2/25/08: Unbelievable and Unfortunate

I sent this to "Letters to the Editor" of VeloNews this a.m. Hopefully it will get published and the folks in charge of the various pro teams will both read it and take it seriously . . .

Dear Editor:

This past Saturday, 2/23, I found myself embarrassed to call myself a Boulder-based cyclist. My teammates and I turned out for the NoBo ride, which leaves out of the Gateway parking lot. Over the past 4 Saturdays, the group has swelled as the race season looms in the near future. This past Saturday, about 100 riders showed up, including a strong pro contingent from the local teams and some pros from Toyota United and Slipstream-Chipotle. It would prove to be a spirited, challenging ride. Just what the doctor ordered to get the legs ready to start racing next month.

However, the ride itself was a complete cluster f***. I have been racing since 1990 and this was, by far, the most disrespectful and flat out dangerous group ride in which I’ve participated. On the more rural roads heading north out to Carter Lake, the peloton took up the entire traffic lane on the 2-lane roads. And, when the mood suited many individuals – like when battling a crosswind – the group took up the ENTIRE road. As if the roadway were closed off to traffic for our benefit. Riders consistently violated the yellow line rule and would go into the oncoming traffic lane to squirt their way up closer to the front of the group.

The string of cyclists was so long that vehicles heading north with us had to spend an inordinate amount of time all the way over in the incoming traffic lane to pass us. In one instance, a minivan nearly collided head-on with a large pick-up truck. Both vehicles had to come to a screeching halt to avoid disaster. The cyclists in the group appeared oblivious to the dangers we were creating by acting so aloof. It was as if the riders were more concerned with grabbing the wheel in front of them regardless of where it took them than for their own safety or the collective safety of the peloton. I am still amazed there were no crashes and no disasters.

My teammates and I came to the same conclusion at about the same time and peeled off before the halfway point of the ride. We were dumbstruck. We could not believe the complete lack of disregard and irresponsibility the group was showing – to each other and to the public. This is the type of ride that makes motorists hate cyclists.

What was most disappointing, however, was that the professional riders – especially those from the more prominent teams – were the worst offenders. Not good for cycling, not good for other riders who look up to these guys (they are, to varying degrees, household names if you follow pro cycling in the US), and certainly not good for the sponsors paying their bills.

Nate Llerandi
Lafayette, CO