Tag Archives: Tucson

TPD Citation for Bike Rack blocking license plate

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police
The man, delaying me on the drive home.

I was heading home from El Grupo practice this weekend and saw the red and blue lights in the rear view mirror. I was somewhat surprised to see them as I was traveling under the speed limit on an empty road.  The offence, obscured license plate by bikes and bike rack.

Clearly, with two bikes on the rack it was impossible to make out the plate.  I deserved a ticket based on the law. Fortunately, I was only given a written warning.  However, it has made me look at my rack and realize there is no way I can use it and drive “legally”.  I own three bike racks and all of them are illegal.

I talked to David Tang, The owner of Ordinary Bike Shop to see if he sells a rear mounted rack that will not block a license plate.  David said “This has been an issue with rear mount racks for decades, there are none that allow the plate to be clearly visible when loaded with bikes.  The license plate can be moved to a visible location with an aftermarket product”.  He went on to say “a few racks allow plates to be seen, but some vehicles have weird plate locations, but those are the exceptions”.

I contacted Ryan Roher with the  Pima County Sheriff Dept. for a comment and he directed me to look at ARS 28-2354B3.   In a nutshell it says  “A person shall display the license plate or plates as follows… so it is clearly legible … In a position to be clearly visible.”

In searching the web for examples of how to deal with this issue I found a solution from Barb Berle.  “I now have a lighted license plate holder securely attached to my hitch rack in a position that is highly visible while traveling with bicycles. Since the State of Arizona will not issue a second license plate of the same number, all I have to do is remove my plate from the car and place it in the bike rack holder – easy and secure.”  Good idea,  if you leave the rack on 24/7 or are OK to remove and reattach your license plate every time you remove your rack.  I expect the chances are better of be cited for no plate when you forget the plate on the rack.

There is one positive side to obscuring the plate.  If you have the photo cameras snap a photo of you, they can not ticket you.  I’m not saying this has happened to me(more then once), but perhaps it is part of the equation in weighting if you want to risk driving with obscured plates.

On a side note, I am meeting with Arizona House of Rep Ethan Orr this week to discuss possible laws that will benefit the cycling community.  Perhaps a solution to this exists.  Do you have any ideas?

El Grupo field trip to Carmichael Training Systems

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El grupo had one of the most important practices of the year Wednesday night. It included an effort of only 9-10 minutes on a trainer at Carmichael Training Systems (CTS). The entire workout consisted of riding a three mile computer course in order to establish training parameters for the year.

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Based on the results from the test the kids are able to figure out what their heart rate and Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) should be for different workouts. CTS breaks the different zones into Foundation Miles, Endurance miles, Tempo, Steady State Intervals, and Recovery miles. If you are so inclined to know what each of these is, I’ve copied the summary of them at the bottom of this post.

CTS offers a state of the art facility that has 8 trainers hooked up to computers that allows for group races. 23 kids showed up to determine their base line fitness . The A team had a little more challenging course that offered more uphill, while the others had one climb and a majority of the TT like race was downhill. For what seems like an easy 10 minute effort I have not seen as much anguish and outright pain in these kids. The computer not only tracks your watts and speed, but a huge monitor shows exactly where you are in the race compared with the other racers and how many feet you are behind the racer in front of you. For this test, they turned off the “drafting” feature, but it’s possible to set up a life like drafting feature.

 

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Kyle Helmke giving it everything and more.

Head Coach, Jason Tullous, broke down all the info that was gathered to show the kids what their zones are. I’d like to give a special Thanks to all of the CTS staff who stayed very late to get this done. Having industry leading coaching available for El Grupo and all of us who live in Tucson is one of the reasons that Tucson is such an incredible cycling community. Most teams would need to travel many a mile to find what is generously given to EL Grupo. Again, THANKS!

Endurance miles: This is one of the primary workouts for building an aerobic energy system that will increase your endurance capabilities. Expected benefits include: Increased size and strength in slow-twitch muscle fibers. Increased stroke volume from your heart. How to do it: Although similar to the Foundation Miles workout, the pace during the EM workout is quicker than during the Foundation Miles (FM) workout. It is performed at a moderate pace, but at a slightly higher heart rate (or power output) than the FM workout. Use your gearing as you hit the hills to remain in the saddle as you climb. Expect to keep your pedal speed up into the 85-95 RPM range. As with the FM workout, you will have a certain heart rate (or power) range for this workout. The goal is to not exceed the prescribed heart rate (or power) range. Even though the intensity is greater the closer you get to the heart rate ceiling, you are still using aerobic energy to power your cycling. At end of your EM ride, you should have spent at least 95% of the ride below your heart rate ceiling. If you are training with power, the longer the EM is, the lower your average power output should be and vice versa. The appropriate intensity will be determined by the results of the CTS field test. If you are training primarily with heart rate, you don’t need to stay near the top of your EM heart rate range all the time. The range is wide to accommodate the changes in effort level resulting from uphills, downhills, headwinds, tailwinds, stop signs and stoplights.

