Catching up on RBA duties

[Rob Hawks]

As some of you may have heard, I was out of town immediately following the 600km. As a result, I am behind on email and other tasks and will be catching up most likely tomorrow (tonight will be a RUSA board meeting.)

If you have urgent issues, or if you are worried our issue has fallen through the cracks, send me email and I'll make sure it is on my list.

rob

[Old5ten]

speaking of stuff falling through the cracks, maybe the board can address some of the concerns i've outlined on randon several months ago.  there are quite a few 'randonneurs' who've voiced similar concerns, especially with regards to sleep deprivation, control times, and route selection. 

elmar

i've been asked to submit what i think could be done by RUSA to promote safety. 

one the one hand, i appreciate the opportunity (although it feels like i'm doing others' homework) and am going to make full use of it, on the other hand i feel strongly that i've not been the only proponent on this issue and that the voices of all interested members should be heard, especially those who've spoken up before and been disregarded.   this type of discussion should be out in the open and not restricted to rusa board meetings.

obviously, most things stated here are my personal opinion and all the points made can be approached from many different perspectives.  i've tried to include various statistics and outside sources to give a foundation for my reasoning.  

lets briefly look at some national statistics for 2009 (the latest i could get my hands on): 70% of cycling fatalities occurred in urban areas, most cyclists killed were male, and of those, roughly 70% were between the ages of 35 and 74 years old.  it is noteworthy that the vast majority of randonneurs falls into the categories of male and age 35 to 74.

randonneuring obviously poses some of the same risks that all cyclists face, but i think we have to acknowledge that there are additional safety factors that could (and in my opinion) should be addressed.

in particular, i'm thinking about route design, sleep deprivation, group riding skills, and overuse injuries.

being an organized event, brevets follow specific routes.  imho, these routes should be planned around the tenets of safety and enjoy-ability.  unfortunately, they are governed by other factors, such as the location of controls/resupply stops, the specificity of distance, making sure that riders can't 'cheat' by taking short cuts, limiting the amount of climbing, etc.  the self imposed logistics of the ride supersede and restrict the spirit of randonneuring.  

many of us can probably think of examples when we're wondering: 'why the hell is this crappy (insert your reason here) section part of this (otherwise really nice) ride?'  for me, the most prominent example (there are others) is that of the sfr 400k, which includes a stretch of hwy. 101 and a section of country road that runs next to a casino.  

for those not initiated with norcal rides, this happens north of san francisco, in an area that has a good network of beautiful and solitary roads.  hwy. 101 is the main north/south traffic artery in this area.  it is only open to bicycles in a relatively short stretch that doesn't offer a nearby alternative.  although it has a relatively wide shoulder and a rumble strip (which riders occasionally touch), there is much high speed traffic in addition to debris on the shoulder.  it would be quite feasible to have an alternate 400k that avoids this particular section and the casino with it's potentially large number of inebriated patrons just a a few miles further down the road, but my sense is that various logistics (see above) get in the way.

below is a link to the cdc fact sheet for drunk driving and it's impacts.  the thing that stands out to me is that nearly one third of traffic fatalities in 2009 involved alcohol.

http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html

in the world of cycling, sleep deprivation can be associated with randonneuring and ultra events.  it is best characterized by that cloud of fog which obscures the mind when you've been riding all day and all night with little or no sleep, in certain instances multiple days and nights in a row.  science shows us that the effects of sleep deprivation are not encouraging and statistic show that the number of driving related accidents due to sleep deprivation is staggering.  as a society we regulate commercial truck drivers and airline pilots because we recognize the dangers.  the deaths of two bay area cyclists drive home the point for me.  kristy gough and matt peterson were killed on a morning training ride by a chp officer who fell asleep behind the wheel, crossed the center line, and plowed into their group.  it actually doesn't take a whole lot before sleep deprivation becomes the equivalent of driving under the influence.  there's a bunch of data to support this, but i'll simply leave you with a couple of links.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11359171

next time you're out on a 600k or riding pbp, check yourself on the stanford sleepiness scale (if you're alert enough).  i remember people falling asleep in mid-conversation during pbp.

  

http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/sss.html

i'd say most riders rank somewhere around a 4 and up at various points during a long ride ride.

finally we have group riding skills and overuse injuries.  group riding skills are essential and should be practiced in a variety of situations.  thinking of the start on pbp in 2007, i find many randonneurs lack even basic skills.  maybe an official randonneuring clinic could make a difference.  !rusa randonneuring 101! could be a clinic that covers things beyond just bike skills.

we don't have any statistics to back this up, but my sense is that within the greater sport of cycling, randonneuring has a disproportionate share of acute and chronic overuse injuries.  on a personal level, i never had achilles tendon problems until i rode a 600k brevet and never had knee problems until i rode pbp, even after doing long tours and doubles.  this should be studied and addressed.

the fundamental problem with randonneuring (in terms of safety) is the way it is structured.  riding long distances with time limits.  building routes around controls and other limiting factors.

what can be done (utopia):

allow distances to be variable, in order to accommodate better route selection.  don't let decisions be guided by arbitrary fixed lengths (400k etc.), control locations, the ability to 'cheat,' etc.

eliminate time limits, in order to allow riders more rest/flexibility.

eliminate fixed controls to allow better route selection

what can be done (other):

official sag on brevets as a standard, not an option.  the idea of being self-supported is absolute fallacy when you have to design your routes around controls.

potential chp/law enforcement on route (most bike races utilize that quite effectively to monitor courses, intersections, etc.)

collect data, conduct research, establish statistics relevant to the sport.  do this in a uniform, not haphazard, way.  i would go beyond jonathan berk's accident study suggestion, let's include incidents, injuries, mechanicals, etc.

