Tuesday 12 May 2009

On the point of the Tour de l'Île revisited

Margo was kind enough to point out this article by Sheldon Brown in a past issue of Momentum that related to my previous post. ("As she is in Khazakstan right now, she had to wave very frantically to get my attention. Wok-a, wok-a, wok-a!" ;-) Thank you Margo.) I had read the article in question at the time as that issue of Momentum was the first issue I had read. (It that issue also features an article featuring some familiar persons.) The article by Sheldon Brown voiced an opinion against charity "bike-a-thons" that likely inspired the position I voiced in my last post.

However, re-reading the article, I was intrigued to note an interesting difference in our approaches to the issue. Sheldon's take might be described as anti-"bike-a-thons" as they can be a negative experience for nascent cyclists. My approach was to say that the point of the Tour de l'Île is to encourage bicycling and the fund-raising would detract from that basic message. Sheldon and I are largely in agreement, but our arguments cover different, but complementary areas. As well, I was dealing with a specific case, whereas he was presenting a general refutation of "bike-a-thons".

In other Tour de l'Île news:
My kits for both the Tour de l'Île and the Défi Métropolitain arrived yesterday. In addition, as I was riding down the Glen this afternoon, I noticed that some of the more egregious potholes had been filled in. I couldn't help but wonder if this was related to the fact that the Tour is supposed to go that way this year. All is still not perfectly smooth, so if you are going in the Tour, keep a sharp eye out as you go under the wonderful old stone Canadian Pacific train bridge.

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