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

 

Getting people out of their cars

NYC Street Renaissance recently posted on its StreetFilms.org site an interview with Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogota, Colombia.

Penalosa changed the way Bogota treated its non-driving citizens by restricting automobile use and instituting a bus rapid transit system that now carries a 500,000 residents daily. Among other improvements: He widened and rebuilt sidewalks, created grand public spaces and implemented over one hundred miles of bicycle paths.

He contends making the streets friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists makes them more friendly to people.

Thanks to frequent reader Jack Painter to bring this video to my attention!

Labels: advocacy, cycling

Roger 0 comments 6:44 PM

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Tour de Grape canceled

Unfortunately, the next three weeks got a little bit easier for me tonight. That's because HavenHouse St. Louis, a not-for-profit agency that provides housing for the families of children in St. Louis-area hospital, decided to cancel the Tour de Grape, which was scheduled for May 12-13. Here's the statement just posted on the ride's Web site:

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we regret to inform you that the Tour de Grape, originally scheduled for May 12-13, 2007, has been cancelled. If you already have signed up for the ride, your fee will be refunded shortly.

We thank you for your interest in the event and in HavenHouse St. Louis. ...

While I'm disappointed about the decision, it was a learning experience for me and for HavenHouse. We learned a lot about the ins-and-outs about trying to put on a major fund-raiser, especially in a region that has a wide variety of fund-raisers.

I had the privilege of working with Kathy Sindel, HavenHouse's executive director, and Julie Gaebe, HavenHouse's development director. Kathy and Julie put a lot of energy and dedication to a worthwhile cause, and I applaud the work they've done in building HavenHouse.

Kathy and her husband, Charley, are active cyclists, and I had the pleasure to ride with them as well as with Larry and Mary Jo Keith back in October when we scouted the second day of the event that toured the French Colonial regions of Missouri and Illinois. Larry, Charley and Mary Jo also put a lot of hard work into the event, and I hope to see them often on road.

The committee that planned Tour de Grape has a lot to be proud of, despite the cancellation of the event. I'm sure the lessons learned will help HavenHouse develop successful fund-raising efforts in the future.

Here's some pictures that I took during our scouting trip. It's a shame cyclists will be missing these scenes:


The historic Bolduc House in Ste.
Genevieve, Mo., dates from the 1700s.


The Pierre Menard home near
Chester, Ill. Menard was the first
lieutenant governor of Illinois.


The Mississippi River bridge leading
to Chester, Ill.

Labels: Tour de Grape

Roger 1 comments 10:59 PM

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Tour de Donut registration open

Registration is under way for the 2007 edition of the Tour de Donut bicycle "race" in Staunton, Ill.

This, folks, is the original Tour de Donut, not the copycat event down in Texas that claims the same name nor other similar events put on in other parts of the country. This is the Tour de Donut that is the subject of the documentary film "Tour de Donut: Gluttons for Punishment."

If you sign up before June 30, the fees are $20 for single riders and $40 for tandem riders. After June 30, the fees are $30 for single riders and $50 for tandems. There is no day-of-ride registration.

Not only that, you have to sign up for the event online. The Boeing Employee Bicycle Club is not offering mail registration this year.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of the Tour de Donut, it's a 32-mile timed event. For each doughnut eaten, you get 5 minutes off your time. You can learn about the origins of the race elsewhere on this Web site.

Labels: cycling, Tour de Donut

Roger 0 comments 6:55 PM

More odds and ends

PROGRESS ON NEGLIGENT VEHICULAR HOMICIDE BILL: Last week, the Illinois House overwhelmingly passed a bill (115-1) that would create the offense of negligent vehicular homicide. The bill now goes to the Senate.

The bill is, at least in part, in response to the tragic death of Champaign-Urbana area cyclist Matt Wilhelm, who was killed in 2006 when he was struck by a car driven by a woman downloading a cell-phone ring tone. The woman was charged with a petty offense after Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz determined that under current Illinois law, she could not have been charged with the felony charge of vehicular homicide.

The bill would create a middle ground for those accidents that rise above a petty offense but do meet the "willful and wanton" disregard for public safety standard required for a felony charge.

STUDENT BUILDS UP FOR BIKE AND BUILD: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today about the efforts of 26-year-old Lindenwood University junior to raise money for Bike and Build, an organization that provides money for affordable housing projects throughout the country.

On May 25, David Gowryluk of Holland, Manitoba, and 30 other cyclists will begin a 3,600-mile journey from Manteo, N.C., to San Diego. Gowryluk and his fellow cyclists are scheduled to end the trip July 27.

CAUTION URGED ON MCT CONFLUENCE TRAIL: The U.S. Corps of Engineers will be working on the levee between Chain of Rocks Road near Granite City, Ill., and Cahokia Creek until 2009, creating rocky conditions for cyclists and runners on the Madison County Transit Confluence Trail. The Confluence Trail may or may not be closed during this period. Please ride with caution in this area until further notice.

Meanwhile, the MCT Nature Trail remains closed from Sand Road, near Edwardsville to Anderson Lane in Pontoon Beach for reconstruction. The trail will reopen June 1. Cyclists, runners, rollerbladers, etc. are urged to avoid that section of the trail.

Labels: advocacy, charities, cycling, safety, trails

Roger 0 comments 9:39 AM

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Bike rack design competition

The St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation invites artists, designers, cyclists and other creative people to submit creative bike rack designs for short term, outdoor bike parking.

The Bike Fed has secured a federal grant to place bike racks in St. Louis city and St. Louis County in the coming months. Winners will have their names on all racks built with their designs and be able to select one location on public property in the city or the county to have their rack installed (subject to restrictions). Deadline for submissions is May 20.

