The sound of the peloton going by was eerie. A whoosh, a hum, I can’t exactly describe it.

My other observation: it certainly takes a lot of motor vehicles to support a race like this.

What would increase Sacramento’s share? The article states:

Advocates who push for amenities such as bike lanes and racks make a difference, and so do cities and counties that hire people primarily to be responsible for bike issues, said Walt Seifert, executive director of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates.

Is that what makes Portland so different?

Partly. Portland’s transportation department does have bicycle specialists. Portland also has a program to help business owners install bike racks. Portland also has plenty of bike lanes and an inherent understanding of what a “bike route” (a designated street without a bike lane) is — “bike routes” in Portland will have minimal controls such as stop signs in the directions of travel. Not so, Sacramento, at least not in the residential parts of the grid, which I call “land of the four-way stop.”

But really it’s about attitute. Portland is:

Hippy-dippy. Portlanders take their environmentalism seriously. The city that was originally self-righteous about its recycling was determined to maintain its lead once other metropolitan areas got in on the act. What better way than to become self-righteous about, er, promote cycling? Heck, even former city commish and current Congressman Earl Blumenauer commutes by bike.

All wet. Portlanders say you call tell a native because he is the one without an umbrella. Even though that’s basically bullshit, it is true that Portlanders have learned to cope with doing more outdoors in mildly crappy weather, including bicycling. You’ll see ponchos, fenders, people packing towels, even the occasional cyclist with an umbrella (stupid, but true). If you watched the Blumenauer video you heard a quip about weather in Portland.

Prone to mythology. Almost every Portlander either knows someone who, or knows someone who knows someone who, took a Kryptonite lock to the windshield of a pickup truck from Gresham. See also cyclists who compare speeding tickets at the local coffeehouse.

I think a little mythology couldn’t hurt, but I’m not suggesting that Sacramentans suddenly become patchouli-wearing, bongo-playing, hippies or that we flagrantly disregard the danger of riding in century-mark heat.* Instead, I think we need to be more aware of what we have: a city that is increasingly catering to cyclists, that is flat enough that poor, overweight me could do a 50 mile ride in summer heat without training and without any lasting side effects, that has a strong cycling community already (groups like SABA, the Bike-Hikers, and Bicycle Kitchen), and that has plenty of wide, suburban streets (they must be good for something). There is also the American River Bike Trail, which is far more than a park with a ribbon of asphalt. It is a bicycle highway connecting suburbs to downtown (albeit not as efficiently or safely as it could), a training ground for cyclists of all stripes, and the best publicity a city looking to increase its cycling profile could ask for.

*It can be done. Ride slowly, keep hydrated, wear your sunglasses, change into something more comfortable, and feel free to stop and smell the roses, or chat with the neighbors, or sit and have a cup of iced coffee at Peets, etc.

I admit, there’s a secret, very small, libertarian streak in me that thinks that, if an athlete wants to destroy his body and ruin his life in the long term for a short term boost, why not? It just makes the feats of daring-do more interesting and the physique of our professional athletes more exotic.

I’ll tell you why not. Because sports are competitive. If doping were suddenly legal in any sport, from individual sports like tennis or boxing to team sports like football or basketball to hybrids like cycling, then there would be pressure for every competitor to dope. It wouldn’t matter if the athlete wanted to remain healthy. Either he or she would be pressured to take performance enhancing drugs, or he or she would be out of a contract. Athletes would no longer be the fastest and the strongest. They would no longer be the ones featured in health magazines. They would be the ones who were willing to sacrifice themselves for their sport. Modern day gladiators.

There might be one or two athletes with just the right physique, or body chemistry, or superhuman dedication, that they could compete with the dopers. But we’d never get to know them. Performance enhancing drugs are a short cut, and in the impatient world of professional sports, in a world where doping is legal, coaches, trainers, and owners would not be willing to put the extra investment into a healthy athlete when they could get someone more quickly and easily with a few drugs.

Sports is a business, athletes are “labor,” and business proves time and again that “labor” is just a line on a spreadsheet.

But all of this is just speculation. Even if you did believe that doping should be legal, it wouldn’t matter. Competitions have rules, and doping is against the rules. If Landis did do something that was against the rules, then he needs to suffer the penalty. But until he is found guilty, I am presuming him innocent.

Unfortunately, Landis is already being skewered. Bicycling itself is being skewered. It is being called “the dirtiest sport.” Just by being a cyclist at the highest level, you are a suspect. I am not willing to dismiss the charges, as some would do, because they were leveled by a French laboratory (notice how the headline contains an implication not discussed in the story), and the French have had it in for American cyclists. Neither will I be willing to accept them without reservation if the second test comes up positive. Testosterone is a naturally occurring substance and, until other possible causes are fully explored, the doping charge remains in doubt.

Yes, I am a fan. Maybe my glasses are a suspicious shade of red. But I am not willing to take away from what was a spectacular tour, and one truly worth watching, for a change.

Now for the second question. Are the constant allegations of doping bad for cycling and for sports in general? Or as Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle asks, “does muck harm sports?”

