Arizona Road Cyclist News subscriber Rob Walton sent me a link to an interesting story about a court decision involving cyclists in Ohio. The decision was handed down over a year ago on December 23, 2008 concerning a motion to dismiss the case against two cyclists who were charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, "Operating a bike in the Roadway," and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. The case is of interest, because it can be cited in other court proceedings [State v. Patrick, 153 Ohio Misc.2d 20, 2008-Ohio-7142].

If you would like to read the judge's 11-page ruling in PDF format as he wrote it, you can do so by clicking here. For those who want a quicker read, I have provided a three-paragraph summary below.

A sheriff's deputy of Lawrence County, Ohio was driving on a two-lane road when he came upon two cyclists riding side-by-side and traveling in the same direction. The officer passed the cyclists and then noted in his rearview mirror that the cyclists did not move into single file to allow other motorists to pass. The officer pulled off the road and told the cyclists to "pull over," which they refused to do. The officer got back into the cruiser and pursued the cyclists with his siren and lights on and told the cyclists through his public address system to pull over. When the cyclists didn't comply, he pulled up beside them, rolled down his window, and told one of the cyclists that he was under arrest and to pull over. The cyclists continued to pedal on.

At that point, the officer then pulled in front of the cyclists and attempted to block the roadway with his cruiser, but the cyclists rode around him. The officer got back into his car, got in front of the cyclists again, and shot one of the cyclists with a Taser and then arrested him.

The judge ruled that the cyclists may have been "inconsiderate, rude, and possibly dangerous," but that they had violated no law. He noted that "Riding a bike in the Roadway" is not illegal in Ohio and that cyclists are also permitted to ride two abreast. There is no statute in Ohio that requires bicyclists to go single file to permit traffic to pass. The judge also wrote that a charge of impeding traffic could not be sustained, because the cyclists would have to be traveling at a speed that is "unreasonable for a bicycle in order for there to be a violation." Therefore, the judge ruled that the deputy had no probable cause to ask the cyclists to pull over. The deputy had witnessed the cyclists' actions and [should have known] that they had done nothing illegal. Although the judge remarked that the cyclists' were unwise not to stop and speak with the deputy, he also noted that the cyclists "had a fundamental right to be left alone under the Fourth Amendment...."

Want to Show Off Your Old Bike?

I received the following E-mail from Tammy Parker of the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department. Hmm... 1980s era bicycles? I have a number of bikes older than that stashed back in the corner somewhere.

Dear Mr. Quinn and Arizona Road Cyclist News,

Greetings from Historic Heritage Square in downtown Phoenix. On Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 we will be hosting our free annual Motoring Thru Time event which features antique and classic vehicles on exhibit throughout the park courtesy of valley enthusiasts. These exhibit vehicles have also included wonderful bicycles such as several beauiful ones from the 1950s/60s and even a reproduction Highwheeler. If you have any members that would like to exhibit their late 1800s through mid 1980s era bicycle we would enjoy having them participate. Event pre-registration is free, but required (registration forms can be downloaded from our park's Calendar of Events page).

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.

Happy New Year!  :)

Tammy Parker, 602 262-5071
City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department
Historic Heritage Square - Heritage & Science Park
115 N. 6th St., Phoenix, AZ 85004
www.phoenix.gov/parks/heritage.html
tammy.parker@phoenix.gov

AmeriSchools Academy Bicycling Club

AmericSchools is a charter school with campuses in Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma. The school is starting a bicycle club in order to introduce its students and their families to the sport of bicycling with the hope of turning them into lifelong cyclists. Rides will be before or after school with a possible weekend ride added in the future. The school with work together with the Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists to offer training seminars to novice riders on Saturdays or Sundays. The motivator behind the club is Gary LeBlanc, the school's superintendent. To access the AmeriSchool Website, click here.

AmeriSchools is requesting the help of the cycling community to get its program up to speed. The club plans to use mountain bikes, due to the inexperience of most of the student participants. The club is asking for donations of mountain bikes in good working order with either 20- or 26-inch wheels, medium-sized bicycle helmets, small cycling gloves, and family memberships to the Arizona Bicycle Club.

Tour Down Under on Versus -- January 19 to 24

Thanks to Lance Armstrong's entering Tour Down Under as part of his buildup to the 2010 Tour de France, Versus will broadcast the Australian race or at least a half-hour summary of each stage of the race. As of this writing, the best information that I have is that the broadcast will be from 4 to 4:30 p.m. Arizona time each day from January 19 through January 24, but it would be best to check the schedule as the date approaches. Versus is a premium channel available on Cox Cable and the Dish Network, but not on Direct TV.

