Posted by Chris Carville On February 22, 2023 at 8:47 am
Join me for a conversation with Jason Reser, owner of Reser Bicycle Outfitters and Trailhead Coffee, and the Trail Development Director for CORA, Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance. Jason has deep community roots in the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky region. He has been a volunteer in the cycling community for over 20 years and began serving on the CORA Board of Directors in 2014. Named Trail Development Director in the winter of 2019, Jason is responsible for executing funding opportunities, creating partnerships, and working with land managers to increase access to trails so that everyone has access to trails everywhere.
We discuss Jason’s journey into the bicycle industry, current events in the bicycle industry including the effect of the COVID Pandemic, and all the good CORA does in Northern Kentucky, Southwestern Ohio, and Indiana.
Posted by Chris Carville On November 29, 2022 at 11:18 am
Join me for a conversation with Wade Johnson, the Executive Director of Tri-State Trails. Tri-State Trails is a nonprofit whose “mission is to connect people and places with a regional trail and bikeway network that enhances vibrancy and equity in our community.” Wade and his tireless coworkers: advocate for connecting and expanding trail and bikeway networks; collect and maintain data on trails; provide technical assistance to local governments and community groups; connect trail planners, trail managers, advocates, and users to share best practices; and promote and celebrate existing trails in the Tri-State region.
We discuss Wade’s bicycle journey and how it brought him to Tri-State Trails; the current “Beechmont Connector”; future planning; and safe planning practices.
Posted by Chris Carville On October 12, 2022 at 9:32 am
So, if I was a better scheduler, I would have had Will Leet of Licking Valley Velo on sooner! Evening group rides are winding down as we lose daylight. Licking Valley Velo’s now famous Tuesday Night Worlds is winding down too. However, you can still join the folks at Licking Valley Velo for Saturday morning rides.
Licking Valley Velo is the fasted growing cycling club/team in the region. Licking Valley Velo may be the fastest-growing club/team in the country! And there is a reason. These folks love their bikes and love their beer. If you want to get into more group rides, if you want to improve your skills and comfort levels in a group ride setting, and if you like beer and time with friends, check out Licking Valley Velo based out of Newport, Kentucky. If you are fast, there is definitely a home for you too!
My training partner, Nate, suggested it on a Sunday Ride. He really dared me to say No. He tends to bite off Big Projects like TNGA, Michigan’s Coast to Coast Gravel Grinder (which he has also talked me into), Mohican 100 Mountain Bike Race, several Nue Series Mountain Bike Races, and the list goes on. So, I approached his “dare” with a bit of trepidation considering these past events.
I knew the Double Diablo had some serious elevation. Nate casually suggested that it was “around” 15,000 feet of elevation gain, but that it was “fun” with “great views.” Great Views? I thought with no small measure of skepticism. Yeah, a great view of my front tire for hour after hour. I kept that to myself.
I needed a project for my 50th Year on the Planet and I figured that a Grand Fondo was as good an excuse as any, so I signed myself up. Many sleepless nights followed. For the uninitiated, the double in Double Diablo stands for a double metric century for a total of 125 miles. The ride organizer also offered a standard century course, a metric century course, and a forty-four-mile course as well. The Diablo in Double Diablo stands for diabolical amounts of climbing. The ride organizer recently changed the course. Apparently, 15,000 feet of elevation gain was not diabolical enough, so they added another 2,300 feet (per my Wahoo Bolt) of elevation to confirm the ride’s diabolical pedigree. I paced myself based on Nate’s 15,000 feet representation – more on that later.
Northern Kentucky and Southwestern Ohio provide plenty of climbing thanks to the glaciers that carved out the Ohio River Valley. However, glaciers can only carve out so much elevation. Garrett County, Maryland sits in the Appalachian Mountain range. The region is variously known as the Allegheny Mountains, the Allegheny Plateau, and the Appalachian Plateau. I don’t care what you call it, mountains are mountains and that means lots of elevation. Nate and I did plenty of century rides in preparation. While our longest ride was 142 miles, we could only manage 7,000 feet of elevation gain. I went into the ride with no sense of how my legs would handle another 8,000 feet of elevation gain. It was probably a good thing that I never checked the website. I would have discovered that my longest ride was still 10,000 feet short. Yikes.