Steady State Intervals “Goal: Increase your lactate threshold by training at the edge of your aerobic/anaerobic threshold.

Tempo: Strategically placing tempo workouts into your training program has many advantages: Greater comfort while cruising on rolling terrain. Better fuel utilization during long races or rides. Increased capacity for more intense workouts. Better power at moderate intensities. Increased muscle glycogen storage capacity. Improved free fatty acid oxidation, which spares muscle glycogen. Increased mitochondrial development, structures within the muscle cells that produce energy. Improved aerobic efficiency. How to Do It: Pedal speed should be low. Try a 70-75 RPM range while staying at the prescribed heart rate intensity. This helps increase pedal resistance and strengthens leg muscles. Also try to stay in the saddle when you hit hills during your tempo workouts. This adds more pedal resistance and readies the connective tissues and supporting muscle groups before training heads into more explosive workouts. It is important that you try to ride the entire length of the tempo workout with as few interruptions as possible – tempo workouts should consist of consecutive riding at the prescribed intensity to achieve maximum benefit. This intensity will be determined by the results of the CTS field test.

Recovery miles goal is to speed the recovery process by riding at an easy pace at low resistance on flat terrain. Benefits include increasing blood flow to the muscles to help remove muscle soreness, reducing free radical build-up that cause muscle stress and damage. Studies have shown that active recovery at an appropriate pace leads to faster recovery than complete rest. How to do it: Recovery rides should be between 30-120 minutes in length on flat to rolling terrain. Keep your pedal speed slower than normal, staying in a light gear to keep resistance low. Heart rate must also remain low even if you hit any hills, just slow down and use your gears to keep the resistance low. The key to recovery rides is to ride just enough to engage the active recovery process but not long or intense enough to induce a training stress upon yourself. This is a workout that you will use during all your training periods. Even though the temptation is there to vegetate on the couch the day following a tough workout, use RR as an active recovery workout to jumpstart the process of repair and regeneration.

Barrio Trails

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Barrio Trails, One of central Tucson’s hidden bicycle gems is located in the San Antonio neighborhood South Of Broadway and a few blocks East of Park.

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Originally the vision of Rocky Serna it existed as an unauthorized BMX park that sat on the Arroyo Chico. At the time it was built it was the only organized place for catching some huge air and to ride BMX in central Tucson.

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A few years back the U.S. Army corps of Engineers were called in to do a flood control project in the area and this bike hang out was threatened to be demolished. However, due to an incredible turnout from the community Barrio Trails was saved. The original track that was constructed by volunteers was removed during construction, but permission was granted to put in a permanent BMX track.

The flood control work is now completed and work has started to carve out the berms, kickers, rollers and a half mile Mountain Bike Crit course around the entire park. As of august, 2013 it is coming along, but still has room for improvement.

 

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El Grupo Youth Cycling uses Barrio Trails for mountain bike practice. The existing BMX track is the start of the half mile loop. There are four berms that help hone in turning skills. Upon exiting the last turn the trail takes a sharp turn through 3 bollards onto a paved path that drops into the Arroyo Chico. The wash has a sandy bottom( and mud after the rain) that needs to be negotiated with speed in order to climb a steep bank on the other side. Just past the top of the bank is a 2 foot high wire rope fence. The idea is to clear the fence cycle cross style and jump back on the paved track. The Pavement carries you for nearly half the distance of the loop and is the place to make up ground and hammer as hard as you can. At the South-east corner of the park the course takes a hard right back onto the dirt, descends a little hill, crosses a flat straight away, another hill climb and another slightly winding flat that ends with a race to the finish.

