This past weekend Tucson had an incredible day for pedaling. It started with the GABA Bike Swap and continued with Cyclovia Tucson, Cyclocross and adult beverages at Tap and Bottle and in the parking lot of Ordinary Bike Shop.
I posted on my facebook page over 800 images of the day in 14 Albums. The links are below or look at The Damion Alexander Team on facebook.
These photos are a major time commitment and it is my pleasure to take the photos and share them with you. All I ask in return for the photos is that you remember I’m A REALTOR. If you have a relationship with another REALTOR, I love loyalty and respect those relationships. However, if not, or if you need a second opinion, Please keep me in mind. Many agents spend money advertising for new business, others sit open houses or cold call. My business is based on referrals from past clients and friends. The less time I have to do traditional prospecting the more I can do for the cycling community. For example: these photo albums.
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 1
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154804712790154.1073742157.228735085153&type=3
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 2
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154806308815154.1073742161.228735085153&type=3
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154807970405154.1073742162.228735085153&type=3
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 4
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154809621935154.1073742164.228735085153&type=3
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 5
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154811067035154.1073742166.228735085153&type=3
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 6
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154811601795154.1073742167.228735085153&type=3
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 7
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154813128545154.1073742168.228735085153&type=3
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 8
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154815333815154.1073742170.228735085153&type=3
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 9
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154816546715154.1073742172.228735085153&type=3
Cyclovia Tucson Fall 2014 Album 10 https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154817214695154.1073742174.228735085153&type=1
Fall Bike Swap 2014 Album 1
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154804820735154.1073742158.228735085153&type=3
Fall Bike Swap 2014 Album 2
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154806256005154.1073742160.228735085153&type=3
Fall Bike Swap 2014 Album 3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154808058790154.1073742163.228735085153&type=3
Fall Bike Swap 2014 Album 4
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154810979930154.1073742165.228735085153&type=3
Please let me know if you see anything that needs changing on the list or if you have an event or ride that is missing.
With many of the events listed in the Event section they have a need for volunteers. Volunteering can often be more fun than the actual ride and as Bike Patrol you still get to ride. It definitely will give you a different prospective on what it takes to make all of the events happen. Also, I know how expensive it can be to enter races and for some it is financially impossible to pay, but by giving time it allows you to still participate. I’m mentioning this now as there was a call for Bike Patrol for the Colossal Vail 50/50 in November. El Grupo also relies heavily on the generosity of the community both in time and donations. So, please get involved and help make Southern Arizona the best cycling community it can be.
REOCCURING WEEKLY RIDES
| What |
Where |
When |
Distance/Time |
Speed |
Contact |
| U of A Cycling Monday Mosey |
Flagpole – West Side of Old Main |
Monday
6:30AM |
1-1.5 hours Max 20 miles |
|
www.UofAcylcling.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Starr Pass Intervals |
Congress at
the Loop |
Tuesday 6:15AM |
About an Hour |
|
Tommy Dean K7TPD@live.com
Robert Houts |
| Hills, Hills Hills |
Bashas Kolb/Sunrise |
Tuesday
5:30AM |
20 miles
About an hour |
|
Damion Alexander
977-5664 |
| Tuesday Shootout |
