Double Century 2008 - Tale of Two Rides
A small turn out this year, but a great ride as always
By Bruce Wells - updated 6/25/08
The double century was held on June 15th this year, better known as Father's Day. While riding on Father's Day is not ideal, it was the only day I could do it this year, as I had to take my daughter to camp the following Sunday. I like to do the ride on Sunday for two reasons: less traffic, and it gives you a day to prepare.
I arrived at SUNY about 5 minutes before the ride to no cars in the parking lot. Jerome Jousse showed up shortly, as he had been driving around looking for everyone else. As we were getting ready, Jim Sannerud arrived on bike. He explained that he had to be back early, so he would ride with us for a while and turn around. Just after 5am, Barbara Kingsborough and Bob Beringer showed up. Bob would be our sag for the day and Barbara would ride with us. With no one else showing up, we departed at 5:10am. Jim turned back in Purdys so he would be back in White Plains before 9am.
The group rode well together, but there was no way we were going to do a 20 pace with just 3 people for most of the ride. Just north of Brewster, we overtook Hiroshi Uehara, Brad Kenyon and Klaus Schreiber. The latter two had left from Tarrytown at 4:30. Hiroshi left from SUNY about 25 minutes before we did. The three met up on Rt 35 north of Katonah when Brad and Klaus stopped to fix a flat. Our group quickly passed then after explaining we were the entire ride and that we would probably see them at the first stop in Dover Plains.
As luck would have it, I flatted just before Dover Plains. The roads were wet due to the rains of the early morning. We did not get rained on, but I think the wet roads contributed to the flat. Rubber cuts easier when it is wet. Bob stopped the sag wagon and gave me a hand inflating the tire with a floor pump. Although we did not see them, the second group saw us just as we were leaving, so they arrived shortly after we did at the breakfast stop around 8:30 am.
The faster group got back on the road after breakfast, and this was the last we would see of the slower group. Brad became concerned about being unable to sustain the ride on Route 41 going into Massachusetts. So he headed west on 23, then south on 22, and took the train from Wassaic back down to Pleasantville. In the spirit of staying the course with the riders you started with, Klaus joined him. Hiroshi continued on to ride the rest of the ride solo.
Fortunately for us, we had some headwinds riding into Massachusetts. I say fortunately, since they were not that strong and it would mean the normal headwinds when we turned south on Rt 7 in Great Barrington would be tailwinds. The Rt 7 stretch is notorious for headwinds and is a real drag when you want to stop for lunch, but instead have to fight strong headwinds for 5 miles. As I predicted, we had tailwinds. The first I remember in 20 odd years of doing this ride.
Lunch was not eventful, except that Jerome noted he was really struggling since the first stop. Lucky for him, the route is mostly downhill for the next 50 miles. We continued on at a good clip. The pacelining on Rt 7 was really nice, as usual, and the hills into Kent were taken at a reasonable speed.
The weather was cool, so we did not need to stop in Kent for water like we did last year. The key to riding 200 miles in one day is to limit stops. Even if you want to just get water, a stop costs you 20 minutes by the time everyone gets what they need. The next stop was Pawling. Barbara and I got chocolate milkshakes. They really hit the spot. Jerome availed himself of the bike shop to purchase some chamois butter. Long distance riding can do that to you!
Pawling would be our last stop. Cold homebrew was now calling our names. After the climb south of Mt Kisco on Rt 128, Jerome had to take a break. While he was drinking energy drinks and such, he was toasted and wanted to quit. I remembered I still had a bunch of grapes in my pocket and started feeding them to him. That was the magic bullet. Jerome was now leading the charge back to SUNY!
We pulled in with exactly 11 hours of ride time, less than 13 hours after we started, giving us an average of 18.2 Not bad for three people. One flat in our group and no other problems. Bob arrived with pizza and lawn chairs. I served the home brew. All agreed it was another great double and we will be back to do it again in 2009!
Hiroshi arrived at SUNY at 7:45pm, completing his 8th double, exactly 15 hours after he started.
State DOT ignores accident data in Route 100 rumble-strip installation
WCC continues fight to reverse DOT assault on prime Westchester cycle route
By David Wilson - updated 6/27/08
Westchester Cycle Club is continuing the fight to take back Route 100 from the misguided state DOT highway safety engineers who installed rumble strips along one of Westchester’s finest cycling routes in Yorktown and Somers.
Accident data obtained by the club through the Freedom of Information Law found that the road is more than twice as safe as the average New York two-lane road, and is getting safer. Through interviews, we also discovered that the move to install the strips was sparked by accidents on Route 100 involving three DOT employees who were struck as they tried to turn into the DOT facility on Route 100. Among those rear-ended in May 2007 was DOT resident engineer Michael McBride, who pushed for their installation.
The first reported incident of a cyclist going down came on June 7, when a male rider was heading north on Route 100 by Muscoot Farm. Cars were parked on the shoulder. The cyclist had to cross the rumble strip to get out into the travel lane to avoid the parking car. He wasn’t going fast. The vibration from the strips caused him to lose control of his bike, and he fell to the pavement, suffering minor scrapes.
