Crash Video from Gary

This video should remind us that cycling can be very dangerous, even for those cyclists that are pros! Gary

YMCA SPIN NOTICE

WELL MY FINE FOGBEEANS I THINK IT'S ABOUT TIME TO HIT THE ROADS AND GET OFF THAT STATIONARY BIKE; DON'T YOU AGREE? UNLESS I HEAR A GROUND SWELL OF BACKLASH I'M SUGGESTING THAT THE REGULAR WEDS. SPIN END BUT, OF COURSE, ANYONE CAN SPIN WHEN THEY WANT TO. SEE YOU AT THE END OF THE YEAR AT THE YMCA.
RESPECTFULLY, DJ SPINMASTER

Traffic Incident - 3-Foot Law Violation

We have added details of the incident involving the Saturday Fogbee Ride to our Hazards Web page http://fogbees.homestead.com/hazards.html
Your help in documenting these events may be useful for future prosecution. We have also initated our own 3-Foot Law page (click here) to familiarize everyone with the status of this law.

Time for Clubs to Erect 3-Foot Law Signs

Another cyclist hit in Chattanooga

http://wdef.com/video/another_local_cyclist_hit_by_a_vehicle_wants_3_foot_law_enforced/03/2009

Congratulations are in order

I had lunch with Lenny today and I was kidding about how we have not seen him or Dolly since they started dating several months ago.


Congratulations to both Lenny and Dolly. Dolly, just because you two are going to be legal now, it doesn’t mean the gossip in the back of the ride will stop!!!

Bob

FRENCH LICK - COUNTDOWN FOR RESERVATIONS

There are still 10 days left to call in your reservation for the May 1 and May 2 outing . Refer to the FOGBEE group code of 0509FCC . This will get you a $159 rate plus tax with no resort fee. Everyone will confirm on their own credit card. Please post when you have reserved. Last date to reserve at this rate is March 31. Phone Numbers: 888.936.9360 Toll Free or 812.936.9300.

The FOGBEES also now have a 20% discount on spa services at French Lick - massage, pedicures etc. So whether you are riding or not, you can reserve and take advantage of the discount. Please make these reservations before arrival to ensure services are available.

Note - French Lick added 2 rooms to the block, and if we fill that they will add 2 more. If you take the last room, call me so I can get 2 more in our block. We want as many as want to go to join us!! We will have final ride maps by April 5. Planned ride Saturday is to Jasper about 60 total and we will have a 30 to 35 mile lite option. Sunday, will be a ride around the lake. This will be 30 miles for all, and can be a leisurely jaunt before returning home.

Jerseys

I still have Jerseys for Harley, Evan, and Bobbie plus some money for Evan & Bobbie. Please comment on how you want to pickup.

AVAILABLE AT BL AFTER SATURDAY RIDE

Rumble Strips revisited

Those of us who did the recent Saturday ride on 109 near Portland know too well how rumbling can make an merely unpleasant road terrible. This just in from Jessica Wilson, our best contact at TDOT and my nominee for next Bike/Ped coordinator when state hiring is unfrozen. My reply will be to not rumble anything that would result in less than three feet of clear, continuous shoulder plus a few picky points. Anyone with an opinion, please email Jessica W.
Bruce

To All:

TDOT is in preliminary discussions on revising our rumble strip policy.  In a perfect world, there would be no run-off-road crashes and no need for rumbles, but I'd be interested in getting your feedback for an acceptable compromise.  Some ideas already floatingout there:  installing intermittent gaps in rumbles so cyclists can alternate between the shoulder and travel lane when needed, installing 8" stripes (within the paved edgeline) in lieu of the standard 16" rumble strip currently used, not rumbling any shoulder less than 4' (possibly with the exception of segments of roadways with a high run-off-road crash rate).

Here is where you can play a part:  I need feedback from the cycling community on how they feel TDOT can best accomodate bicyclists andmotorists' needs in regards to our rumble strip policy.

Please feel free to cross post to your club pages or message boards and have them post feedback here or send their feedback to my TDOT email address:  Jessica.L.Wilson@state.tn.us

More from National Bike Summit

Click for Blog of U.S. Transportation Secretary.

