Newsletter
May 30, 2008
Howdy Wheels of Justice! . . . It's good to be back in Colorado!
THE RACE IS ON!
Our wonderful rivals on the Research Riders have shot ahead of us in fundraising with over $95K raised by their 106 riders. Very inspiring! Will our 185 riders meet their challenge? What do you think? Here's how we can become the #1 team again: Each of us takes personal responsibility for posting our personal fundraising page on the Courage Classic site, enters the email addresses for all of our friends, colleagues, clients, vendors, family members, neighbors, old high school and college buddies (they will be psyched to hear from you!), hair stylists, dog walkers, mechanics, etc. If you know 'em, ask 'em! This strategy helped me to raise over $10K last year. You will be amazed, as I was, how willing people are to pitch in just a little for a great cause like Children's Hospital -- now matter where they live. And many people pitch in much more than you would ever expect! My donors were generally glad to hear from me and re-connect -- they feel great contributing to such a worthy effort. Now, after 3 years, they view it as a giving tradition and enjoy being updated on my fundraising progress. You'll usually have to send 2-3 emails to get a donation -- use this opportunity to update them on your life, your training and the team. Right now, the only thing standing between us and our $200K goal is each of taking the time to post these pages and send this e-mails. So please take some time this weekend to do your part for the kids, docs and families at Children's Hospital.
Do you have amazing tales from your fundraising efforts in previous years? If so, please shoot me an email that I can share with the team in coming weeks.
Elephant Rock
Are you riding the Elephant Rock Ride this Sunday? I'll be riding the century (at least theoretically!) with some WoJ buds. If you want to join us, please shoot me an email and we can coordinate. We'll be shooting for a 6am start. If you'll be going for shorter distance, you can coordinate through the WoJ bulletin board on our team Courage Classic Page. No matter what, please consider wearing your WoJ jersey from previous year, if you have it -- you'll be an awesome billboard for the team and the Courage Classic!
Flat Changing Class
Flat Changing Class Next Friday: WoJ Coach and Cycling Goddess Megan Hottman has kindly invited the team to join her for a Flat Changing Seminar.
Team Slots on the Tour
IMPORTANT: Please let me know asap if for any reason you realize that you will not be able to ride the Courage Classic. Last year, 10% of our 206 riders did not ride or fund raise due to injury, illness or change of plans -- as we all know, sometimes this just happens. Unfortunately, this meant that 20 slots could have been filled by riders eager to ride and fund raise for Children's. Now wiser this year, I am asking team members to notify me as soon you know of a change in plans, so that we can possibly accommodate riders on the wait list. Thanks for your help in maximizing our contribution to Children's Hospital!
Training Ride
Wheels of Justice Training Ride this Saturday May 31st
Many thanks to David Jones for hosting last week's ride; Our buddy Dan Kapsak has a terrific one planned for this week too! Dan asked me to pass on the following message: "If you can let our group know that the ride is not as bad as I make it sound, and the variety of road experiences will be great training for the CC for everyone. And, I'll be shepherding the ride so I'll be able to help along the way (you remember those initial rides, right?!)." So fear not, Wheels of Justice, Dan the Good Shepherd will be there to help you enjoy this beautiful ride -- you'll love itSaturday, May 31st
Carter Lake and then Pinewood Lake
Training Ride Host: Dan KapsakPlease RSVP by COB Friday to Dan Kapsak, dkapsak@kapsaklaw.com, 720-530-8566
Meeting Location:
Ride will start promptly at 9:00 a.m. We will meet at 8:30a.m. at 1457 Clemson Drive in Longmont.
Riding Etiquette
Finally, your intrepid reporter is always on the lookout for intersections between cycling and the law, so I thought I would share the following article with you from today's NY Times. Moral of the story -- Get outside & ride and thank your lucky stars that you live in Colorado! Best, Heather
May 29, 2008 NY Times
Grunting in East Side Gym Class Leads to Hospital, and to Court
By JOHN ELIGON
Stuart Sugarman was exercising the way he had hundreds of times before. He arrived at the Equinox gym on the Upper East Side 30 minutes before the start of spin class and signed up for the stationary bike on the left side of the room. He adjusted the bike for his hefty frame and clicked his specialty cycling shoes into the pedals.And as the class got going, Mr. Sugarman, a senior partner at an investment firm, began the most conspicuous part of his ritual: his loud noises.
