The Blog Page

News, commentary and humor about bicycling and other topics of the day

 

Lance and Sheryl on SNL

For those of you have nothing better to do Saturday night, you can see Lance Armstrong host NBC's Saturday Night Live with his musical guest ... who else .. Sheryl Crow.

For those of you who have something better to do, there's always the VCR or TiVo.

And those for you who need a cycling fix Sunday, the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society is putting on its last ride of 2004, a ride out of the Ravissant Winery in Belleville, Ill. We'll have five options ranging from 15 to 35 miles. We'll start meeting about 11 a.m. at the winery, and the people who want to do the longer rides can take off after signing in. Those who want to do the short routes can wait until about noon. After the ride, we'll drink wine and listen to the Zydeco Crawdaddies. See the BABES Ride Calendar for more details.

Roger 0 comments 5:00 PM

Thursday, October 27, 2005

We have a winner!

Madison County Transit has announced the winners of its MCT Trails Photo Contest, and first place goes to none other than David Weidler of the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society! According the caption on his award-winning photo, the caption reads: "'Road cyclists' find a smooth ride, that’s free of speeding cars and traffic signals on the MCT Schoolhouse Connector."

Congratulations, David, for taking such a nice shot!

Roger 0 comments 6:49 PM

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

The newest bridge of Madison County

Madison County Transit is at it again. MCT has installed an overpass for the Schoolhouse Trail that will take the bicycle path over Illinois Route 162 between Maryville and Troy. Eventually, the Schoolhouse Trail will wind through Glen Carbon and Edwardsville and connect with several of the other trails that serve those two communities. You can read more about it in the Belleville News-Democrat and in The (Alton) Telegraph.

Wouldn't it be nice if St. Clair County or a community such as O'Fallon, Ill., could find a way to connect to the Schoolhouse Trail? There is unused railroad right of way that leads from O'Fallon to the Schoolhouse Trail near Maryville, and that would be a natural route for a bicycle trail.

Roger 0 comments 3:03 AM

Saturday, October 22, 2005

More on Madison County Trails

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a nice story today about the extensive trail system that Madison County Transit has put together.

I've written about the trails many times on this blog, and story repeats much of that, including the fact that the Madison County trails actually go places and link up with one another quite well.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

(Madison County Transit director Jerry) Kane said the county's original plan was to grab the lines for future MetroLink expansion and to use them, in the meantime, as bike and pedestrian paths.

The district ended up getting enough easements so that future light rail lines can run alongside the bike paths.

"Initially, there were complaints from people who feared their privacy would be invaded," Kane said. "Today, the complaints are from people who want to know when they'll get their spur (link) to the trails."

Contrast that with the narrow-minded response of many residents of Maryland Heights, Mo., when they objected to the construction of trails in their community. According to the community's newsletter (PDF file), opponents feared crime, invasion of privacy, lowered property values, trash, trespassing and losing their property to eminent domain. Those misplaced fears pretty much killed any hope of a trail in that community.

Roger 0 comments 1:29 PM

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

In absence of the Hilly Hundred ...

There was no Hilly Hundred for me in 2005. It was there for my sister and her son, Teresa and Julius Parod. It was there for my friend, Doug Kaufman. But it wasn't there for me because I didn't get enough hill training during September for me to be comfortable on the ride.

Doug climbed Mount Tabor and Bean Blossom Hill for me. Julius reported that his mom thought the hills were bigger this year.

As for me, I spent a rare full weekend off doing things in the greater Alton area. On Saturday, I went to Godfrey to see some artwork from a buddy from the Fairview Heights Borders store, Brenda Elfgen. Brenda's work was part of the ArtEAST exhibition, a studio tour in the Alton and Edwardsville areas. Brenda, an art therapist, does interesting work in mixed media, and the work was her own form of art therapy. I ended up buying one of her pieces.

On Sunday, some of us from the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society took a trek up the Great River Road to Pere Marquette Park. It was an absolutely gorgeous day marred only by the rough trail through the city of Grafton. There's a major project along the riverfront that has left the bicycle trail covered with clods of dirt that make traveling through town uncomfortable. But other than that, the trip was wonderful. The leaves were starting to turn, making the ride along the bluffs an enjoyable experience.

