fun factoid

I learned something new last night, and it was the kind of fun fact that just needs to be shared. Aren’t you excited? I am.

If you participate in running races or large-scale organized bike rides, you probably know that a common technique for route marking involves small symbols spray-painted, often stenciled, on the road. I’ve seen scads of them over the years, often just running or riding along and realizing I’ve stumbled onto the course for some past or future event. Some are stylized for their particular event, but many are generic, a circle with a line or an arrow, indicating straight, left, right.

What I learned last night is that those little marks have an actual name. Who knew?

Check this out: they’re called Dan Henry Arrows, or just “Dan Henrys,” and some sources indicate they’re used world-wide, though I don’t personally have any knowledge of such and won’t state it as firm fact until I return from my upcoming grant-funded continent-spanning journey undertaken to confirm precisely how widespread their use is.

Sheldon Brown’s exhaustive online Bicycle Glossary tells us that Dan Henry was a very influential cyclist in the ’50s and ’60s, most famous for the “‘Dan Henry Arrow,” an arrow painted on the roadway with a stencil or a spray can.

It goes on to share that Mr. Brown was also known for roller demonstrations, where he would perform a strip-tease while riding on rollers.

I find that vastly amusing and might even pay to see footage of it. Mostly because anyone who’s ever attempted to ride a set of rollers can tell you that just staying upright on the damn things is something of a trick all on its own.

Courtesy TourDePeaks.com

That little glow you’re feeling right now is no doubt the sign of a life more fulfilled.   Aren’t you glad you clicked?