Sec. LaHood: “You have a full partner at the US DOT”

Residents Want Cyclists OFF River Road

Please click the following link to read the latest on the River Road conflict. Most important READ THE COMMENTS!

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090315/COLUMNIST0128/903150371/1001/NEWS

We are keeping a complete dossier on the River Road battle on our Web Site. Please click here to view it.

Click here for ROAD WARS, the prespective from a resident on River Road.

Cycling ambassadors

Now that Spring appears to be here for real we will be out in force. Yea! It is great to see so many of us out on cycles but with numbers comes responsibility. As we advocate for equality on the road and respect from local government we must accept responsibility as ambassadors for the entire cycling community. That means following the law and on the rare occasion we are on a multi-use path with pedestrians, using courtesy.

Specifically
1. Ride on right side of road. Crossing completely to the left shoulder when approaching Bonita on the way to Big Looy's is both dangerous and bad PR.

2. Don't pass cars on the right if they will have difficulty passing you when the intersection is clear. Passing cars on the right is dangerous in any case.

3. Do not run a red traffic light under any circumstances. This may actually be the safest action in some circumstances, such as Indian Lake Blvd crossing the bypass, but it is terrible PR .
This does not apply to a non responsive light where there is no car to trip the magnetic switch and no button to push. The law allows us to proceed if we wait a reasonable amount of time and it is safe to do so. Although if you read comments on cycling news articles, this is a sore point with some motorists.

4. At least slow to a near track stand at a stop sign. Blowing through stop signs is dangerous and bad PR. By slowing to a near stop but not stopping you can stop if needed and still not need to un-clip. Most motorist will interpret this as a stop, though it is not totally legal.

5. As new cyclists join us, remember how bad it felt to ride as hard as you could but still get dropped. You obvioulsly overcame this or were not a real newbie if you are now a Fogbee. Just consider the real newbies' feelings if you ever want to see them again.

I have been guilty of ignoring these rules myself but plan to do better this year.

Below is a partial copy from an internal discussion among the Arkansas Bicycle Advocacy Group. They are a bit ahead of us in both advocacy and governmental support. This is a worthwhile read to see the issues we hope to be facing in a year or two.

Bruce

At the root, our problem is one of education and enforcement. One thing that we don't like to face up to is that we cyclists are quite often our own worst enemy in the public's view. Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists alike break the law when it comes to traffic. Speed limits -- the maximum safe speed on a particular stretch of road -- are typically assumed to be the minimum speed you should be able to attain on that stretch, and it's okay to speed as long as you stay no more than 10-15 miles over the posted limit. Likewise, it's okay for cyclists to blow past stop signs and red lights because it costs us too much energy or exertion to stop so often and then accelerate back up to our previous speed.

Yeah... right. Tell that to Ahmed Ismael. Or Larry Hamilton. Or Celeste Bates. Or Myron Anderson. Or Gary Miller. (All are Arkansas cyclists who were killed in the past three years because they chose to blow a stop sign or a red light.)

I'm not sure that we really have an answer so far. Brad Joseph and I gave a pretty graphic presentation on group rides and traffic law -- to include dealing with pedestrians -- at the February ABC meeting. As far as I can tell, it fell on deaf ears, because everyone carried on riding as they always have before. In fact, I've been rear-ended on a group ride 4 times since then, typically because I stop for stop signs, and the other rider didn't, but kept his head down and hammered on. It's made me more than a little skittish about being in the group, so I typically run up the road, or lag behind the pack to have a little maneuvering space. And on this afternoon's ride, I settled in a comfortable distance behind the pack and watched the swarm go up the road 3, 4, and more wide while the marathon folks, pedestrians one and all, were still out there on the course.

About two years ago there was a racing group that liked to train on the River Trail and connecting roads on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and got into the habit of taking the pack up the Fort Roots hill, and around the campus for a lap or two before heading back down and repeating the process. If you ever wonder why the VA put a gate up on the back side of the facility, it was to keep these cyclists out of their campus. It took some smooth negotiating by BACA, ABC, and others to get the VA to not ban cyclists entirely. But the gate is still up and closed after hours, and the side opening is narrow enough to discourage and/or break up the racing packs.