Yesterday The El Grupo practice was to ride from the clubhouse to Barrio Trails and then to spend 15 minutes warming up, playing on the BMX track, doing a few laps, working on sections of the trail that may have given the riders trouble in the past. Afterwards the races were on. The race started with a mass start and was 3 laps. The A team went off first to give the B and C teams an opportunity to watch the race from sections that gave them trouble. I rode in the A team race. It was a solid performance, I did not win, but was not last and saw the winner cross the finish line. The B team race had the A team riders pacing the kids after the first lap. I was pleasantly surprised that Samuel came in second. His breakthrough week apparently has impacted his Mountain Biking as well as his road riding.

Throughout the fall El Grupo will be out practicing at Barrio Trails almost every Thursday afternoon at about 4:45-5:45 as they prepare for the High School Mountain Bike League inaugural season. At some point in the near future they will have access to tools and will start to groom the trails. Are you interested in seeing it first hand? Come out and ride or watch the fun.

On a side note.  You can thank me for the rain. It was almost guaranteed when I took my camera without any protection from the elements.

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August 2013 BAC meeting

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What is the BAC?

The Tucson/Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee?

The Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee (TPCBAC) was established to serve in an advisory capacity to local governments on issues relating to bicycle recreation, transportation, and safety.

The TPCBAC is involved in promoting the development of a safe bicycling environment in the City of Tucson and Pima County.
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The following is a brief summary of the August, 2013 meeting.

Tucson Police Report: There were 13 incidents in the past month with one fatality. The fault was found to be that of the cyclist as the rider reportedly was looking down and hit a semi truck. Half of the incidents were cyclists colliding with cars and the bike left the scene. The report came from the automobile driver.

Pima County Sheriff Ryan Roher said some reports of tacks are still coming in, but not as many as before. The reward for info leading to the arrest and conviction of the at“tack”er is now at $2,869. There was a fatality on Mt. Lemmon in July and it was determined that it was result of the cyclist missing a turn.
Appointments- Beth Scott left and she was the rep to the downtown task force. Naomi is the new rep. Citizen transportation advisory committee, CTAC, appoints Colin as BAC representative.

Street Car update from Joe Chase, streetcar construction manager.
Status of Sharrows on 4th. Contractors installed incorrectly and when they removed the paint they destroyed the asphalt. It was an error by the contractor who did not put them where they were supposed to go and the cost of cutting out the existing patches and replacing them will fall on the contractor. There are large sections of 4th Ave. curb that are not red and no parking is allowed. Park wise will start ticketing in the next week. The city might put up some signs or stencil that was not part of the original plan because the large swaths of no parking might confuse people. There is also some fire zones as well. Those parking in the fire zone will be towed, those in the red will be ticketed. Matt Zoll asked about enforcing the 18 inches from the curb parking and Joe said he will look into it. Loading zones on Park are still being worked on.
The green Boxes are all in on University and 4th. Construction crews are still waiting on the final paving downtown. When that is complete a 30 day curing period will be needed. The time line looks solid for late October completion, possibly earlier.
The Bike detection system on the corner of University and Park will be activated this week. Some glitches are anticipated to get it fully dialed in. BAC members had concerns about the intersection. Since this corner has always been a 4 way stop, there is some fear that drivers will be gunning it to make the light and this may pose a threat to peds and bikes. The priority of the light was not known, but it is detection based.
The Cushing street bridge opening day is going to be early to mid September. There is concern with the connection with the loop and no one has a plan for what can be done. It definitely does not work with bikes using trailers. BAC members expressed a strong desire to see ADOT address this issue.
How will streetcar testing work? Most of the testing will be at night to have the as little impact on traffic as possible. First tests will not be on power, just towed. Each car needs a burn period to make sure it is operating correctly. The first car should arrive in Tucson on the 29th of August. All 8 cars will need to be tested prior to being put into service. The first public rides will be next year.
Granada is having a fix to make it better for bikes.
Broadway will be stenciled and have the green bike lane markings in late September or early October.
Putting a Bike box at Time Market is waiting on Tucson Fire.
PSA were filmed last week and will be coming to a media source near you in the near future.
Summary: Most construction will be finished in late October and Tucson will have a streetcar in 2014.