Over the weekend, I found out former Belleville News-Democrat copy editor Ron Warnick has started his own blog page, a clearinghouse for news about Route 66. Ron and his wife, Emily Priddy, are big-time advocates for the Mother Road, and I admire their dedication to preserving the old buildings along the road. Emily, in fact, is running the Oklahoma Marathon to raise money for Route 66 preservation. You can read about her training at her blog, 26.2 for 66.

Finally, I'm playing bicycle repairman for my mom, Jean Kramer. When I was in Brighton over the weekend, I tried to air up her rear tire, but I stopped when I noticed a big hole in the sidewall of the tire. She was worried that the gravel in the the 0.33-mile lane that leads from the road to her house had done the damage, but the tire simply was too old. I managed to put a boot in the tire as a short-term solution, but I'm getting her a new tire so she can have peace of mind when she goes to get the mail and paper each day.

Roger 0 comments 4:29 PM

Thursday, October 13, 2005

SIUE Mountain Bike Trail

I'm a roadie, but every once in a while, I venture out on the trails on a mountain bike.

I bought my mountain bike in 1998, when I was living in North Carolina. I figured that because I lived in a state with great mountain bike trails, I would actually use the bike.

As it turned out, I never did make out to the Pisgah National Forest or the Tsali Trail. I only did some trails in the Burlington-Greensboro area. When I moved back to Illinois two years later, I pretty much ignored the mountain bike except for trips to the Katy Trail or the semi-annual trip to a St. Louis area trail.

Not surprisingly, I never have developed the skills needed to be a good mountain bike rider -- or even a mediocre one. I usually got discouraged about not being able to climb over fallen trees or big roots. As for V-ditches ... well, we'll get to those later.

But I think I finally found a good trail for me, the SIUE Mountain Bike Trail. The Gateway Off-Road Cyclists developed the course on the former site of the Mississippi River Festival on the northern part of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus.

I took my bike Wednesday afternoon to the trail. Although there is a map available, the map isn't very clear about how to get on the trail. Confusing the issue is the fact SIUE's cross country course also is on the former MRF site. I got the bike there, but I forgot to bring along my helmet and gloves. That meant I would be riding in a very conservative manner, and that was a good thing.

I wasn't quite sure where the trail was, but I ran into a more experienced mountain biker early, and he steered me in the right direction. That worked for a while, but I lost sight of the trail when it ran into the cross country trail. I took that trail until I found the Delyte Morris Bike Trail. I kept looking for the mountain bike trail, but I wound up taking the Morris trail through the main campus to the Bluff Road Trail developed by Madison County Transit.

I started heading up toward the MRF site again when I saw the same cyclist coming up from a singletrack trail linking to the Morris trail. He showed me the options, and I was on my way.

GORC says the trail is suitable for beginners and advanced riders. I agree. I took the trail slow and had no problem dealing with the tight twists and slight uphills and downhills. A more experienced and aggressive ride can make the trail more difficult simply by riding faster.

Wednesday truly was a great day to take on the trail. The trail was dry, and there were few roots sticking up in the trail, making it a fairly smooth ride. By contrast, the trails I rode in North Carolina had plenty of roots and loose rock to make things tricky for a novice rider.

Because I didn't have a helmet I didn't take on the bigger roots or the fallen trees. And I definitely didn't take on the V-ditch on the northern part of the trail.

Flashbacks to my V-ditch experience on the Lake Macintosh Trail near Burlington, N.C., kept popping in my head. I made the mistake of trying to handle a V-ditch the same way I handle a rolling hill on a road bike. The speed I built going downhill caused the bike to compress as I went up the V-ditch. I fell, and the handlebar bruised my right ribs, causing great pain for several weeks thereafter. I have never overcome my fear of V-ditches.

Because the SIUE trail is so well-suited for beginners, I will return and hopefully build my skills so I will be more comfortable clearing trees and roots. Perhaps I even will get over my fear of V-ditches!

By the way, GORC is constructing ever more multi-use singletrack trail at SIUE. The group will have workdays on Oct. 15, Nov. 19 and Dec. 3, with a special work day for bike shop employees on Nov. 10. The work will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day and includes a free lunch and giveaways. Tools will be provided, but it would be helpful if you have limb loppers, leather work gloves or boots.

And, yes, there will be a group ride following each workday.

Roger 0 comments 1:42 AM