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April 27, 2006

More on Gasoline Confusion

Slate's Jacob Weisburg details the political hypocrisy (from both sides of the aisle) following the latest rise in oil prices. He notes that Republicans are currently questioning free market principles (ordering an investigation into price gouging, despite the fact an investigation last year turned up nothing but good old capitalism was at work) while Democrats are trying to be for gasoline (in the form of lower prices via suspending federal gas taxes) while they are against it (decrying the environmental harm of fossil fuels).

I'm not sure who is worse--the Republicans who have given up on the free market (and the oil companies they love so well) or Democrats who have given up on environmental concerns in the name of lower prices. What we really need right now is a politician who will say what this country needs to hear: higher fuel prices are exactly the bitter medicine we need to get over our addiction to oil.

April 25, 2006

Rallycat Pittsburgh

Do you get the sense I'm making up for two weeks without a post?

I will be organizing another alleycat, in conjunction with this summer's Bike Fest, the Rallycat Pittsburgh. I'm trying something different this time, a longer distance race, where I'll release the manifest in the weeks before the event, giving participants plenty of time to map out a route. I'm still working out the details of all the various checkpoints, but the course will veer into a few northern suburbs before criss-crossing the city proper.

Things to Read

The journal Comment has been running a series on the merits, or lack thereof, of Neocalvinism. Dan Knauss, of the New Pantagruel, says no to the movement, and his criticisms, especially regarding the rather thin ecclesiology of many members of the movement, are worth reading. Jamie Smith, of Radical Orthodoxy fame, says maybe to Neocalvinists (Smith's essay actually provides some fodder for Knauss' critiques). And, finally, Harry Van Dyke says yes in an essay that has left many adherents to the movement wondering why. Gregory Baus, a confessional Calvinist who is also a Neocalvinist, has provided many informative comments following each of the essays, and often he and Knauss find themselves in agreement of the problems haunting Neocalvinism these days.

I've been working on a longer response to the essays, specifically Smith's and Van Dyke's, as I find both them tend to equate Neocalvinism with political leftism, and claim that Baus refutes with several good links. It strikes me that many Neocals trend leftward because they have, in effect, left the Church. They have not given up their faith, but they have given up on the Church has a critical institution, and the first line of Christian action in the world. When the Church no longer upholds Christ's command to "take care of the least of these," that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the State. But more on that later.

Not Making the Connection

President Bush announced that the government will investigate the possibility of price-gouging by oil companies and offer a plan to cut fuel costs. Most interestingly, in the same speech, Bush said:

Our addiction to oil is a matter of national security concern...[The U.S. should] follow suit on what we have been emphasizing, particularly through the energy bill, and that is to encourage conservation, to expand domestic production, and to develop alternative sources of energy like ethanol.

Wouldn't allow gasoline and oil prices to creep steadily upward be the most effective way to curb our country's addiction to oil? Instead, Bush proposes a measure (cutting oil prices) that will do little more than feed that addiction by supplying cheap product. And regarding alternative fuel sources, I must admit I'm in the Kunstler camp--the nation's addiction to oil is only a sympton of our addiction to the car. And, alternative fuels are not the silver bullet that many people believe them to be. As Kunstler points out, the crops used for biofuel would likely be treated with petroleum-based fertilizers, and those crops still must be processed into fuel. The resource might be renewable (as compared to petroleum), but there is still an energy-intensive process to create that resource. Simply put, the problem in not a source of fuel, but the use of fuel.

April 13, 2006

Caffeinator 2006 Photos

Dave provided these shots taken outside Tazzo d'Oro in Highland Park (though, since he's in many of the photos, I'm not sure who actually shot them).

April 12, 2006

Ivan Illich on Tradition


I live also with a sense of profound ambiguity. I can't do without tradition, but I have to recognize its institutionalization is the root of an evil deeper than any evil I could have known with my unaided eyes and mind.