Two videos were presented on two different loops in Marana.
Both have some issues and the summary of those problems will be created and sent on to the Town of Marana. The sharp u-turn and ramp on the Loop North of Cortaro was the greatest concern. The following links are from the presentation.

www.screencast.com/t/5xARwbiXdp
www.screencast.com/t/LxuJmN3vZfC

Downtown links presentation with Kiley: A 50 million voter approved project connecting Aviation Freeway to I-10. The actual cost is not closer to 85 million and it might not be enough to finance the project. The new freeway will parallel the train tracks for the most part. Kiley called this project a “Zombie” road. The idea started at the time we had rotary phones and they just keep coming back over and over. The project was presented to make connectivity for all modes of transportation, but it appears it is not really addressing all bike/ped issues. On the positive side, Union Pacific railroad has agreed to be whistle free in the area. Also, some areas will be removed from the floodplain. The next meeting will be next Monday at Parkwise if you want to put in your 2 cents.
Projects that were on the bond survey that relate the most to the Bike community
Ann Chanecka, City Bike/Pedestrian Coordinator checked out Brownsville Texas night time Cyclovia and Huston’s Bike share program over the summer. How do we get great ideas, we see what is working other places. The city has had lots of requests for bike parking and still have many more to give away. Do you know a business that needs Bike parking?

Matt Zoll with Pima county Bike/Pedestrian: Matt had so much to report that I did not get it all.
The county has received $600,000 in federal and $40,000 in County funds for educations and safety outreach. The money will be spent on working with schools, bike ambassador, and safe route to schools. About 60 schools are working on bike to school programs and walk to school events. The schools are 70 percent city 15 percent county and the rest in other municipalities. Ingnacio will be is at 43 schools this year with the Safe Routes to School Program. Homer-Davis is getting lanes and traffic calming (Did you know Chuck Huckleberry went to school there). Happens chuck went there. 60-70 people per month are taking public classes offered and another 50-60 Lots of loop projects have been completed and it is about 2 years for completing of the loop if all falls in place with fed regulations. 3 bike lane projects worth noting are Alvernon and Aviation Highway, Camino de la Tierra north and the project on Mary Ann Cleveland is waiting on the gas utility. Bike ambassadors are out there teaching people how to do simple repairs on the loop at the new tool and pump stations. With all the new riders hitting the loop some people don’t know some basic bike skills like pumping a tire, so the ambassadors went to mechanic courses. Also, put there to possibly protect tools from theft. Jr. El Tour, boys and girls club, establishing program at the south side of town. 40% of kids in the area live in poverty and many in extreme poverty. Martha Lemon worked out a new MTB manual and it will be used for some beta testing in the classes being offered and other communities are asking for it as well. Snyder to Catalina highway on Houghton construction is complete. Harrison road bike lanes from Harrison to Sabino High is in planning and might go to construction next year.

PAG: A call for a citizen group to look at how to spend one million buckaroos for bike/ped funds. September 12th is the cycle traffic discussion. The Strategic highway safety plan on the state is currently being rewritten. September 12th is the cycle traffic discussion. The old plan did not address bike/ped, but the update may give an opportunity for us to be a part of the plan. ADOT has the final decision, perhaps not the most transparent, but perhaps we will be heard.

Facilities: Cat Tran on Copper and MTN had a collision with a bike. Cat Tran was parked at a sign that clearly says no cars, but is also a stop.

UA: New bike path on the west side of Highland garage from Helen to Mabel that gives cyclist a way of avoiding Mountain and Helen. UA BAC has 35 people on the committee. Several sub committees have been formed.

Living Street Alliance: The next Cyclovia has been set for April 6, 2014. Some plans are in the works for a ride to the pitch at FC Tucson. PAG car free days are coming and just for recording your ride you can win some fab prizes.

What is BikePilgrim.com

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For some time I have considered writing a blog, but have found that Facebook was adequate for telling the story I wanted to share and easy to use. Most of this tale has been told with Photos and The Damion Alexander Team Page has over 10,000 images in over 100 albums. Most of my narrative has been about the cycling community in Southern Arizona. Being a part of this community is one of the most fulfilling experiences I have discovered in life. Even though the page is mine, it is not really about me. It is about you. I love the diversity, the politics, the potential for what our community can be. Facebook has been a wonderful platform for sharing photos, but I am going to try and expand into more depth on many of the issues that I see are key to making Tucson a better cycling community.

Why call it BikePilgrim.com? Bike is exactly what it looks like. Most of this blog will deal with Bike related topics. Pilgrim is defined as a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion. That is a concise summary of what the bike is to me. There is no place I feel more connected to God and the Universe than on a bicycle. Many friends have said on many a Sunday ride that they are in their church. I choose to attend that Church daily.
I’m hoping that many of my riding buddies will contribute to the blog with both ideas and comments. I expect it will be a little raw at first, but look forward to polishing it as we go.