You are hereAustin Flyers want to give you free food and beer, as long as you wear a helmet and are willing to be coddled...
Austin Flyers want to give you free food and beer, as long as you wear a helmet and are willing to be coddled...
I've been laboring over posting this ride because of the helmet requirement and gross bicycle bias (they're only allowing MTBs and Hybrids on the 15 mile course, wtf?!?) but it IS a free event with free food and free beer, so what the hell. Here's the basic info, or you can read it (and RSVP) on their website:
July 19th - Austin Flyers Sunday ride sponsored by Chipotle
Rides will leave at 8:30am from the Bicycle Sport Shop parking lot, located at 517 S. Lamar. Food, beverages and Tour viewing will be at 11am back at BSS.
FREE Chipotle burritos and Real Ale Beer. It just doesn’t get any better!
Join us for an awesome ride followed by free burritos courtesy of Chipotle and beer from Real Ale Brewery and watch a stage of the Tour de France.
There will be 4 rides to choose from:
1. 15 mile - casual ride through neighborhoods
2. 35 mile - intermediate level ride
3. 60 mile - advanced level ride
4. NEW! - mountain bike group ride on the Greenbelt** Helmets are required for this ride. Hybrid and mountain bikes are welcome but only on the 15 mile route. Burritos and beer will be available only while supplies last.
Please RSVP so we are sure to have enough food for everyone.
While I'm slowly resigning myself to the fact that as long as organized clubs are afraid of being sued, they're going to require helmets at their events despite any claims of personal responsibility or limited liability, but this whole "hybrid and mountain bikes are welcome but only on the 15 mile route" is some BULLSHIT. I'm guessing that they don't want to taint their roadie rides with the uncleanliness of someone who DOESN'T count every gram, but really? I know PLENTY of riders who don't ride a road bike or suit up in spandex but can still kill it on the open asphalt when they ride. I mean c'mon, give us bikers some credit here. Just because not all of us wear team kit, rock the carbon fiber water bottle cages or slather on the chamois butter before we head out doesn't mean we're slouches. If any of you do the 35 mile ride, PLEASE ride it on something different (26" cruiser, recumbent, trike, tall bike, chopper, bike car, fixed gear, whatever) and show those Austin Flyer cats what's up. While I understand the realities of prejudice and the desire to exclude those different from you, is the bike community really the place to manifest this bias?
This makes me really want to put drop bars and a back brake on the tall bike and ride the 35 mile course on my "fat tired, single speed, high vantage point road bike" while wearing a space helmet.
...so does anybody have a spare space helmet?
Did the 35 miler on my very lonesome fixie, and finished holding up the rear by the skin of my teeth. They kept up an ~18+ pace so I doubt anyone on much other than a mtb or a fixed gear could have any chance at all of not getting dropped.
I don't think this could be called "coddling." My legs do not feel coddled. I think it's more sparing people the humiliation of being all alone on the tuesday nighter loop on their hybrid.
Nevertheless, the burritos were good and the beer was better, so I put it to all y'all tough folks that want to have a go at it; I know I'll be at the next one, but it'll have to be on my road bike.
It was more like 14 mph moving average overall -- I did the 35 miler too. But headed back was largely downwind and went down more hills than up, so the trip out was slower and the trip back was faster.
But yeah, not slow. But on the other hand, I'm sure the right people could keep up in a MTB or hybrid.
It was a sea of 95% spandex, with mostly road bikes but a few cruisers, mountain bikes, hybrids, one tandem and I think I saw two fixies. Nothing more unusual than that -- no tall bikes, cargo bikes, recumbents (mine had a flat this morning and I didn't have time to fix that), etc.
The burrito was indeed nice.
The helmet thing didn't bother me too much. It's their ride and all. However, the mtn bike / hybrid thing made me roll my eyes widely when I saw that. I agree with the above. Just state the facts and see who shows.
The metal ride's a good example. Nobody's going to tell Bradley he can't ride his 20" bmx bike and nobody should. Likewise, Tim, on his hybrid pushed the pace more than once. Hell, Keith led the ride on a 26" cruiser but I guess he's out on this one. I've ridden plenty of road rides with him and his OM doesn't seem to slow him down much.
I suppose they're just worried about us.
You think single speeds are allowed?
clif
http://hardmenwithsoftbellies.wordpress.com/
One way to find out. Sign up and show up, see what happens!
I don't pretend to know exactly why this and other "traditional" road rides require helmets (Tue Niter/AustinTriCyclist have never posted such requirements but EVERYONE wears helmets). It's a tough call because i know non-racer types value their independence and the freedom to ride wherever/whatever they like. I've been on both sides of the fence and the only thing i can come up with is that it's really discouraged and looked down upon in "lycra-clad" circles to NOT wear a helmet. It takes A LOT of skill to ride bikes at high speeds in close quarters and crashes are more the norm than not (when you look at the wide-varying skill levels on, say, the Fullmoon it's easy to see why there are so many crashes). Cyclists also frown upon riders w/aerobars in the pack: it's just not safe and, more than anything, screams you don't really care (even if it's just you don't REALLY understand)about your own safety and TRUST is a huge factor when riding in a pack. You spend a LONG time earning that trust and the honor to ride side by side by illustrating your skill level and, finally, with your legs. The sport is riddled with "categorization" and newbs are quickly separated from seasoned riders from the get go.
