Rose Bowl Ride: The End?

[S54MCoupe]

It looks like the city of Pasadena, in all of its infinite wisdom, has passed an an ordinance to ban cyclists from riding in a peloton (according to them, any group of riders going more than 3 abreast.

Now, I agree that something needs to be done about certain riders who lack the skill, competence and common sense needed to ride in a peloton. I've seen plenty of idiots on bikes cross the double yellow to try and move up in the peloton and even more idiots make the ride miserable because they dont understand the first thing about riding a straight line. They are a danger to everyone...

...but what about the runners/joggers/walkers at the Rose Bowl who obviously suffer from severe reading comprehension problems and cannot see the numerous arrows painted on the ground directing them to walk COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. This would force them to make visual contact with motor-vehicles/cyclists and would make things much safer than them having their backs to us. Maybe we crack down on that?

And what about the fatass, lazy and ignrorant motorists who, for some reason, feel the need to speed around the street at the Rose Bowl as if it werethe 24 Hours of LeMans? Shouldn't the city do its part to crack down on them, as well?

And how about the painted area that was supposed to be designated as a buffer zone? Is there any reason Runners/Joggers/Walkers are given free reign over that? I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to get off my bike and fight some jerkoff who yells at ME for almost hitting them, when THEY are the ones breaking the law and walking in an area designated as a safe zone.

I'll be the first to admit the Rose Bowl ride can be a problem, but I really think the City Of Pasadena has it's head lodged firmly up it's ass to think that shutting down a ride that has gone on for 60 years is the solution.

I hate seeing "The Man" get involved, especialy when "The Man" is some paper-pushing idiot who would probably suffer from cardiac arrest if he tried to set foot on a bike.

That's the end of my rant. Thanks for listening.

[Hollywood]

its cool to rant here, but a more organized well-presented petition of sorts to the city, without the words "idiots", "jerkoffs" and "fatass" included might help the cause. Not much is gonna happen by typing into this forum.

I'd be surprised if the bigger cycling clubs aren't already drawing something up.

good luck, show me where to sign.

Originally Posted by S54MCoupe

I've seen plenty of idiots on bikes cross the double yellow to try and move up in the peloton and even more idiots make the ride miserable because they dont understand the first thing about riding a straight line.

And what about the fatass, lazy and ignrorant motorists who, for some reason, feel the need to speed around the street at the Rose Bowl as if it werethe 24 Hours of LeMans? I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to get off my bike and fight some jerkoff who yells at ME for almost hitting them, when THEY are the ones breaking the law and walking in an area designated as a safe zone.

I'll be the first to admit the Rose Bowl ride can be a problem, but I really think the City Of Pasadena has it's head lodged firmly up it's ass to think that shutting down a ride that has gone on for 60 years is the solution.

I hate seeing "The Man" get involved, especialy when "The Man" is some paper-pushing idiot who would probably suffer from cardiac arrest if he tried to set foot on a bike.

[S54MCoupe]

Originally Posted by Hollywood

its cool to rant here, but a more organized well-presented petition of sorts to the city, without the words "idiots", "jerkoffs" and "fatass" included might help the cause. Not much is gonna happen by typing into this forum.

I'd be surprised if the bigger cycling clubs aren't already drawing something up.

good luck, show me where to sign.

I agree 100%. All of that is currently in the works. I just needed to vent my frustrations.

To me, this isn't about the Rose Bowl Ride at all. I will sort of miss the ride, because it is pretty unique, but it's the bigger picture. Whats next? Not riding two abreast? Not riding between certain hours and on certain streets? I'm not trying to make a big deal out of nothing or be some conspiracry theororist, but moves like this are moves in a negative direction for cycling in general.

I was talking to some friends over dinner tonight, and the entire cycling community is in the process of making some important moves to start moving this in a positive direction, as much as possible. It will be a good opportunity to show that the cycling community in Pasadena is not only huge, but has some very respected members of the community with a certain bit of pull and leverage in certain areas. It's a good chance for us as cyclists to set an example for other cyclists in other cities to follow. All of us agree that there need to be changes to make what happens on the road safer, but they need to attack the root of the problem, not just lay all of the blame on cyclists and punish them the most.

Lets hope for the best.

