From an excerpt:

“This study yields new [...]]]> Regular bike commuters and their doctors already know this, but
for those of you still not sure if bike commuting is worth it, there’s headlines going around the world about a new study of 4,297 commuters that concludes that long commutes may be bad for your health.

From an excerpt:

“This study yields new information about biological outcomes and commuting
distance, an understudied contributor to sedentary behavior that is prevalent
among employed adults,” explains lead investigator Christine M. Hoehner, PhD, MSPH, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. “It provides important evidence about potential mediators in the relationship between time spent driving and cardiovascular mortality.”

Tracking down the source of the study, your editor obtained  permission to post a link to the full paper which will be on the home page of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine ”for the next week or so”.

Now I know a 60 mile commute is out of the question for most,
but look at the benefits obtained riding 10 or even 20 miles
round-trip.  Don’t know what those benefits are? Try it for  day or two and ask yourself how you feel. With the new OCTA bikecars in service, your commuting range potential is compounded greatly.  

A body at rest tends to….
Today with all the social media, it shouldn’t be too hard to find
like-minded people to meet-up and form a commuter train on 2 wheels! 

The premise of the study seems to seek an answer to the biological impact of commuting by stating at the outset, ”While sedentary behavior is known to have adverse effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health, the impact of long commutes by automobile are less understood.”  Thus at the conclusion of quantifying the commuting behaviors, we arrive at:”A new study has found that greater commuting distances are associated with decreased cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), increased weight, and other indicators of metabolic risk.”

I suppose we could intuitively arrive at the same conclusion, but
these guys are scientists, and they have the data and statistics to show just how scary sitting around can be. Could the pain of long auto commutes be a contributing factor in the reported “Americans consume EIGHTY percent of the world’s pain pills“? Granted it’s from the Daily Mail, however even if we discount the claim by half, it’s still a big number! 

Correlation, Causation?  I’m no scientist – don’t ask me!

Next This week is Bike to Work Week.
If you haven’t already planned a route and engaged your coworkers or other cyclo-commuters working close to you, do so now.  Remember a bike, in the eyes of the law, is a vehicle and you must abide by lawful operation of your vehicle. Despite what you may have heard, you must “go with the flow” of traffic and never ride against it. See and be seen, keep your head on a swivel and wear a reflective vest or bright colored apparel so the auto commuters will spot you and steer clear.

Sleeping in caused our rookie reporter to arrive at the bike expo just as it was being taken down.

Starting at 06:00, the racers were done by 08:30 and since our reporter arrived well after [...]]]> Saturday:
Perhaps sending a rookie reporter to cover the 1st Mountain Bike race at Aliso Woods wasn’t a good idea.

Sleeping in caused our rookie reporter to arrive at the bike expo just as it was being taken down.

Starting at 06:00, the racers were done by 08:30 and since our reporter arrived well after ten almost everyone had gone on to enjoy the rest of Cinco (or Drinko if you prefer) de Mayo.
Reportedly there were no injuries to the riders but 1 frame got cracked on the course. 

Disappointed that everything was being wrapped up, he interviewed Mike from SpokeGrenade about the company’s new 1,000 lumen bike light which would be illegal in most of Europe, but perfect for lighting up the wilderness as you cruise through over here . With about 3 hours battery life taking about 5-6 hours for full charge, this lightweight and weatherproofed light appears small but packs a big punch.
Warning: Do not look directly into the light beam!

Sunday in Dana Point:

How often do you get to see the Pacific Coast Highway closed to traffic for a bicycle Event? Well, at least the southbound-side was in Dana Point yesterday for the DPGPofC! 

As I was taking the snaps, a car went around the road block and went south (in the northbound lane for a short while) and was soon chased down in hot pursuit by DPPD’s finest.

Kudos to the organizers and the City of Dana Point for routing motor powered traffic around the venue!  For cyclists, it was great (outside of the errant driver or two) experiencing a traffic free Coast Highway. yay!

I’m sure the racers also enjoyed a much better line coming onto Del Prado without worrying about hitting the fence and being distracted by occupants as motor traffic slowly made their way through town next to the race course.  

I arrived just in time to see some serious minded racers entering the turn, who seemed to get faster after each lap. 

But enough about racers, we were here to see cycling! 

Soon enough, here they came, your next generation’s road warriors hurtling down the straights of Del Prado!  

Walking our bike throughout the venue, we were pleasantly surprised to see an instructional cycle course for the youngsters. If there’s anything the OC needs, it’s better cyclist education about the rules of the road, and the sooner the better.

Walking around the venue, I met Fernando from Cycleogical about bikes, life, and the meaning of space and time. Good stuff!

Later, around town we spotted this vehicle which is Cory Clayton’s latest service vehicle from his OC Bike Garage & Service.

If you need roadside assistance anywhere in the OC call the OCBG’s service line at 949-939-4395. 

At the former Revo shop, we spotted this sign of future coming attractions.

Just a block away (across from Hennesey’s) is another new shop!  Cycleogical has a 4 man mountain bike team that you can follow on Strava and participate in shop rides from the store. 

I talked with Melissa about bread and farmer’s markets, and met Bill who showed off his awesome Ibis mountain bike. 

Store hours are listed on their website.

Hungry now, I went back to the venue to take part of the various calories offered and, oh yeah, some guy named Brad Huff won the Elite Mens category for the 2nd year in a row(!); full details here.

KTU+A is working with the City of Huntington Beach on a Bicycle [...]]]> The city of Huntington Beach, KTU+A (a San Diego planning and landscape architecture firm), and Complete Streets silver medalist Fehr+Peers (specializes in providing transportation planning and traffic engineering services), and the OCBC urge you to complete the Huntington Beach Bike Plan Survey.