So how did it go?
We started out at barely 50 degrees (good thing I packed arm warmers, leg warmers and a vest) and SUPER windy – the wind did not relent. The wind farms we saw on the drive in should have been a clue. The very first climb up Overlook Pass set the tone for the day: a ten-minute climb, much of which averaged a 11.7% grade. I knew that Nate knew how many climbs we had ahead of us. It turns out there were twenty-nine more. Nate studies routes and finds those types of important details interesting. I did not bother to ask. I just could not digest that information. I wasn’t even focused on miles. Total feet of elevation gain, current power and average power were to be my only guides. Maybe that was a mistake, maybe not. Anyone who has raced a bike or been around bike racing is familiar with the term “burning a match.” This was something entirely different. You can burn too many matches in a race, and it may cost you a place or two, or ten. But you finish the race.
I wasn’t worried about winning or scorching any timed segments (there were seven). I was worried about finishing. More specifically, I was worried about finishing in under nine hours, because Nate did the 2018 route in eight hours and forty-five minutes (with only 15,000 feet of elevation gain). So unwittingly I gave myself a fifteen-minute cushion to cover the extra 2,300 of elevation totally unaware that the routes were not the same (recall I did not check the website at any point before the ride).
Back to burning matches. I think a better analogy is “making a withdraw.” Every single climb was a withdrawal. If you dug too deep, you might not have the funds to finish the ride 70 or 80 miles later. So, I hit each climb not knowing how my body would respond two, three or seven hours later. I tried to keep each climb between 240 and 300 watts, which was surprisingly hard because every single climb had a 12% to 15% ramp in it somewhere. I was also running 53/39 up front and 11-28 on my cassette, which did not leave any opportunity to “spin to win.” I also tried to keep my overall average power between 175 to 200 watts.
I was a little concerned when my average power was 220 watts for the first two hours. We did finally settle in around the three-hour mark and I was able to bring average watts down to 200 for the rest of the ride. From the three-hour mark to about the six/seven-hour mark I basically had the same conversation on loop in my head: How deep can you go and still finish? How deep can you go and still finish? How deep can you go and still finish? And so on.
At roughly six and half hours in we hit 10,000 feet in elevation gain. I guessed – wrongly – that we only had five more thousand feet and I could manage a finish, maybe around nine hours? After six or so hours the ride started to get fun because it seemed doable at that point. The next actual 7,000 feet came much like the first 10,000 feet – long hard climb followed by a crazy fast descent. One after another. I would estimate that there was a scant twelve miles of continuously flat but very beautiful miles (turns out Nate was right about those views) that we tapped out along a river/large stream.
The Double Diablo is for a specific rider-type to state the obvious. If you don’t “like” to climb, the ride may not be your cup of tea. Regardless of your body-type or preferred riding style, a compact up front and a big cassette would have helped a lot. I saw plenty of riders spinning out the climbs. Disc brakes were another advantage of sorts, the descents were fun and crazy fast. The descents were a temporary reprieve from the climbs – nothing more!
I would be remiss if I did not mention the aid stations. I have never done a ride that was this well supported. They had motorcycles all over the course. I saw at least one motorcycle with a full toolbox aboard and a bike stand which he broke out at the final aid station. The organizers even had spare tubes and tires at most aid stations. Hammer Gels sponsored and supported the ride as well.
Some final thoughts. Would I do the ride again? That would have been a hard pass for a few weeks. As I pen this blog, I can see a scenario where I would be back. I could definitely see how this ride would become an annual rite of passage for Maryland and DC cyclists. The Double Diablo is definitely a Bucket List kinda ride for the rest of us.
If you want to follow my cycling misadventures, you can find my blog articles here and my podcasting here.
