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Friday's Mailbag: The ups and downs of VNTV, Mionske and rivalries

Published: Mar. 17, 2006

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

More video, please
Editor:
Hey, great job on the Paris-Nice video summary. The editing and quality pics were great. How about doing it live for the Giro? I'd even pay real money to see it.

Phil Struve
Avon, Colorado

More video for Macs, please
Editor:
Kudos for posting the Paris-Nice video highlight. It's great to get a cycling fix when there's so little TV coverage.

But thumbs way down for the lack of Mac support. When I try to play the video with Safari or Firefox on my Mac, it tells me I have an "unsupported browser!"

The video highlights on the OLN web site don't work for us Mac users either, so why should I be surprised? People who own Macs must not like cycling very much.

It's really very tiring that Mac cycling fans are again treated like second-class citizens, especially when plenty of streaming video technologies exist that work on both Windows machines and Macs. Hope you fix it soon enough!

Gary Campbell
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Gary, we turned the wizards loose on your technical issue, and their recommendation is that Mac users use the latest versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape along with Windows Media Player 9 for the Mac. Managing editor Ben Delaney is on a Mac, and reports he viewed the video using IE without a hitch. – Editor

Mionske’s great, but he overlooked something
Editor:
I so appreciate Bob Mionske's regular column regarding legal issues. Thanks to VeloNews.com for your continued coverage of these matters. They have great theoretical and practical interest, as well as being just plain fun!

I regularly make a presentation to my local high school's drivers-ed class regarding the rights and responsibilities of cyclists and drivers here in Washington state, emphasizing what young drivers must consider when they encounter cyclists on the road. I was pleased to see Washington law considered in Bob's latest entry. He and his researcher accurately stated that "as is safe" is a key phrase in our revised code. I was sorry to see, however, that they neglected to note another key segment of our law.

Also in RCW 46.61.770 Riding on Roadways and Bicycle Paths is found the following: "A person operating a bicycle upon a roadway may use the shoulder of the roadway or any specially designated bicycle lane if one exists." This is clearly in addition to the statement, as Bob notes, that the same person "... shall ride as near to the right side of the right through lane as is safe..." Please note the "shall" in the mention of roadway and the "may" in the use of bike lanes. It seems clear that the rider may choose the roadway, shoulder or bike lane under Washington law. If the bike lane (or shoulder) is unsafe or undesirable for any reason (parked cars, trash, debris, excess gravel, broken glass, personal preference, etc.) the roadway may be used. The "as is safe" seems clearly to apply only to the judgment of how close to the edge of the roadway one rides, as the shoulder or bike path is not part of the roadway in Washington state.

In addition, I want to applaud Bob's exhortation to use a mirror. I am as interested as most VeloNews readers in being as lightweight and aero as possible, hoping to look (and ride) like I was just transported from the course of Milan-San Remo. I would not, however, be caught without my helmet-mounted mirror. It improves my safety, even on my predominantly rural rides, by multiple magnitudes. When I see a Geo or Prius approaching from the rear I firmly hold my line in the roadway; a semi, school bus, RV, or Crown Victoria (with white-haired driver) in the mirror moves me smoothly to the shoulder.

I wouldn't do without the mirror at home or on tours of Europe. Wearing it has generated more good will on the part of drivers than any other action on my part. I frequently get a friendly toot of the horn or wave in their mirror in response to my consideration. The ability to give a wave to friends before they pass in their cars is a small pleasure.

I'm not a slave to the mirror, holding my line 99 percent of the time, but there is no doubt that it improves my safety and promotes goodwill by showing that I'm aware of what's behind me as well as what's in front.

Does glancing in the mirror impair or improve your safety as a driver? The answer is obvious, and my experience is it improves safety as a rider as well.

Dennis Keough
Clinton, Washington

A little rivalry is a good thing
Editor:
Much has been written lately about what is lacking in cycling (spectatorship, TV coverage, American interest, etc.) but how about starting with something basic to all sports — rivalry?

Rivalries are fundamental to inspiring interest and creating loyalty to teams and athletes. Cycling has potential for many captivating and intriguing rivalries that we, as Americans, can get behind. For me it has been the emerging battle for sprinting supremacy between world champion Tom Boonen and Alessandro Petacchi, the "fastest man in the world."

Personally I back the Belgian in all circumstances; Boonen has the style, the youth, and the ruggedness to compete in the hardest of classics . The fact that some sniping has been going on between the two riders since the Vuelta only adds to the intrigue. Your written coverage and photo accompaniment of each stage of the Ruta Ciclista del Sol had me checking the site multiple times a day to see the latest result, either cursing Petacchi's successes or exalting Boonen as my hero (as was the case with the final stage).

I think it's safe to say Americans rival only Italians as lovers of hype, and a little hype domestically might not hurt these exciting rivalries. I hope the next time these two race, a little Boonen-vs.-Petacchi propaganda gets center stage.

Craig Randall
Durango, Colorado

Craig, you can catch the latest installment of your favorite rivalry tomorrow morning during our live coverage of Milan-San Remo, which begins at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Hope you enjoy it. — Editor

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.