2009 Chesapeake Bay Air Ride

June 5 - 7, 2009
Salisbury University
Salisbury, MD
               
Enjoy a weekend ride through sun-kissed fields, historic towns and sandy beaches and make a difference in the life of someone with lung disease.
 
When you can't breathe, nothing else matters!
 
  
[If you are looking to do your first century this is a good option as it's flat out there.]

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Becoming a nation of Baby Hueys

By Derrick Z. Jackson -
AS MUCH AS obesity is in the news, Ohio State University public health epidemiologist Sarah Anderson was still surprised how it now assaults the youngest children. Studying 8,550 children, she and Robert Whitaker of Temple University found that 18.4 percent of 4-year-olds, nearly one-in-five, were obese....

"While research has shown differences in older children and men and women, we didn't necessarily think we'd find that large of a difference in young children," Anderson said in a telephone interview. "But the fact they have such a high BMI (body mass index) and they're 4? This clearly shows that we have a problem early in childhood and that we really need to think about childhood obesity prevention that begins in infancy, perhaps even in pregnancy."

The study in the current Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine should set off a national alarm. We already know that fat youth inexorably blow up into fatally immobile adults. In 2003-2006 data, the Centers for Disease Control said 12.4 percent of children ages 2 to 5 were obese. Adult America is 34 percent obese.
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Study after study shows obesity to be fueled by child exposure to ads, proximity of fast-food restaurants to schools, and the overabundance of bad food at rural and inner-city convenience stores, in lives devoid of exercise. <<<<<
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Rapha unveil their £3,000 cycling suit

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Bike-friendly features include the front flaps of the jacket, which turn back and button under the pocket so they don’t flap when riding and, along with the underside of the collar and sleeves, are pink for visibility.

For additional reach on the bike the jacket has a stretchy ‘action back’ and the cuffs turn down, making the sleeves longer.

The fabric is a wool with a Prince of Wales check. Rapha say nanotechnology in the fabric makes it amazingly water and stain resistant, and keeps the wearer cool in summer and warm in winter.

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PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE CRASH PLOTTING AND COUNTS AND BEHAVIORS OBSERVATIONS

Field observations of bicyclist and pedestrian behaviors revealed the following key findings:
• 84 percent of bicyclists rode on the sidewalk and 16 percent rode in the street.
• 58 percent of bicyclists rode with traffic and 42 percent rode against traffic.
• 79 percent of pedestrians crossed midblock and 21 percent crossed at an intersection.
• 57 percent of pedestrians did not crossed in a gap and 43 percent crossed in a gap.

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The Dixon Report, Spring Clean-Up

April 9, 2009

 

Dear Citizens:

 

April has sprung forward only to bring with her another opportunity to experience the beauty of Baltimore and her citizens.  Recently, during one of my weekly Friday morning bike rides I was afforded the opportunity to gaze upon the cherry blossoms that thrive alongside Druid Hill Reservoir.  As I returned to City Hall to continue on with the business of the day, I was again moved by the budding flowerbeds of the historic cultural district of Mt. Vernon.  In all, I was reminded that the short days of winter have finally rested over the horizon and now spring has taken nature’s stage. 

 

Spring is a reminder to us that life can spring forward from the cold, icy and often dark days of winter.  Just as in our own lives we all go through our own wintry storms, spring is a reminder that a new season will come.  Situations that once appeared hopeless and dead will again breathe life.  The seeds that were planted in the fall and endured the winter are now beginning to blossom in the rays of a new day.

As many of us prepare for the three-day holiday weekend and we start to see the first blossoms of spring, I encourage you to think about our City’s quest to be a cleaner, greener, healthier, and safer Baltimore.  Spring is a signal of renewal and we can all contribute in small ways to the renewal of our City.

 

On Saturday, April 18, I am hosting my 10th annual Spring Clean Up. This year’s theme, “Clean your Alley & Plant a Tree,” recognizes the simple but sustainable projects communities do to create a cleaner and greener neighborhood. So far more than 117 community groups and over 1900 volunteers have registered to participate in this initiative.  Many more are expected to register.

