Thursday, April 28, 2005

I know John! He's a great guy!

John Bigalke, the owner of Beatnik's T-shirt and novelty shop in downtown Belleville made the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today for the Napoleon Dynamite Festival he's hosting Friday night at the Ground Floor coffee shop, also in downtown BelleVegas. I'm sure the story will mean big crowds for his event.

John, the master of shameless self-promotion, has T-shirts with an image of himself with the slogan "I know John! He's a great guy!" for sale at his shop. But I must say he is a great guy because he gives the Tour de Stooges a deep discount for printing the map and logos on the back of the Tour de Stooges T-shirts. We have to buy the shirts from All-U, which has the license for Three Stooges T-shirts, and we're allowed to print whatever we want on the back. Thanks, John, for all you do to help the Tour de Stooges!

Roger 0 comments 6:39 PM

More Illinois legislative action needed

The League of Illinois Bicyclists and the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation are working hard to persuade state senators to vote yes for HB 2390, which would restore some liability protection for cyclists on local roads in Illinois and remove a barrier for many towns and counties from developing on-road bike lanes and bicycle trails.

The bill barely passed the Illinois House, and the majorityof metro-east legislators voted against the bill. The groups are askingcyclists to contact state senators to garner their support for the bill. The four senators who represent metro-east counties are:

• Sen. James Clayborne Jr., D-Belleville
  


• Sen. William Haine, D-Alton


• Sen. Frank Watson, R-Greenville


• Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, R-Okawville

Both groups also are seeking House support for SB 508, which would direct the Illinois Department of Transportation to better accommodate cyclists and pedestrians in future road plans. You can use this site to find out who represents you.

Roger 0 comments 2:51 AM

Slow leak, slow train

If it's Wednesday evening, it must be time for the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society's weekly ride. But last night's ride was a bit more interesting than most.

I should have realized what kind of ride it was going to be when I noticed my seat post had slipped an inch and a half. Everyone else passed me by as the BABES took off from Mascoutah.

Now I was feeling pretty good and decided to do the 22-mile option, and everything was going fine as I passed through New Baden. But when I made the turn south on Summerfield Road, I noticed my rear tire going soft. Yep, it was a slow leak. I aired up the tire a bit, hoping I could make it back to Mascoutah without changing the tube. No such luck. I made it across the Interstate 64 overpass, only to find the air had done little good.

After fixing the flat, I got back on the road. I made it to Illinois Route 161, only to find that a long freight train was on its way. I had to wait, and wait, and wait, for the long, slow train to pass. I knew I was going to have a hard time getting back before dark.

Fortunately, I had a flashing rear light on me and a burst of adrenaline that got me back after sundown but with enough twilight to get home safely. Ride leader Jerry Whittle drove out to make sure I was OK, but I only had about a half-mile to go when he saw me.

The evening ended very well. Kathleen Michael, whose rear wheel I fixed a week and a half ago on the St. Libory, Ill., ride, repaid me for my good deed. She promised me a beverage, but she did much better: a copy of the book "Bicycle" by David V. Herlihy. It's a book about the history of the bicycle, and I will be looking forward to reading it. Thanks, Kathleen!

Before the ride, I drove the Tour de Stooges course to make sure I wouldn't have to redraw the map because of road construction. So far, so good. There's a couple of spots with some loose gravel, but I think cyclists won't have any problem navigating those.

Our pre-registration is very strong, primarily because of online registration through Active.com. We almost completely sold out of T-shirts, so all we need to hope for now is some great weather!

Roger 0 comments 12:25 AM

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Tour de Donut: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

This morning during a Yahoo! search for Tour de Donut, I found there are at least three versions of the race throughout the country.

There's the Tour de Doughnut in Katy, Texas. This version of the ride is 28 miles with a 55-mile version that served as a tune-up for a MS 150 ride in Texas. For every doughnuts eaten, five minutes is deducted from your official finish time. The winner of the 2004 28-mile event, James Bonaby III, ate 30 doughnuts and had a negative time for the event. The female winner, Jana Diminnie, ate 28! Way to go!

The Lehigh Wheelmen Association puts on a Donut Derby each year at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown, Pa. The association describes the Donut Derby is a fun race with rest stops every 12 miles where racers can get water, use the bathroom, and get doughnuts. For every doughnuts eaten, five minutes is deducted from your official finish time. In the 2004 race, Mike Whitmon ate 27 doughnuts, compared to John Cranston's 18. However, Cranston finished the course 47 minutes faster than Whitmon, giving him the men's title. In the women's division, Jody Twer and Doreen Crowle each ate 10 doughnuts, but Twer edged Crowle by four seconds at the line for the victory.