Posted by Chris Carville On May 27, 2022 at 10:43 am
Bike Month is quickly coming to an end. It seemed fitting to interview my friend, collaborator, and colleague, Steve Magas, Esq., the Ohio Bike Lawyer. We had a wide-ranging discussion of all things bike laws in Ohio. In fact, the interview was so wide-ranging we had to break it down into two episodes! So please join me for Part 1 of my interview with Steve!
Posted by Chris Carville On April 27, 2022 at 7:30 am
In this Episode of Pedaling Squares, we talk with John Gatch. John Gatch is a lifetime bike racer, bike mechanic, race promoter, race director, francophile, world traveler, EMT, husband, and father. We talk about all of the above and get some intel on his VO2 Max – you will be impressed. As an aspiring Podcaster, I was able to pick his brain about his podcast, Two Johns Podcast, which he co-founded with “John K.”, his long-time riding and racing mate. The Two Johns Podcast is, to my knowledge, the longest-running Cycling Podcast on the interwebs. Enjoy!
Posted by Chris Carville On February 23, 2022 at 9:10 am
Pedaling Squares Through a MAMIL’s Life is a Youtube Channel about endurance sports, from a Master (er, middle-aged) Athlete’s perspective. My focus is that of a MAMIL or a middle-aged man in lycra.
It is February. December and January tend to be about setting racing and fitness goals – usually from the comfort of our couches. February through November (if you race cyclocross) is about execution. But if you don’t have A PLAN to execute, you are never going to achieve those goals. And goals are very, very individualized. If we had the engine to race at the World Tour level, we would know that by now.
Endurance sports are about rounding us out as busy people with spouses, children, jobs, and extended families. Our goals should reflect that reality. Most of us did not race the World Tour (or compete in other professional sports), but we should still chase a dream or two outside of work and family life.
What is the best way to realize those athletic dreams? Hire a Coach!
A Coach will individualize your training program, tailor that program to your goals, and mentor you along the way to achieving them.
And that is where Peter Wimberg comes in. When he is not running a successful landscaping business, and when he is not playing the drums, and when he is not training and racing himself, he is coaching loads of endurance athletes which includes a MAMIL like me. Peter does not need a lot of sleep.
You can find Peter’s coaching website here and his blog here.
Please enjoy an hour or so of our conversation about structured training, improving fitness as a Masters’ Level Athlete, and achieving individual goals in Episode Three of Pedaling Squares Through a MAMIL’s Life.
Posted by Chris Carville On February 8, 2022 at 9:00 am
I will get to the typo but allow me to set the stage.
Too Close for Comfort
Most, perhaps all of us, have been on the receiving end of a “punishment pass” where a motorist intentionally violates your three-foot buffer provided by KRS 189.340(2)(a). Regardless of intent, ANY violation of our three-foot buffer is always disconcerting and sends off alarm bells in our central nervous system releasing a cascade of hormones that leaves us simultaneously fearful and enraged.
So the question is: how much roadway or “lane” is necessary for a cyclist and motorist to “share” a lane? I present this as a technical question and in terms of best practices for safe riding – they are two different things.
Ten Pounds of You-Know-What in a Five Pound Bag
When a one hundred and two-inch maximum width truck, trailer or bus passes a thirty-inch-wide cyclist (the AASHTO/American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials design standard), the three-foot buffer required by KRS 189.340 cannot be technically maintained in a fourteen-foot lane.
On the other hand, a small SUV, such as a Ford Escape or Honda CR-V, are seventy-two to seventy-five inches in width, which would add another two feet of buffer to KRS 189.340’s three-foot buffer within a fourteen-foot lane. But that does not mean it is safe to pass a cyclist in that scenario.
“Taking the Lane”
Kentucky’s Administrative Regulation 601 KAR 14:020, Section 7, Operation of Bicycles, contemplates the scenario where a cyclist is riding on a lane that is too narrow to be considered a “shared lane.”:
(3) A bicycle operated in a highway lane with other vehicle types shall keep to the right unless:
(a) Preparing for and executing a left turn;
(b) Passing a slower moving vehicle;
(c) The lane is too narrow to be considered a shared lane. A bicycle may be ridden far enough to the left to prevent overtaking vehicles from attempting to pass in the same lane[.]