University/Euclid |
Tuesday
6:30AM |
2.5 hours
40 miles |
Fast |
www.Fairwheelbike.com |
| Tuesday Night Fast Fixed Ride |
Flagpole – West Side of Old Main |
Tuesday
6:30PM |
Few Hours Varies |
Fast |
brownus_clarence@yahoo.com |
| Tuesday Night Ride |
Flagpole – West Side of Old Main |
Tuesday
8:30PM |
12-18 miles |
Slow |
Facebook
Tuesday Night Bike Ride |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Oro Valley Mountain Bike |
Oro Valley post office on Tangerine and La Canada |
6:00AM |
20 miles ish |
Tempo
1.5 hours |
beth@orovalleybicycle.com |
| UA Cycling Wed.Worlds |
Flagpole – West Side of Old Main |
Wed
6:30AM |
40-60 miles |
|
www.UofACycling.com |
| Mt. Lemmon |
University/Euclid |
Wed
6:30AM |
55-60 Miles |
|
www.Fairwheelbike.com |
| JKG DnA Easy |
Udall Parking Lot |
Wed
5:30AM |
Udall-Mile post 3 on Lemmon |
Casual
NoDrop |
https://www.facebook.com/groups/579397565447522/?fref=ts |
| Cyclo-cross |
Ft. Lowell Park |
5:45PM |
A few hours |
As fast as we can go |
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671108262985165/?fref=ts |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tim Carolan Ride |
Starbucks
River/Campbell |
Thurs
7:00AM |
46 miles |
18-21 mph |
|
| Up Oracle
Thursday Shootout |
University and Euclid |
Thurs
6:30AM |
|
Fast |
www.Fairwheelbike.com |
| Hills, hills, hills |
Bashas Kolb/Sunrise |
Thurs
5:30AM |
20 miles |
|
Damion Alexander
977-5664 |
| U of A Cycling Thursday Thrill |
Flagpole – West Side of Old Main |
Thurs
6:30AM |
1-1.5 hours Max 20 miles |
Easy Ride |
www.UofACycling.com |
| The JKG Flagship ride |
Le Buzz |
Thurs
5:30AM |
Le Buzz to Molina Basin |
Hammerfest |
JKG Strava on Facebook |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| U OF A Cycling Friday Freewheelin |
Flagpole – West Side of Old Main |
Friday
6:30AM |
2 hours
30-40 miles |
Team Time Trial Practice |
www.UofACycling.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bicycle Ranch Tucson Group |
Bicycle Ranch at Oracle and Ina
|
Saturday 6:30AM |
48 (shorter option of 35 as well) miles |
17-20
MPH |
Free Breakfast after ride |
| Oro Valley Bikes Ride |
Oro Valley Bikes
4749 E Sunrise |
Sat
6:00AM |
50 miles |
17-18 MPH |
(520) 577-5511 |
| The
Old Man Shootout |
University and
Euclid |
Saturday 6:15AM |
60 Mile (can be extended to 100) |
Fast
20 MPH+ |
www.fairwheelbikes.com |
| The Big Boy Shootout |
University and
Euclid |
Saturday 6:30 AM |
60 Miles(can be extended to 100) |
Faster |
www.fairwheelbikes.com |
| Broadway Bicycles Shop Ride |
Various Routes
Call Scott |
Saturday 7:00AM |
|
|
Scott 296-7819 |
| Miles Ahead Shop Ride |
Miles Ahead Tanque Verde Sabino Canyon |
6:30 AM |
50 plus/minus miles |
Fast |
Geoff 751-0555 |
| Ben’s Bike Bide |
At Ben’s bike
7431 Houghton |
7:00AM |
6-10 miles |
Easy |
www.bensbikestucson.com |
| Sabino Cycle Shop Ride |
Varies- email Steve to be on the list |
Saturday Morning |
|
No Drop |
steve@sabinocycles.com |
| Tucson Endurance Performance Center Ride Mountain Bike Ride |
Contact shop for details. Different route weekly. |
Saturday Morning |
|
|
www.graskyendurance.com/weekly-workouts.html
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tucson Endurance Performance Center Ride |
6448 N Oracle
|
Sunday
6:30AM |
|
|
www.graskyendurance.com/weekly-workouts.html |
THIS WEEKS RIDES
| What |
Location |
Date/Time |
Distance |
Speed |
Contact- More Info |
| Broadway Bicycles Shop Ride “Pam’s Ride” El Tour Specific Training |
Broadway
Bicycles |
Sat
Oct 4
7:00AM |
51.79 Miles |
|
Scott 296-7819 |
| Broadway Bicycles Shop Ride |
Broadway
Bicycles |
Sat
Oct 4
7:00AM |
38.4
Miles |
Cruz to 7 cataracts |
Scott 296-7819 |
| Zona Cycling First Part Of El Tour |
Starbucks at El Con Mall |
Oct 11
6:30AM |
75-80 |
|
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zona-Cycling/186457201423794 |
| Tucson Recumbent
Cyclists |
parking lot on Palm Drive at the UofA |
Oct 11 6:30AM |
20.3 |
|
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TucsonRC/10153331147184465/?notif_t=group_activity |
| Look! Save A Life GABA El Tour Training East Side Week 5 |
Udall Parking Lot |
Sunday
Oct 12 6:30AM |
79
miles |
All Speeds
Self supported |
http://www.meetup.com/bikegaba/events/ |
| Look! Save A Life GABA El Tour Training
East Side Week 5 |
Fry’s Marketplace
12100 N Thornydale Rd, |
Sunday
Oct 12 6:30AM |