establish criteria (reaction test, etc.) to prevent sleep deprived riders on the road

skills clinics and official safety promotion

randonneuring is growing as a sport.  i think it is time for the official governing body, rusa and its administrators, to take a long, hard look at safety.  imho, a helmet rule, a waiver, and a 'don't do stupid stuff!' at the start, while nice and appropriate, aren't enough.  ignoring jonathan's suggestions, making fun of peter's concussion stories, just doesn't seem like a good way to go.

let the heresy be enough, i'm running for cover 8^).

elmar

rob

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[Rob Hawks]

I will ask tonight when the minutes of the 2012 Board meetings held so far are are scheduled to be made accessible via the RUSA website. Perhaps it is merely a misunderstanding on my part about the timing of when those are posted. That said, the RUSA Board has in fact taken up the issue of rider safety and in particular also addressed one of the specific issues raised by a candidate in the most recent board election. My participation in board discussions regarding safety so far have been informed by your expressed opinion and that of other riders with whom I have discussed the subject.

Locally, SFR has not been silent or inactive on the topic of rider safety. SFR is hosting a series of meetings regarding preparing for big rides. Rider safety has been  a prominent component of all those meetings, has been the sole topic of one of those meetings, and will continue to be a major component in future meetings. Rider safety is not a single faceted topic, it has a great many facets and it is because of this that rider safety will continue to be a component of those meetings. Those meetings were created as a way to allow riders a chance to have in depth conversations about randonneuring topics in a way that isn't possible before the start of a ride which may be the last chance most riders have to talk to any one of the other riders. The meetings are open to all simply by sending an RSVP to any of the multiple announcements of the next meeting. Topics for those meetings are driven by requests by actual and potential attendees and by SFR members who request that a meeting be on a specific topic.

Though it may seem so to some, postings to the 'Randon' email list are not at all equivalent to sending a message to the RUSA Board. The single best way for anyone to address the board would be to send email to bo...@rusa.org.

rob hawks

[Rob Hawks]

No need to wait until later, as I have feedback already on some of the content of my posting.

On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 3:51 PM, Rob Hawks <rob....@gmail.com> wrote:

I will ask tonight when the minutes of the 2012 Board meetings held so far are are scheduled to be made accessible via the RUSA website. 

There is no specific schedule to posting board meeting highlights to the RUSA website. For now, periodically check for additions to the list of highlights of board meetings under the 'records' section of the menu on the website.

 

Though it may seem so to some, postings to the 'Randon' email list are not at all equivalent to sending a message to the RUSA Board. The single best way for anyone to address the board would be to send email to bo...@rusa.org.

The first statement remains 100% accurate. The second statement only has the advantage of being not 100% *inaccurate*. Messages sent to that address from outside the board are moderated. There is no shortcut to using the (excellent) Search function on the RUSA website for Officers and selecting Board of Directors to get contact info for the individual board members.

rob

[jackho...@sbcglobal.net]

Thank you Rob for working so hard on so many fronts to improve our collective safety.

I appreciate your actions.


Hasta la Victoria siempre.

-------- Original message -------- Subject: Re: [SFRandon] Catching up on RBA duties From: Rob Hawks To: old5...@gmail.com CC: sfra...@googlegroups.com

I will ask tonight when the minutes of the 2012 Board meetings held so far are are scheduled to be made accessible via the RUSA website. Perhaps it is merely a misunderstanding on my part about the timing of when those are posted. That said, the RUSA Board has in fact taken up the issue of rider safety and in particular also addressed one of the specific issues raised by a candidate in the most recent board election. My participation in board discussions regarding safety so far have been informed by your expressed opinion and that of other riders with whom I have discussed the subject.

Locally, SFR has not been silent or inactive on the topic of rider safety. SFR is hosting a series of meetings regarding preparing for big rides. Rider safety has been  a prominent component of all those meetings, has been the sole topic of one of those meetings, and will continue to be a major component in future meetings. Rider safety is not a single faceted topic, it has a great many facets and it is because of this that rider safety will continue to be a component of those meetings. Those meetings were created as a way to allow riders a chance to have in depth conversations about randonneuring topics in a way that isn't possible before the start of a ride which may be the last chance most riders have to talk to any one of the other riders. The meetings are open to all simply by sending an RSVP to any of the multiple announcements of the next meeting. Topics for those meetings are driven by requests by actual and potential attendees and by SFR members who request that a meeting be on a specific topic.

Though it may seem so to some, postings to the 'Randon' email list are not at all equivalent to sending a message to the RUSA Board. The single best way for anyone to address the board would be to send email to bo...@rusa.org.

rob hawks

On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 2:41 PM, Old5ten <old5...@gmail.com> wrote:

speaking of stuff falling through the cracks, maybe the board can address some of the concerns i've outlined on randon several months ago.  there are quite a few 'randonneurs' who've voiced similar concerns, especially with regards to sleep deprivation, control times, and route selection. 

elmar

[Don Bennett]

bo...@rusa.org is moderated, but AFAIK the only msgs that get rejected out of hand are the ones that are obviously spam. -Don

[potis]

Rob, I hope you enjoyed your well deserved three day break from you
volunteer duties as a member of the RUSA board, and as our RBA. Thank
you very much for the greatly expanded responsibilities that you have
taken on this year with bicycle handling clinics, randonneuring
clinics, nearly a second SR series and a 1000k!

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your hard work, but I hope
that you now have a slight impression.

Elmar has already taken the first step by not riding our randonnees. I
wish he would take the second by not lurking in our google group.

[Russell Wood]

+1