Many safe cycling advocates will refer to this as “taking the lane” where the cyclist rides in the center or just left of the center of the lane to prevent a motorist from passing within the same lane. This is in fact safer for the cyclist. KRS 189.340(2)(b) permits passing the cyclist left of center in this scenario:
(b) The driver of a motor vehicle may drive to the left of the center of a roadway, including when a no-passing zone is marked in accordance with subsection (6) of this section, to pass a person operating a bicycle or electric low-speed scooter only if the roadway to the left of the center is unobstructed for a sufficient distance to permit the driver to pass the person operating the bicycle or electric low-speed scooter safely and avoid interference with oncoming traffic. This paragraph does not authorize driving on the left side of the center of the roadway when otherwise prohibited under state law.
Back to that Typo
So, where is that typo and why is it important? Because “taking the lane” is akin to a self-defense argument in that “taking the lane” is an affirmative defense that must be proved at trial. The administrative regulations contemplate that a cyclist will “keep to the right.” Taking the lane in a roadway that is “too narrow to be considered a shared lane” is the exception, not the rule. Just like refraining from assaulting someone is the rule unless you are acting in defense of yourself or in defense of someone else. In Court the defendant must prove the exception. This is what judges and lawyers refer to as an affirmative defense.
In taking the lane, the cyclist may be required to prove in Court that the lane was too narrow to be a shared lane.
Here is where that typo comes in. In order to “take the lane”, the cyclist must be able to prove that he or she was in a “shared lane.” 601 KAR 14:020, Section 1, defines a “shared lane” as follows:
“Shared lane” means a single lane of traffic less than fourteen (14) feet in width not including the gutter pan.
Less than fourteen (14) feet? Wait. What?!?
So a shared lane could be the width of a tractor-trailer (eight-and-a-half feet) because it is less than fourteen feet? Or even worse, a shared lane could be the width of a Honda CRV, six-and-half feet, which is much less than fourteen feet? How does a cyclist “share” an eight-and-half foot lane with a tractor-trailer? The simple answer is that you cannot.
I need to give some attribution here. The typo at the heart of this blog came to my attention at Cincinnati Cycling Club’s Annual Banquet last month. Jim Lindner, a fellow cyclist, and Director of Safety and Education for CCC raised the issue with me. I have always glossed over two important words – “less than” and simply focused on “fourteen feet in width” as we all know that is the minimum width of lane that can accommodate a cyclist (thirty to forty inches wide) and a Honda CRV (seventy-five inches wide). 30 inches + 75 inches = 105 inches or 8.75 feet, which is less than 14 feet.
Perhaps the authors of 601 KAR 14:020 intended to define a shared lane, as a single lane of traffic greater than fourteen (14) feet in width, not including the gutter pan as such a lane could technically “share” a Honda CRV and a thirty-inch-wide cyclist with space to spare after a three-foot buffer.
Effect of the Typo?
One must keep in mind that the definition of a “shared lane” comes up in Kentucky’s Administrative Code, not Kentucky’s Revised Statutes. The regulations are just that, regulations. They do not have the force of law of the Revised Statutes, which are the laws of the Commonwealth passed by the Legislature.
The most likely scenario where “taking the lane” will come up is in a local traffic court.
In legal-speak, KRS 189.340, is Enabling Legislation. In KRS 189.287, which was entitled “Bicycle Safety Regulations and Standards,” the Legislature “enabled” the “Transportation Cabinet [to] promulgate[] administrative regulations[.]”
KRS 189.287 does confer a very limited benefit on cyclists who follow the regulations:
“Bicycles and riders which comply with the regulations promulgated under this section are exempt from municipal and other local government regulations concerning safety equipment but not method of operation.”
“Taking the lane” would likely fall under “method of operation”, so a cyclist would not be exempted from municipal or local regulations. Regardless, if a cyclist was charged with impeding traffic or failing to keep to the right under a municipal code or local regulation/ordinance/code, we could cite 601 KAR 14:020 in that cyclist’s defense in traffic court. However, we would have to explain the little typo in in 601 KAR 14:020’s definition of a shared lane.