77 miles |
All speeds self supported |
http://www.meetup.com/bikegaba/events/ |
| Look! Save A Life GABA El Tour Training Week 5 |
Basha’s 3275 North Swan Road |
Sunday
Oct 12
7:00AM |
45 MIles |
All speeds self supported |
http://www.meetup.com/bikegaba/events/200947372/ |
| Look! Save A Life P/B GABA El Tour Training Ride Central Week 3 – |
Maloney’s On Fourth
213 North 4th Avenue |
Sunday
Oct 12
7:00AM |
54.3 Mile |
All speeds self supported |
http://www.meetup.com/bikegaba/events/210779602/ |
| Cactus Cycling
Corona De Tucson |
Bruegger’s Swan and Sunrise
|
Oct 10
7:30AM |
80 |
16-18 MPH |
http://www.cactuscycling.org/event-1773807 |
| Tu Nidito Ride for a Child Training Ride |
Tu Nidito
3922 N. Mountain |
SundayOct 12,
6:30
AM |
Two distances
40ish and 60ish |
Shorter ride is
12-15 MPH faster 17-20 MPH. |
www.tunidito.org/rideforachild
|
| Riders for the cure Training Rides |
La Encantada |
Oct 12 7AM |
55 miles |
2 speeds. Competitive and (NO DROP) |
Dean Drawbaugh dwdrawbaugh@aol.com |
| 9th annual Trek Brest Cancer Awareness Ride
|
Trek Bicycles of Tucson, 1800 E. Ft. Lowell Rd., |
SundayOct 12
9-12 |
|
|
http://bcar-trekbicyclesoftucson.eventbrite.com/?aff=efbevent |
| MTB Addicts – Big Como Loop |
LaCanada Post Office
|
SundayOct 12 2 06:30
|
|
|
https://www.facebook.com/events/807746272611036/ |
| Monday Night @ Hope Camp
|
Hope Camp Trailhead
Camino Loma Alta, Tucson, AZ (map)
|
Mon Oct 13,
7:00 PM
|
|
Plan on 2 hours. |
http://www.meetup.com/Southern-Arizona-Mountain-Bike-Association#calendar |
| Pistol Hill-Vail-Drexel Loop Ride |
Udall Park 7290 E Tanque Verde |
Mon Oct 13
6:30AM |
60 |
14-16MPH |
http://www.meetup.com/bikegaba/events/212403752/ |
| Pistol Hill Loop Ride |
Udall Park 7290 E Tanque Verde |
Wed Oct 15
6:30AM |
47 |
14-16 MPH |
http://www.meetup.com/bikegaba/events/212404012/ |
| Wednesday Night Ride at Robles Pass
|
Robles Trailhead
W.Irvington Rd & Cactus Wren |
Wed, Oct 15,
6:30 PM
|
|
|
http://www.meetup.com/Southern-Arizona-Mountain-Bike-Association#calendar |
| Pima County Fairgrounds Loop Ride |
Udall Park 7290 E Tanque Verde |
Fri Oct 17 6:30AM |
45 |
15-16 |
http://www.meetup.com/bikegaba/events/212404222/ |
| Kidical Mass – Peter Howell Elementary |
Peter Howell Elementary |
Sat
Oct 18
12:00.
|
A few miles |
Ride with kids |
https://www.facebook.com/events/731410720266184/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming |
Moday Night @ Fantasy Island
|
Irvington / Harrison |
· October 20, 2014
7:00 PM |
|
Plan on 2 hours |
|
Tumacacori Century
|
· Sahuarita Town Hall 315 Sahuarita Center Way
|
· Sunday Oct 19 6:30
|
Century Ride |
5-8 hours |
http://www.meetup.com/bikegaba/events/165575612/ |
Wednesday Night Ride at Starr Pass
|
Richard Genser Starr Pass Trailhead1298 S. Clearwell |
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
6:30PM |
|
- Clockwise loop, the Yetman re-reoute is finished and it is great! Lights are still needed!Pizza and beer at Bianchi’s after
|
http://www.meetup.com/Southern-Arizona-Mountain-Bike-Association/events/qzlcmjysnbdc/
|
EVENTS
TIMED RIDES aka MOTIVATION aka RACES and Big Rides
| Name |
Description |
Date |
Location |
Contact Info |
| The 19th Annual Tour of the White Mountains |
50 mile, 35 mile and 9 mile single track Routes and introducing a 30 mile dirt road tour. |
Saturday, October 4th |
Pinetop/Lakeside |
www.EpicRides.com
Phone: 520-623-1584
|
| Can’t Say, but it is the best underground MTB race of the year |
South East side of Town |
Saturday Oct 11th 8:30 |
60 Miles |
If I told you, they would break me in half, but if you really want to know, e-mail me and I might tell you about it. |
| Cochise County Cycling
Classic |
165 mile 95 miles 47 miles and a
* NEW * 27 mile start time: |
Oct 11 |
Cochise county fair-ground |
www.perimeterbicycling.com/cochise-cycling-classic |
| TREK Brest Cancer Awareness Ride |
9th Annual Ride as we ride to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention, screening, treatment and to help fund a cure. |
Oct 12
9-12 |
Trek Bicycles of Tucson, 1800 E. Ft. Lowell Rd., |
http://bcar-trekbicyclesoftucson.eventbrite.com/?aff=efbevent |
| NICA High School League Race 3 |
Freshman, Sophomore, JV and Varsity High School Mountain Bike racing. Men and Women categories. |
Sunday
Oct 12 |
McDowell Mountain Regional Park – Fountain Hills |
www.arizonamtb.org |
