time is still ticking

It's been 30 hours since I was told that the deputy would return my call "shortly".
No return call yet.

I'll withhold any comment and let you come to your own conclusion.



Time is also ticking inexorably toward March 26, my day in Marion County Court.
The day has been filled with email and phone calls busily trying to get this to all come together. This unfortunate event is bigger than just a single guy on a bike. Ramifications spill over to anyone who rides a bike on Oregon's roads. I am hoping that some of the larger and more powerful bicycle organizations will determine that this falls under their roles as educators and advocates. "Share the Road" bumper stickers and license plates, when bolstered with a little publicity of what happens when drivers don't share, would present a powerful message.

Just a little snow and a small update

I wasn't planning on riding today since the forecast sounded iffy. It didn't disappoint. This morning was snowy and cold. It warmed up slightly and turned to rain showers as the day progressed but it's supposed to be really nice by midweek so I'm making phone calls today and planning on riding Wednesday.



My phone calls centered around the bike issue. I called the Marion County District Attorney's Office. The case has not been filed with them and they can not (will not) respond to any questions until it is. I called the Marion County Sheriff's Office and am awaiting a return call. I would just like to ask again why they chose to charge me with the maximum charges they can apply yet let the driver of the SUV skate away with far less than the maximum. My position is that he's not even being charged with what's appropriate given the facts.
It would seem that I've got to retain a lawyer to put pressure on the Marion County Sheriff's Office to do their duty. I've been told that there isn't enough potential for money with this case to entice a lawyer to run with this. I guess I can't blame them, it's business to them and bills need to be paid. For me it's personal.

I'm just wired differently. I spend a great deal of time volunteering. Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, Forest Grove Fire, Oregon Fire District Director's Association, Forest Grove School District, our local cemetery, Special Districts Association of Oregon, the Northwest Rafter's Association, and the area's hungry, all have benefited from my high school's admonition to "be a man for others".

If you've been following this blog you have read that this is not about personal financial gain. It's about making the roads safer for all cyclists...as well as for the every day person on a bike. I want this guy to know that what he did is a crime. (he will never believe that bikes have a legal right to the road but he will know that if he acts this way again he will lose everything) I want others that think the way he does to know that if they use their vehicles to attack a cyclist they too will lose big time.

I put in a call today to a very large bicycle club that I belong to in hopes that they (we) might take this case on since it fits in so well with the mission of education and advocacy.

After a week of waiting for the chance to talk with one of the lawyers I expect this to move a little more quickly now. 3 weeks until I have to answer to a judge on the Criminal Mischief 2 charge related to this case.

UPDATE:
A full 6 hours since Marion County Dispatch told me that the responding officer was on duty, had been paged, and would be calling me shortly. No call as of yet, and now I am on my way to one of those previously listed volunteer opportunities.

Protect and serve?
Yup, public service just isn't what it used to be.

It's beginning to look a lot like.......................

No ride around Hagg Lake today!



I am supposed to lead a ride around Hagg Lake today. It was 32 in Forest Grove this morning with snow on the landscape but the roads were mostly clear. I drove up to the lake and on the west end there is more than an inch of snow on the road, with ice under it, and the temp was 30. The Banana Belt race was cancelled, and common sense said ours would be too. I did have a herd of about 20 elk cross in front of me as I drove near Scoggin Creek, and another larger herd was down in the fields below the dam this morning. Silly me didn't get a photo of them however!



Our Hagg Lake ride has morphed into a Forest Grove to Newberg and back ride. We'll stay flat on the valley floor in an attempt to bypass the snow and ice issues.
An update to follow later today on how it all went.

UPDATE:
Dave and I rode off from the Grand Lodge and were going to ride to Newberg. We rode into a pretty stiff and cold wind. By the time we got a couple miles out I opted to turn so the wind was at our side. We took a zig zag route to Scholls Elementary School, where Reach the Beach starts then rode out Barrows Rd and a few others to get to Tigard.

