Apr 16, 2022
Welcome to Episode #332 of the 303 Endurance Podcast. You are listening to your weekly connection to coaches, experts, and pro athletes to help you reach your endurance goals. We're your hosts coach Rich Soares and 303 Chief Bill Plock. Thanks for joining us for another week of endurance interviews and discussion.
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In Today's Show
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Endurance News:
The PTO Pro Am will bring together the world’s greatest professional triathletes, big celebrity names and Challenged Athlete Foundation athletes in a celebration of life, fitness and triathlon. Mixed relay teams will race from the iconic Venice Beach to the famous streets of Downtown Los Angeles to see which team are crowned the inaugural PTO Pro Am winners!
Hosted at the Herbalife24 Triathlon Los Angeles, the PTO Pro Am will be broadcast live and for free to triathlon die-hards and new fans alike.
WHAT IS THE PTO PRO AM?
The PTO Pro Am will team the world’s greatest professional triathletes with big celebrity names and CAF athletes to race together in a mixed-relay race from Venice Beach to the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.
The first PTO Pro Am will be held as part of the Herbalife24 LA Triathlon, the city’s premier triathlon event with a history dating back to the early 2000s.
WILL I BE ABLE TO WATCH LIVE?
Yes. The PTO Pro Am will be broadcast live. Sign up to be the first to hear about how to watch live on 15 May.
Kat Matthews Rises to the SUB8 Challenge
Sydney, Australia – 13th April, 2022 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ –European champion Kat Matthews has signed on to the Pho3nix Sub8 Project, Powered by Zwift. The third-fastest British female long-distance triathlete and national time trial cycling champion is the newest contender for the audacious attempt to race the full distance of triathlon in under eight hours.
After Ironman 70.3 world champion Lucy Charles-Barclay was ruled out of Sub8 due to a hip bone fracture, Matthews was quick to rise to the occasion and take on the challenge of swimming 3.8 kilometers, cycling 180 kilometers, and running 42 kilometers faster than anyone ever before. Though the attempt will be aided by a team of pacemakers and cutting-edge technology and logistics, in the end it will still be a triumph of physiological preparedness and mental acuity for any athlete to go under the mark.
“I’m a relative newbie to the sport and the iron distance is certainly one where experience is of high benefit. Most would assume I would not be a contender and that achieving this would be impossible,” Matthews admits. “However, as soon as I heard of the attempt, I wanted to be involved. It sparked my interest intellectually as well as physically. I see my sporting endeavours as a case study for constant learning and improvement. I have yet to find a plateau in my physical improvement in any area, and this evolution keeps me right at the edge of passion and motivation for absolute excellence.”
As an Army physiotherapist, Matthews pursued a longtime interest in the human body and health helping injured soldiers get back to fighting fitness. It was in that environment she began exploring triathlon, going from grassroots sprints to winning middle distance races outright as an amateur to earn her pro card.
With a slew of wins and notable performances in the past three years including winning Ironman Florida to set the third-fastest full distance time set by a British female, topping Ironman UK, and dominating this year’s Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote, Matthews has put the world on notice.
Now only seven years after she first began doing triathlons, she puts herself on an even steeper trajectory to sporting greatness lining up to race against dual Olympic medallist Nicola Spirig. Matthews says, “Nicola’s accolades in the sport over the last 25 years puts her as a legitimate candidate as the sport’s Greatest Of All Time across both male and female athletes. To race against Nicola here is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I hope to be a worthy contender.”
Pho3nix Foundation board member and MANA Global CEO Chris McCormack says, “Kat is a world-class athlete I’ve watched with much interest over the past few years. Getting herself and her ‘tribe’ of pacemakers together in such a short time frame is no mean feat, but she came ready and prepared. Kat has had a long-term alignment with the Sub8 Project: she was in early discussions with Lucy as part of her team and has also been engaged in a heavy training block with many of the pacemakers over the past six months. This made for a perfect transition into the lead racing role. With Kat’s cerebral and disciplined approach to the sport I’m excited to see how she will tackle the puzzle that is Sub8 and the new race strategy she will bring in her pursuit to be the first to Defy the Impossible.”
Regarding Charles-Barclay’s further role, McCormack clarifies, “Lucy is still very much part of the team and having her still on board within our global commentary team and on the ground on race day brings a new lens to this groundbreaking attempt. Her journey in preparation and the insights she can offer on her fellow athletes racing will take our coverage to the next level. It’s something that no one else could possibly have delivered.”
To find out more about the Pho3nix Sub7 and Pho3nix Sub8 Project Powered by Zwift, visit the official website at: https://www.sub7sub8.com/
What's New in the 303:
Colorado’s Statewide Safety Stop is Almost Here!
By Brian Weiss, Bike Law Colorado
Finally, the much sought after common sense traffic law for bicyclists is coming to Colorado in 2022, likely July 1st. After the Governor Polis signs the law and the Safety Stop becomes effective, anyone who rides a bicycle or scooter on public roads will not have to lose momentum due to stop signs or wait as long at red lights. So what difference will the Colorado Safety Stop make? Soon riders will “legally” not have to completely stop at stop signs when there is no traffic present. Red lights that would not change for a bike rider who followed the law and as a result the rider waited and waited – will be a past memory. People who were pulled over by police and ticketed for what they may have thought was a legal activity on a bicycle, can now breathe a sigh of relief.