| Tumacacori Century |
Also called the Ël Tour De Tucson Training Ride” The most popular GABA bicycle ride in Southern Arizona! Three options are available for riders from novice to very experienced cyclists: 42.8, 82 and 101 miles! |
Sunday October 19,2014 |
Sahuarita Town Hall |
www.BikeGaba.org |
| NICA High School League Race 4 |
Freshman, Sophomore, JV and Varsity High School Mountain Bike racing. Men and Women categories. |
Sunday
Oct 26 |
SARA Park Rodeo Grounds – Lake Havasu City
|
www.arizonamtb.org |
| Bike Swap |
The GABA Bike Swap is a place to buy and sell bicycles and related items. |
Nov 2nd
Dusk til its done |
5th and 7th St Tucson |
http://www.bikegaba.org/
|
| Cyclovia Tucson |
Cyclovia Tucson is part of a global movement to open streets to everyone for a day to give active transportation a try. |
Nov 2nd 10am-2PM |
6th Avenue to University to the Fourth Avenue / Fontana Bike Boulevard |
www.CycloviaTucson.org
|
| Cyclovia Cyclocross presented by U of A |
Cyclocross after Cyclovia
|
Nov 2nd
6:30AM-2:05 PM |
Mansfield Park 2.88KM grass, dirt and some sand. |
Joey Iuliano 765-491-9552
Jiuliano88@gmail.com |
| NICA High School League Race 5 |
Freshman, Sophomore, JV and Varsity High School Mountain Bike racing. Men and Women categories. |
Sunday
Nov. 9 |
White Tank Regional Park – Waddell
|
www.arizonamtb.org |
| Silverbell Century
|
Options for 99, 83, 67, and 30 miles
The Silverbell Century is a great warm-up ride for El Tour de Tucson! It comes at a time when your training needs to intensify for the last time before the great event |
Sunday, November 9, 2014
|
Ride a portion of El Tour route on northwest side, with long stretches of straight flat roads. |
www.BikeGaba.org |
| Colossal Vail 50/50 event |
This is a Running event, but they need some BIKE Patrol Volunteers. |
November 15
|
50K or 50 mile run (but whose running, this is Bike Partol) |
http://www.aztrail.org/cv5050/ Chris Carls <ccarls@cirrusvisual.com> |
| El Grupo’s Inaugural Fall Fondo
A Ride to Support Youth Cycling. This is a ride not a race. |
40 or 80 mile option rides through the heart of the Old Pueblo. |
November 16, 2014
8AM (ish) – 3PM (ish) |
El Grupo Clubhouse Start/Finish/Festa
610 North 9th Avenue |
www.elgrupocycling.org
Email us at info@elgrupocycling.org
Call us at (520) 304-9682 |
| Sandbox Showdown |
It’s not the miles that matter, it’s the mind |
November 16 |
In the sand and in a few drinking holes |
Sign up on the 15th at the Skybar from 7-9. |
- AZ Endurance Series Grassroots endurance race at Kentucky Camp.
|
While this is an individual endurance race / ride, we can start out as groups for the 29 and 46 mile events. |
November 19, 2011 • 7:30 AM |
This is an unsupported ride and riders should be prepared for physical and mechanical challenges. Be ready for up to 5-8 hours of riding! |
Carlos will lead the 46 mile and Jim the 29er
http://rockyroad5050.wordpress.com/kc/ |
| El Tour De Tucson |
40,55,75,104 Mile Fully Supported Rides around Tucson |
Sat
Nov 22 |
Tucson |
www.perimeterbicycling.com/el-tour-de-tucson |
| Tour De Cure- The Damion Alexander Team has a team for this event and is a major sponsor. E-mail me for a free registration code! |
50 and 100K rides
This is the motivation you are looking for to keep riding after El Tour De Tucson! |
March 1, 2015 |
Tucson Harley Davidson
7355 Interstate 10 Frontage Rd |
http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?fr_id=10185&pg=entry&utm_source=Offline&utm_medium=Print&utm_content=tucsontour&utm_campaign=TDC&s_src=vanity&s_subsrc=tucsontour
BBiondo@diabetes.org | (520) 795-3711 x7112 |
This list is a major time commitment and it is my pleasure to put it together. All I ask in return for the list is that you remember I’m A REALTOR. If you have a relationship with another REALTOR, I love loyalty and respect those relationships. However, if not, or if you need a second opinion, Please keep me in mind. Many agents spend money advertising for new business, others sit open houses or cold call. My business is based on referrals from past clients and friends. The less time I have to do traditional prospecting the more I can do for the cycling community. For example: this list.
“I can’t help but think that if Robin Williams had gone for a bike ride yesterday, he might still be with us today. Bikes are good medicine. Pass it along.”
