If you missed out on last night's memorial ride for EJ Juarez and Jasyon Kilroy or want to pay your respect again a group of cyclists are meeting at 9am on Sunday at the scene of EJ and Jayson's accident. They are doing a short ride in the canyon, it was one of EJ's favorite training loops.
Before getting on a plane today to Chicago for EJ's funeral, his long time friend Jeff Cloutier dropped of this photo to be posted.
Memorial Bike Ride for EJ Juarez
Tonight a group of people are meeting at Wooglin's at 9pm and riding to the site of last night's accident on 26th Street, where EJ Juarez and Jayson Kilroy were tragically killed by a motorist. Here's a link to a news brief on KOAA about the accident, there is more information on the CS Police Blotter. If you want to bring something to put at the site, EJ really liked the candles in glass jars with the pictures of saints on them.
I have had the privilege of a close relationship with EJ over the past year - he is a caring and thoughtful man who loves cycling, friends and family very much. He will be missed by so many.
Come and ride for EJ tonight.
-Sara
The Officer, the Bicyclist and the Video
written by my good friend Colin!
Did you know you can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve public health, avoid needless terrorism and war, reduce road congestion, and improve the economy merely by being a fan of the Tour de France? Well, you can! Read on.
America needs to foster its (re-)burgeoning bike culture. But no aspect of culture is complete without some element of professionalism. Whether it's food, language, art, music, or athletics, we draw inspiration from the pros. So I say unto you, America, please genuinely care about the Tour de France, if not professional cycling in general.
How does one become a fan? For me it all happened in the summer of '03. My new roommate had rich-woman's cable (which for me means "the one up from basic"), and I happened to be consistently waking up early-ish for work. That was the perfect storm that hooked me on watching the Tour (two or three years before I ever became a Lycra-encased weenie, mind you). Ever since then, I've been something of a fanatic. I also bike even more than I did before. Coincidence? I think not.
Now with no Lance and oodles of doping scandals, American interest in the Tour will inevitably wane. This is a real shame, because none of that crap really matters. Long-winded bastard that I am, I enumerate a number of reasons why this is so, but it's best to see for yourself -- i.e., Watch. The. Tour.
The Beauty
The Tour is gorgeous. Go ahead and put the TV on mute and enjoy the best views France has to offer from the stirring vantage points of motorcycles and helicopters. Alps, Pyrenees, coastlines, farms, vineyards, castles, cathedrals, cottages, and grand Paris. Add to that a dense pack of brightly-colored, uniformed athletes gliding seemingly effortlessly through it all, and you will have to admit, this is top-notch Old World scenery porn.
The Sportsmanship
In a competition known for its cheaters, most folks overlook the fact that the Tour is still sublimely sporting. There are unspoken rules: Don't pass in a feed zone; Don't take advantage of a guy who's gotta piss; Most famously, don't challenge the yellow jersey on the Champs-Elysees. This last rule allows the overall winner the privilege of drinking champagne while riding the final stage. But for real class, look no further than Ullrich and Armstrong (doper and possible doper, respectively). One year while dueling in the mountains, Ullrich took a tumble and Armstrong waited for him. Ullrich later returned the favor when Lance got his handle bar tangled on a spectator's bag in 2003. Jan lagged along, directing the rest of the field to do likewise, until Armstrong could catch up. The gesture cost Jan the stage. Did I mention this is a beautiful race?
Thomas Voeckler
This is a shameless plug for my favorite rider. In 2004, in his first Tour de France and at the tender age of 24, Voeckler seized and successfully defended the yellow jersey for 10 days. It almost defies explanation. Voeckler is widely regarded as a good-but-not-great rider, and he has never regained the yellow jersey, although he is currently riding in the polka dot jersey (best climber), thanks to leading valiant breakaways in the first two stages of this year's Tour. He's scrappy, cunning, relentless, on a not-so-good team, and French. And the ladies like him. And, if the Wiki is right, his nickname is apparently "Le Chouchou." In essence, the ultimate Tour de France underdog.
The Egalitarianism
One of the world's largest sporting events happens to be totally free to anyone who wants to see it in person. Again, beautiful.
The Utter Insanity
Sure, the Tour itself is crazy in its length and intensity. Sure, there's some of the standard unpredictability over who will win on a given day. What I'm talking about is everything else. This is a battle fought in 21 acts over thousands of miles, with single stages often easily over 100 miles long. Even if the Tour organizers could barricade every foot of every stage, they still couldn't manage to post a police officer every 50 feet to keep shit from getting out of control. Dogs, political protesters, drunk fans, cars, motorcycles, helicopters, horses, orange-clad Basques (I seriously love/hate those guys) -- you name it, it's caused mayhem on the course. In fact, in this year's 3rd stage, the Tour director, riding in the lead car, had to negotiate TV time for protesters in order to get them off the course in time for the main pack (peloton) to come through. This arguably slowed the peloton and, combined with bad weather and a crash, allowed a four-man breakaway to retain their lead to the finish. (Boulder-based Garmin-Chipotle's Will Frischkorn, a tour rookie, got 2nd as a result.)
TV coverage: Versus (live morning broadcasts plus evening replays)
Online streaming video: justin.tv (more streams at cyclingfans.com)
Stages are scheduled to loosely finish at around 9 a.m. MST.
Yes, she rides as nice as she looks.
So Gizmodo reported that a kid, 16-year-old Marco Facciola, built a bike entirely—and I mean entirely, as in no nails, no screws, no nuthin'—out of wood, for his international baccalaureate. Which is pretty neat, except I can't imagine that it rides very well. But bravo, Marco; maybe you just invented Dendro-Punk.
Really makes you think, no?
The Westside Pioneer, in spite of it's generally lame website, house ads glorifying tree killing and general contempt for anything remotely progressive, nonetheless last week reminded us that the deadline for commenting on the Pike Peak Area Council of Government's Regional Non-Motorized Plan (that means, uh, bikes and stuff)is December 14th. So, if you like the idea of being able to ride from, say, downtown to Manitou or even, gasp, Green Mountain falls without getting creamed by some idiot in an SUV, maybe you wanna take a gander and even offer your $0.02.
Please come out to this meeting. This city's long overdue for many needed changes in its treatment of cycling as an important form of alternative transportation, and the PPABC is need of more bodies and voices to reinforce the need. Here's the agenda:
The final PPABC meeting of 2007 will be at the Trails and Open Space Coalition office:Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Topics: Review the successes of 2007
Discuss challenges and goals for 2008.
- Safe Routes to School
- Rider Education
- Crosswalk rules and safety
- Cycling Events
- Commuter Blog
The TOPS Coalition office is underneath the Red Cross offce near the top of the hill on 8th Street just south of Wal-Mart.
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