THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING »

Get the VeloNews Email Newsletter FREE

  Learn More | Archive
Home » Top Stories » Mailbag »

Readers write on helmets

Published: Jan. 4, 2009
Mo Bruno-Roy racing in Massachusetts this fall.
Mo Bruno-Roy racing in Massachusetts this fall.
Photo: Mark Suprenant

Do you want to contribute to Mailbag, a regular feature of VeloNews.com? Here's how:

Likes the no-helmet pic
Editor,

I was personally happy to see the photo of the helmetless rider riding past the gas station.

I have been a club rider since the 1960's and started wearing helmets when they first came out, and always wear one on a club ride. But when I need to go to the grocery store on my old Schwinn Suburban I just hop on in whatever I am wearing and away I go ... no helmet. Riding at 6 miles an hour unclipped is a lot different than descending Redwood Road clipped in at 30 mph.

I know VeloNews is aimed at the racing and sport riding group, but this photo speaks out to the transport-type cyclist who is put off by spandex and helmets. This is the type of rider we need to encourage if we want to develop a cycle culture in the U.S. as they have in some other countries: see this article for what we need to aim for if we want to get off our dependency on oil.
Philip Kent,
San Leandro, California

Likes the Jayco coverage
Editor,

I have been viewing your Web site every day for the last six months and love it. I live in Australia and have been at the Jayco Bay Classic you are currently covering. You are getting some fantastic photos and giving accurate updates — do you have a representative there? How are you getting your feeds?

Curious.
Best Regards,
Zsuzsa

Editor's note: Thanks, Zsuzsa. Benjamin Fitzmaurice is covering the race for us and taking pictures. We think he's doing a great job, too.

Bad call
Editor,

That was a bad call to give that fight press. It is bad enough it happened, but everyone in the world didn't need to know, c'mon. You guys should just become the TMZ of cycling.
BJ Good,
Trenton New Jersey

No free lunch
Editor,

Great article by Bob Mionske as always but the more I read it the more fired up I got.

If you look at a city like Chicago, how many people walk to work? How many in New York City? Atlanta? Los Angeles? What contribution do these people make to the maintenance of sidewalks? Traffic signals for cross walks? Talk about getting a "free ride!"

They have no investment as they will wear shoes anyway. Pay no additional sales tax (my yearly cycling budget is about $3,000).

If major cities would do away with sidewalks think of the extra car or bike lanes they could have.

How many miles of sidewalk does every city or town have compared to miles of bike paths?

So if you live in a city, don't own a car and don't pay bike tax, how about a $10 annual fee to help maintain the "free zone" that walkers enjoy?
Scott Berry
Redmon, Illinois

Change
Editor,

President-elect Obama has invited the country to propose ideas through www.change.org for his administration to consider. Andy Cline, active transportation advocate and the voice behind Carbon Trace, has submitted the 1 Mile Solution.

The premise is that 28 percent of all trips in the USA are within one mile of home. The vast majority of these trips are made by car. We should encourage people (who are able) to replace one car trip per week within a mile from home with walking or cycling.

One trip becomes two, then three, then more. The benefits for the environment, the pocketbook, and our personal and community well being would be huge. To vote for this initiative visit www.change.org, or read more about the 1 Mile Solution go to his blog, Carbon Trace.

Searching for bicycle on change.org produces two pages of submitted ideas.
Michael Puchowicz
Tucson, Arizona

Editor's note: Thanks for the letter, Michael. Bob Mionske also wrote about the 1 Mile Solution in a recent column.

Six-day fever
Editor,

What's wrong with you guys? We finally have Americans racing the boards in Europe and not a single mention of it on your Web site? I hope I see a Colby Pearce interview or journal entry in coming days/weeks either on the web, or even better in my next issue. Outside of this, thanks for all the other great race coverage, videos, etc. etc.
Mark Fellows,
Folsom, California

Editor's note: How'd you know, Mark? Watch for a Colby Pearce feature in an upcoming issue of VeloNews.

An issue with masters racers
Editor,

Why are Maureen Bruno-Roy and Andy Jacques-Maynes racing as masters (at the Kansas City cyclocross nationals)?

There's plenty of debate about who should race in the masters category, but it's clear who shouldn't: heavily sponsored riders in their early thirties who regularly finish in the top 10 in national elite-level events.
Dan Peterson,
Seattle, Washington