April 10, 2006

The Caffeinator

The race went off without much trouble today. The day started cloudy and a bit on the cold side (which reminded me that, perhaps, I should have a picked a spring classics theme, featuring the worst cobbles the city has, in honor of the Tour of Flander and Paris-Roubaix), and I absoutely froze at the start line, even with an extra fleece vest. The wind was typical for the spring--cold, stiff, and constant. By the time 2:00PM came around, the sun had broken through and the clouds were thinning out. The racers came in bunches--most before 1:30PM, giving themselves plenty of time to sort out the manifest, which went something like this:

There were seven checkpoints, all at various coffeehouses around the city. At four of the stops, the racers would have to drink a shot of coffee and bring their little dixie cup as proof of the stop. Two other stops simply had tags hanging on the facade. One checkpoint was a "dummy"--that is, unmanned, with nothing for the racers. It was up to them figure that one out on their own. The checkpoints were:

* Tazzo d'Oro, Highland Avenue in Highland Park
* Quiet Storm, Penn Avenue, Garfield
* Crazy Mocha, Butler Street, Lawrenceville
* Crazy Mocha, Liberty Avenue, Bloomfield
* Crazy Mocha, Oakland Avenue, Oakland
* Beehive, Carson Street, South Side
* Beleza, Buena Vista Street, Mexican War Streets (the finish line)

By the time 2:00PM came around, there were 40 riders milling around the tennis bubble in Mellon Park, trying to stay warm. Not a bad turnout at all, though, oddly, few riders were messengers. It's interesting, because alleycats, at least here in Pittsburgh, have become citizen events, which, ultimately, is a good thing, because it draws a larger, more diverse crowd.

The start was not without incident. As I gathered everyone together for the start, another rider came down the path, wanting to sign up. No problem. As I took his money in exchange for a manifest and a spokecard, *BAM* someone's inner tube suddenly exploded. Apparently, three quarters of the group thought I was packing a starter's pistol, and took off. I let out a feeble "ummm, go?" and the rest, minus a few helping the now-flatted racer, took off out of the park. Most riders chose to ride a walking path out of the park, and on to Penn Avenue (the most direct way to Tazzo d'Oro), though a few went directly to Fifth Avenue, and apparently to the Beehive in the South Side. After the group helping the rider with the flat left I park, I gathered the manifests, spokecards, and other random bits of stuff, and headed to the Beleza to sort things out for the finish.

On the way to Beleza, I was to stop at the Crazy Mocha in Bloomfield to pick a bag of prizes donated by the owner. This Crazy Mocha was a "dummy" stop, meaning it wasn't staffed and there was nothing for the racers to pick up. As I locked my bike, I had to wave along two groups of riders who thought, perhaps, that I was distributing tags and started to head my direction. The prize bag included several pounds of coffee, a mug, a shirt, and, best of all, a goat (the Crazy Mocha mascot) bobble-head doll. The doll would be a perfect first prize trophy, as long as the ride to the North Side in my bag didn't destroy it.

The wind was stiff heading through the Strip District and heading across the river. The racers were likely getting pounded both in the Strip and in Oakland and the South Side. All the better though. I rolled up to Beleza, stopped in to talk to a few of the owners, and went about the task of sorting out the prize money. With 40 riders, I had $200 to divide among the top finishers. There was, however, a catch. My plan was to have a men's and women's division, but only two women signed up, and they were with the autobus group (doubling as a mobile party, as it turned out) that waited around for the guy who flatted at the start. If they got to finish in any reasonable amount of time, I'd include them in the money, otherwise, oh well. The prize breakdown for the men went something like this:

1st: $50 (not a bad haul) and the goat bobblehead
2nd: $30
3rd: $25
4th: $20
5th: $15
6th: One pound of coffee and an insulated mug
7th: One pound of coffee and a t-shirt
8th: One pound of coffee

In retrospect, I probably could have made the money go a bit further, but, oh well. Hindsight and all that. Still a nice haul for the top finishers, and everyone in the top eight made back their $5 entry fee.

It only took about 15 minutes for the leaders to roll up to the finish. Brian R., a Pitt student (riding a track bike) took first, with Dylan and Chris taking second and third. The fourth and fifth finishers were disqualified for not having all their tags (and sadly, Joel in fifth, beat the volunteers to the Oakland Crazy Mocha, but what could I do?). Brad Q (of Dirt Rag fame) would take fourth, Justin fifth, Ian sixth, Brad K. seventh, and Nick eighth. Within the next twenty minutes, the majority of the racers filtered in to the finish. Everyone had good things to say about the race, and the course, so I was a bit relieved to know that everyone had a good time. Apparently, there was one minor fender-bender in Oakland, but it actually happened as two guys left a parking lot trying to sort out directions. No one was hurt, and it sounded as if it was a no harm, no foul situation with the driver.