Sharing the road goes both ways. The law says we have all the rights, and all the responsibilities of drivers of vehicles. One of those responsibilities is what bike attorney Bob Mionske has described as the "duty of due care" -- the requirement to control our bikes and our actions so as not to harm or infringe upon the other travelers with whom we share the roadways and paths. Most of our group rides tend to be "leaderless" these days, especially the ones on the River Trail and nearby paths, so maybe one thing we can do to helpa bit is go back to a formal safety briefing before each ride to at least let folks know what sort of behavior is expected and acceptable.

Bert, we are trying with the education aspect to get folks to slow the hell down and be a little more respectful of our fellow travelers. We're also working on the other end, currently with the law enforcement folks over in NLR at least, and get them educated as to what motorists and cyclists alike can get into trouble for. If folks won't use a little courtesy or common sense, maybe they'll listen to the cops or the judge in traffic court..

Tom Ezell.

Mark Hicks of Collierville says, "Too many riders make it difficult for the rest of us" Click here to read more.

County Commissioner Meeting

Andy Holt announced that at the County Commissioner on Monday March 16'th at 7PM at the Sumner County Administration Bldg (Belvedere Dr) that he would initiate the closing of Lower Station Camp Creek Road as the first step to dedicating this road as a Greenway. He invited all interested parties to attend. You can access plans on the County or H'ville Greenway Web Site.

Florida's Dog? Hazard

Florida's solution to cyclists on the road. Maybe Tennessee dogs aren't so bad.

FOGBEE alert

This past Thursday I was driving to Hendersonville from my office in White House when I spied a familiar bike jersey ahead of me on New Hope Road. Even at a great distance , I could see our FOGBEE jersey; however, I couldn't immediately i.d. the rider. As I slowed to pass , I thought that the individual was our dear friend, Dave Buckman. Still not convinced, I pulled over at the Beech High entry to wait for the biker to come closer. As I got out of my car I was very pleased to ascertain that indeed it was Dave. He was returning home having been out on a solo ride.

For those who don't know , Dave is recovering from a recent serious surgery . Looks like biking is good therapy , or maybe it was the healing powers of the colorful mantel which he wore.

Hats off to Dave and his speedy recovery.

Cyclist Killed in Traffic Inspires

The following sign appears in Collierville as a result of the Memphis Thunder Racing Club to improve cycling safety. We are unaware of any other sign of its kind in Tennessee. It was financed from donations from the charity events sponsored by the Club. Now that is "doing something" rather than waiting on others to "do something." Read more about it by clicking here.

Bicycle Projects Have Priority

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race," quote H.G. Wells.

The SAFETEA-LU reauthorization bill is expected to be introduced in May by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Oberstar, who was instrumental in getting the Safe Routes to School program — which encourages children to walk to school — into the last transportation bill, vowed that he would seek to expand biking and walking initiatives in the next measure.

“There is no question, except how big will [biking initiatives] be?” Oberstar told the National Bike Summit last night.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “We don’t want to wait for new authorization legislation to take action. I encourage you to work with state and local officials to propose projects that may be eligible for a portion of these [stimulus] funds.”

Bicyclist Killed in Traffic Accident

I regret to inform you that David Meek, former Chattanooga Bicycle Club president, was killed this morning in an accident while riding to work on Ashland Terrace. You can read the details at the following links:

http://chattanoogan.com/articles/article_146214.asp
http://www.wrcbtv.com/global/story.asp?s=9959220

David was a great cyclist in his own right and passionate about cycling and making the club the best it could be. We lost a great friend today.

Philip Pugliese, Bicycle Coordinator, Outdoor Chattanooga

Sumner County Planning Newsletter

The first Sumner County Planning Matters E-newsletter, prepared to keep us informed of the comprehensive planning process and activities of the Planning & Zoning Department. Click here to read more about:
- County planners tying together land use and transportation
- Comprehensive plan white paper now available on website
- Extreme Makeover: Planning & Zoning Edition
- Local and regional planners continue long range planning efforts
- What does "3 Feet" mean?
- Take survey on walking and biking
- Upcoming meetings
- Did you know?