The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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Is Wilcockson planning a book?
Editor:
Has John Wilcockson considered writing a book containing all of his "behind the scenes" accounts of the various Tours? I would love it — every time I read one of his Greg LeMond stories it kills me to come to the end. I want to keep going but I have to wait a week.

Granted, there is something cool about serializing his story, but I'd rather have the whole book and a snowy upstate New York weekend to immerse myself in Tour history, then jump on my trainer and watch my Tour highlights videos while ascending imaginary Cols. Good times.

Ted Leaf
Rochester, New York

John is considering such a book, Ted, but it’s not a done deal yet. Let’s keep our fingers crossed; we enjoy these tales, too. — Editor

Pushing freedom abroad, restrictions at home?
Editor:
There seems to be a conflict here (see "Friday’s Foaming Rant: Pack your trunk"). On the one hand, part of the government is sending a bunch of young guys to a war in the Middle East to "protect our freedoms," while on the other hand, a bunch of people — including the Colorado State Patrol — want to limit those freedoms.

What about the national concern over obesity and the need for Americans to get out and exercise? A lot of people train for those big rides. It’s good for them. It’s good for society. Are the police here to deny us the activities that may contribute to healthy living?

Lennard Zinn recently wrote about the Gran Fondos that occur every weekend in Italy from spring to fall. Colorado has only a couple of days when these rides occur. What does this tell us about our culture when we allow the development of bureaucracies that dictate how many people can recreate in one place at one time?

And, hey, Patrick! I’m one of the Freddies. But I’m out there. I’m 65, but I’m whacking away at it. Me and my wife. I love it. Just think, if we could convert more of the world into Freddies. We could take over the highways. We could appoint our own police chief. We could get them to limit the number of cars on our favorite rides!

Mike Shonstrom
Denver, Colorado

Sounds like a plan to us, Mike. Meanwhile, don’t take O’Grady’s "Fred" reference personally. He recently petitioned to upgrade to Fred and they laughed him right out of the American Cycling Association office. — Editor

Hire more troopers or it’s, ‘Cars, off the road!’
Editor:
Has anyone told the Colorado State Patrol officials that there are hundreds of thousands of citizen drivers aiming vehicles down highways under their jurisdiction every day? Many are breaking speed limits, under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and only a few have any professional driver training. My estimate is that there are only enough troopers to stop about 500 to 600 "suspect" drivers a day. Tell those Colorado officials before it is too late. If the state patrol can't handle safety for a mere 2500 bicyclists now and then, think how impossible their jobs are with all those amateur car drivers out there every day. Either hire 100,000 more troopers or shut down all trooper-patrolled highways. Those troopers need reinforcements fast!

Bill Delano
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Car 54, where are you? — Editor

Let’s police ourselves before the cops do
Editor:
Today's letter from Chris Rossow describes severe injuries he incurred from a head-on crash with an out-of-control, hit-and-run Triple Bypass participant. It points out the need to keep control of traffic — and that includes cyclists. His letter gave me pause in my ire with the Colorado State Police's arbitrary rule that limits riders in large events.

However, I am not sure such crashes support setting an arbitrary limit on event participants. That crash could likely have happened if there were 2000, 4000, or 6000 riders on the road. Likewise, it is equally possible that Mr. Rossow could have been hit and killed by a cell-phone-wielding teenager in a pickup truck, as recently happened to a 63-year-old Colorado cyclist who was minding his own business while riding in a bike lane. But what the letter points out is that the cycling community needs to police its own, as well as work with the police and departments of transportation to manage these rides and preserve some modicum of order and safety.

Therefore, while the Colorado State Police should rightly be criticized for implementing this rule in a smoke-filled room, the bottom line is that we need to be careful and accountable for our actions. If large charity-type rides attract huge numbers of people and result in chaos, injury, and headaches to the authorities, they will soon be subject to increasing regulation. Therefore, if we want to enjoy large rides, we need to take control of the situation.

On the other hand, if more riders act like the butthead who fled, leaving Mr. Rossow injured and bleeding on the road, then our days of big rides are numbered indeed.

Khalil J. Spencer
Los Alamos, New Mexico

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The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.