Roughly 20 minutes after the crowd had dispersed, and Eli, Josh, and I were unlocking our bikes, the autobus rolled up, smiles on all their faces. The mobile party apparently had a great time, and according to the volunteers, took their time at each of the stops, checking out the cafés (which was, of course, one of the points of the event). Josh and Eli joined them for a beer or two, while I rode off into the sunset.

April 04, 2006

More on the Ronde

Winner Tom Boonen had this to say about the state of the Koppenberg:

It is an extreme hill because there are no cobblestones on it. Certainly not on the last part, there they just threw a few rocks together. There are gaps of more than twenty centimetres between those stones. If someone falls between them, you'll probably never see that person again. But it is part of the race. Just like the Valkenberg where I warned Bettini about the importance of it. Most riders think that it's too far away from the finish. Not me, because it's an ideal platform to attack if you feel good.

Tomorrow is the minor classic, the Gent-Wevelgem . Boonen will not likely be out for the victory, but expect him to push hard for his QuickStep teammates to position one of them for the win.

April 02, 2006

Recce

I rode what I thought would be a best-route scenario for next weekend's alleycat today. While I've been happy with the layout we've selected, and the checkpoints that made the final cut, I was secretly worried the course would be too redundant to be any fun. Turns out it's not. My navigation covered just over 13 miles (minus roughly a mile or so from the start line to the first checkpoint--I didn't do it because it require too much backtracking given where we live) and took just under an hour (including an ATM stop). There's only one real climb to speak of, and it should come pretty early in the race for most folks. There are, however, long sections of mostly flat, exposed racing, and if the winds are anything like they were today, pushing hard through them could be more taxing that the climb. The course seems to work well, and covers quite a bit of the city without requiring too much climbing (it is only April, you know--not everyone commutes year 'round).

I do have a map of my route that I passed along to my co-conspirators, but you don't think I'm actually going to post that, do you?

April

If you're a cycling fan, you wait for April all year. While the month of July often steals headlines here in the States because of the Tour de France, April is loaded with classic, notorious single day races. These are not races for the faint of heart, and most of the grand tour riders avoid them completely for fear of wrecking of their seasons with a single slip. The parcours take the racers over centuries old cobbled wagon paths, some barely big enough for the support vehicles to navigate. Add to this the brutal spring weather in Northern Europe--cold, wind, rain, and even sometimes snow--and you have races like no others. But the racers, especially the Belgians and French, covet these racers and seek to add good results to their palmares. For them, the season revolves around this month.

The fun began today in Belgium with the Tour of Flanders (better known as the Ronde van Vlaanderen). The race begins with a long, flat stretch near the western shore. The road, while generally smooth, is buffeted by heavy winds, and today, rain. This leads to a rollercoaster ride over some of the worst hills of the spring. These glorified cattle paths, like the Paterberg and the Koppenberg often force the racers to push their bikes in effort to get over them.

The favorite for today's race was Tom Booen, who won the Ronde last year, and has already racked up eleven wins in the young season. It was up to the usual round of classic suspects to stop Boonen, but it wasn't to be. Boonen and his QuickStep team shattered the peleton over the hills, and in the end, only Discovery Channel's Leif Hoste could stay with Boonen. Hoste could not outsprint Boonen at the line, however, and Boonen defended his Ronde title. Discovery's George Hincapie won the sprint for third among the chase group. Hincapie is likely disappointed by the result, though Disco should content to have riders on the podium--Hincapie has been the bridesmaid year after year in the classics, and this could be his last year to break through before he sets his sights on the grand tours.

The suffering continues next weekend, with Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, better known as the Hell of the North. Flatter than the Ronde, it is likely harder simply because there are more cobbles. Some of the nastier sections have been removed from the parcours (and for good reason--the roads have become little more than strips of dirt in the forest), but it is still a terribly hard race. Hincapie will look to shed his role as classics bridesmaid (he finished second there last year), and Boonen will be the favorite to score the Ronde-Roubaix double again this season.