 

I encourage each of you to join in these efforts. To sign up, communities should call 3-1-1. Click here http://www.baltimorecity.gov/downloads/0409/Spring%20Cleanup%20Flyer%20FINAL2009.pdf  to learn more.  Have a restful and safe holiday weekend!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Sheila Dixon

Mayor, Baltimore
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Obama picks Porcari for Transportation post

President Barack Obama turned to Maryland for another high-level appointment Friday as the White House announced that he intends to name Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari to the No. 2 position in the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In choosing Porcari, Obama has selected one of the few state transportation secretaries whose portfolio includes all the major modes of travel - highways, aviation, mass transit, maritime commerce and rail freight. If he clears the required background checks and is confirmed by the Senate, Porcari would serve as deputy to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Illinois congressman and a Republican.

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Bicyclists need to stay on sidewalk

[Note: There are many technical errors in this report but none the less this is how some people think.]
By Zack Colman

Black 2001 Saturn SC2. That’s the car I drive — and if you’re a bicyclist on the road but not in a bike path and you see my car, I hope you’re wearing a helmet, because I might run you over.

Maybe not intentionally.

But you see, with all these things I can do in my car nowadays, such as choose a different song on my iPod, send a text message while driving or fall asleep at the wheel because I had to wake up for a worthless 8 a.m. biology lab, I might not notice you.

And, considering you are where you should not be, I might hit you.

The simple fact of the matter is, MSU has so kindly provided sidewalks for people on foot and Rollerblades, and MSU’s ordinance should be revised to require bicyclists be there too. The university has outlined bike paths on certain roads, but bicyclists can’t just create imaginary bike paths like they do.

I cannot drive my car on the sidewalk, so why must you ride your bicycle where I drive?

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Giving Lessons in Traffic Safety at Middle Schools

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Increased traffic around schools has vexed other major cities, too. Nationwide, roughly 21 percent of morning traffic is generated by parents driving children to school, said Raquel Rivas, a spokeswoman for Safe Routes to School, a national organization formed to encourage walking and bicycling to school.

Traffic patterns around schools in Los Angeles have become clogged and often dangerous because of a large growth in student enrollment and an increase in the number of parents who ferry their children to and from school out of fear for their safety, Mr. Hopwood said. Especially in high-crime areas, parents are reluctant to let their children walk.

“It’s getting worse and worse each year,” said Brad Smith, an environmental health and safety officer at the school district, “because so many parents feel that they need to drop their kids at the front entrance of the school because they are concerned about harm.”
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The city attorney, Rocky Delgadillo, is also pressing the Police Department to enhance enforcement of traffic laws around schools. “It’s a small investment with a big return,” said Mr. Delgadillo’s spokesman, Nick Velasquez. “Making do with less in tough times.”
A school bus driver, Michelle Coleman, says middle schools are her biggest nightmare. “The parents park right here where the buses need to be,” Ms. Coleman said the other day outside Florence Nightingale, northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

Luz Bunacaba conceded that she was part of the problem. But with bus fare of $5 a day and the distance too far for her 15-year-old son to walk, Ms. Bunacaba parks in the bus lane. “I have to,” she said, “it’s the only way.”

Part of the problem is that schools lack enough crosswalks, so students cross in the middle of the block, Mr. Hopwood said.

“We have sidewalks that are too thin,” he said. “At one high school, there are over 5,000 students on the sidewalks, and they get impatient with one another. We have lots of parents double parking. There is just not enough room, and there have been lots of incidents of students getting hit.”
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Pollution link with birth weight

Traffic pollution was identified as a significant problem

Exposure to traffic pollution could affect the development of babies in the womb, US researchers have warned.

They found the higher a mother\'s level of exposure in early and late pregnancy, the more likely it was that the baby would not grow properly.
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[Baltimore Spokes: Note that being in a car you are exposed to more traffic pollution then if you are riding your bike in traffic.]

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