Fixies, brakes and ballroom dancing

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Put a brake on it

Dear VN,
Regarding Benjamin Doane’s recent letter:

While it sounds like the local government is getting a bit extreme, perhaps if the fixed gear crowd had enough common sense to put a brake on their bikes, no one would deem it necessary to make it legally required.

And is Mr. Doane really unaware that any qualified local bike shop could easily affix a brake to his treasured Pista, saving him from having to “retire” it? I’ve got a brake on mine, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing me down.

Paul Danek
Denver, Colorado

Fines are fine

Dear Velo,
I totally agree with fines for riding brakeless bikes. Here in New York, we have tons of hipster types who barely know how to ride a bike, let alone a nervous track bike with no brakes.

I’ve seen first-hand the emergency room visits generated by fixie riding. They should be required to mount a brake for the benefit of all. Riding into intersections on an angle to avoid traffic is just not safe.

It’s not fair to motorists who have to avoid cyclists who just can’t stop. Enough cool and more good sense.

Joseph C. Galitzin M.D.
New York, New York

Brakeless belongs on the track

Dear Benjamin Doane,
Are you serious? What makes you think you have a “right” to ride on public roads without brakes?

The only place your ‘Pista’ belongs is on the track, unless of course you put brakes on it!

Mike Brazel
Federal Way, Washington

Traffic rights also mean traffic responsibilities

Velo,
Are you kidding me?

In response to Mr. Doane’s incredulity toward the Philadelphia City Council, I suggest that riding a bicycle on public streets without brakes demonstrates a huge lack in judgment, as well as total disregard to the safety of oneself and others on the road.

I have been a road racer for eight years, and the past three off-seasons have seen me log hundreds of miles through the city and countryside on a fixed gear bike of my own, complete with standard hood brake levers. I always make it a goal to control my stops entirely through pedal power, but riding around without the option to use brakes in an emergency would be irresponsible.

Using public roads enters one into a social contract that (s)he is fully capable of controlling the vehicle. Traffic is unpredictable at best, and deadly at worst. No matter how muscular one’s quads are, or how well one can skid a fixie bike, a lack of brakes puts everyone on the road, and pedestrians, in danger. It does not seem unreasonable for the city of Philadelphia to require that vehicles on its roads be equipped with brakes.

For the record, I would not be in favor of requiring bike license plates. Among other unintended consequences, this would place an undue financial burden on economically disadvantaged residents, for whom a bicycle may be the primary mode of transportation.

Mark Hotchkin
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Dancing with the Explainer

Dear VeloNews,
In the always excellent “Explainer” column, answering the question about random drug testing, some less than flattering remarks were made about the sport of competitive ballroom dancing (officially referred to as “DanceSport”). As both an avid cyclist and competitive DanceSport athlete, I don’t hold this against you, but wanted to set the record straight. In North America this sport is widely misunderstood, as it is yet in its early stages compared to decades of maturity throughout Europe, Britain, Russia and other parts of the world.

DanceSport is far more strenuous than most people realize, on par with the stamina requirements of many highly demanding sports, including cycling.

A 1986 study conducted by the University of Freiburg in Germany demonstrated that the muscle exertion, measured by production of lactic acid, heart rates and breathing rates of DanceSport competitors performing one competition dance of approximately two minutes were equal to those of cyclists, swimmers and Olympic 800-metre runners exerting themselves over the same period of time. The German study’s methodology was repeated in a recent Australian study, the results of which were published in the authoritative British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The core strength required is similar to that of gymnasts. Given that these athletes must perform a number of heats in a single competition, they could go through that kind of physical effort up to 30 times in a few hours, far more than the demands placed on most other athletes during their competitive sessions. In one recent real-world test which I observed, a DanceSport athlete connected to a heart rate monitor recorded an average heart rate of well over 140bpm over a full 90-minute practice session, with peaks of 180bpm. This compares quite favorably to the typical heart rates of top-level cyclists.

For these reasons, the IOC has been demanding drug testing, and the sport’s world governing body, the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF) is now introducing random drug testing to ensure that the sport doesn’t begin to suffer some of the unfortunate effects of cheating that have plagued other sports. The reason only a dozen tests have been conducted to date are financial — every organization involved has been trying to pass the buck to someone else as it is clear the cost burden will be substantial once this becomes integrated into the sport.

George Pytlik
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Yes George, we, too, were taken aback by that comment. Perhaps an explanation is in order. It appears that the Explainer (also known as Senior Editor Charles Pelkey) has had limited exposure to the demands of DanceSport. We’ve seen Pelkey dance at parties before and we can tell he’s picked up most of his best steps from the movies. Sadly, rather than Gene Kelly in “An American in Paris,” or Fred Astaire in “Top Hat,” Pelkey, big lummox that he is, seems to have taken his inspiration from Peter Boyle in “Young Frankenstein.” When confronted with the questionable passage, Pelkey mumbled an apology and said “Dang, I just knew I was going to step on someone’s toes when I wrote that.” – Editor

A comment on comments

Editors,
The new website looks great. Go with it already! But please, take off the “Comments” section below each story.

If I wanted to read opinions other than those of the author of the story, I can find them in the mailbag.

Mike Spilker
New Jersey

We are making progress in efforts to make a complete switch over to the new site, Mike. It should happen soon. As for the comments, we’re still just trying them out and we’re gauging folks’ reaction to their presence. – Editor

Medication and dehydration

Dear fellow cyclists,
I was recently prescribed medication for a bipolar disorder and the accompanying advisory warns that one major side effect is that the drug it can cause me dehydrate rapidly, forcing me to stay inside when it’s hot. I live in northern Alabama, so that means the only time I can venture outside is in January!

Is there anyone else out there facing similar problems with this or any other drug? What do they do? Am I stuck riding a trainer 11 months out of the year? I’ve tried to ask my doctor at the VA, but when I ask about this complication he doesn’t offer an answer and I can’t really afford to go somewhere else.

I was hoping to get back on the bike after knee surgery and was making good progress even riding on a 100-degree day for three hours. Now, I am looking at barely ever getting outside again. Is there anyone around that rides and suffers from this condition and how do they deal with it?

Steven M

If anyone can offer advice, just drop us a line and we’ll forward them directly to Steven. We’ll do our best to keep you on the road. – Editor

FILED UNDER: Mailbag