Are you sensing a pattern here?

Then, of course, is the original Tour de Donut in Staunton, Ill., run by the Boeing Employees Bicycle Club. Yours truly, along with Joe Booth, Mark Pace and Ed Taylor, created the ride in 1989 while we were part of the Mid-America Bicycle Club. When that club folded, the Boeing club took it over and boosted ridership to more than 500 people a year. We're the ones who came up with the idea of a 30-mile course with 5-minute bonuses for each doughnut eaten.

The original Tour de Donut was born during a brainstorming session for club rides for the year. In the wake of Greg LeMond's Tour de France run, we considered a stage-race event. We also considered breakfast rides. Somehow, the two ideas came together and became the Tour de Donut!

In last year's Tour de Donut, Kevin French ate 20 doughnuts to win the men's division, while Anna Witt ate 15 to win the women's division. As of today, registration has not opened for the 2005 event.

Yum!

I must say that I'm flattered that our original idea has spawned similar rides with similar rules in the United States! It's good to know the Spirit of the Donut is well and alive!

Roger 0 comments 11:41 AM

Monday, April 18, 2005

Big day in American bicycle racing

Lance Armstrong has decided to call it quits after this year's Tour de France, and Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton has received a two-year suspension for using banned substances. You can learn more about those stories on the news feeds in the right-hand column of this page.

Unfortunately, you will not see the most current feeds for VeloNews there. That's because VeloNews lists the stories on its RSS feed with the most-current stories at the bottom of the list, unlike most RSS feeds, which have the most-current stories at the top. I made the folks at VeloNews aware of the problem, but I've heard nothing yet from them. And so far, the folks at RSS Digest have not found a way for me to code the VeloNews digest so the most-current stories will be at the top. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Roger 1 comments 7:32 PM

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Rules of the Road reminder

I hate to sound like a nagging schoolmarm, but it's time for a lesson on the rules of the road for bicycles in Illinois. On both of the group rides I've done in the past week, one with the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society and one with Trailnet's Bicycle Fun Club, I've seen some pretty obvious violations of Illinois traffic law regarding cyclists.

That concerns me because motorists develop a bad attitude toward cyclists when we ignore the law. That was a contributing factor in the dispute between Monroe County (Ill.) residents and cyclists several years ago.

Illinois cycling law is clear on one thing: You may not ride more than two abreast on Illinois roads. You may ride three or more abreast only on bicycle paths or within bicycle lanes.

The law on riding two abreast is a little less clear. Here's what the League of Illinois Bicyclists says about the law on its card explaining Illinois bicycling laws (PDF file):

Riding 2 abreast is permitted as long as the normal and reasonable movement of traffic is not impeded.

To me, that sounds like a lot of interpretation of the law would be up to police officers, lawyers and judges. That's why I prefer playing it safe when it comes to decisions about riding two abreast. If I'm on a narrow country road or a highway with fast-moving traffic, I ride single file when vehicles are approaching.

In Illinois, generally speaking, you are required to ride as far to right as safely possible. Yet, I saw several people during both rides riding near the center of road while riding two abreast. In one case, two cyclists hogged the entire lane, forcing a passing truck to go in the passing lane. It's a good thing no car was coming from the other way, otherwise there would have been an accident or at the very least, an irritated motorist.

To Trailnet's credit, it does address most safety issues on its Trailnetiquette page. When I initially wrote this item, Trailnet had not addressed the issue of riding two abreast, but the page has been updated and includes a section about riding two abreast and riding as far to the right as safely possible. I would like Trailnet to make it clear riding three or more abreast is generally illegal on Illinois roads. I try to explain the law on the map for the Tour de Stooges. Again, I prefer a conservative interpretation.