We stopped by the Tualatin Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center just outside Sherwood. We both decided we should go back when we have more time to take in all the sights.
(all decked out for the rain that never came!)

We rode back to Forest Grove via Scholls-Sherwood Rd with a little turn up and over Clark Hill Rd to Tile Flat. It was a really good day to ride....who would have guessed?!!! We didn't have a drop of rain or snow on the entire ride. It did start snow mixed with rain as we sat down in the Grand Lodge to have our post ride debriefing! Coming up next week is the Snoozeville Populaire, a metric century hosted by the Oregon Randonneurs.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............53...............0.................53
Jan total.......501.....+.........30.......=.......531
Feb total.......614.....+.........0........=.......614
March total.....149.....+.........0........=.......149
Year to date...1265.....+.........30.......=......1295
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Countdown

Those who've followed my biking exploits know that one of my favorite riding buddies is a young woman by the name of Erinn. She's always had a smile on her face (well, except for the time we waited for 3 hours at the airport for her luggage!) and is a good riding match for me. Sometimes she kicked my behind and a few times I managed to kick hers, but it was always a good workout. There were a few social events, but the rides were always all business. I've been able to depend on her for riding company for probably 3 years or so.



Riding the Monster Cookie Metric Century, Spring 08

In the last year or so I became aware that she had a boyfriend. (hey, I'm a riding buddy, not Dear Abbey!) He's a military pilot stationed near Las Vegas. I joked with her that the darn boyfriend was going to cost me a riding partner. Well, the joke's not so funny when it comes true.


Erinn is moving to Las Vegas in just under two weeks. It will be an exciting new chapter in her life and I am happy for her. It will be hard to find another riding partner as strong as she is with a flexible schedule like she had, and with that ever present smile.

Tonight a few of us who had ridden with her met at Salvadore Mollies to share a meal and a few drinks while talking about bikes and life in general.



So long Erinn, fare thee well. I hope our paths cross again.


I managed to get out on the bike late this morning for a short ride. The forecast had been for rain possibly mixed with snow.....but it stayed dry. I may not be so lucky in the morning when I am to lead a group ride. I took advantage of the dry weather and rode out to Hagg Lake and did two laps.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............43...............0.................43
Jan total.......501.....+.........30.......=.......531
Feb total.......614.....+.........0........=.......614
March total......96.....+.........0........=........96
Year to date...1212.....+.........30.......=......1242
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Not quite summer yet!

It is a beautiful start to the day. Some low fog hugging the river valleys, the pre-sunrise silhouetting the volcanoes on the eastern horizon, the sky crisp and clear.
I am at my final day of the Northwest Leadership Seminar, otherwise I'd be on the bike!
I am supposed to lead a group on a 50 mile bike ride on Sunday but the forecast sounds a bit ominous. Saturday is supposed to be cold rain most of the day, Sunday looks to be snow down to below 500 ft elevation. We may have to take the riders out of the foothills around Hagg Lake and stay on the valley floor, maybe out to Newberg and back.
If snow does indeed come, and falls to the valley we may have to cancel the ride. :-(

We should be riding today!

use of lethal force

I am attending day two of the Northwest Leadership Seminar. This morning's presentation is entitled "The Science of Perception" and is given by Dr. William Lewinski. Dr. Lewinski is the director of the Force Science Research Center. The first comments he gave were that when police officers are involved in the use of lethal force it is important to have a complete and unbiased investigation so that officers are not charged unnecessarily.

Then next subject was that firearms instruction is not to teach an officer how to fire a gun, but how to stop a threat.

Needless to say, I am all ears. I have no interest in becoming a police officer. I do however have a lot of interest in seeing a complete and unbiased investigation when there is a use of deadly force.

Like I said, if that SUV driver had threatened the lives of the officers, instead of mine, there is no doubt in my mind that my current situation would be much different.