A person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic shall ride in the right hand lane of the roadway subject to the following provisions:
If the right hand lane is wide enough to be safely shared with overtaking vehicles, a person operating a bicycle shall ride far enough to the right as judged safe by the bicyclist to facilitate the movement of such overtaking vehicles unless other conditions make it unsafe to do so.
A person operating a bicycle may use a lane other than the right hand lane when:
Overtaking or passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction;
Preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway;
Reasonably necessary to avoid conditions, including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or lanes that are too narrow for a bicycle and a motor vehicle to travel safely side by side within such lanes;
Approaching an intersection where right turns are permitted and there is a dedicated right turn lane, in which case a bicyclist may ride on the left-hand side of such dedicated lane, even if the bicyclist does not intend to turn right;
Riding on a roadway designated for one-way traffic, when the bicyclist may ride as near to the left-hand curb or edge of such roadway as judged safe by the bicyclist; or
Riding on parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles, including, but not limited to, contra-flow bicycle lanes, left-handed cycle tracks or bicycle lanes on one-way streets and two-way cycle tracks or bicycle lanes.
A person operating a bicycle shall not be expected or required to:
Ride over or through hazards at the edge of a roadway, including but not limited to fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or narrow lanes; or
Ride without a reasonable safety margin on the right-hand side of the roadway.
A person operating a bicycle in compliance with this section and not violating any other section of law is not impeding traffic.
The foregoing language achieves two important ends: (1) the judgment regarding safety is in the hands of the cyclist and (2) the width of a shareable lane is not a predetermined figure.
Practical Solution: Signage
The realities of “Taking the Lane” often result in obnoxious horn honking, unpleasant hand gestures, and grumpy motorists. Cyclists in Kentucky would be well-served with better signage, especially on single-lane roads that cyclists share with motorists. Better signage would protect cyclists and potentially diffuse angry encounters with motorists.
For example, the State of Delaware contemplates signage that permits cyclists to “Take the Lane” in a shared lane scenario:
The Bicycles May Use Full Lane (R4-11) sign (see Figure 9B-2) may be used in Delaware on designated bicycle routes where no bicycle lanes or adjacent shoulders usable by bicyclists are present and where travel lanes are too narrow for bicyclists and motor vehicles to operate side by side.
The Bicycles May Use Full Lane sign may be used in locations where it is important to inform road users that bicyclists might occupy the travel lane.
Section 9C.07 describes a Shared Lane Marking that may be used in addition to or instead of the Bicycles May Use Full Lane sign to inform road users that bicyclists might occupy the travel lane.
The authoritative and widely recognized Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways contemplates signage that permits cyclists to “Take the Lane” in a shared lane scenario:
From an advocacy perspective, a sign can reduce a topic that merits almost two thousand words in this blog article down to just four words!
Final Thoughts
The Kentucky Administrative Regulation and the Model Law text above both address criminal or traffic violations for “impeding” traffic. However, they can be even more important than avoiding a fine or traffic conviction. Regulations, the Kentucky Revised Statutes, and Model Laws can be the basis for jury instructions when the stakes are much, much higher – in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit where a cyclist is injured or killed.
If you or anyone you know is charged in Kentucky with impeding traffic or failing-to-keep-right in a municipal or local traffic court, we are here to help. Should a typo keep you from “taking the lane” where the lane is narrow? No. Safety first! If you find yourself in Traffic Court? That’s what lawyers are for. You can find me at [email protected]. Or by phone at 859 380 8309 and 513 600 8432.
Posted by Chris Carville On January 6, 2022 at 9:14 am
What is Pedaling Squares?
Pedaling Squares Through a MAMIL’s Life was intended to be a podcast about two of my favorite things: Bikes and Beer. Someday soon we will get back to my love of beer. Suffice it to say that coordinating breweries, brewmasters, and nearby Strava Segments was harder than I realized. When I have more time on my hands I will get back to those projects. My first episode was a COVID-inspired attempt to get things rolling without the benefit of actual brewmasters:
Between a pandemic and opening a law firm, my podcasting aspirations took a back seat to earning a living and riding my bike. So I am back, with a slightly new approach to podcasting. Pedaling Squares will continue to be about one of my two favorite things: riding a bike.
