81 replies to this topic

[larry]

I grew up in and around the New Melle area in St Charles Co. My parents owned a home in the small town of Schlusburg. I now live in Lake St Louis and still do my training rides out to the Schlusburg climb and over to the Augusta area and back home.My wife and I have been involved in Triathlon and cycling at every level for many years
   I love the beautiful historic area the Daniel Boone Home and old family home steads and great roads and climbs. While training out there today I was appauled to see someone had taken a can of Yellow spray paint and painted in large letters the road in front of historic Schlusburg church and at other points up to and including the Schlusburg climb with those catchy biking phrases. You know like Hammer, Go Home Aussies and somethng for Ashely and about Tim's weight.
  I want to ask if you lived in an beautiful historic area and a bunch of pickup trucks pulled up and folks jumped out and started painting your side walks and streets with catchy phases like plow farm boy plow or Run John Deere Run then left. Then a short time later a peloton of slow moving tractors came through holding up traffic and disrupting your daily drive and leaving empty candy wrappers behind. How would you honestly feel about farmers, tractors and anything associated with them?
  I'm very proud of our home and area we are blessed enough to live in and if someone came by and painted big yellows letters on the street in front of my home I'd be super upset. I'd be upset everytime I pulled in and out of my drive way.
Please remember that an poor encounter with a cyclist fades from memory but when you spray paint streets and roads it's a constant reminder until the paint fades months and years later of cycling and it's lack of concern for others property.
Rule of thumb one angery driver and car can do way more damage to 50 cyclist, Then 50 cyclist can do to one angry driver and car. We have a right to be on the roads but that in no way makes the playing field level.
Please help the Image and sport of cycling by taking a minute and thinking would I want someone to do this to me and in front of my home.

Edited by larry, 18 March 2012 - 04:18 PM.

[Sean Ross]

Larry, my guess would be that this was done in anticipation of this weekend's College races in the area.  Its common to "decorate" the roadway, especially the climbs, in races.  I remember the climb up Schulersburg from Augusta during the Tour of Missouri was covered with stuff. And then crowded with hundreds if not thousands of fans cheering on the racers as they struggled up the hill.

I would say this is a one time occurrence done just for this race, and not something that people do all the time.  Not saying that its right, just a common practice when road races are involved.

[larry]

Sean,
Your right this was most likly done for the race I'm sure but the race has come and gone the memory will last until the paint fades away.
My wife and or I have done Ironman Lake Placid, Wisconsin, Florida and Louisville the promoters asked friends and family to please,please not paint the roads and streets, That was one of the biggest compliants from the locals when the Ironman machine hit town. I believe next to peeing out in the open during the race and trash left behind on the coarse out side of the aid station drop area. They reminded us that we are guest in these towns.  
Thier suggesstion was instead of buying paint and putting a bigger hole in the ozone was to get some good old enviormentaly freindly chalk and decorate the roads all you want, They have signs you could make and place along the road side and then they would remove them after the race. Then after the show leaves town and the first rain comes everything is back to normal. The climb up White face mountain into Lake Placid was a decorated with signs and street art all the way up. Still didn't make it any easier.
Just a few suggestion to help make cycling look better in the eyes of those who are not big cycling fans are who might have been o.k. with cycling and now have bad taste because of these actions.

Edited by larry, 18 March 2012 - 02:59 PM.

[Diogenes]

What - you mean the student-athletes did not clean up their clever graffiti?
Land Sakes, what are young people coming to?  Maybe call Lindenwood and send its student-athlete-cyclists out to remove the mess.
Sure...

[FattyM]

[Diogenes]

GREAT Eastwood pix and clever post, albeit a bit snarky toward the OP, who does have a quite valid point.

Also v. good flick!

[tarmac72]

Diogenes, on 18 March 2012 - 11:54 PM, said:

GREAT Eastwood pix and clever post, albeit a bit snarky toward the OP, who does have a quite valid point.

Also v. good flick!

not really.
next on the complaint list will be clapping and hollering too loud disrupting some rare wildlife within a 20mile radius.
*golf clap* for the Eastwood post

[FattyM]

Diogenes, on 18 March 2012 - 11:54 PM, said:

GREAT Eastwood pix and clever post, albeit a bit snarky toward the OP, who does have a quite valid point.

Also v. good flick!

Guilty.  I couldn't resist.

HOWEVER, yeah, they totally should have used chalk.  Using paint was just inconsiderate.

[Mark EWERS]

Do we know for sure it's paint?
Could be they used spray chalk

[Beeg]

Its hard to dismiss the OP when this the exact sort of stuff that was pointed to when the attempt was made to ban cyclists from these roads.  This really does piss off the locals and make them more hostile towards those of us that ride out there.  Maybe chalk next year is a good compromise?

I wouldn't like it if someone spray painted in front of my house either.

[tarmac72]

was it soy based paint
c'mon this is huge

[Beeg]

End productive conversation.  Let the trolling begin!

[Mark EWERS]

Beeg, on 19 March 2012 - 07:55 AM, said:

Its hard to dismiss the OP when this the exact sort of stuff that was pointed to when the attempt was made to ban cyclists from these roads.  This really does piss off the locals and make them more hostile towards those of us that ride out there.  Maybe chalk next year is a good compromise?

I wouldn't like it if someone spray painted in front of my house either.

The level of tolerance in some places is so low chalk may not even be a good compromise, at least not the first time it happens. If it rains and it all goes away (did it, with this weekend's rain?) I imagine the locals might decide it isn't such a terrible thing.

[Rodgers]

agree - chalk is best, hopefully the rain cleared it off, if not that sucks....

[Birkenfeld1]

I saw the paint on saturday, my 1st guess was it is chalk which it should be. Why would students or people of "higher education" even consider paint. Is something wrong with the educational system. I love the area on and off the road. While riding back on saturday in torrential rain, the ditches next to the roads appeared like mean mad little creeks, carrying lots of trash, beercans/winebootles etc.  How come that the people who live in this beautiful area litter their own backyard?
I think we need a lot of education to appreciate, respect and take care of what we have. The little paint on the raod is just a little "wrong doing". Young males and females who live in this beautiful section (where there is no paint on the road) willing to run a peaceful cyclist over with their stinking PUT or maybe shooting someone of the bike is sickning, so whats wrong with the people, painters, drivers, gunners?
Keep on riding, enjoy mother nature, respect yourself , others and the air we breath, Peace.

Mit freundlichen Gruessen
St. Bernardus
P.S. Instead of painting the road, how about staying along the road, cheering on your favorite rider and enjoying a relaxing , calming brew!