Jack Todd (Bicycle Colorado) Andy Kerr, Senator Kevin Priola, Piep van Heuven (Bicycle Colorado), Brian Weiss
After about seven years of trying, Colorado’s House and Senate finally passed the State-wide Safety Stop bill (HB22-1028), which is based on the Idaho Stop Law, in 2022. The bill actually had true bipartisan support this year. In fact, it passed the Colorado House 44-20 and passed the Colorado Senate 25-8. The effective date of this law taking effect will be after the Governor signs it and the required waiting period because the new law is needed for our “immediate safety.”
An explanation of the practical changes of the Colorado Safety Stop for a bike rider are as follows:
When approaching a stop sign, if it is safe to proceed only after slowing to a reasonable speed of 10 miles per hour or less, yielding the right-of-way to any traffic or pedestrian in or approaching the intersection, and after yielding, then the bike riders can continue through the intersection without stopping; and
When approaching an illuminated red traffic control signal or “red light,” the person on a bicycle must first stop completely at the intersection and yield to all other traffic and pedestrians and only when traffic clears and it is safe, may the rider proceed straight or make a right turn through the intersection or, subject to specified conditions, make a left turn onto a one-way street only.
It should be noted that the bill evolved into the current version in several steps. This law will not only apply to people who ride bicycles but is now flexible enough to cover current and future forms of transportation called “Low Speed Conveyances” which would include electric scooters, one-wheels, e-bikes, and electric skateboards. Also there were several parts added to the text of the bill. One critical revision is that the new law will only apply to bicyclists age 15 and over. However, for bicyclists, or low speed conveyance riders, under age 15 who are with a parent or legal guardian they can also keep their momentum and benefit from this new law.
This is a change from the current law which was basically an opt-in decision by the city or county to make a Safety Stop the rule of that area. As expected, when rules for bike riders changed from town to town there was confusion. When both bike riders and drivers of motor vehicles understand the laws, they are easier to follow and there is less conflict between road users.
I say that this law was a long time coming from a personal note, as I have advocated for the Idaho Stop for over 8 years for Bike Law, Team Evergreen Cycling and myself as a person who bikes all over Colorado. While I knew that some mountain towns, like Breckenridge, Aspen, and Summit County, had a successful safety stop local ordinance in place for years before the Colorado Legislature considered changing the Traffic Code to make this a statewide law, I also was aware of the Denver Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee in 2013 which shared a white paper explaining how traffic flows and bicycle commuters would benefit from a safety stop ordinance in Denver. I testified at the Senate Committee hearings for two years, but the bill did not leave the Transportation Committee. However, there was a glimmer of hope in 2018 for passing a version of the Idaho Stop Law. In 2018 there were enough votes in the Colorado Legislature to pass a watered-down model of the bill which allowed the bike-friendly cities and counties to “opt-in” to a regulatory framework to allow bicycles more freedom at intersections, but I saw this as a weak compromise law. Fortunately, it did serve as a step toward the larger objective, and it energized the bicycling community to keep trying.
In the meantime, Colorado was bypassed by other states. Arkansas, Delaware, Oregon Washington, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Utah all passed statewide safety stop laws. Those other states provided data that was helpful in ultimately passing Colorado’s safety stop bill. For example, I explained to the Colorado Senate transportation Committee that crashes between bicycle riders and motor vehicles dropped 23% at intersections with stop signs over a 30-month period in Delaware. I find that statistics like this resonate well with both legislators and jurors alike. The lack of relevant statistics from other states may have been a reason that the law passing in Colorado was previously unsuccessful.
While working to pass the Colorado Safety Stop, there were a lot of different people involved with varying viewpoints. Of course, Bicycle Colorado was a driving force behind this law as it benefits bicycle riders across the State. Andy Kerr, current Jefferson County Commissioner, former Colorado State Senator, and former Colorado State House of Representatives stewarded this bill for about 8 years and made it his personal mission when he was a Colorado legislator. Note, Andy commuted by bicycle when he was the Colorado State Senator and House Member for my district.
After I gave my own testimony about statistics, safety, and legal issues, I was moved by the testimony from fellow cyclists. In particular, I recall Marcus Robinson’s testimony who explained that he, as a black man riding an expensive road bicycle, was emotionally devasted after he was pulled over by the police who claimed he failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign and the police accused him of stealing the bicycle that he was riding. Marcus explained that no minority should be targeted by law enforcement, and he advocated for equality in cycling. I learned that after the stressful police accusation and racial unrest in 2020, Marcus Robinson and Neal Henderson started Ride for Racial Justice, a non-profit in Denver which advocates for Diversity, Education, Leadership & Community: https://www.rideforracialjustice.org/our-vision.
This Safety Stop bill will unify bike laws across Colorado, and make the roads safer for people of color at the same time.
Ride The Rockies Behind The Scenes
The Pad Hotel / Hostel - Silverthorne, Colorado - The Pad Hotel / Hostel (thepadlife.com)
Closing:
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Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!