[JoeTruth]

[SIZE=3]Well, being a Pasadena native, I've seen my share of mishaps during these "peloton" rides. I personally don't think it's the place to do it, especially considering the time when it's done. It's usually taking place in the late afternoon/early evening where every man, woman, children and their pets are walking the Rose Bowl. I've personally witnessed a few mishaps and many close calls. This is a recreational area and bicycles are welcome but the pelaton gets going and sometimes the riders within lose sight of the surroundings and the people who might get hurt, not to mention themselves. Too bad they can't do this at a more remote location where they're not putting so many people in harms way.
If you've ever been a pedestrian (especially kids) as the pelaton roars by, it's a bit intimidating and frightens many. The City has a legitimate concern and I’m sure they’ve had their share of complaints filed from local residents. Something needs to be done.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Just my 2 cents worth[/SIZE]

[S54MCoupe]

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

[SIZE=3]Well, being a Pasadena native, I've seen my share of mishaps during these "peloton" rides. I personally don't think it's the place to do it, especially considering the time when it's done. It's usually taking place in the late afternoon/early evening where every man, woman, children and their pets are walking the Rose Bowl. I've personally witnessed a few mishaps and many close calls. This is a recreational area and bicycles are welcome but the pelaton gets going and sometimes the riders within lose sight of the surroundings and the people who might get hurt, not to mention themselves. Too bad they can't do this at a more remote location where they're not putting so many people in harms way.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]If you've ever been a pedestrian (especially kids) as the pelaton roars by, it's a bit intimidating and frightens many. The City has a legitimate concern and I’m sure they’ve had their share of complaints filed from local residents. Something needs to be done.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Just my 2 cents worth[/SIZE]

I understand what you're saying, and being that I also run as part of my cross training, I realize that this is a two way street (figuratively speaking)

The pedestrians need to be educated on which way to run/walk, because NOBODY there is following the law. Also, the buffer zone, which was put there by the city as a seperation between the runners/walker and the cyclists, is full of runners. This is also not right. While I agree that the ride is out of control is some aspects, so are the pedestrians.

Also, one of the complaints of the residents is the fact that it makes it difficult for their vehicles. My take on that:

1. Why are they using the Rose Bowl as a short-cut, when all of the houses are accessible via other routes?
2. The rose bowl rise is two days per week, is it really going to kill them to not drive down there between 6:00 and 7:00pm two days of the week?
3. Let the peloton pass. It's usualy going 25-30mph, anyways, which means it will only take 30 seconds out of your commute to let them by. It also means they have no room to complain about us holding them up, because we're already going the speed limit.

[bananaseat]

funny, pasadena recently got the bid for the last leg of the 2008 amgen tour. they'll soon host the largest peloton the city's ever seen.

[S54MCoupe]

Originally Posted by bananaseat

funny, pasadena recently got the bid for the last leg of the 2008 amgen tour. they'll soon host the largest peloton the city's ever seen.

Ironic. It's gonna be awesome, though.

[Pain Freak]

Originally Posted by bananaseat

funny, pasadena recently got the bid for the last leg of the 2008 amgen tour. they'll soon host the largest peloton the city's ever seen.

We could let the city know of the negative impact it would see if this was talked about out in the open, like the media. Kind of hypocritical, if you ask me.

Not being a Pasadena resident (or even close for that matter), I really can't complain to much. Seems to me when all other groups abandon the Rose Bowl, the bikes have always stayed. The ride is somewhat famous. I've been asked about it from people from all over. I managed to ride the peloton a few times, 3 to be exact. First two times was very hairy to say the least, but last time I was able to hang and in fact worked my way up to the front. What an awesome feeling to be hitting those turns at 35mph and everyone peddeling for everything they're worth. Awesome! I would hate to see this ride shut down. Pasadena has a lot of bike shops and a lot of influentul (sp) people who ride.This seems to me a cause worth fighting for. Let me know how I can help. Thanks for the heads up, Jessie

[S54MCoupe]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

We could let the city know of the negative impact it would see if this was talked about out in the open, like the media. Kind of hypocritical, if you ask me.