More broadly, the Channel will be about endurance sports, from a Masters (er, middle-aged) Athlete’s perspective. My focus will be that of a MAMIL. For the uninitiated, a MAMIL is a “middle-aged man in lycra.” The Channel is intended to have a broad audience of endurance athletes, mostly middle-aged, but I will not be able to resist the pull of the bike. So I apologize in advance for that likely drift. Perhaps a better way to characterize the channel is podcasting for an audience of master-aged cyclists that has broader application to most endurance athletes.
So with that introduction out of the way, my first video of 2022 tackles a topic that is on most athletes’ minds in January of any year: the dreaded weight gain over the holidays. For the less-monastic among us, the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year presented a well-earned opportunity to spend time with loved ones that usually involved delicious food and an extra beer or two, or more… Those extra calories lead to extra pounds. Over the years I have learned to accept this reality rather than fret about it. They call it an offseason for a reason. I, for one, don’t make a living racing a bike and I suspect you don’t either. So, you got to live a little – within reason.
Cycling is a sport replete with eating disorders at its highest level. And maybe calling them eating disorders is a bit of a stretch. Guys and gals who get paid to ride are acutely aware of a Mathematical Reality: extra pounds means lower power-to-weight ratios and lower power-to-weight ratios can mean slower times. So strict dieting is a reality for those in the rarified air of professional cycling. But that does not mean nutrition is not important for the rest of us – especially those of us who are chasing podiums and leaderboards on Strava! Your power-to-weight ratio is a very real reality to any cyclist going uphill. For runners, swimmers, and any other athlete in a timed event, also known as a race, pre-race and race daynutrition is important. All of this brings me to my first guest on Pedaling Squares, Dawn Weatherwax.
Dawn Weatherwax, RD, CSSD, LD, ATC, CSCS, MET 1
Dawn is my Nutritionist, so let me plug her from experience. Dawn a Licensed Dietitian with a specialty in Sports Nutrition and Founder of Sports Nutrition 2Go. She is also a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, which is the premier professional sports nutrition credential in the United States. She is the author of Three Books: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sports Nutrition, Sports Nutrition Guide for Young Athletes, and The Official Snack Guide for Beleaguered Sports Parents. And, she is a frequent presenter on Nutrition at a local and national level.
In this interview, we tackle “hack” diets and their limitations for endurance athletes. And from a master’s athlete’s perspective, we talk about the importance of calculating one’s actual resting metabolic rate. Many websites use a logarithm with assumptions about one’s age. While a given logarithm may be accurate based on ages 15 to 35 years old, a significant amount of variability in the population starts to set in after 40, 50, 60, and so on. This is especially the case in lifelong athletes. Many of the canned logarithms may be underestimating your resting metabolic rate. Dawn has the hardware to calculate an actual, not assumed resting metabolic rate – the rate one is consuming most of his or her calories. Strava, Garmin Connect, Wahoo, and Training Peaks can tell you what you burned during a given workout – that is the easy part. Relying on a website to calculate how many calories you are burning while at work and asleep can end up being an exercise (pun intended) in guesswork. We also discussed the importance of measuring fat and lean muscle tissue and the effect of age on both and more.
Dawn brings a wealth of experience to the discussion. My only limitation was Dawn’s time. She promised to come back for more, so if you have ideas for future points of discussion please leave them in the comment section.
So, where is that typo and why is it important? Because “taking the lane” is akin to a self-defense argument in that “taking the lane” is an affirmative defense that must be proved at trial. The administrative regulations contemplate that a cyclist will “keep to the right.” Taking the lane in a roadway that is “too narrow to be considered a shared lane” is the exception, not the rule. Just like refraining from assaulting someone is the rule unless you are acting in defense of yourself or in defense of someone else. In Court the defendant must prove the exception. This is what judges and lawyers refer to as an affirmative defense.