Speaking of Trailnet, I did enjoy today's Spring Chicken Ride, which began and ended in St. Libory, Ill. Here's why:

• I got to play the Good Samaritan today. Fellow BABES ride Kathleen Michael was heading north on Illinois Route 153 north of Lively Grove when she started to feel a lump in her rear tire. She pulled over, and I stopped to see if there was something wrong. She explained the situation, and I took a look at the tire. A portion of the rear tire had popped out of the wheel. She was extremely lucky the tube didn't pop while she was riding. I deflated the tire, fitted the tire back into the wheel and put some air back in the tire. She was good to go!
• I haven't done much riding in Washington County (Ill.) but I was pleasantly surprised how good many of the county roads are. Sure, some of the township roads were a bit rough, but that's to be expected because townships in small counties have limited funds for road repairs. But many of the county roads were paved with asphalt. Lot of nice flat to mildly rolling terrain made it a good early-season ride.
• I ate lunch at Chicken's in St. Libory. I ordered a fried chicken plate with two breasts, but the waitress came out with a plate with four of them. She later checked the order, and I was right, but she let me keep all four pieces at the same price of the two-piece dinner. I appreciated her honesty, so she got a generous tip. Great fried chicken, by the way!
• The 33 miles I did today was the longest I've gone in 2005. I really need to start pounding the miles in soon.
  

Roger 0 comments 10:39 PM

Saturday, April 16, 2005

Montreal seeks to be more bicycle friendly

If you have visited the rest of my Web site, you probably have figured out the Canadian province of Quebec is one of my favorite places to ride and that Montreal and Quebec City are two of my favorite cities to visit. The province's French heritage creates an atmosphere that is unique in North America.

From time to time, I read the province's primary English newspaper, the Montreal Gazette, online. Today, the Gazette reported a plan to spend $5 million (about $4 million in U.S. dollars) to upgrade the city's bicycle routes. Montreal already has the reputation of being one of North America's most bicycle-friendly cities, and this plan would make it even more so.

Montez sur votre bicyclette et montez!

Roger 0 comments 11:06 AM

Friday, April 15, 2005

Small victory for Illinois cyclists!

House Bill 2390, the bill that's intended to fix the problems for Illinois bicyclists caused by the Illinois Supreme Court's ruling in Boub v. Wayne, passed the Illinois House today -- just barely, by a 60-55 vote. The bill now goes to the Illinois Senate, where another tough battle is expected.

What I found distressing about the vote is that only two metro-east legislators, Reps. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, and Wyvetter Younge, D-East St. Louis, voted for the bill. The others -- Reps. Tom Holbrook, D-Belleville; Ron Stephens, R-Mulberry Grove; Dan Beiser, D-Alton; Dan Reitz, D-Steeleville; Kurt Granberg, D-Carlyle -- opposed it. Here's a link to the full roll-call vote: House roll call vote PDF file

I realize there are some very serious issues about liability and lawsuits in the metro-east, but this bill simply gives bicyclists the rights they have in all the other states. Taken as a whole, local government groups have accepted HB2390 language much more than any previous version.

According to the Leauge of Illinois Bicyclists and the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the language very specifically addresses the main wishes that the local governments have raised:

• No obligation to maintain roads to a higher standard for bicyclists.
• No obligation to upgrade existing roads for bicyclists.
• No liability for minor road conditions that would not be hazardous to a passenger car.

Bicycle groups throughout Illinois hope the Senate will pass the bill and that Gov. Rod Blagojevich will sign it to make Illinois a more bicycle-friendly state.

Roger 0 comments 7:24 PM

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Action alert for Illinois cyclists

Because of an Illinois Supreme Court ruling six years ago, Illinois has the reputation of being the nation's most bicycle-unfriendly state. The effect of the case, Boub v. Wayne, is that:

• Cyclists have zero liability protection (from road condition problems) on the vast majority of our roads. Other road users, including mopeds and motorcyclists, have full protection.
• Local governments have a higher duty of care than before Boub, for cyclists on specially designated roads with safety improvements (bike lanes, warning signage, etc.)
• The resulting disincentive – unique to Illinois – has wreaked havoc on plans for these safety features, which are accepted throughout the nation. Rare indeed has been the town that goes against its attorneys’ advice – unless its mayor is an avid cyclist (Chicago).

Here's the call for action given by Rob Sadowsky, executive director of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation:

Bicycling enthusiasts need your help!

House Bill 2390, sponsored by Elaine Nekritz (D-Des Plaines) and Randy Hultgren (R-Winfield), is the compromise bill that is finally going to fix the problems caused by "Boub." Many bicyclists have worked with the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and the League of Illinois Bicyclists to restore bicyclists as "intended and permitted" users of Illinois roads for six years now.

HB2390, which will allow bicyclists to be intended users of Illinois roads again AND reduce town's anxiety about liability for bicycle facilities, passed out of committee in Springfield on Tuesday, but is one vote short of passing on the floor, and some of the yes votes aren't as solid as we'd like.

