Alameda Runners – Get After It!

Readers of Alameda Runners,

I know we have a core group of Alameda and SF East Bay readers, but we’ve grown to include casual athletes from across the world. I normally try to keep the mood lighthearted and uplifting around here — but there are times when a serious matter must be addressed.

This story focuses on an incident that occurred in Alameda, but is a scary reminder that parents have a responsibility to teach and look over their children. A recent news story has been floating around in Alameda regarding a motor accident, when a car struck a small child recklessly trying to cross the street.

Drivers must be vigilant, aware, and cautious while driving, and pedestrians have to be careful to pay attention to cars.

“It appears at this time that the child stepped out in front of the car,” said Lt. Sean Lynch, Alameda Police, in a statement to Alameda Patch. “The child exited the car and ran out between his dad’s car and the car he parked next to, across both lanes of traffic. The driver who struck the boy was going south-bound on Eighth Street.”

Most streets in Alameda have a 25 m.p.h speed limit, but anyone driving 25 mph likely realizes how many drivers are quick to tailgate and drive aggressively. The Island is great for running and cycling — but vigilance is absolutely important when it comes to matters like this.

As Jon mentioned in comments section, the parent should have ideally either walked his child across the street, or dropped the child off directly in front of Washington Park.

Listen, there are specific rules to the road when you’re in a car, riding a bike, or simply walking down the street. It’s up to the adults to make sure their children are being safe as possible — and for drivers to drive safely and pay attention on the street.

(Image courtesy of Alameda Patch member, Anna Tzanova)

Editors note:  We are all responsible for our own safety.  It does not matter who has the right of way, if you get hit by a car, you will lose.

If you’re a frequent visitor to our blog, it’s probably obvious that we enjoy hitting the trails and getting our feet muddy. Trail running offers a refreshing challenge with breathtaking views — and the satisfaction that only a portion of current runners dare strive for away from the pavement.

There are plenty of tips and tricks you will learn after getting out there and doing it a couple of times. However, we wanted to help give you some background knowledge and additional reading material, I have a couple of useful links you may want to read over at your leisure.

First, I wrote up a short guide on TrailsEdge about trail running for newbie trail runners.

As you’d probably expect, Runner’s World has an amazing online microsite aimed at trail running.

Whether or not you enjoy using Active to register for events, the Active news and training portion of the site is great. I’d recommend visiting the Active “Sport Spotlight: Trail Running” section of the website, as there are some great resources available.

Men’s Health tends to focus more on weightlifting and core exercises — but can easily deliver when it come to high quality running material. Here are a few tips published by Men’s Health that will help you survive your first trail running experiences.

Trail Run Crazy also includes information about basic trail etiquette and information about surviving a possible mountain lion encounter. The information is available here.

Daily deal aggregators are popular among today’s casual Internet users — and athletes are now able to find their own daily deals of the day. Popular service Active.com, which most of us have registered with, has its own ‘Schwaggle’ service that helps keep people active.

Deals range from discounted open water swimming and other event registration discounts to food and products. I’ve seen some rather neat deals posted by Active, though haven’t actually made a purchase just yet. It may be worth a look if you need new summer training gear to play with this summer!

If you’ve ever bought something from Active Schwaggle, you’re more than welcome to discuss what you thought about your experience.

A new report from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission indicates the City of Alameda has roads that need to be repaired after scoring a “fair” rating in 2010.

Our island was given a fair rating when it scored 66 out of 100 — the same rating given to the overall Bay Area — on the 2010 pavement condition index (PCI) charts, which indicated we have roads in need of repair.

The city normally does a decent job of fixing major road issues in Alameda, but there are plenty of roads and bike lanes that can provide a rather bumpy ride for us. At a time when local, regional, state, and national governments face budget issues and political scandals, some roads aren’t going to be changed any time soon.

As someone that has ridden a decent amount around the Bay Area, I still find Alameda’s roads suitable for leisurely rides — and hard training rides around the island. Instead of worrying about roads, I tend to be more concerned about the large number of reckless drivers not paying attention to pedestrians and cyclists.

Editors note:  Some roads are worse than others and some of the jogging trails are in rough shape.  I have no complaints because we have all of the trails with flowers and plants along the way.

Mike’s Followup:  Agreed about some of the jogging trails being in rough shape.  You should always pay attention when running or riding, but the trails help enforce this mentality.

Sports Basement plans to spread its growing sports empire further by opening a new store in Berkeley, possibly opening up in the former Iceland ice rink.

Sports Basement currently has three locations in the SF Bay Area: Presidio, San Francisco, and Walnut Creek. Another East Bay addition would prove Sports Basement to be a legitimate force against Bay Area sports stores competing to control a very select, niche industry.

“We were unable to find a space we were completely comfortable with until we visited the Iceland location,” said Tom Phillips, Sports Basement founding partner, in an interview with the Oakland Tribune. “We love the building, its history and its location. We hope to be a valued community partner to Berkeley and the immediate neighborhood.”

Well, Sports Basement will become an immediate draw to the area, though I’m unsure how happy Performance and Mike’s Bikes will be to hear this news. I was a frequent visitor of Performance in Berkeley, and think Mike’s Bikes is just a neat store, so I’m curious to see if either will somehow respond.

