Cycling on Venus

I can't claim to be a super-cyclist by any stretch of the imagination, but given that I commute over 150km a week (at least during the drier months), it is a big part of my life. I'm not fast and I'm not strong, but I just keep pushing the cranks around and somehow end up where I'm going.

In September 1991 I bought my first real bike, a Marin Palisades Trail mountain bike, which passed 10,000km in mid-June 1995. It's pretty much a middle of the road MTB, but it served me well for four years, and I'll certainly be keeping it around for those offroad rides that my new bike can't quite handle. It's still on the original chain though, so a drivetrain overhaul will be in order soon...

I've become particularly interested in recumbent bicycles, and finally on August 11, 1995, I picked up my new long wheelbase ATP Vision RU-40, and immediately rode it from the store to work. It was a tiring day, as the recumbent position uses your leg muscles in a slightly different way than a standard upright, but it was just too nice to finally have it. That picture over there is me riding the beast itself (click on it for the full size version), and was taken by my sister after a ride to Steveston in early September 1995. The IHPVA (International Human Powered Vehicle Association) maintains a site with lots of information on recumbents if you're interested in learning more.

Here's a list of ride writeups I've made of my more interesting rides. I only just started these, so don't expect too much here for a few months.

• 95Aug13: My First Metric Century
• 95Aug20: Century II: The Madness Takes Langley
• 95Aug30: Indy Out Outing
• 95Sep09: Almost an Imperial Century

The knee injury from last fall seems to have healed quite well, and I'm back to riding regularly. In fact, I completed the VBC's first century of 1996 in about the same time as the fall of 1995 (when I injured it by pushing too hard), and it still feels just fine.

There are a lot of cycling resources on the net for interested people to explore. The Vancouver Cyclist is probably the best locally oriented site I've ever seen. There is a sizable cycling catalog on Yahoo, which is a good place to start for more general investigation. The rec.bicycles FAQ is also an excellent reference.

Cycling Safety and Advocacy

Like it or not, I seem to be getting dragged into this area by misguided, non-commuter cyclists who seem to think they know what's best for me better than I do. Then again, on the subject of me knowing what's best for others, I've written a short piece, ``Is a Rear Light Enough?''

Here are some links to various resources on mandatory helmet laws:

• A news posting by me on the subject of mandatory helmet legislation. Another news posting by Tom Kunich on the subject of the World Health Organization (see below). And another news posting by Peter van Schaik on the subject of the actual risk of head injury in cycling compared to other activities.
• OCBC (Ontario Coalition for Better Cycling). Listen to what they have to say, as it's far more likely to save your life than any helmet. There, that reveals my biases pretty well.
• Snell Memorial Foundation (a mainly neutral team). These guys produce the most reputable helmet standards available. They generally seem to take their science seriously and try to do things right.
• BHSI (Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute). Generally these guys are WHO lapdogs, but sometimes they seem more sensible, so I'm not quite sure what they believe.
• WHO Helmet Initiative (the bad guys). Safety for everyone by legislating a helmet on every head. It doesn't matter that it's produced negative results everywhere it's been tried, because they care.

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Cycling on Venus

Brian Edmonds <brian@gweep.ca> February 21, 1998