“You go, girl!” “Good burn!” “This is great!” Those are all phrases, Mr. Sugarman said on Wednesday, that he might well have screamed. When you’re getting pumped up, he said, “it’s all very normal responses.”
But on Aug. 15, 2007, Christopher Carter, a Manhattan stockbroker two bikes down, could not take another of Mr. Sugarman’s groans. After words were exchanged, Mr. Carter hopped off his bike and charged toward Mr. Sugarman “like a football player,” Mr. Sugarman said.
Mr. Carter grabbed the bike by the handlebars, raised the front end off the ground, driving the rear of the bike into a wall, and then let the bike go, Mr. Sugarman said. The impact of the drop, Mr. Sugarman said, has caused chronic neck and back pain.
Now, Mr. Carter, 45, is on trial in Manhattan Criminal Court, charged with assault. He faces up to a year in prison if convicted on the misdemeanor charge.
On Wednesday, the second day of the trial, the two men were face to face for the first time since the incident. The case could be seen as a cautionary tale for New Yorkers with outsized personal habits — or bystanders who are easily irritated.
Mr. Sugarman, 49, sees himself as the victim of an unreasonable man having a bad day. Hospitalized for two weeks after the incident, with part of the time in intensive care, he contended that his actions during spin class were in line with what athletes do.
“Like any sporting pursuit,” he said, “you get pumped up.” Because of his injuries, Mr. Sugarman said, he is no longer able to golf, hike, cycle or participate in other sports as he had done five or six days a week.
To the defense, Mr. Sugarman was as much the aggressor as Mr. Carter. He is exaggerating his injuries and Mr. Carter’s actions, the defense has argued.
“The complaining witness is not to be believed,” said Michael Farkas, the lawyer for Mr. Carter. “This is all an attempt to manipulate the criminal justice system to his own ends.”
Mr. Sugarman, who sometimes goes by the nickname Shug, testified that he had not filed a civil lawsuit. But he has retained Samuel L. Davis, a personal-injury lawyer from Teaneck, N.J. Mr. Davis declined to comment on whether his client would sue.
Mr. Sugarman, who is about 5 feet 11 and said he weighed 204 pounds, limped into the courtroom Wednesday morning. His neck appeared stiff.
He spoke softly before a jury of six. Some of his testimony was inconsistent with accounts given by two other witnesses who testified on Wednesday. He was often combative with Mr. Farkas on cross-examination, twisting his red face, sighing and offering up pointed rejoinders.
The judge admonished both Mr. Farkas, for comments he made between questions, and Mr. Sugarman, for not answering questions.
Mr. Sugarman described his grunts as “expelling air” and said that others in class sometimes appreciate the noises he makes because it motivates them.
From the start of the class, Mr. Sugarman testified, Mr. Carter was scowling. It became clear, Mr. Sugarman said, that Mr. Carter was agitated with him when he went over to one of the two spin instructors and said something. The instructor simply shrugged, Mr. Sugarman said.
Mr. Carter returned to his bike and, using an obscenity, yelled for him to shut up, Mr. Sugarman said. He said his initial reaction was a shrug.
But after Mr. Carter continued to swear at him, Mr. Sugarman said, he responded: “You don’t have to be such a baby. If you don’t like the class, there’s the door to the right; just leave.”
That was when Mr. Carter charged him, Mr. Sugarman testified. As Mr. Carter held up the bike, he looked Mr. Sugarman in the eyes and swore at him, Mr. Sugarman said.
After the incident, Mr. Sugarman said, he stayed and pedaled slowly for the final 15 minutes of the class, despite attempts by the club manager to make him leave, because he was in searing pain and wanted to figure out what he should do. He also was embarrassed in the class of mostly women, he said.
“I wanted to be a guy,” he said. “I wanted to muscle through it.”
One of the instructors in the spin class testified that he asked Mr. Sugarman to quiet down after Mr. Carter complained and that the two began arguing as he stood between them.Earlier Wednesday, Dr. Sherri Sandel, a physician who was in the spin class, testified that after Mr. Carter told Mr. Sugarman to shut up, Mr. Sugarman responded, “Make me.”
All the best,
Heather
Heather A. Purcell
Levine + Purcell LLC
600 17th Street, Suite 2800 South
Denver, CO 80202
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