We think your legislator is important for this vote. A fax from you is not only a really simple thing to do, but could be the reason the state moves toward more bicycle accommodations instead of maintaining the current environment, which if you haven't noticed, ain't great.

The importance of faxing your legislator is all out of proportion to how easy we've made it. There isn't another pair of clicks you'll make today that count for more.

I have attached a two page fact sheet on the legislation for you.

Here is what I am asking you to do:

1. Call your house legislator and ask them to vote Yes on HB2390. You could fax them instead, but a call is better. If you need to find out who your legislator is go to: http://www.ilga.gov/house/default.asp

2. Ask everyone you know who is a bicyclist to do the same, including club members, friends, etc.

The vote should come up either tomorrow (Thursday) or Friday.

Roger 0 comments 3:28 PM

Regional Bikeways of Metro St. Louis

Looking for a bicycle trail to explore in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area? Then look here at RideFinder's Regional Bikeways of Metro St. Louis map.

Of course, all the big trails are there -- the Katy Trail, the Vadalabene Bike Trail along the Great River Road and Madison County Transit's network of trails. But the small trails are there as well. For example, there's the 1.4-mile McDonnell Park trail in St. Ann, Mo., and the 1-mile Unger Park Trail in Fenton, Mo.

Missing from the map are small bike trails in O'Fallon, Ill., but I'm sure in time RideFinders will add those to the map someday.

For those of you not familiar with RideFinders, it is an agency that helps people arrange carpools and provides vans for a low monthly rate for vanpools for groups of seven or more people. As gasoline prices rise, there should be more demand for RideFinder's services.

Roger 0 comments 1:36 AM

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Where's my camera when I need it?

Contrary to what you may think, I don't take my camera with me every time I ride a bicycle. Even though the rest of the Roger Kramer's Favorite Cycling Tours site is filled with photographs I have taken during my multiday bicycle tours in the United States and Canada, I normally don't have my camera with me when I hit the road for an average training ride.

I should have Sunday evening.

While riding up Second Street near St. Peter Cathedral in Belleville, I noticed some amazing sun rays streaking up through the clouds in the west. Upon further review, I noticed the clouds appeared to have the shape of an angel's head and wings. It would have been an amazing picture with the steeple of the cathedral silhouetted in front of the clouds and sun rays.

Alas, my camera was sitting at home. No picture.

Roger 0 comments 9:43 PM

Friday, April 08, 2005

Plenty of cardinals in Saturday's Belleville News-Democrat

You will be seeing plenty of cardinals -- both the Roman Catholic and the St. Louis kind -- in the Saturday edition of the Belleville News-Democrat.

Of course, the Roman Catholic cardinals will be part of the coverage of Pope John Paul II's funeral. I stayed up until 6 a.m. today watching the TV coverage of the pope's funeral, and it was an amazing outpouring of faith. Last Friday and Saturday, I designed 14 pages about the pope's life and death. You can see the News-Democrat's front page April 3 at News Page Designer. I was reasonably happy with it, but I like what other papers did with the pope's death better. You can see some of those at News Page Designer's special section on the pope; please note there are hundreds of pages at this site from throughout the week since he died. You also can see some pages at Poynter Online, the Web site of the Poynter Institute, an influential journalism think tank.

While a small pocket of people thought the media coverage of the pope was overdone, I think the media generally gave the coverage the prominence and tone it deserved. Even if they often disagreed with him, the outpouring of love by Catholics throughout the world was genuine. Plus, his influence on world affairs cannot be underestimated, which is why he is revered by non-Catholics worldwide. It will be interesting to see who the cardinals will pick to succeed John Paul, but I know he will have a tough act to follow.

I had the privilege of seeing John Paul II during World Youth Day in Denver in 1993. Unfortunately, I was living in North Carolina in 1999 when the pope visited St. Louis. It was amazing how much young people really loved this pope. People slept outside with no tents between the Saturday night prayer vigil the pope led and the Sunday Mass. It was difficult to imagine a more spiritual moment, until I watched his funeral. In most cases, it would be difficult to image people breaking into applause and chants during a funeral, but it Pope John Paul II's case, it seemed just right.

As for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Redbirds open their final season in Busch Stadium this afternoon. I'm envious of my copy desk colleague, Julie Louis, who is off today and gets to see the game. Julie definitely earned the day off because she spent the past week putting together our Metro-East Guide. While my work last week on the pope was more intense, Julie's work was much more voluminous.