Women's Cycling Clinic -- January 9 and 10

As reported in the previous edition of Arizona Road Cyclist News, a women's cycling clinic will be held this weekend January 9 and 10 at Tribe Multisport, 7620 East Indian School Road in Scottsdale. This clinic is aimed at women who are considering racing, but it could be a useful clinic for any woman who wants to get the most out of cycling, wants to be able to do emergency maintenance on her own bike, and who wants to be able to ride comfortably in a tight group. Both sessions start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. or at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday for those who want to take advantage of a pedal-stroke analysis.

Saturday's session starts with a threshold test ride followed by a session on nutrition and hydration and a session on perfecting your pedal stroke. The following session are entitled "Core Stability Information and Workout" (I have no idea what that means) and "AllSports GPS -- Tracking Your Ride and Speed", which sounds to me like an infomercial for the AllSports GPS device.

Sunday will have two tracks. The session begins with "Mindset Coaching -- Thinking Yourself to Success" and is followed by a choice of two rides: cornering skills for advanced riders or group-riding skills for novices. The third session concerns training with a heart-rate monitor, and Sunday's session closes with a choice of either the novice or the advanced bike maintenance class.

Registration is $25 per day or $40 for both days. The only requirement, other than being female, is to be able to ride at least 14 miles per hour for two hours. Those who have a heart rate monitor are requested to bring it, although the monitor is not required. To access the clinic's Website, click here.

Casa Grande Century -- January 10; New PMBC Website

The Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club holds its annual Casa Grande Century Ride on January 10 with 102-, 62- and 34-mile options. Traditionally the first century of the new year, this ride includes sag stops and a hot lunch at Dave White Regional Park in Casa Grande.

Due to the cool January weather, riders get to sleep in and start the ride at a civilized hour. Check-in is from 8 to 9 a.m. at the Safeway story at 4970 South Alma School Road in Chandler. There is no mass start, so riders can leave as soon as they are signed in.

The cost of mail-in registration for the century and metric century rides is $20 for individual riders who are members of the PMBC, GABA and ABC and $25 for others plus a $5 late fee for those not already registered. The 34-mile ride costs only $15 plus the late fee. Tandem teams should add $15 for the second rider. Although there was early online registration for this even, it is now closed.

To access the ride's Website and to find links to the ride's flyer, registration form and release form, go to the PMBC's new WEbsite at www.pmbcaz.org. (Note, when I attempted to navigate the site, I found the server to be EXTREMELY slow, so you may need more than a little bit bit of patience to navigate it.)

The Tour de Hero Metric Century -- January 23

United Blood Services is promoting the Spanglish-entitled Tour de Hero on January 23 with the goal increasing blood donations. This is a metric century ride (100 kilometers or 62 miles) that visits five blood donor centers. The ride starts at the Black Canyon center at I-17 and Bethany Home and proceeds to the following donor centers: Glendale at 59th Avenue and Union Hills, Paradise Valley at Bell and 32nd Street, Airpark at Hayden and 83rd Place, and Commerce at Hayden and McDowell before returning to the starting point. Organizers say that the route is on bike paths, bike lanes, and bike-friendly streets.

The registration cost is $20. Parking for the event is at the Big Lots complex at 2230 West Bethany Home Road. Check-in opens at 8 a.m., and the ride starts at 8:30. After the ride, pizza will be served from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.

Riders who register by January 15 receive a free T-shirt. In addition, for every blood donor that a rider refers between January 2 and January 22, the rider will receive a raffle ticket for a drawing for a "Find the Hero in You" jersey or a pair of lower-level tickets to the Suns versus LA Lakers game on March 12. However, it is not necessary to refer a donor to join the ride.

To access the ride's Website, which contains a wealth of information about the event, click here. To access the online registration site, click here.

Vulture Mine Time Trial -- January 23

The racing season starts early in Arizona. This year four races are scheduled in January. This year's season begins in my favorite traffic-ticket trap, Wickenburg, Arizona where the Vulture Mine Time Trial will be held on January 23.  The race gets its name from the fact that it is held on the Vulture Mine road. Riders have a choice of either a 20- or a 40-kilometer course.

The course is described as rolling. When putting on time trials, clubs are encouraged to include a category for all riders in five-year increments, but for some reason, Procon decided not to head this advice. The oldest category for men is 55+, and all masters women over 35 race in one category. There is also only one junior's category, which apparently means that 12-year-old girls will be racing against 17-year-old boys. In a time trial, each rider's start time is individually scheduled, so it is no more difficult to post the results men's, women's, boys' and girls' races in five year increments than it is to score them in larger groups. Get with the program, Procon!

