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September 16, 2009
Once again, this will be a short newsletter, partially due
to the summer doldroms in cycling activity more mostly due
to the fact that you editor is still spending hours each day
watching the Vuelta a España on Spanish TV via
satellite.
Arizona Road Cycling News is sent out
free of charge by E-mail every other Wednesday and is aimed at
those who bicycle the streets and roads of Arizona, be they
racers, commuters, tourists, or casual riders. This publication
is copyrighted by Jack Quinn. You may forward the entire
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Arizona Road Cyclist News.
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occasional bulletins about breaking news of interest to cyclists
in Arizona.
In this issue:
Hidden Hills Installs Speed Bumps
Cave Creek Bicycle Festival, November 13-15
Trekwomen Breast Cancer Awareness Ride
Two Events Left in AZ 2009 Road-Race Calendar
Pro Racing on TV and on the Web
Tour de Scottsdale, October 4
Hidden Hills Installs Speed Bumps
Hidden Hills, the gated community at
the end of East Via Linda Road in North Scottsdale, after
losing its battle with the City of Scottsdale to ban
cyclists has carried through on its promise to install
traffic calming devices to slow cyclists descending its
steep main street. The street now sports several new speed
bumps.
As many readers know, when the Hidden
Hills developer requested permission from the City of
Scottsdale to place a gate at the community's entrance, the
City of Scottsdale retained an easement permitting cyclists,
walkers, and hikers to enter the community and cycle or hike
to the top of the hill. The residents of Hidden Hills
inherited the obligation of continuing this access.
Last year the Hidden Hills Homeowners
Association petitioned the City of Scottsdale for permission
to ban cyclists, claiming that too many cyclists were
descending the community's main street at high speed,
violating the community's non-enforceable 20-mile-per-hour
speed limit. The City of Scottsdale denied the residents'
request but did suggest the installation of traffic-calming
devices.
The traffic-calming devices are now in place and likely to
be effective. These speed bumps are not the normal asphalt
bumps that most of us are used to riding over at 20 mile an
hour or so. They are made of plastic and extend all the way
across the road from gutter to gutter. The edges of the
bumps facing up- and downhill are not flush with the
pavement. There is a definite sharp edge high enough to be
an annoyance to cyclists riding up the hill and possibly
cause a pinch flat if any cyclist hits the edge at speed on
the descent. On my ride up the hill yesterday morning, I
noticed several cyclists swerving into the gutter to avoid
the bumps, but the gutter is so narrow that this maneuver is
best carried out at a modest speed.
I know that many cyclists are capable
of jumping the speed bumps without slowing, but I hope that
most cyclists will respect the residents' wishes and slow
down for the bumps.
Cave
Creek Bicycle Festival, November 13-15
Ann Patsy wrote to let us know
about the upcoming Cave Creek Bicycle Festival, which is
scheduled for November 13, 14, and 15. A number of events
are planned including road and mountain bike rides, music,
free food for registrants, a beer garden, and a vendor fair.
The mountain bike and road rides individually have an entry
fee of $50 or you can register for both for $80 until
October 31. Registrants can download a registration form or
register online for an additional processing fee. After
October 31, there is an additional $15 late fee. If you want
to attend the festival but not part with so much money, the
organizers are also looking for volunteers. To access the
festival's Website, click
here.
Trekwomen Breast Cancer Awareness Ride, October 10
The trekwomen Breast Cancer Awareness Ride will be held in
Peoria on October 10. There are two distances: 10 miles and
25 miles. The event fee is a modest $25, and registration
closes October 9. To view the ride's Website, click
here.
Two
Events Left in AZ 2009 Road-Race Calendar
This Sunday, the annual
Kitt Peak hill climb takes place. The race is a
time trial with riders departing at 30-second intervals. The
course is 11.6 miles with an elevation gain of roughly 3400
feet. Registration is $2 for juniors and $15 for others
from 6 to 7 a.m. at the race site. Winners of the event may
(or may not) receive a friendly pat on the back, and the
winning riders of the combined Kitt Peak and Mount Lemon
races will receive a T-shirt. Preregistration will take
place the evening before the race at Lerua's Mexican
Restaurant in Tucson. The first rider starts at 7:30. To
access the race Website, click
here.
To wrap up the 2009 road-racing season, the Arizona Hill Climb Championship race will be
held up Mount Graham on next Sunday September 27. This is a mass
start race, meaning that all riders in all categories start
together. The race distance is 10 or 20 miles depending on the
racer's category. The winner of each category will receive an
Arizona State Hill Climb Championship jersey. Registration can
be mailed in, done online, or taken care of in person at the
race site. Registration is $10 for juniors and $40 for others
with a $5 late fee after September 13. To access the race
Website, click
here.
As you may know, the Arizona Individual Time Trail
Championships were held last Sunday. If you are interested in
seeing the results in PDF format, click
here.
Pro Racing
on TV & the Web
The Vuelta ciclista a
España is underway through this Sunday, when the three-week
stage race winds up in Madrid. As of yesterday, Alejandro
Valverde was in the lead, but several riders were close to him
on time, so the final two mountain stages on Thursday and Friday
could decide the overall winner. At the end of yesterday's
stage, Dutchman Robert Gesink of Rabobank trailed Valverde by
only 31 seconds. The best American rider was Tom Danielson of
Garmin in ninth place, 8:28 behind the leader.
Universalsports.com
is streaming live video and audio coverage of each stage over
the Internet and also archives the Webcasts for later viewing.
Anyone with an international Spanish-language programming
package that includes TV Española Internacional (TVEI) can watch
the final two hours of each stage on TV, with Spanish
commentary. The broadcast generally runs from 7 to 9 a.m.
Arizona time, but longer broadcasts of planned of some stages.
For those
of you who still have access to the
premium TV channel Versus, Versus will broadcast condensed
coverage of the Paris-Tours race on October 11 at 3 p.m. Arizona
time.
Tour de
Scottsdale, October 4
First, let me make my prejudices clear by saying that I am
not in favor of these large group rides billed as "races". There
is no control over the skill of the riders who enter, except for
the new elite racer division, with the result that many of the
riders tucked into the large pack have no idea how to pedal
safely in such close quarters. Consequently, these rides are
always marred by numerous crashes, some of which result in
serious injury. Nonetheless, if you want to
take the risk, there is still time to register for the Tour de
Scottsdale, which takes place on Sunday, October 4. If you
haven't yet registered, riding this event will cost you $100 or
$120 if you wait until October 3 or 4 to sign up.
This year, category 1 and 2 racers with a USA Cycling license
get their own race starting on Thompson Peak Parkway. The crash-prone 70-mile mass event for everyone else
starts on the Market Street Bridge at DC ranch. There is also a
free family fun ride. For more information, click
here.
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