I have mixed feelings about the final season of Busch Stadium. Yes, it's one of the cookie-cutter stadiums built in the 1960s and 1970s, but it seemed to have more heart and soul than most of them. A lot of that is because of the loyal Cards fans, but I thought the design of the stadium was more baseball-friendly than most of the cookie-cutters. Once the St. Louis Rams moved to the Edward Jones Dome, the Cards' owners did their best to make the stadium even more baseball-friendly.

There are lots of memories tied to the stadium. My dentist friend from Cleveland, Marie Calabrese, and I attended a 1998 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in which Mark McGwire hit three home runs en route to his landmark 70-home run season. I also saw Game One of the 1982 World Series, the last one that the Cardinals won.

But my fondest memory of Busch Stadium came during the 1987 season. The Cardinals were playing the Montreal Expos that evening with the chance to clinch the National League East title in a close race against the New York Mets. The Mets were already in town for the final home stand and were sitting in the auxiliary press box on the first-base side of the stadium. The Cardinals also had a T-shirt giveaway that night. At first, pockets of fans started waving their T-shirt. By the eighth and ninth innings, the entire stadium was roaring and waving T-shirts over their heads. When the Cardinals won the game, all the Mets could do was leave the auxiliary press box in silence.

I'm sure the new stadium will be beautiful. The seats should be even more baseball-friendly, but it's a shame the primary reason the Cardinals are building the stadium is because of the economics of baseball.

I'll miss you, Busch Stadium.

Roger 1 comments 2:04 PM

News on the Glen Carbon trail

The Edwardsville Intelligencer is reporting that the village of Glen Carbon is moving forward with plans to extend the Ronald J. Foster Sr. Heritage Trail another 3 miles to Illinois Route 4. That extension would make the trail a total of 11 miles one way.

Even better, there's talk of Glen Carbon working with Madison County officials to extend the trail all the way to Marine. That's exciting to know that the county's already extensive network of trails will be more comprehensive, connecting most of the major cities of Madison County with roads in the rural part of the county. The beauty of Madison County trails is that they actually take you somewhere. Other cities and counties would be wise to learn how officials did it up there and try to emulate them.

Roger 0 comments 2:38 AM

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Illinois: Haven for weeklong bicycle rides!

After the demise of the Bicycle Across the Magnificent Miles of Illinois (BAMMI) ride several years ago, Illinois was without a weeklong bicycle tour.

That's not the case any more!

This year, cyclists can take advantage of six five- to seven-day rides through the Land of Lincoln. Here's a list of those rides:

• Martha's Miles, June 11-15: A five-day, 300-mile trip from St. Louis to Chicago that raises money for the National Children's Cancer Society. Web site: http://www.marthas-miles.org/
• Cycle Across Missouri: An Excursion into Little Egypt. June 12-17: Don't let the name fool you: This is definitely an Illinois ride this year. This year's ride begins and ends in Carbondale and includes lots of the great scenery in and around Shawnee National Forest. Web site: http://www.moonlightramble.com/cam_05.htm
• Grand Illinois Trails and Parks ride, June 12-18: This ride begins and ends in Joliet and includes much of the interesting scenery of northern Illinois. Web site: http://www.bikelib.org/gitap/2005/index.htm
• Bicycllinois, July 2-8: A seven-day, 495-mile ride from Cairo, at the southern tip of Illinois, to Chicago. Web site: http://www.bicycllinois.com/
• Across Illinois Back Roads, Aug. 6-12: A seven-day, 450-mile loop ride from Morris to Springfield, the state capital, and back. Web site: http://www.jolietbicycleclub.org/ or https://www.signmeup.com/reg/register.aspx?fid=T42VNK7
• Illinois Great Rivers Ride, Sept. 11-18: This seven-day, 400-mile ride will take cyclists along the Rock and Mississippi rivers from Rockford to Pere Marquette State Park near Grafton. Web site: http://www.illinoisgreatriversride.com/

So, if you ever wanted to do a multiday bicycle ride through Illinois, this is the year to do it. As I mentioned earlier, I am planning to do an Illinois ride because this year is the 20th anniversary of my first weeklong ride, the BAMMI ride from Chicago to Edwardsville.

I hope all of you will consider a ride in Illinois this year as well. We may not have the magnificent scenery of a lot of states, but we have quite a few smaller gems and lots of more subtle beauty if you take the time to look for it.

Roger 0 comments 4:53 PM