It appears that the state Department of Transportation embarked upon the project this spring in violation of its own policy, documented in its 2004 Highway Design Manual. That policy states the rumble strips, which are intended to awaken drowsy drivers and prevent what’s called drift-off-road accidents, should be installed on limited-access highways, like parkways or interstates, during construction or reconstruction.
The policy warns of the dangers of installing the strips on two-lane roads frequented by cyclists. It states the DOT could consider rumble strips on “limited stretches of highway or specific locations with a proven history of drift-off-road accidents, in advance of bridges where the shoulder substantially narrows, at gore areas, and as short warning strips on the outside of curves that follow long tangents.”
Accident data on this section of Route 100, provided by the state DOT pursuant to a Freedom of Information request, show that in the six-year period from 2001 to 2007, there were five accidents caused by drivers falling asleep and two more caused by fatigued or drowsy drivers. That’s seven incidents in six years, or roughly one a year. That’s not the kind of “proven history” to justify the extraordinary measure of installing rumble strips on a two-lane road.
If that is the state DOT’s standard for installing rumble strips, then New York state cyclists should brace themselves for a bumpy ride over the next several years.
The rumble strips are intended to startle a driver who is drowsy and veering off the road. Data for this section of Route 100 show there were 18 accidents from 2001 to 2007 involving cars that went off the road. They included nine motorists who struck a guide rail, one hit a utility pole, two hit trees, and six drove off the road. There were two fatalities over six years caused by head-on collisions.
There were also three accidents at the entrance of the DOT regional facility on Route 100 in the spring of 2007, according to interviews. DOT resident engineer Michael McBride was involved in one such accident, when he was rear-ended as he attempted to turn into the DOT facility. He was involved in promoting rumble strips for Route 100.
The accident data provided by DOT showed that Route 100 in Yorktown and Somers has been getting considerably safer. From 2001 to 2004, there were 1.02 accidents per million miles traveled. From 2004 to 2007, there were 0.6 accidents per million miles traveled, a 42 percent drop. The statewide average on two-lane roads is 1.45 accidents per million miles traveled.
So the most recent data available to the state DOT show that Route 100, between Route 118 and Route 35, is more than twice as safe as the average road in New York. The data here should not have driven the state DOT officials to install rumble strips on Route 100.
When presented with this analysis in a telephone conversation, assistant regional director Michael Cotton said that the DOT did not base its decision regarding installation of rumble strips on accident data. Instead, he said DOT planners were concerned with the “multi-modal conflict between cars, cyclists and the fishermen who park along 100.”
The magnitude of that conflict, however, is small, according to DOT data and the experience of cyclists who have ridden there for years.
According to DOT data, there was one incident from 2001 to 2007 that involved a collision between a car and a cyclist. During that same time period, there were 17 instances in which a car collided with a deer. The 1,200-member Westchester Cycle Club, which runs many of its rides on this section of Route 100, has never received a report of an incident involving motorists and cyclists here.
Cotton said there were reports from police agencies concerned with accidents along the road. None of those police reports were provided pursuant to a Freedom of Information request seeking such documents. The only letter seeking safety improvements came from the town of Somers on Feb. 7, 2008 as Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy requested a study of the road, based on the concern expressed by Westchester EMS, which responds to traffic accidents there.
When installing the rumble strips, DOT officials say they considered cyclists and installed breaks in the strips every 0.1 mile in case a cyclist saw a parked car and needed to get out into the travel lane safely to avoid it. These breaks have proved ineffective for cyclists. Many riders are unaware of the breaks and don’t consider riding out in the travel lane until they approach a parked car. Those who have used the breaks say it then puts them out in the travel lane for an extended period of time, with cars traveling at 55 miles an hour.
If a cyclist is traveling 15 miles an hour, that means he will have to be out in the travel lane for 24 seconds before entering the shoulder again when there’s another break. That’s a long time with cars whizzing by at 55. It creates a dangerous situation for a cyclist, who in the past, could ride safely on the shoulder while the cars sped along in the travel lane. Now that travel lane has to be shared.
The rumble strip also forces the cyclist to ride further to the right of the shoulder, to where debris gathered. Without the strips, cyclists typically ride just to the right of the shoulder stripe, where the wind created by passing vehicles effectively blows away debris that can puncture tires. On June 17, a cyclist punctured his tire riding on the right.
Regional Director Joan DuPont on June 13 said the DOT is now monitoring the situation and will have a report complete by Sept. 1. She also agreed to take another look at her office’s response to WCC’s Freedom of Information request from April. The department has withheld all documents related to the department’s installation of the rumble strips, including any instructions to the contractor, any DOT reports on the strips, and documents related to the accidents involving DOT personnel. The DOT has asserted that all such documents can be kept from the public. But WCC has insisted that such documents be made public.