Not being a Pasadena resident (or even close for that matter), I really can't complain to much. Seems to me when all other groups abandon the Rose Bowl, the bikes have always stayed. The ride is somewhat famous. I've been asked about it from people from all over. I managed to ride the peloton a few times, 3 to be exact. First two times was very hairy to say the least, but last time I was able to hang and in fact worked my way up to the front. What an awesome feeling to be hitting those turns at 35mph and everyone peddeling for everything they're worth. Awesome! I would hate to see this ride shut down. Pasadena has a lot of bike shops and a lot of influentul (sp) people who ride.This seems to me a cause worth fighting for. Let me know how I can help. Thanks for the heads up, Jessie

After 60-something years, it's a shame they're going to shut it down. Plenty of famous pros have joined the ride in it's years, and it has a ton of history.

I know that the influential cyclists (be it that they're involved in major news media, have a lot of money, etc...) are mobilizing for the counter-attack. I've even heard rumors of lawyers on standby, but we'll keep that on the low..

[MTBMaven]

Due to my position with a certain city in question I can tell you that letters are being sent in support of this measure. If you are not in support of this measure I encourage you to all write letters to the Council Member (Jacque Robinson) for the area and the mayor.

I must say that after reading the arguments presented by a neighborhood association about the actions of many cyclists at the Bowl and especially the peloton they are correct. Riders at the Bowl have brought this upon themselves. I have to admit I am guilty of some of the issues as well, i.e. not yielding to pedestrian traffic, swarming around vehicles who block my way, passing cars on the left doing the speed limit.

[S54MCoupe]

Originally Posted by MTBMaven

Due to my position with a certain city in question I can tell you that letters are being sent in support of this measure. If you are not in support of this measure I encourage you to all write letters to the Council Member (Jacque Robinson) for the area and the mayor.

I must say that after reading the arguments presented by a neighborhood association about the actions of many cyclists at the Bowl and especially the peloton they are correct. Riders at the Bowl have brought this upon themselves. I have to admit I am guilty of some of the issues as well, i.e. not yielding to pedestrian traffic, swarming around vehicles who block my way, passing cars on the left doing the speed limit.

The problem is much more than the neighbors association is letting on. We shouldn't need to yield to "pedestrian traffic" at the Bowl when the pedestrians are walking in the actual street (I'm not even talking about the buffer zone, I'm talking about right in the middle of the street)

I went down there today and saw 10 different runners/walkers walking in the street, and out of the 150-200 runners/walkers there, only 6 were walking in the right direction.

All of the cyclists, aside from 5 or 6 who obviously had no idea what they were doing, were following all of the laws perfectly.

I also counted 5 cars that blew by me on the uphill... I was going 25, so they must have been going at least 40... and 3 cars that passed me when I was doing 35 on the downhill. They were all going WELL over the speed limit.

Did I mention all of the police down there who weren't doing shit about any of these infractions?

Now, the peloton is a different story, but wouldn't it make sense to ticket the 5 or 6 riders who are pulling bonehead manuvers, such as crossing the double yellow, rather than penalize the 200 who aren't breaking any laws at all?

If EVERYONE (Cyclists, pedestrians, drivers, rollerbladers, etc.) were doing the right thing, none of these problems would exist, and I can say, 100%, that there are more pedestrians and divers who are breaking the law than cyclists, we're just taking all the heat beacause we're such an easy target.

I don't even care for the Rose Bowl ride that much, I just hate to see the city come down so hard on cyclists.

Furthermore, this doesn't only affect the rosebowl ride, it affects the Montrose Ride, too (and any other ride where people ride more than two abreast.)

Lastly, this may be in confliction with CVC 21202, which grants cyclists the fair right to a full lane.

I can imagine there are a ton of people writing in supporting the measure. These are probably the same people that yell at us to "Get off the street and ride on the curb asshole!" as they drive by as. The truth is, most Americans are ignorant, intolerant idiots who will never step foot of their SUV and onto a bike, and really have no idea what the laws are and how they pertain to cyclists. Their letters of support to ban us carry no weight with me at all.

[MTBMaven]

I agree with all of your points Jessy. However when I was speaking to cyclists yielding to pedestrians I was thinking more about peds in cross walks. Around the south end of the Bowl there are cross walks that cyclists blow through when peds are trying to cross. Now granted I never stop but this is one of the problems cited.

I have frequently head that cyclists are not allowed to ride even 2 abreast. I have never read this myself in any driving regulation but have read it on forums and rules for many organized rides.

