A day after the exciting conclusion to a week of bike racing here in Richmond, Virginia, many of my friends and acquaintances have been praising Richmond for it's production and participation in the UCI Road Cycling World Championship. Many lauded the great turnout and wonderful festival atmosphere. People spoke highly of Richmond and it's ever growing bike culture. Indeed, I was impressed with Richmond2015's production of the race. They did a superb job. Everyone was saying it. The announcers on the television, the newspapers, Richmond natives and transplants, visitors from Europe, and other countries. And I thoroughly enjoyed riding my bike all over Richmond to watch the races at a variety of vantage points. It was one big party all surrounding the great sport of cycling.
However, I have bad news for you Richmond. Richmond will never be a great cycling community as long as hick rednecks continue to endanger the lives of cyclists. Unfortunately, I see it all too often and today I had an encounter that was a little scary.
As I was on my commute home from work today, I was riding my bike in the bike lane on Lombardi when an old green Dodge van with the license plate WMJ-9572 purposely swerved in front of me and slammed on the brakes. Fortunately, I have good reflexes and superior bike handling skills that come from years of mountain biking as an adult and riding in traffic in Northern Virginia as a youth. I was able to slam on the brakes and slide sideways slightly. I yelled "Hey" at the top of my lungs. I assure you, I can yell very loud and I wanted to make sure the guy knew I was there. But he knew. He did it on purpose. He sped off in an angry fit, gesticulating and giving me the finger all the while his ancient van coughed and spewed black smoke from the exhaust.
Of course I gesticulated back and had a few choice words for him as he cowardly sped off. He did not turn and accidentally cut me off. No, he was just being his loser self. He looked like a hard drinking, camel smoking idiot who does not have the capacity to think about anything more than how he is going to pay for his next pack of smokes or his next Budweiser. Do I sound a bit bitter?
I continued on up the road and turned North on Brook road. Then something else happened. A man in a white van stopped on the side of the road and waved a piece of paper at me. I stopped to see what he wanted. He witnessed it and wrote down the license plate for me. He told me about the law change this year designating the passing distance for cars around bicycles. I was very thankful for the information about the van.
How many years will it take for the idiot rednecks to die off? How long will it take for our cultures to homogenize so that we can accept each other and live together. Once that happens, Richmond could become a bicycle friendly town. But not until then. Sorry to rain on everyone's parade but all you cyclists out there know it's true. You don't want it to be true. But you know it is.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Thursday, September 24, 2015
UCI Road World Championships Daily Update Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015
UCI Road World Championships Daily Update
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015
What to expect Friday, Sept. 25
Race Schedule
· Road Race Junior Women (50.33 miles) _ 10-11:50 a.m.
· Road Race Under 23 Men (110.7 miles) _ 12:45-4:50 p.m.
· Conquer the Cobbles _ 7-9 p.m.· Race Route: http://vabike2015.virginia. · The Road Circuit starts and finishes at 5th and Broad Streets. The technical course winds through the city of Richmond.
Significant Downtown Road Closures
· Roads closed: 9 a.m.-5:50 p.m.; 6-10 p.m. (Times are approximate; road closures will begin by 8 a.m. and could reopen sooner than 5:50 p.m. before closing again for night event; not all roads will reopen between the daily races and Conquer the Cobbles)
· Broad Street closed from Belvidere to 14th streets· I-95 Exit 74C (West Broad St) closed at all times to northbound and southbound traffic · I-95 southbound Exit 74B (Franklin St) closed during road closure times · Crossing Main Street possible only at 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th streets during road closure times
Events
· Employee Zone, Madison Building plaza, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (must have state employee badge but can bring guests)
· Noon: Meet & Greet with Ben King, Team USA cyclist
· 1 p.m.: Meet & Greet with the Governor & First Lady
· Food trucks:
· de Rochonnet Delights Chocolatier
· Goatocado (vegetarian)
· Firehouse Bar-B-Cue
· Grapevine
· Grilled Meats and Treats
· Port O’ Call
· Cool Concessions (Ice cream)
· State Employee Talent:
· 11:15 a.m.-Noon: VCU Peppas Pep Band
· Noon-1 p.m.: Gerald Burton (R&B, Motown) _ VSU
· 1-2 p.m.: Ariel Unser (acoustic guitar) _ VCU
· 2-3 p.m.: Cathy Wysong (jazz) _ VSU
· 3-4 p.m.: Terry Witt (rock) _ DMV
· 4-5 p.m.: Logan Woolfolk (Motown) _ DMV
· FanFest, Greater Richmond Convention Center, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.· Fan Zone: Broad Street Start/Finish Zone; 23rd Street; Libby Hill, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. · Conquer the Cobbles, 7 p.m.: Amateur cyclists can take a lap on the same Road Circuit as those competing in the World Championships. Register atwww.sportsbackers.org or by clicking here.
For a full list of road closures over the entire race course, visitnavigate.richmond2015.com. For more information on road closures in downtown Richmond, visit http://vabike2015.virginia.