KTU+A is working with the City of Huntington Beach on a Bicycle Master Plan and wants to know your opinion through their data gathering process before announcing community workshops – yay! Your feedback and input will directly affect your future cycling opportunities.

Now is the time to get involved; let your voice be heard!
Thanks  for your support.

After a full week end of bike related fun, let’s keep the momentum growing!

This month features Ride to School Day, Ride to Work Day, the 1st mountain bike race and expo at Aliso Woods, Bike the Game, Ride to work week, Ride of [...]]]>

After a full week end of bike related fun, let’s keep the momentum growing!

This month features Ride to School Day, Ride to Work Day, the 1st mountain bike race and expo at Aliso Woods, Bike the Game, Ride to work week, Ride of Silence, 3 stages of the Tour of California, the OC Tri, the Dana Point Gran Prix, and the opening of Anaheim’s Bicycle Share Trial Program by Bike Nation.

Locally riders can register with the OCTA to track their miles, and win prizes.
PLEDGE TO RIDE, GET A $25 DISCOUNT COUPON AND YOU COULD WIN PRIZES!

And don’t forget to register in the National Bike Challenge: at their website,  because this Challenge runs all the way into August giving you and the rest of OC a chance to shine in the National spotlight.

More to come…

Thanks to all the Sponsors and Volunteers that make it all possible!

Take a recovery ride Sunday to the Huntington Beach Pier for the OCTA  Bike Festival and trade stories.  Or if you’re ready for more miles, stop by for [...]]]> Best of luck to all those in the Rwanda Ride and L’Etape du California tomorrow!

Thanks to all the Sponsors and Volunteers that make it all possible!

Take a recovery ride Sunday to the Huntington Beach Pier for the OCTA  Bike Festival and trade stories.  Or if you’re ready for more miles, stop by for a tune up, and ride up the SGRT to the DooDah Parade in Pasadena!

Ride Smart -  Ride Strong – Ride Safe

New terms are defined in the report: HE = Hybrid  Electric ICE =  Internal Combustion Engine

The 2009 “Incidence of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crashes by Hybrid Electric [...]]]> Skimming recent news items from 2011, we spotted this NHTSA update to a 2009 study regarding hybrid vs “normal” car / bike and pedestrian collisions. from their website.

New terms are defined in the report:
HE = Hybrid  Electric
ICE =  Internal Combustion Engine

The 2009 “Incidence of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crashes by Hybrid Electric Passenger Vehicles”  found that an HE vehicle was 2x  more likely to be involved in a pedestrian crash than an ICE vehicle in situations involving low-speed maneuvers (Hanna, 2009).

From the conclusion of the report, we find this tidbit, “the odds of an HE vehicle being involved in a bicycle crash were statistically higher than the odds of ICE vehicle being involved in similar crash when the crash occurred at an intersection“. (emphasis mine)

Overall, the odds ratios indicate that the odds of an HE vehicle being in either a pedestrian or bicycle crash are greater than the odds of an ICE vehicle being in a similar crash.  The odds ratio for an HE versus an ICE vehicle involved in a pedestrian crash was 1.35, and the odds ratio for an HE versus an ICE vehicle involved in a bicycle crash was 1.57.

Listed in the below tables from the report are the what and where of car / bike collisions:

Click to Enlarge

This update did not provide an apparent set of scenarios for bicycle crashes, but it did provide a clearer picture regarding pedestrian crashes. For example a comparison of all HE versus ICE passenger vehicles regardless of makes and models indicates that the odds of any HE passenger vehicle being in a pedestrian crash are 22 percent greater than the odds of any ICE passenger vehicle.  The largest differences between the involvement of HE and ICE vehicles in pedestrian crashes occur with speed limits of 35 mph and lower, and usually in low speed maneuvers at intersections and parking lots.

Since cyclists have been known to dismount and walk about from time to time, one can surmise from this study that you are more likely to be involved in a crash with an HE vehicle on foot than on two wheels.

The takeaway here is remembering to look both ways before crossing a street, and being extra careful when pulling into or out of  parking lots, or making lane changes on the road, due to the fact  you must see tHE car because you can’t hear it.

There are 1.5k & 2.5 mile open water swim and  a mini-aquathlon suitable for kids as well as the international distance triathlon and the Du. The spectacular venue at the lake, the pristine ride through Santiago Canyon, and [...]]]> Title: OC Tri and Duathlon
Location: Mission Viejo / Lake Forest
Description: 2k-40k-10k race
Date: 2012-5-20

There are 1.5k & 2.5 mile open water swim and  a mini-aquathlon suitable for kids as well as the international distance triathlon and the Du. The spectacular venue at the lake, the pristine ride through Santiago Canyon, and the primarily off road run through the hills of Mission Viejo will bring the 7th Annual OC Duathlon to the next level, and it will soon become a major stop and a “must do” on the Duathlon circuit.

The OC Duathlon has been combined with the OC Triathlon which takes place
Sunday the 20th. Starting with the swim in Lake Mission Viejo, the athletes will
bike a portion of  Santiago Cyn and probably a small portion of the Aliso Creek Bike Trail from Santiago Canyon to the transition area by Marguerite and El Toro.

If this event is close to previous ones, riders will bike from Olympiad onto Marguerite, then onto El Toro / Santiago Cyn to a turnaround spot, then heading back along Santiago Cyn, enter the Aliso Creek MUP down to the parking lot by Marguerite to begin the run back to the lake.

Turnout is usually pretty good for this event as it is sanctioned by Triathlon USA.  Be on the lookout for traffic controls during the morning in these areas.

Best of luck to all the competitors!

Any guesses where in the OC?

Oh, and the CiclOCia survey results are here.