From Phil Baldyga, in response to the news that Norman Y. Mineta, a Democrat and one of the original authors of the ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) legislation of 1991, to President-elect Bush's (that has such an awful ring to it) cabinet:  Sorry, but "breathe easier" is a relative phrase.  While trying to both remain positive (and keep politics off the list serve), let's not forget who Mineta's boss will be.  Do you do things that your boss does not want you to do?  If you do, how long would you expect to be able to do it and remain employed by her or him?  And even in the best-case scenario, we now face the prospect of an administration that includes an energy secretary, a Secretary of Interior, and others who, IMHO, are no friend to progressive clean air policies and non-polluting forms of transportation.  Don't kid yourselves.  The new players are big friends of big business.  The last time I checked, bicycle manufacturers are not in that particular circle of power.  Just my .02.

From Tom Armstrong:  There has always been discourse about which is better as  regards recumbents and "wedgie" bikes (and you know what side I favor...).  Insert your own definition of better, but some use speed, some use comfort, some use reliability, just to name a few criteria.  To focus on speed, look at the hour record.  This is claimed by the UCI (sanctioning body for most bicycle racing, including the Tour de France) to be the hallmark of fast cycling.  Their hour record stands at 56.375 km, as set by Chris Boardman in 1996.  The current human powered (unassisted by draft vehicles) record is held by Sam Wittingham and George Georgiev, at 79.136 km.  Two things of note here:  1) They did this OUTSIDE, as compared with the UCI record, which was set on an indoor track.  The bike used to get so close to 80 km in one hour was a, you guessed it, recumbent!  Yes, the bike is fully faired, but I doubt that a conventional bicycle, even fully faired, could do as well.  2) The folks who ride these record-setting machines are rarely top-level racing cyclists.  People who would otherwise compete against the likes of Lance Armstrong (no relation, sad to say) in the Tour de France don't want to train for setting records on recumbents, lest they lose strength on their conventional rides.  As a result, the people who set the land speed records for human-powered vehicles are typically amateur racers, hobbyists, and the like (albeit better fit than I...).  The thought of the potential result should a top-cadre cyclist put out a full effort astounds.  This is not to say that Lars Teutenberg  or Sam Wittingham are not top-level riders in their own right.  It stands that at some point, the differences between extreme upper levels of any sport are increasingly subtle to those of us who ride mostly for pleasure, commuting, general fitness, or some combination of same.  These are people who ride to be the fastest they can be, because their genetic gifts of ability and mental focus are suited for such a task.

Also from Tom Armstrong:  Was anyone else as astonished as I was by the letter in RCN #61 titled, "Crash?"  The writer, a Mr. Goodhue, was angered that a truck had flattened his bike and that he had no legal recourse against the driver or the company that owned the truck.  There is more to the story, of course.  Mr. Goodhue watched as this truck "(took) up every inch of space that I would have occupied had I moved forward as the light changed," then proceeded to move up beside the truck as it made another right turn.  He was surprised that the rear wheels of the truck hit him from behind.  What was so astonishing to me was that after seeing what trucks do when making right turns, he put himself in one of the most dangerous spots imaginable (along the truck's path through the turn) and STOPPED there,  then had the nerve to accuse the driver for his misfortune.  My letter to RCN was much more positive than my rant here, and has been published in  the March/April 2001 issue.  I even garnered a note from the editor of that publication, suggesting that folks read John Forrester's Effective Cycling.  While Forrester strongly dislikes recumbents, judging from  writings I've seen, he presents some good information about cycling safely in traffic.