This was a post that I put on facebook. This had more “likes” than my average post, and most of the comments supported the statement. Lisa said “I agree 100%, my biking literally gave me a second chance at life.” Ken commented “Sure works for me” and Patrick showed that my thought was not out of line in writing “I had the exact thoughts earlier today. You never know…”
Personally, I have seen the power of what being active can do and more importantly what the absence of it can do. My grandmother,Oma, was a physical beast. She danced in the Nutcracker with the Detroit Symphony at the Ford Auditorium into her 60’s. We were still skiing black diamond runs in Telluride when she was 70. As long as she was active, she was delightful to be around. If she went a few days without pushing her body, she became wicked. She died doing an operation everyone said was a death sentence when she was 80. She said not doing the operation was the real death sentence. The option of dying was preferential to a life of stagnation.
Another friend who understood my post sent a personal message. She was a professional racer and the bike was her world. “I’m doing the best I can, but riding & racing has been my passion, my coping mechanism and my life. It’s all I know. That it has been taken away from me so completely and without hope of returning is more than I am able to “get over”. Anyway, your post struck a chord. If I could ride to cope, I would. It was a beautiful post about Robin, but cut deep for me.”
Her comments also hit home for me. Last week, I wrecked my back. The first day I was unable to leave the house(or the floor). I stretched it, iced it, soaked in Epson salts and a dozen other remedies I’ve used over the past 20 years. The second morning I got on my road bike. In the past, I’ve always been able to stretch my back while riding. Even if it was a challenge to get my socks on, I still get on my bike and work through the pain. This time it was different. I went under 5 miles. At mile 2 I realized that it was causing more harm. The spasms shot from the middle of my back to my toes. Every revolution of the pedal felt like it was tearing me apart. For the first time I had the thought, I am not going to be able to ride my way out of this.
Like my friend and like my grandmother, I also find myself in a funk when I don’t get in my daily exercise. On the outside, perhaps like Robin Williams, I appear to be a happy person. With all of the pain, suffering and injustice in the world it is easy to be depressed. I over compensate with advocacy work, helping others and making people laugh to make up for many of the darker feelings I have. However, when I’m not active I quickly find that I am not able to do any of these and desire to lock myself up inside of a dark room while I try and block out the world. However, like my Oma, THAT IS NOT AN OPTION I’m willing to live with!
And that brings us back to Robin Williams. I do not know if he was suffering physically as well as emotionally. I do believe if it was only metal anguish that perhaps the bike could of saved his life. If you are feeling blue, I hope this blog post will be the motivation to get out and do something. If it does, let me know. That would make me happy, and we can all use a little good news.
___________________________________________________________________________
Side Note on my back injury and what I’m doing to cope with it.
It has been a week since I hurt myself. I’m still in pain and the road bike is not pleasant to ride. If I go in a low gear and don’t push it, I can feel the tension on the back, but am able to keep it a notch below pain. Still, I’m riding. It is just enough to get outside, smell the creosote after the rain, feel the wind in my face, and ride with the kids. An added bonus, I don’t ride with my daughter, but we not on a level playing field. I will work on another post soon about “not fighting the universe and going with the flow” to address how I’m working on the reality that I’m not doing the rides I want, but figuring how to cope.
This is a more of a mini novel than a blog. It contains the interview with Brendan Lyons and Lorena Evans about a collision with a car on October 4, 2013 . Also, interviews with Senator Farley and Representative Orr about what bike laws we might be able to create in the next legislative session.. My break down on why this all came together. Having been there for the entire time and seeing the final news reports, it is incredible how 45 minutes is condensed into a 2 minute segment. I tried to omit nothing to give a more in depth perspective (perhaps too much).
My good friend Brendan Lyons was hit by a car while riding his bike last week with his girlfriend Lorena Evans. Lorena got off easy with a broken wrist (at least that’s all that I know she hurt). Brendan on the other hand ended up In the Hospital and is still there.
Brendan is a fire fighter with rural metro and the founder of Look!Save a life/ Arizona This is what Brendon says s the purpose of Look! “Look! Save a Life / Arizona is a campaign to promote cycling safety and awareness. Many cyclists are unaware of, or choose not to ride according to the laws which govern the use of public roads. Most drivers only expect to see other cars on the road, or even deny the right of cyclists to be on the road at all. (Or worse yet, feel cyclists should not be on the roads at all.) That creates a disconnection between what drivers expect and what cyclists do on the road. These problems culminate in at best, apathy towards cyclists, and at worst, deliberate, hostile, unsafe, and possibly fatal confrontations between drivers and cyclists. My hope is to “Realize that we can not change personalities, but to help in better changing the “attitudes” drivers and cyclists have for one another.”
I went to visit Brendan at UAMC Diamond’s Children in his hospital room. For some time I have helped him manage the facebook page for Look! Save a Life. I have known many cyclist who have spent time in ER and the hospital, but this is the first time I went down to see if I could help (I’ve never been a huge fan of hospitals, I was told as a kid the best way to stay healthy was to avoid hospitals and I have been living that lifestyle).