Independence Day Ride and Picnic
Multi-Level Ride from Edith Macy Center
By John Milano - updated 6/18/08
Want to know where the fireworks will be this Independence Day? Mark your calendar for Sunday, July 6 and come along for all the festivities at the Edith Macy Center in Briarcliff Manor. We will have our traditional multi-level ride followed by the club’s “pot luck” picnic, which will start at 1pm. All the rides will start from the parking area of the Macy Center on Chappaqua Road. Check the ride schedule for your ride details. Once we complete the biking, we will head down to the lakeside Friedsam Hall Lodge for our party picnic. We ask that you please bring your contribution for the picnic, enough to feed 6 hungry cyclists. Anything goes, we will have our grill going for hot foods and please bring a cooler if you need to keep something cold. The club will provide the soft drinks, ice and all the plates and utensils. We will have some music to fill the country air and make the day complete. Please come along, it is a celebration of friends in our great country and club.
The TTT @ FDR
It's The Team Time Trials at FDR Park
By Cynthia - updated 6/18/08
With the Tour de France in full force we thought it would be fun to test our cycling speeds with the first WCC Team Time Trials, Thursday, July 24th at FDR Park in Yorktown. We will meet at 6:00pm and the teams will start off ~6:15. Once assembled, we will randomly (out of a hat) put together teams of riders based on WCC ride levels. We hope that every ride level will be represented. Each member of the respective teams will peel off on a 1.8 mile loop of the park, and will be timed Each team’s cumulative score will be tallied compared to the other teams within the same ride level. Lowest time in each level wins. After the trials we’ll meet up at Murphy’s in Yorktown for the final tallies, prizes and food. The Club will sponsor the munchies and sodas. This WCC summer event is not to be missed. Please r.s.v.p to either link below, or to Cynthia at cynthia9@earthlink.net to let us know if you will be there, meeting us at Murphy’s, and whether you will be riding or timing.
Bicycle Accident Survey
Conducted by New York Cycle Club
The New York Cycle Club, a 1,600+ member organization, located in New
York City, is conducting a worldwide bicycle accident survey. The
results will be published as part of a cycling risk assessment study
that will be made public at the conclusion of the survey. Included in
the survey are data points considering helmet usage.
If you have been involved in a cycling accident, please fill out a survey for every accident. The more responses, the more meaningful the results will be.
Click here to start the survey: http://www.nycc.org/ras/
Lead Four Rides, earn a new jersey
In WCC's Wearing the Colors Campaign
By David Wilson - updated 6/09/08
With our new Westchester Cycle Club jersey to be delivered by early July, it’s time for WCC members to join our Wearing the Colors Campaign. Here’s how it works – lead four rides that are posted on the ride schedule between June 1 and Sept. 30, and you’ll receive one of our sharp new jerseys, designed and manufactured by Sugoi, one of the world’s top jersey companies.
It’s Westchester Cycle Club’s way of saying “thank you” to the ride leaders who serve as our club’s most active volunteers. It’s also a way to encourage some of you out there who love riding with the club but have yet to post on the ride schedule.
Leading a ride isn’t so hard. If you are not authorized as a ride leader, you need those permissions from rides coordinator Sam Rosenthal, myself or one of the ride coordinator listed below, to give you a brief rundown on your responsibilities. Once you are authorized, you can go to MyWCC, find the ride schedule, and post a ride at least four days before you want to lead. The website has starting points and 294 cue sheets from around Westchester and Putnam counties. Choose a spot near your home so you don’t have to drive far. Post the ride. Do it once a month between now and September and you have a new jersey that you can proudly wear out on the roads. You’d be out there wearing the WCC colors.
It doesn’t have to be such a big deal. Take my Monday night BPlus rides out of Mahopac at 6 p.m. that I decided to lead in late May. It was a way for me to commit myself to riding once a week for the club. And I posted the ride from a place that I could ride to, just up the street from my house. It’s a simple 25-mile route that can be extended if need be. The first night, five riders showed up. The second night, we had four, and had my best ride of the year on a lovely spring evening.
We have no cue sheet. We all stay together. It’s not so difficult. You post the ride. You get folks to sign on the sign-up sheet. You send it in to Sam Rosenthal, and you are on your way to a new jersey, and to helping our bike club grow. And soon, we’ll have dozens of ride leaders, wearing the colors. See you in that new jersey out on the road.
Here’s who you can contact with questions:
Club president Dave Wilson davidmckaywilson@aol.com
Rides Coordinator Sam Rosenthal - samiis@optonline.net
A – Aaron Stern
adstern@optonline.net
BPlus bjoern Stoecker bjoern@optonline.net
B – Rob Schaefer robtschafer@gmail.com
Cplus Barry Olzemer barry.olmezer@broadridge.com
C – Rich Kreisler rkreisler@optonline.net
D – David Karel - lerakd@yahoo.com
Mountain – Bill O’Connell - seehunt@gmail.com