IndyStar article about INDYCOG regular, Steve "Tool" Allen

Daniel Lee just dropped a story over at the IndyStar about our good pal, Tool. It's an interesting profile about his cycling and commuting habits.

Steve Allen opens his garage door at his Northside Indianapolis house just before sunrise and prepares for one of those rituals of parenthood: taking his 6-year-old daughter, Emma, to school.

Only this is a morning commute with a two-wheeled twist.

Allen uses a bicycle -- actually one of his five bicycles -- for almost all of his daily transportation needs. He rides year-round in rain or snow, hot or cold.

Emma, dressed in her plaid-skirt school uniform, straps on her helmet and hops into the back of a yellow bike trailer. Allen, donning his own helmet, covers her with a blanket to guard from the morning chill and then mounts his Bianchi bicycle.

Allen, his bike and trailer shine and blink with a half-dozen lights and blinkers. "It looks like a Mardi Gras float," he quipped.

Full story here.

Check it out, and while you're there, help out the comments section. It can get rough over there on bicycles.

P.S. Thanks to Daniel for the INDYCOG mention!

Turning to the pedal helps her find the mettle to deal with cancer

Heartwarming* story in IndyStar about a cyclist's fight with cancer. I've been a follower of the Fat Cyclist blog for awhile, so it's cool to read this in a similar vein with a more local touch.

Since the first time I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was looking for people who understood how important exercise is to women with breast cancer. There's a moment when you're sitting on the exam table and doctors are changing your life forever that you think about who you really are. At that point, I realized I am an athlete and I wasn't ready for cancer to take that away.

I've been involved in bike racing for 28 years. During my treatments, I continued to ride. Two days after my second chemotherapy infusion in 2004, I won the state championship in the masters women's group on the Major Taylor Velodrome. Eighteen days after my final infusion, I won a national championship in Wisconsin.

I think biking helped speed my recovery because it helped me regain my strength. But on my four-year anniversary check-up in 2008, it was discovered the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes.

Full story here.

*Yes. I said "heartwarming." Shut up. I'll punch you. Hard.

"Bikes lose ground" from Indy Star

From the Indy Star:

Indiana's effort to become bicycle friendly is moving in the slow lane when compared with other states, according to a national advocacy group.

The League of American Bicyclists ranked Indiana 29th -- a drop of five notches -- for "bicycle friendliness," using factors such as bike space on state-managed roadways and a lack of cell phone restrictions for car drivers.

The fall in the rankings surprised some who acknowledge that the state should make improvements but who also point out that progress has been made.

The Washington, D.C.-based league released its 2009 rankings last week. Indiana was No. 24 in 2008. Washington and Wisconsin placed first and second both years. Alabama was at the bottom this year, bumping West Virginia, which moved up eight spots. In states neighboring Indiana, only Ohio fared worse, ranking 39th; Illinois was best at 12th, but still four places lower than the previous year.

Jeff Peel, program specialist for the league, said it's not that Indiana has done anything to hurt its position.

"It's more that other states are outpacing Indiana," he said.

Full story here.

Definitely read the whole thing--it makes some valid points, and it's not all bad news to have drop 5 places. I keep thinking of how much has happened in Indiana in the past couple of years, and if we're still dropping in the rankings despite what efforts have been made, then that means there is some huge, national level movement for bikes, which is fantastic.

What is truly amazing in scope and logic (or lack thereof) is the comments section for that article. It's chock full of people who think they understand economics and the Constitution, and I would almost be moved to annoyance or even anger if the points made weren't so laughable. Political discussion these days has become so polemic that anymore, I can't help but to chuckle when I read such politically charged comments sections.