Even with the pain meds, I could see the grimace on his face every few sentences, but his mind was clear and we had a very long conversation. We talked about what he remembered from the crash, nothing. My favorite topic after a bike crash. How was his bike? Shattered in 13 plus pieces. Where it happened? Sunrise heading East before Kolb. One point was very clear. He wanted to find a way to make this into a positive experience. The question he wanted to know was how could he help save even one life or prevent one collision as a result of his current situation. The conversation went to how Look! Save a Life could get recognition and use his misfortune for the benefit of the community. We went over the downside to being public, but he was set on doing anything that could to save someone from the anguish he was going through.
Together we discussed what he wanted to see. Laws that really protect cyclist! A state wide no texting while driving law! A hands free law!!!!! Expanding the 3 foot to a 5 foot wide passing law and more teeth and penalties for cars who hit a cyclist.
After we had the idea the rest fell on me. Fortunately, I have great political connections on both sides of the isle in the state legislator and know the Representatives and Senators who believe in protecting the safety of cyclist. ( If anyone has 1ooK and want’s to support me for a year I’ll become a full time bike lobbyist for the state of Arizona) Both Senator Steve Farley and Representative Ethan Orr were willing to shuffle their schedules to meet with Brendan to talk about the laws we discussed.
With the assistance of Katie Riley from UAMC and Grant Cesarck from Rural metro we were able to coordinate the logistics of bringing news crews in the hospital and to get a press release out. THANK YOU Katie and Grant!
Everything went very well and KVOA and KGUN both sent crews out. KOLD was not able to make it, but we might do another interview in a few days. AZ Daily Star sent a reporter as well. Senator Farley, Representative Orr, Karen Mlawsky, CEO of UAMC, Andy Theodorou, MD, Chief Medical Officer of UAMC all attended the meeting.
Senator Farley, Representative Orr, Lorena Evans, Brendan Lyons, Karen Mlawsky, Andy Theodorou, MD.
Prior to the media being allowed in Brendan had an opportunity to talk to the others about what he wanted to accomplish. What hit me was that everyone in the room except Dr. Theodorou ride bikes on a regular basis. The conversation was really preaching to the choir and it seemed that not only was everyone in agreement but that it was more of a brainstorming session. Dr. Theodorou had many points to ad from his prospective in the hospital and seeing so many patients who were in collisions. One point everyone really agreed on, WEAR A HELMET! Brendan would be dead, no question, if he was not wearing his lid.
Even before the actual interview began it appeared that Brendan would grimace in pain while talking. I thought, What type of a person is willing to expose themselves to this when they are hurting so much? My answer is, a public servant of the highest caliber. He is the fire fighter through and through. A man who is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the many. I cried a few times listening to his passionate speech.
The interview: Surrounded by Farley and Orr with Lorena next to him on the bed the news crews took turns interviewing Brendan. I TOOK THE BEST NOTES I COULD. I DID NOT EMBELISH AT ALL, BUT I’M NOT A GOOD SECRETARY AND EXACT WORDING MIGHT BE OFF.
KVOA: Can you walk us through what happened?
Brendan Lyons: On Friday, We were on a training ride for El Tour de Tucson in the bike lane, a very wide bike lane, Lorena was on the left of the lane and we were struck from behind. That is all I remember.
KVOA :A picture tells a thousand words, How are you doing with all of this?(she pointed at the bike)
BL: As you can see I suffered some serious injury and I’m very fortunate to be here to talk to you. Because I was wearing a helmet I’m here today.
KVOA: You mentioned you were a fire Fighter.
BL: It puts taking care of people on a whole. I need to take care of myself and my girlfriend now. Hopefully, by talking to you today, I can help save lives and I can help people.
KVOA: What do you want cyclist and drivers to take form this?
BL: If I was not wearing a helmet, hands down, I would be dead. My helmet was crushed in and I would be dead. Follow the rules of the road. Don’t oppose traffic. Ride in the bike lane. Ride with the flow of traffic. For drivers, Most important, keep your hands on the wheel and pay attention. Get off the phone, don’t text , two seconds with your hands off the wheel can kill someone.
KGUN: You said you advocate for riders safety with Look! Save a Life, did you ever think you would be in this position?
BL: I never believed this. I hoped that I could help share the mission of keeping people safe. This is a two way street. This is not an attack on drivers. I want drivers to pay attention. Give a little extra space. Even if it is a 3 foot law, give five feet. There is no reason not to give space. To have a big truck blow by you in a bike lane is hard to comprehend if you are not a cyclist.
KGUN: Why are you doing this?
BL:I’m doing this to potentially save lives. I’m a fire fighter. I care about people. I genuinely care about people. I don’t want to see anyone else hurt or killed. I’m doing this to save lives.