I'm not saying you don't know how to ride (you may even ride fast). But think of it as a sign of respect for these long-established rides/clubs to adhere to their guidelines. That's something that is lacking in all of cycling: respect. There are plenty of rides (i'd venture to say the non-sanctioned now outnumber the traditional) that don't require helmets but the Flyers have been around a long time and they really seek to teach cycling and encourage safety (they've been instrumental in starting some of the 1st all-womens rides and teams). They simply CAN'T turn around and sponsor rides w/out helmets. It's just not in the cards because they're rooted in cycling (not the fixie/urban scene).
I still think we should have the choice to wear helmets or not (the City making them mandatory several years back was ridiculous all because the former Mayer...a beginner...busted his head playing Lance Armstrong). I've seen enough friends hit the pavement HARD and the sight of busted heads and black fluid pooring onto the pavement was enough for me to wear my helmet 99% of the time. Yes, it's ultimately YOUR choice but, frankly, i'd steer clear of you if i found you next to me out on one of the more traditional/roadie rides (Fullmoon doesn't count).
You're trying to stereotype cyclists by the type of bikes they ride...some kind of weird "cycle racism". Maybe you can explain to me what the "fixie scene" is all about.
I have a fixed-gear bike that I built specifically for the purpose of doing road rides of 35-60 miles. Every time I ride that bike, I pass a lot of people on multi-gear bikes. I almost never get passed. Am I part of the "fixie scene"? Or am I a "roadie"?
And guess what? I'd never get on any bike without a helmet. Does that conform to your stereotype of the typical fixie rider?
Every Sunday morning, myself and whoever else wants to join me do a group ride. (Departs from the Posse East at 8:20 - make a note and join us). Some of us ride fixed-gear bikes, and some of us ride multi-gear bikes. Some of us wear helmets, and some of us don't. We don't think about that shit. We just like to ride.
When people like you stop perpetuating these bogus "issues" among cyclists, we'll all be a lot better for it. Good people ride all kinds of bikes in all kinds of ways; so do jackasses. Stop obsessing on who's in what "scene" and concentrate on riding. Life will be sooooooo much more enjoyable.
By the way, get your chronolgy correct. The city ordinance requiring helmets for adults was repealed long before former Mayor Bruce Todd suffered his near-fatal accident. In fact, I'm personally acquainted with Bruce. Trust me, he has no illusions about possessing any brilliant prowess as a cyclist; he's just another guy who likes to ride. Engage brain before running mouth, jcruz.
Hope to see you on our ride.
Bruce Todd was seriously injured in a bicycle accident back in late 2005. As often happens in serious accidents, his helmet was credited with saving his life.
He pushed for another helmet law in 2006, after his accident. Ultimately, the measure was defeated, or at least delayed for a long time.
There was a helmet law in Austin back in 1996, but it didn't last long. Bruce Todd was mayor during this period and supported the measure, but his serious accident had not yet happened.
(So, bogusboy is correct, but perhaps jcruz was referring to the 2006 failed effort rather than the 1996 successful (for a short period) effort and just misspoke himself.)
(Damn, I'd rather be out riding than poking around on the 'puter ...)
I've seen more significant crashes on that ride than every other ride I've been on combined.
I don't even recall any of these crashes involving cars -- mostly they were people who got a front wheel clipped by another bike, or didn't see that median or speed bump coming up, etc. And quite often, either a drunk crashes or causes the crash.
So I wear my helmet and gloves on that ride more reliably than any other ride -- because it's the ride where it's most likely to be helpful. So far, overall, my gloves have helped me significantly once (not on that ride, however), and my helmet zero times, but you never know ...
The Austin Flyers require helmets because they worry about getting sued and their insurance probably requires it. And ultimately, it doesn't really matter because the people who usually go on those rides wear helmets anyways -- it's the culture. It's their ride, they can set the rules.
On the other hand, the `no hybrids or MTBs except on the 15 mile ride' thing is just silly. I guess that means no mountain bikes on the mountain bike ride either? :) On the bright side, I doubt they really mean it.
Jason, I have an extra helmet you can borrow. To bolster the efficacy of it--and mitigate the huge cracks and shell pieces that have sluffed off--I glued a dozen or so New Belgium beer caps on top. Unfortunately, many fell off during the urban assault...particularly when they made you jump in the river with your helmet on, which I thought was more dangerous.
I think the hybrid/mb reference might just be that they're indicating that the rides past 15 miles will be more strenuous/hilly...maybe just giving a heads up. Maybe BSS will reply.
It's not an issue of OWNING a helmet. I actually have 3 of them, and wear them regularly when doing roadie-style rides outside Austin's urban center, or when mountain biking. I just don't care for the REQUIREMENT for one on what sounds like a slow-paced, 15 mile neighborhood cruise.
If the longer rides are more strenuous/faster, maybe they should explain that the routes will have hills, mention an MPH average, and say that it's a drop ride. Disallowing a type of bike based on supposition that the rider will be SLOWER because of it is ridiculous, especially when a guy riding a new Trek 7300 "hybrid" would probably beat the pants off of a similar rider on an old Schwinn Varsity "road bike".
The helmet rule kicks ass. I would love to see more bikers wearing them.
As for the other, all the group needs to do is say that everyone is responsible for their own pace and can drop off anytime at their own choosing, like the Monday Night Heavy Metal ride does. This bias is bullshit. But maybe they merely don't want to be shown up by the wider tires. ;)