Ostler says, and I tend to agree, that “the house of sports isn’t exactly collapsing.” Ostler seems to indicate that American sports fans, if not sports fans generally, take these scandals in stride and forget about them quickly.

I think there’s more to it than that. I think sports fans want scandal and intrigue. Fans love the conflict beyond the pitch. It creates a story beyond the competition and keeps what happened on Sunday in the news on Thursday.

Baseball practically builds extra-competitive intrigue into the fabric of the sport: the coach storming out to the pitcher’s mound or the manager getting in the umpire’s face. What would NASCAR be if drivers didn’t bad mouth each other (or worse)?

If cycling weren’t “the dirtiest sport,” as Ostler claims, would anyone (other than die hard cycling fans) even be interested? Lance Armstrong’s seven Tour victories were great, but didn’t all of the scandal surrounding those wins make his story so much more interesting?

Isn’t Basketball in the off-season more interesting when we’re arguing over a new arena? Who cares about the draft picks!

Time will tell whether Landis cheated the system or whether he has been wrongfully accused. As for me, I’ll be disappointed if he’s found guilty, but I’ll still follow the Tour next year. But if I can’t root for Landis, I think I’ll root for the guy from Luxembourg. That Alpe d’Huez win was très cool.

It sounds like the goal is to make the Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen a kind of co-op where people can drop in and use the available tools to make repairs to their bike (small fee, certainly a lot less than a shop). In addition, there will be classes like basic maintenance (do you know how to fix a flat?), and an earn-a-bike program.

Their mission statement is, like all community-group mission statements, a bit of a mouthful, but you’ll get the point:

Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen is a community-centered bike shop in Oak Park run by volunteers with the focus of providing low-cost, alternative transportation for Sacramentans. By providing affordable bicycles and classes, we promote cycling as transportation and bring empowerment to members by enabling self-sufficiency through knowledge of bicycle maintenance.

It’s a good idea.

Almost as soon as “I rode my bike” leaves my lips, the stories start. Almost everyone knows somebody who fell off their bike, got hit by a car, hit another bicyclist, broke bones, dislocated shoulders, twisted ankles, and/or destroyed their beloved bike. Heck, I even know someone who got banged up pretty badly taking a fall. I’ve had a scrape or two.

I realize that these stories are frequently just lame rationalizations for not taking the initiative to ride, but I still find them jarring. It’s almost as though these storytellers don’t think I am aware of the dangers of bicycling. Don’t they know that I am hyper vigilant, even paranoid, when I ride? I would hazard to guess I am more vigilant for more seconds of my ride than a driver is for his. Are they trying to scare me? Or are they just making conversation? (Of course, if I rode without a helmet, then such stories would be justified.)

So, I propose this. The next time someone tells you about their grueling commute, about how much it cost to fill up the gas tank, try saying this:

“I used to drive to work, but I know too many people who’ve been in accidents. I once knew…”

I doubt the driver will get the hint, but it will be nice to turn the tables just a little.

I think any kind of connection that expands the reach of our already admirable bicycle network is a good thing. I’d love to see a network of bike trails, maybe someday that connect cities. Hey, it could happen. Right.

In other news, Jennifer has been commuting by bicycle and recently the driver of a Shell tanker honked at her and gave her the thumbs up. Jennifer conjectures he approved of her transportation choice.

I’m up to 46 miles this month, but 34 of those were Saturday. And I won’t be biking tomorrow either. Perhaps Thursday and Friday (and Saturday again, of course).

Today marked my first ride this season on the trail and the first where I had to travel a fair distance to get there (six miles, as opposed to two last summer) and conditions were perfect: warm, bright, with a slight breeze. The trail was crowded, but not overwhelmingly so.

Flowers were in bloom, there was still some cottonwood crud in some places and, despite the wind and the fact that we’re not out of pollen season yet, I only had one sneezing jag.

Fauna inventory: wild turkeys, crows, a gang of magpies that were none too happy about something, a ruby-throated hummingbird (or another species with a big red splotch on it), a vulture, ducks, Canada geese, those squirrel-like things that aren’t the same as the ones in Capital Park, one lizard, and a scruffy looking coyote who didn’t seem to care that a river of humans on death machines were speeding past him. Oh, and to all of the thrill seeking bugs who found their lives cut short by my arms, legs, neck, and helmet, my apologies, but that hurt.

More photos.

The goal is to get people to log a million miles in May. Last year, we only made it half way and yes, I was part of the problem. I think I logged 25 or 30 miles.

One blip: if you’re employer isn’t listed, they make you register them – however you can choose the blank line under employer and you’ll be registered as “unemployed.” I’d recommend this option if your employer isn’t laid back about this sort of thing. Frankly, the website should allow people to choose either employers or an organization. I am a member of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA), so I listed myself under their team.

Do it. You’ll be glad you did. And the more cyclists we have on the road, the more motorists will remember to look out for them.

By the way, if you’re a cyclist or just pro-cyclist, you live in the Sacramento area, and you aren’t a member of SABA, why not? Join, and tell them I sent you.