with NBC for American TV rights to the race.