Since I’m absolutely addicted to Twitter (@Alamedarunners), it would only make sense I share some Tour de France 2011 Twitter love. July is my favorite month of the year — mainly due to le Tour — and I look forward to what shoulder great battle between Alberto Contador and the Schleck brothers.

Cyclingnews recently published its “Tweeters on Tour: who to follow in July” story, which features 10 TdF riders you can follow this July.

The top three in the list include sprinter Mark Cavendish, “Spartacus” Fabian Cancellara, and contender Andy Schleck.

In addition to VeloNews and Cyclingnews, which are two of the largest sites, there are several other great Twitter resources. I highly recommend following PodiumCafe and BikeRadar if you don’t already follow the Twitter and/or visit their websites.

Enjoy!

Triathlon news source Xtri recently caught up with Craig Alexander, one of the most recognized names in US triathlon, who is recovering from injury.  Until he’s recovered and compete at the top-level of Ironman racing, Alexander took some time to chat with Xtri.  (The interview is available here.)

Alexander even showed some love for one of our favorite products, Athletes HoneyMilk:

It’s healthy, thats a great start, and it tastes AWESOME. I used to drink a mountain of chocolate milk anyway, so this now gives me a legitimate excuse. AHM is a great, progressive company that is pumped about triathlon, and I am honoured that they chose me to support. Plus Lucy now drinks so much of the new Strawberry banana that there is none left for me!

Similar to other pro athletes, it can sometimes be difficult to remember that they are just regular people. I enjoy reading and watching interviews with elite athletes, and it’s great to see how are things are going both professionally and personally.

In the spirit of Ted’s half Ironman next month, we’re going to include additional information about cycling and triathlons this summer.

Even if local drivers speed and tend to sometimes be reckless, I still consider Alameda one of the best areas to ride a bike in the East Bay. Miles of bike lanes and well-maintained roads can be found across the island, including waterfront trails and pathways that are properly cared for.

It takes significant effort to ensure our roads are looked after, so it’s possible you may have had a recommendation, complaint, or other issue.

Wonder who is looking out for us?

If you’re looking for a local bike advocacy group, look no further than the BikeAlameda group. A group based right here in Alameda, BikeAlameda is focused on advocacy while Team Alameda helps get people active.

The East Bay Bicycle Coalition looks “to promote bicycling as an everyday means of transportation and recreations,” is a great area group that helps riders across the SF East Bay. The group’s blog can be found here.

Of note, the family cycling workshop will take place next Sunday from Otis Elementary School, with a focus on safe riding practices. The seminar is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. and will run until 12:30 p.m., and exact details can be found on the EBBC website.

I’ve worked with BikeAlameda and EBBC in the past, and highly recommend looking into each bike advocacy groups.  Unfortunately, there are no official Alameda running clubs — but a small gathering of East Bay runners can be found on Twitter.

What a small world we live in!

Lance Armstrong and Tyler Hamilton are former USPS cycling teammates, and clearly won’t be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon.  Not too long ago, Hamilton accused Armstrong of doping and lying about it during a ’60 Minutes’ interview.

Ouch.  I guess being so-called friends is out of the question…

Both guys ran into each other at a local restaurant in Colorado, which Armstrong frequents a few times per week when he’s in town.  It turns out that Outside Magazine and Hamilton were unaware Armstrong would be there, and Armstrong confronted Hamilton by the bar.

Here is what Hamilton said regarding the unexpected meeting in Colorado:

“He wanted to get into it. I was like, ‘Let’s step outside and talk away from the crowd, but he wouldn’t.”

Lance has a much more subdued version of the night’s events: I said, ‘Hey, what’s up? It was certainly awkward for both of us. It was truly uneventful.”

So, Lance and Tyler had an awkward exchange — and Tyler is no longer welcome at the Cache Cache restaurant — I still think Lance should have just walked away. The FBI is now involved and wants to view surveillance tapes from the night in question, because Lance probably should have just tried to avoid any contact at all.

Event and athlete sponsorship continues to be absolutely vital in the endurance sports community with dedicated fans.  Sponsors have a variety of different purposes, and often are called upon to fund and supply local races and events.

To help highlight the great effort (and expense) that goes into sports sponsorship, Alameda Runners wants to help you become more familiar with companies that are involved.

We recently chatted with Selle Italia (part one and part two) about the company’s bike saddles, the importance of a good saddle, and how the company contributes to the active community. Selle Italia also is greatly involved in sponsoring bike events and pro athletes, offering a quick glimpse into how it contributes:

“Selle Italia sponsors 11 UCI professional teams, a world champion mountain bike rider, the USAT and a huge number of pro individuals and teams around the world. What is more important to me is the huge number of professional athletes that choose to ride S.I. saddles without sponsorship.”

Selle Italia and most major sports companies choose to help sponsor events and athletes — and these partnerships help the sports community prosper.  Companies that push the boundaries and have success with sponsoring events can help build athlete loyalty (very important!) in a tough market.

If there is a company you’d like to see listed, please feel free to e-mail, Tweet, or comment here and recommend a company.