Visit www.vabike2015.virginia.gov and follow us on Twitter at @VaBike2015 for all the latest information about the race.
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Friday, September 18, 2015
UCI World Championship Road Closure Information
UCI
Road World Championships Daily Update
|
Friday,
Sept. 18, 2015
What
to expect through Monday
Friday,
Sept. 18
Events
·
Opening Ceremony, 6:30 p.m. on Brown’s Island. Free tickets
required for entry. Tickets are gone, but click here to place your name on a
waiting list.
Significant
Downtown Road Closures
UNEXPECTED ROAD CLOSURE: Richmond Police have
temporarily closed Broad Street from 8th-14th. Updates will be posted on
www.vabike2015.virginia.gov
and on Twitter @VaBike2015 when they become available.
Saturday,
Sept. 19
Race
Schedule
·
Team Time Trial Training _ 9 a.m.- Noon
·
Individual Time Trial _ 1-2:30 p.m.
·
Saturday is a training day for riders
participating in Individual and Team Time Trials Sunday, Sept. 20, through
Tuesday, Sept. 22
Significant
Downtown Road Closures
·
Roads closed: 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
·
Broad Street closed from Belvidere through
14th streets
·
I-95 Exit 74C (West Broad St) closed at all
times to northbound and southbound traffic
·
I-95 southbound entrance at Exit 80 closed
during road closure times
·
I-95 northbound entrance and southbound
exit at Exit 78 (Boulevard) closed during road closure times
·
Belvidere Street eastbound and westbound
exits on Downtown Expressway closed during road closure times
·
Crossing Main Street possible only at 6th,
7th, 8th, and 9th streets during road
closure times
Sunday,
Sept. 20
Race
Schedule
·
Team Time Trial Elite Women (24.1 miles) _ 11:30 a.m. -12:55
p.m.
·
Team Time Trial Elite Men (24.1 miles) _ 1:30 –3:35 p.m.
·
The Team Time Trial course starts
at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens and finishes at 5th and Broad
Streets. This is the only race in which cyclists compete on behalf of their
trade teams. All other events are contested on behalf of their countries.
Significant
Downtown Road Closures
·
Roads closed: 10:30 a.m.-4:35 p.m.
·
Broad Street closed from Belvidere through
14th streets
·
I-95 Exit 74C (West Broad St) closed at all
times to northbound and southbound traffic
·
I-95 southbound entrance at Exit 80 closed
during road closure times
·
I-95 northbound entrance and southbound
exit at Exit 78 (Boulevard) closed during road closure times
·
Crossing Main Street possible only at 6th,
7th, 8th, and 9th streets during road
closure times
Events
·
FanFest, Greater Richmond Convention
Center, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
·
Fan Zone: Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and
Broad Street Finish Zone, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Monday,
Sept. 21
Race
Schedule
·
Individual Time Trial Junior Women (9.3 miles) _ 10-11:10
a.m.
·
Ind. Time Trial Under 23 Men (18.6 miles) _
11:30 a.m.-3:50 p.m.
·
The Time Trial Circuit begins at 3rd
Street between Leigh and Clay Streets and finishes at 5th and
Broad Streets. This technical course winds through the city of Richmond.
Significant
Downtown Road Closures
·
Roads closed: 9 a.m.-4:50 p.m.
·
Broad Street closed from Belvidere through
14th streets
·
I-95 Exit 74C (West Broad St) closed at all
times to northbound and southbound traffic
·
Belvidere Street eastbound and westbound
exits on Downtown Expressway closed during road closure times
·
Crossing Main Street possible only at 6th,
7th, 8th, and 9th streets during road
closure times
Events
·
Employee Zone, Madison Building plaza, 11
a.m.-2 p.m. (must have state employee badge but can bring guests)
·
Food
trucks (open 11 a.m.-5 p.m.):
· de Rochonnet Delights Chocolatier
· Firehouse Bar-B-Que
· Port O’ Call
· Slideways Mobile Bistro
· The Dog Wagon
· The Hungry Turtle
· Cool Concessions (Ice cream)
· State
Employee Talent:
· 11
a.m.-Noon: Shadowkicks (rock, blues, funk, reggae, R&B and
jazz) _ SCC
· Noon-1
p.m.: The Coles Sisters (acapella inspirational quartet) _DMV
· 1-2
p.m.: Joanie Valentine (jazz) _ VDOT
·
FanFest, Greater Richmond Convention
Center, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
·
Fan Zone: Broad Street Start/Finish Zone,
10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
For
a full list of road closures over the entire race course, visit
navigate.richmond2015.com. For more information on road closures in downtown
Richmond, visit http://vabike2015.virginia.gov/commuting-parking.html.
Visit
www.vabike2015.virginia.gov and follow us on
Twitter at @VaBike2015 for all the latest information about the race.
|
Contacts
Dena
Potter
804-786-0282
Parking/Badge
Access
804-786-5675
Policy.dhrm.virginia.gov
804-225-2131
Non-emergency
number
804-786-2568
804-358-4782
804-788-5820
|
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