Presidential Election Bicycle Race
By spokesman | October 10, 2008
I had previously posted that Barack Obama’s strategy to win the Democratic nomination was similiar to a bicycle racing strategy. The cover of the latest issue of the Weekly Standard (shown above) has a cartoon of John McCain and Sarah Palin on a bicycle. I am glad to see that my prior post has influenced others in the media to embrace the cycling analogy for this election.
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Topics: Bikes and Politics | No Comments »
Monocacy Aqueduct - C&O Canal Mile 42
By spokesman | October 8, 2008
This post discusses the Monocacy Aqueduct on the C&O Canal. Be sure to read my other posts on sights along the Canal and Great Allegheny Passage. The Monocacy Aqueduct at mile 42 on the C&O is one of the most interesting structures along the canal. It was originally built in 1833 and it was restored in 2005 after years of neglect. It had been severely damaged by a flood from Hurricane Agnes in 1972 and had been reinforced with steel brackets for nearly thirty years. Now that the restoration is complete, the steel brackets have been removed and it looks much better as can be seen in the photo below.
There are 11 aqueducts along the C&O canal. The aqueducts were bridges that carried the canal across large rivers that crossed the canal’s path. It must have been a strange site to see a canal boat being pulled by mules as it floating across an aqueduct. The aqueducts include a tow path for the mules in addition to the channel for the water. The picture below, from a sign at the Monocacy aqueduct, gives a view of how the aqueduct looked in operation.
The Monocacy Aqueduct is the largest Aqueduct on the canal and is 438 feet long. The Aqueduct was used by Union troops during the Civil War and had been a target of the Confederate Army, but had avoided destruction twice. Once it was saved by a Canal employee who convinced the Confederates it would be easier to drain the canal rather than destroy the Aqueduct if their intent was to stop traffic on the Canal. The second time, prior to the battle at Antietam, the Confederate soldiers did not have enough explosives or time to complete the mission. More details on the Aqueduct including its Civil War history can be found at this Smithsonian website and at the National Park Service website.
The Aqueduct is located at Mile 42 on the Canal. The mile measurements begin at Mile 0 in Georgetown, Washington D.C. The Aqueduct can be visited on day trip from the Washington area. To make it a shorter trip than biking all the way from Georgetown, starting from Great Falls (mile 14), Riley’s Lock(mile 23) or Whites Ferry(mile 35.5) are good options. All of those locations are easily accessible by car. Additionally another options for a day trip would be to drive to the Monocacy Aqueduct and then bicycle the round trip to and from Harpers Ferry (mile 60). Of course, you don’t have to bike, driving to the Aqueduct and hiking in the area is always an option.
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Topics: C&O Canal/GAP | No Comments »
Win A Bike Tour in Italy or France
By spokesman | October 6, 2008
While the contest for the $25 Performance gift card is still going on, (see my previous post), I came across another contest that I wanted to share with the readers of the BicycleSpokesman blog. The Lance Armstrong Foundation does great work for people fighting cancer and their families. The signature funding raising event of the organization is the LiveStrong Challenge - one day events where walkers, runners and cyclists raise money through pledges. Since the organization is focused on cancer, many people affected by cancer choose to walk, run or bike. Some of the participates put in a significant effort to raise money. Brad Stratton, inspired by his Mom’s ongoing fight with cancer, is participating in the LiveStrong Challenge this year with the goal of raising $20,000. To help raise the money, Brad convinced Ciclismo Classico to donate a tour that will be raffled off to one of the people who donate. Ciclismo Classico is one of the top tier bicycle tour companies and offers high end fully supported tours in Italy, France and other destinations around the world.
This is a great opportunity to help a good cause and maybe win a bike tour. The information is on Brad’s Livestrong web page. You have to hurry because the contest ends on October 8. The minimum donation is only $5 but if you give more, you will have more chances to win. I found out about this contest through the FatCyclist blog. Fatty, the author of the blog, is a fellow cyclist, who is supporting the fund raising because his wife Susan is fighting cancer.
My mother is a cancer survivor and my father died of heart disease, so I regularly support fund raising events to fight these diseases. Please donate generously to a very good cause.
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Topics: Flotsam | No Comments »
Win a $25 Performance Gift Card
By spokesman | October 3, 2008
BicycleSpokesman.com is having a contest for a $25 Performance Gift Card. Performance is one of the largest bicycle retailers in the country with stores in 15 States and an on-line store featuring thousands of products. To enter the contest, sign up for the Bicyclespokesman RSS feed or subscribe by e-mail. Then send an e-mail to contest@bicyclespokesman.com. If you are already a subscriber, just send an e-mail to the contest address. The deadline to enter the contest is Oct 15.
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Topics: Flotsam | No Comments »
Wall Street Bailout Bill and Bicycling
By spokesman | October 2, 2008
Earlier this week, the Senate passed the Wall Street Bailout Bill. The bill had grown from the original 3 page plan developed by the Bush administration to the 1o6 page bill voted down by the House Of Representatives to the 451 page version that the Senate passed last night.
How did it grow so large? Primarily through the addition of provisions to ensure better oversight and get more votes. One provision that was added was a “Transportation Fringe Benefit For Bicycle Commuters.” I am not kidding - the actual text from the bill is below. Many people are upset over the bill. The average taxpayer is not happy about bailing out Wall Street investment bankers. I hope that the new provisions in the bill for bicycle commuters don’t result in a backlash where the general public begins to resent cyclists as much as they resent Wall Street.
The following paragraphs in italics are the bicycle commuting paragraphs from the Bailout Bill. It is a bit confusing to follow because it is primarily a set of amendments to another bill. However it essentially provides employers with $20 a month tax relief per bicycle commuting employee to cover employer reimbursement for expenses incurred by the employee “for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.” Maybe this was added to the bill to help out Lehman Brothers brokers who lost their limos.
SEC. 211. TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE COMMUTERS.(a) In General- Paragraph (1) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following: `(D) Any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.(b) Limitation on Exclusion- Paragraph (2) of section 132(f) is amended by striking `and’ at the end of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting `, and’, and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: `(C) the applicable annual limitation in the case of any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.’.(c) Definitions- Paragraph (5) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following:`(F) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT-`(i) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT- The term `qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement’ means, with respect to any calendar year, any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.`(ii) APPLICABLE ANNUAL LIMITATION- The term `applicable annual limitation’ means, with respect to any employee for any calendar year, the product of $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during such year.`(iii) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING MONTH- The term `qualified bicycle commuting month’ means, with respect to any employee, any month during which such employee–
`(I) regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment, and
`(II) does not receive any benefit described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).’.
(d) Constructive Receipt of Benefit- Paragraph (4) of section 132(f) is amended by inserting `(other than a qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement)’ after `qualified transportation fringe’.
(e) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.
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Topics: Bikes and Politics, Bike Commuting | No Comments »