KVOA: Anything else you want to say?
When I see my bicycle I do not know why I am here. I should be dead. I keep thinking that over and over. We are both incredibly lucky to still be alive.
KGUN: Fellow riders are they offering support?
BL: Fellow riders, fellow fire fighters, people I don’t even know have been coming forward. Put a smile on your face and pay attention to the road.
KVOA: You have been working with some local leaders. Can you talk about this?
BL: People don’t understand why there are so many cyclist here. We have the weather, we have the infrastructure. There are hundreds of mile of roads in Tucson and Pima county with adequate bike lanes, but there needs to be more, there is a 55 mile loop being built, if we don’t have the laws that support this we are doing a disservice to not only cyclist, not only to cyclist but to Firefighters, Doctors, Police offices, Mothers, Fathers, sons and daughters, we are doing disservice to your family members. There is a law that if you hit a cyclist in a bike lane that it is a $500 fine, if you kill him it is a $1000 fine, but in part of Arizona you can be fined $2500 for feeding a wild animal. Where is the human element? It is really disheartening.
KVOA: And this is something you are going to work on changing?
BL: Absolutely. Perhaps Arizona can adopt the California law on no texting and hands free devices only? There is no reason not to be paying attention to the road
KVOA: So what are you going to do now? You obviously focus on recovery
BL: I’m going to focus on my recovery, and advocacy. Focusing on helping people and getting better. Focus on Tucson being better. We don’t need to follow other states. We can step up. We are a huge cycling Mecca. We can set the example for other states. Take care of your brother. Pay attention to drivers as well.
KVOA: Lorena, Do you want to say anything on your experience or hearing him say he should not be here?
LE: It’s hard, I remember everything and he does not. I saw him on the ground and honestly thought he was dead. I’m thankful we are both alive and here and able to heal to move forward from this.
KVOA: I’m getting the impression from listening to you that this is not going to stop you from getting on the bike?
BL: Still going to get on a bicycle! Still going to ride! Still going to be safe! Still going to look out for traffic! I’m a driver as well. I pay taxes. I helped pay for these bike lanes. It’s wonderful to have a means to be healthy and ride to work, It’s good on the economy. Absolutely, I’m still going to ride a bike.
KVOA: Anything else you want to ad?
BL: I’d also like to see any laws that are implemented to be added into the driver education test. Many people just don’t know the laws. It needs to start in the high school.
END BL Interview. Start Steve Farley Interview.
KVOA: Tell me what brought you here with us today?
SF: Traffic safety has been one of the top priorities in the legislator. Jan 2007 I was the first legislator in the country to introduce a bill to ban driving while texting for anyone, Here in Arizona we are now one of the last state in the county that has no law for texting while driving for anybody, but we also collect no data on our accident reports. I’m tireless on this because over the course of my seven years in the legislator I’ve had many families and people who were hurt, injured, killed, come to my office and tell me about inattentive driving. We have to stop this. We have to save lives.
KVOA: What does Brendan and Lorena’s story show us?
SF: There is a huge problem. If you talk to anyone in the ER here ,firefighters, first responders, they have seen countless examples of the carnage that happens when people indulge in distracted driving. There is nothing that says you can’t stop distracted drivers right now, and that is one thing I want to emphasis. Every time you are doing a story out here about these types of things, you are saving lives, But when you put a law in place against certain practices that are dangerous then you strengthen that little cop in our head that says “don’t do it.” You put in in the driver education curriculum, So that every kid and every person who learns to drive understands it is unacceptable to do and we need a law, we need everyone to look at the road ahead of you. We have to get that message to everyone we need a law, we need education and we need enforcement.
KVOA: And those will be the basis of laws as we see going into the next legislative session?
SF: I will never stop that effort. I have seen the type of pain you have seen here today. It is so preventable. It does not need to happen.
KGUN: Tucson is one of the best cycling community, isn’t it ironic our laws don’t reflect it?
SF: It is ironic. Too often you have seen peoples ideology, partisan stuff get injected into this, this is not a Republican or Democrat thing, this is a life saving thing, The distracted driver does not look at your political ideology when he runs you over.
End Steve Farley Interview
KVOA You mentioned you are a cyclist yourself. This must have hit close to home for you.
EO: You are incredibly vulnerable out there and what a lot of drivers don’t understand is a bump or tap that might scratch their paint may kill someone.
KVOA: So what are you hoping to accomplish here by getting Brendans story out there?
EO: We have been working in a bi-partisanship way with the South West Community on a series of bike safety protection laws. Had these laws been in place, now, we might not be here today.
KVOA: And what sort of laws are we talking about here?
EO: The laws we need to look at are expanding the 3 foot rule passing law to 5 foot rule, allow helmet cams to be used as evidence, looking at how cyclist start and stop at 4 way stop signs to make sure you don’t create wrecks among groups of cyclist (A very nice way of saying Idaho stop- way to sneak that one in there Ethan. Love the way you worded it.)