Bottom line for me is I hope there is some compromise other than a change in the code but I see little hope in that. I think there is value in keeping the event alive. It would be nice if they could provide a separate lane for us like they do for the peds.

[S54MCoupe]

Bottom line for me is I hope there is some compromise other than a change in the code but I see little hope in that. I think there is value in keeping the event alive. It would be nice if they could provide a separate lane for us like they do for the peds.

Exactly.

One proposal I have heard, that will probably never happen, is making the Rosebowl a single-lane roundabout. The other lane would be for cyclists, and the inner part would remain pedestrian-only.

Since the Rosebowl is not essential for anyones transportation, they would really have no reason to complain about it being a roundabout, and since there are multiple entrances/exits, it wouldn't really create any extra driving.

[Pain Freak]

SoCal Cycling is sending out a email asking for people to get involved but as of now everything is still just getting started from the cyclists point of view. They do ask that we send letts, which I did this morning. I'm not sure if it'll help with myself not being a resident, but I did mention the fact that a city that would like to host a leg of the Cal Tour shouldn't be so anti-bike.Here's the email:

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[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]Save the Rose Bowl Ride, Your Help Needed Monday Night August 6th
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]8/5/07 - Please come to the Pasadena City Council Monday evening at 6:30 at Pasadena City Hall ([/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]100 North Garfield Avenue, Room S249)[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]. This will be the first reading of the ordinance that states riders may not ride more than two abreast in the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl Ride Committee is working on alternatives to the ordinance, but we need your help in numbers. Please come to the meeting dressed as citizens (street clothes) and fill out a speaker card. You will be allowed to speak 3 minutes. All you need to say is that you are opposed to the pending ordinance. If you are a Pasadena resident we REALLY need your help to do the same. [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]Please do not be apathetic! Numbers will really help. Come to represent your club, yourself, your neighborhood. Send this message to all cyclists you know.[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]Read more in our forum >[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]Rose Bowl Ride Update
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]8/1/07 - O[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2]n Monday night a small group of spokespeople representing the hundreds of riders that particpate in the Rose Bowl Ride twice a week spoke to the Pasadena City Council. The Pasadena City Council is considering passing an ordinance that would only allow riders to ride two by two, which would not permit the group to ride as a pack in the future. For a detailed update of the meeting and future updates on how you can help please visit our forum. You can watch the video of the City Council Meeting. On behalf of SoCalCycling.com, I would to like to say thank you to the rider representatives that stepped up and spoke to the City Council on all the riders behalf that have ridden the ride or plan on riding it in the future.[/SIZE][/FONT]

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[MTBMaven]

Just sent the following email to my council member (District 6) and the council member for the Rose Bowl (District 1).

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] Hello. I am a resident of your district and avid cyclist, both road and mountain. I am also an active member of the cycling community and volunteer regularly to further issues important to the cycling community.

At least twice a week I ride around the Rose Bowl and in the hills in western Pasadena. I am concerned about the recent changes being considered by the City regarding cycling around the Rose Bowl. I understand there are concerns about safety when large groups of cyclists move at high speeds. However government stepping in and making/changing regulations seems a bit heavy handed.

I would prefer to see existing traffic rules enforcement of various other existing regulation rather than enacting rule which limit riders to three abreast. For instance insisting walkers travel in the correct direction, which is clearly painted on the ground around the Bowl. I would also like to see enforcement to keep the walkers within their designated area. When walkers travel in the incorrect direction and outside of the designated area they force other walks into the traffic lanes, thus forcing bikers further into traffic lanes. This is dangerous for us bikers.

The Tuesday and Thursday evening rides are an institution within the local cycling community. I have been told the ride has been occurring for somewhere close to 60 years, only being 30 I cannot vouch for this. I am not sure if this legacy has been fully appreciated. It would be ashame to end such a long standing tradition.

I encourage the City to continue to look at this issue longer. I would like to see a much wider bike only lane. Two possible scenarios for this would be 1) keep two traffic lanes, eliminate parking completely or during certain times around the outer edge of the Bowl and have a large bike only lane, or 2) make traffic around the Bowl one way and use the other lane a bike only lane. The second option could be suspended during Bowl events when addition capacity is needed.

Thank you for your time and consideration of these thoughts.

Sincerely,
Brian[/SIZE][/FONT]