Registration is $23 for adult riders and $3 for juniors. Registration is online through bikereg.com. The winner of each category with at least five riders receives a $25 prize, just enough to cover the entry fee and buy a coke. Check-in is in the Wickenburg High School parking lot, 1090 South Vulture Mine Road in Wickenburg.

The Vulture Mine Time Trial Web page can be viewed by clicking here, and the race flyer in PDF format can be viewed and downloaded by clicking here.

Driving advice for those going to the race: a major source of income for the Town of Wickenburg is traffic tickets given to out-of-town drivers, and the police and town court work hand in glove to keep that money rolling in. Be sure to slow to the posted speed limit before each speed limit sign and be very sure that when you enter one of the new roundabouts there is no traffic whatsoever already in the roundabout. Be on the lookout for an unmarked tan SUV. You do not actually have to violate a traffic law to get a traffic ticket in Wickenburg, and if you challenge the ticket in court, you will be found responsible unless you are represented by a very good attorney. Terms such as "due process" do not apply in Wickenburg.

Picacho Century -- February 7

The Greater Arizona Bicycle Association (GABA) will promote the Picacho Century on February 7. This is a mostly flat century that starts at Cortaro and Silverbell in Tucson and heads north through Avra Valley to Marana and Picacho. There are four distance options, a 100-mile century, a 65-mile metric plus century, a 35 mile ride and a 15 miler. The cost of the ride is $40 with $15 discount to GABA and Arizona Bicycle Club members. Add $10 for day-of-the-event registration. The entry fee includes sag stops and apparently chow, as there is a box on the entry form to check off for a vegetarian meal. To access the ride's Website, click here.

Avondale Criterium -- January 24 and February 21

Procon is also promoting the Avondale Criterium, or more precisely, criteriums as there will be two races on two different dates. The first race will be held on January 24 and the second on February 21 on a course in the area near the junction of South Avondale Boulevard and Coldwater Springs Boulevard in Avondale. The course is clockwise with three turns and one long semicircular loop. Again, many age categories are combined, although this can be better justified in a criterium where only one group of racers is on the course at a time. Entry fees vary from $25 to $35 for adults and $3 for juniors. There is a $10 late fee, although I was unable to determine from the information online on which date that fee begins. There is also a $5 unattached fee for riders who are not members of a USA Cycling registered racing team.

To view the race's Web page, click here and to view the event flyer in PDF format, click here. The online registration site is located here.

U of A & Swiss Criteriums -- January 30 & 31.

Finishing of the January racing calendar are the U of A Criterium on January 30 and the Swiss Criterium on January 31. As this was written, I was unable to find information about these two races online. Look for details in the next edition of Arizona Road Cycling News.

Valley of the Sun Stage Race -- February 12 to 14

The Valley of the Sun Stage Race is put on each year by the White Mountain Road Club and held in memory of my late friend and fellow racer John Early. This is one of Arizona's premier cycling races and attracts riders from throughout the Southwest and from Mexico.

There are three stages to this race: a time trial held in the West Valley at Sun Valley Parkway near I-10 exit 109 on Friday, February 12, a circuit race held south of Phoenix near I-10 exit 185 on Saturday, February 13, and a criterium held at the State Capitol Complex in West Phoenix on Sunday February 14. The prize list includes $10,000 in cash plus primes.

The entry fee is $40 for junior riders who will be 18 years old or younger at the end of 2010, $80 for category 4 and 5 riders and masters 35 years of age and older, $85 for category 3 riders, and $90 for professional and category 1 and 2 riders. The fee structure applies to both men and women. There will also be a kids' bike rodeo put on in conjunction with the Phoenix Police Department. As of this writing, I was unable to find any information on how long the various races for each category of riders will be except that the time trial is 14.2 miles.

To access the event's Website, click here. You can also read a short biography of John Early by clicking here.

About Arizona Road Cyclist News

Arizona Road Cyclist News is sent out every two weeks by E-mail to its subscribers. Subscriptions are free of charge. Arizona Road Cyclist News is copyrighted. You may forward the entire copy by E-mail to anyone you wish. You may also copy and send individual articles as long as you cite Arizona Road Cyclist News as the source.

If someone has sent you this newsletter and you would like to subscribe, you may do so by going to the Website www.azroadcyclist.com. All E-mail addresses are held confidential. We do not share them with anyone, and at any time you may unsubscribe and thereby permanently erase your personal information from our servers.

We ask for your Zip code in order to get an idea of our subscriber distribution and not for any other purpose.