Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 8, 1994 TAG: 9405080031
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
If you're planning to ride the Roanoke stretch of the Tour DuPont, don't get on the road without these things.
You'll need them.
Amateur cyclists won't have the luxury of riding the route while it's closed to traffic, and Roanoke motorists are not always willing to share their roads with vehicles of the two-wheeled variety.
They should be, though. It's the law.
"Treat a bicycle or motorcycle as a car, because they've got a right to be on the road," Roanoke Police Sgt. Alfred Brown said.
I wish he had been riding with me Thursday as I cycled my way along the 22.9-mile time-trial route the Tour DuPonters will ride Monday.
I wish he had been parked in his cruiser as I pulled into the left turn lane on Brandon "You are required by law to give them the same courtesy as you would a car," Roanoke Police Sgt. Alfred Brown said of motorists approaching cyclists. Avenue, waiting for the light to change so I could follow the course up Main Street. I wish he had seen the woman in the blue Chevy Celebrity who swung up behind me and crowded into my lane, ignoring my safety and hers, not to mention the law.
Bicycles are to be in the middle of the lane when making a left turn with traffic. And cars are supposed to give them the room to do it.
"You are required by law to give them the same courtesy as you would a car," Brown said.
In other words, don't push them off the road. They belong there.
Not to single out the woman in the blue Chevy. As I made the turn onto Main Street I was honked at, sped past and treated by motorists like an obstacle to be dodged.
One man went out of his way to express his displeasure at seeing me on the road. As I pedaled down Brambleton Avenue, he slowed in the oncoming lane, glared in my direction and beeped.
"Never blow your horn" at cyclists without good reason, Brown said. It startles them, and that creates a safety hazard.
Dick Kelley, who often cycles from his home in Blue Ridge to his job at the Roanoke school administration building, said he tries to be helpful to motorists by signaling when it's safe to pass and when it isn't, particularly on blind curves.
"Some go around anyway," he said.
Motorists are more tolerant in the morning than they are in the evening, he said.
"Maybe people are more in a hurry to get home."
Kelley says Roanoke motorists are no less tolerant than motorists in other cities in America.
Tolerance is not a problem in Europe, where cycling is a popular mode of transportation and recreation, according to Bill Ellenbogen, a Blacksburg cycling advocate.
Like European cities, Blacksburg, which has "an enormous bike population" because it's a university town, is more receptive to cyclists than most places, he said.
"The less bicycle-educated the populace, the less tolerant they are of bikers," he said.
In America, he said, "the car is king. And bikers are looked upon as invaders."
Perhaps Roanokers will soften toward cyclists after the city creates its first bike path, included in the Roanoke River flood reduction project. John Peters, who heads the project, said the city will build 3.5 miles of trails along the river and designate another 6.5 miles of roads as bike paths.
The project has been in the works for several years but is being held up by federally mandated environmental studies. It will likely be another several years before it becomes a reality, Peters said.
The good news for cyclists who want to ride the local leg of the Tour DuPont is that most of it is practically traffic-free, anyway.
The bad news is that those parts of the ride are all uphill.
Or should I say, upmountain?
Just two miles into the course, cyclists must make a 5.5-mile, 1,500-foot climb up Twelve O'Clock Knob Road. It's a beautiful ride (except for the trash on the side of the road) with beautiful views. And, unless you're an expert cyclist, you'll have plenty of time to check out the scenery.
Because unless you're in great shape, you'll end up walking most of this part of the course. It's the kind of climb that never ends. No matter how many times you think you just to be reaching the top, there's always one more hill to go.
But don't worry about the traffic. There isn't much. When I rode - and walked - up the mountain, I shared the road only with workers from the Virginia Department of Transportation, who were busy leveling it in time for the race.
The second stretch of the course, up Mount Chestnut, is equally beautiful and solitary. You'll even pedal past a few curious-looking llamas. This is probably the nicest part of the course, with a steep but far more forgiving climb than Twelve O'Clock Knob.
Give yourself plenty of time if you're riding the whole course. I'm an average-to-slow cyclist, and I completed the route in 3 1/2 hours. Kelley, a far more serious cyclist, finished in just less than two hours the week before.
Take your time, pack a lunch and bring your camera.
And be prepared to be jolted back to reality when you reach Bent Mountain Road and the rest of civilization.
Particularly the traffic.
by CNB