KVOA: Is that what you will be focusing on come the next session
OE: I will. But the other thing I want to do is meet with cyclist around the state to work on platinum recognition and international standards and to get other cyclist ideas to incorporate them into legislation.
KVOA: And you said this is a joint effort and it does not matter on the party. Are you in this together?
EO: It does not matter what party you are in. Doing the right thing, that knows no partisanship. And when it comes to saving a life, when it comes to protecting our community, and enhancing our quality of life, It’s just common sense.
KVOA: Have you had any close calls when you are on the bike?
EO: Certainly. I have had cars that will literally pass within a few inches of me and then go around a pot hole 10 feet in front of me., if a pot hole is more valuable than a human life, something is wrong.
KVOA: We talked about drivers. Do you feel there is some improvement that can be made on the cyclist side as well?
EO: I think it is about communication. If we are building all of these bike lanes. We need to connect all the bike lanes. We have the infrastructure. There has to be an understanding of what cyclist bring to the economy and what we bring to the quality of life.
KVOA: And when you said economy, we have el tour coming up, it’s a huge community here.
EO: When you think of it, all of our resorts, they need amenities that bring people here and cycling is big business. We need to understand what the cyclist bring to the economy.
End of Ethan Orr Interview.
Some of the video was not as clear as I would have likes. I tried to be as accurate as possible, but omitted some points that I could not make out or were overly redundant. It has been a long day, both pulling this off as well as selling real estate. I do appreciate any feedback, especially if you read everything and made it this far;-)
There is a part of me that does not want to write on this subject. It’s not that I’m embarrassed that I hurt, feel it’s unmanly to admit it or think people don’t care. As an ambassador for all things bike I really do not want to put anything out there that is a negative reflection on riding, and the occasional (perhaps daily) truth is that riding a bike can beat your body. As with any pain in life you can learn from it and become strong, or let it own you.
Years of riding have allowed me to become familiar with the “normal” gripes my body has. Each ride starts with pain. It almost always starts in my shoulder and then moves to my knee, groin, or lower right back. Occasionally I have some issues in my Achilles or foot. Just for good measure and equally annoying itch from my kit or feeling the helmet is too tight or loose or pressing mercilessly on my head. I do not think I have ever been on a ride where some of these do not happen.
What an amazing testimonial for getting on a bike. If that was the end of the story I’m sure I would have abandoned the bike years ago. However, I discovered something along the way. Almost every pain is mental. If I keep spinning and don’t think about it, it goes away. Yes, it is often immediately replaced with one of the other woeful feelings, but that also soon disappears. Some rides it is only 5-10 minutes to work through the issues, other days it seems to last over an hour. If I ride for over an hour, I will hit a stretch where the only issues are my lungs burning from the effort or my legs searing in pain. Even when that happens if I switch gears I can often move the sensation to another muscle group.
It has almost become a game for me. OK, this is no fun, lets see if I can make something else hurt that will be a little easy to deal with. One of the great joys of riding a bike is the ability to learn how much your body can endure. When new to the sport it is often difficult to tell the difference between being sore and being in pain. If your body is anything like mine there are all sorts of parts that I “feel”.
I would not recommend pushing hard through everything. I’ve been down that road this year. During the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo I had a new sensation in my Achilles. It was a strain I had never felt before and I ignored it for the race and paid for it for months to come. At the time I was riding every day and was unwilling to take any time off. My take away is that if you have known pain, and have worked it out before, you are likely able to do so on each ride. If I discover completely new sensations, I will back off. It is a balancing act as my mind likes to do whatever it can to slow me down and learning the difference takes time and an understanding and study of your body.
The best tricks I have learned for breaking through the pain barrier is to be one with the pain, breath deep into the area of discomfort and be active. If you resist the pain it only will become stronger. Allow it to flow through you and move onto the next and hopefully less annoying pain. Deep breathing through the nose with the mouth closed while focusing on the area that is bothersome is how I work through most pain. Feel it in the abdomen as the chest should not distend on inhale. In your minds eye focus on the pain, see the air entering the area and releasing the pain like a cool breeze blowing the irritation away. Above all, stay active. It is far better to be sore than in pain.
This post is the result of watching my son, Samuel, ride through a Migrane for 20 plus miles during a team practice. As we were ending the ride and he said it was by far the worst experience he has experienced on a bike. I said, “the only good thing I can say at this time is if you are able to push through this, there is really no limit to what you can do”. On the next ride, and every practice since, he has been a completely different rider. He has been staying with the team and even pushing the pace on Mt. Lemmon and A Mountain. He said to me on one ride as our lungs and legs were searing”Papa, after experienceing that pain, I know what I’m dealing with now is temporary”.