Cyclists are people too.

everything on autopilot

or perhaps more accurately everything is on hold!

The bike issue is on hold until Monday waiting for an attorney to get out of court and be available to meet with me.

I am in Portland to attend the Northwest Leadership Seminar and have a good view of the Columbia River rolling on towards the sea. It hasn't rained all day and there is a fair amount of blue sky. Looks like there might be a possibility of a passing shower but if I had the time I'd be riding the bike somewhere.

But alas........... on hold.

What's a cyclist to do?

Most of us try to do the right thing when biking, both for our safety as well as for the non-cycling public's perception of us. Sometimes we fail, we are after all only human.

But even when your intentions are good sometimes you end up with a no-win situation like this:

(photo by Matt Picio)

UPDATE:
I did manage to get out for a very short ride between my official duties today. The weather was decent and I am sure that I will have no time the rest of the week so I was glad I got out today. I did one of my favorite short workouts, a 27 mile loop with significant climbing in the Helvetia area.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............27...............0.................27
Jan total.......501.....+.........30.......=.......531
Feb total.......614.....+.........0........=.......614
March total......53.....+.........0........=........53
Year to date...1169.....+.........30.......=......1199
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

it's all about timing

After the wet ride yesterday the sun is shining with a partly cloudy sky right now. I really wish I were out riding. But, alas, I'm busy trying to tie up some lose ends before a meeting tonight, which turns into a steady stream of fire/ems meetings and conferences that last through Friday evening.

Some of what I'm trying to get done is to keep on top of the bike issue. Since I've been cited for Criminal Mischief 2 relating to that incident it seems best to retain the services of an attorney in the Salem area who knows his/her way around criminal issues. It would be nice to have that person also know and be passionate about bike issues.

It always seems that I have these life lessons that end up with me learning far more about a subject than I really wanted to learn. :-(

It's a full time job being me.

wet

(click on photo to see full size image)
I started the day by volunteering as a follow car for the women's cat 4 race at the Banana Belt series. It's tough duty following fit ladies for 30 miles, but somebody has to do it! ;-) I was scheduled for 9 to 10AM, but it ran late.

Usually no big deal, but today I was to lead another "training series ride" for my social bike group beginning from Grand Lodge at 11AM. I ended up not leaving Hagg Lake until just a few minutes after 11AM. I called my group (7 riders) and gave them the first few turns of the route. We were going to ride from Grand Lodge to Hagg Lake via Fernhill, Springhill and Gaston. I met them as they made the turn onto Springhill. It was raining lightly as I joined them. That would be the weather of the day as it rained continuously for our entire ride. Just a note that this was more rain in one ride than I've had since the first of the year total. Not whining, just making a note of the great string of riding weather we've had so far this year.
We enjoyed our lap of the lake (in the opposite direction of the racers) and nobody had much trouble.


Kris at one point noted, "Hey, look at ME....I'm riding around Hagg Lake in MARCH!"

I'm proud of all those who've made the commitment to join the training series. Days like today make it more like homework, but we can all see the progress that this riding is giving us. I have no doubt that these folks will reach their riding goals this year.

I cut a few miles off from the rest by cutting over to get my pickup which was parked along Fernhill Rd as they pedaled directly on to Grand Lodge.

Luis had other commitments, but the other 6 of us went into the bike friendly McM's and had some warm food and a brew.

It was a good end to a good, though wet, ride.

A rather interesting update on "the issue".
I was riding that day with friends, and it should be no surprise that I continue to ride with them. Yesterday one of the guys who was there that day got a call from the Marion County Sheriff. Seems they just wanted him to recount the story. To see if it changed? Are they contemplating more charges? Another of the riders got the same call today. Same request.

Not sure what it all means but I will keep you updated.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............26...............0.................26
Jan total.......501.....+.........30.......=.......531
Feb total.......614.....+.........0........=.......614
March total......27.....+.........0........=........27
Year to date...1142.....+.........30.......=......1172
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++