You can either download an entry form (PDF) or get a form by mail by sending a request to Bob Foster or Patty Vinyard at info@stlbikefed.org.

Labels: bike racks, St. Louis, St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation

Roger 0 comments 1:48 PM

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Odds and ends

This post may be a bit longer than normal, but that's OK. Over the next three or four weeks, the posts will be few and far between because of the work I'm doing on Tour de Stooges and Tour de Grape.

So far, about 250 people have signed up for Tour de Stooges, and we're expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 people. I just hope we have enough parking for everyone because McKendree College will be having several events that day as well, so I'm busy finding some alternative parking spots for the ride. Both McKendree and the Tour de Stooges have experienced tremendous growth in the 10 years since the ride began, so we hope to keep everyone as happy as possible.

There's plenty of spots left for one-day and two-day options for Tour de Grape, so if you're looking for an interesting ride May 12-13 around Ste. Genevieve and Farmington, Mo., and want to help a good cause, this is a ride for you.

Here's some more odds and ends for you:

BYE, BYE COLD WEATHER (I HOPE!): The abnormally cold weather we've had in the Midwest, plus work responsibilities that forced me to work a couple of day shifts, kept me from getting any decent miles on the bike last week.

Today, the sun decided to make an appearance, and the temperatures jumped back into the 50s, so I got in a 20-mile ride today. Because it's spring in the Midwest, it meant it was a windy ride. Rides tend to be breezy around here until the corn grows high enough to serve as a wind block.

Corn also serves another purpose for Midwest cyclists. It provides cover and -- in a pinch -- toilet paper for those times you have to go when you're miles from the nearest restroom. I found out the hard way today that I should be packing a few squares of toilet paper along with my duct tape. I was able to make do with some other paper I had in my bag, but toilet paper does the job much better

Trust me on that one!

BABES WEDNESDAY EVENING RIDES: The Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society starts its 2007 season of Wednesday Evening Rides this week on the trails of Madison County.

The April 18 and April 25 rides will start at the Metro East Park and Recreation Building in Collinsville. If you're looking for a good ride with a good group of people, show up at 6 p.m. and we'll take off at 6:15 p.m. Ride 10-25 miles on smooth trails. Newcomers are very welcome. After the ride, we'll have dinner, probably at the nearby Culver's Restaurant.

SPIRITUALITY ON A SIMPLE LEVEL: Being a Catholic means lots of ritual. I think that's a good thing because it ties us in with the people who have worshiped Christ over the centuries.

My parish here in Belleville is St. Peter's Cathedral, but I rarely go there. It's not that I have a problem with the current bishop here in the Belleville Diocese, the priests at Cathedral or the more formal ritual you get at the Cathedral, but it's more an issue of the Mass times being too early for me. As design editor of the Belleville News-Democrat, I have to work Saturday evenings for our big Sunday paper. That means I don't get to bed until 2 or 3 a.m., so getting up in the morning is difficult. (It's also a big reason why I don't make it to very many of Trailnet's Bicycle Fun Club rides.)

Fortunately, Corpus Christi Church in Shiloh has a 6 p.m. Mass, and I truly get a lot out of it. Corpus Christi is probably the best-kept secret in the area. The church building itself is very small, dating from 1913 the days when Shiloh was a tiny village of about 390 people. The building isn't even half the size of the parish I attended in my hometown of Brighton, Ill. Between 1990 and today, Shiloh has grown from abut 3,400 people to about 11,000.

Monsignor Jim Marguson does a great job of saying a lot with a minimum of words, a quality I appreciate as an editor! In addition, music director Drew Cowell does a great job of keeping the music fresh. He isn't afraid to spring unfamiliar songs on the congregation, but he's such a strong leader that people catch on quickly.

The message was clear: The world would be a much better place if we would learn to accept and forgive one another.

JUST MARRIED: My heartiest congratulations go out to longtime friend Steve Whitworth and Jill Moon, who got married Saturday. Steve, an assistant city editor at The (Alton, Ill.) Telegraph, has been a good friend of mine since our college days at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Steve's not a cyclist, but he is an avid birder. Here's hoping Steve and Jill have many happy years together.

Labels: Belleville Area Bicycling Eating Society, Catholic, cycling, friends

Roger 0 comments 11:59 PM

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

VeloCity Café and Cyclery

The DeBaliviere neighborhood in St. Louis soon will be home to the VeloCity Café and Cyclery.

Sauce Magazine, St. Louis' best source for news about fine dining, recently described it as half-eatery, half-bicycle shop.

VeloCity Café and Cyclery will be in the old Bristol Hotel at DeBaliviere and Pershing avenues, just north of the Missouri History Museum and next door to the Forest Park Metro Station. Sauce Magazine says it will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner menus; bicycle repair services; and a range of rental bicycles, including tandem, comfort, road, recumbent and kids’ bikes.

Sarah, one of the members of the VeloCity Café and Cyclery team, told me: "At the moment we are starting construction on the building and feel a bit unsure about our exact opening date. We are hoping to open in the end of May or early June (in order to be available for as much of the summer as possible) but it all depends on how fast the process goes."

Labels: bicycles, restaurants, St. Louis

Roger 0 comments 5:28 PM

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Bicycle racing on network TV

I know this is short notice, but for those of you who are bicycle racing junkies may want to watch the U.S. Open Cycling Championship today on NBC. Same day coverage of the race will be broadcast from 1:30 to 4 p.m. CDT.

VeloNews reports that this is significant for U.S. cycling fans because it is the first time since the 1996 Tour DuPont that an American cycling event will have same-day national network coverage. In recent years, U.S. cycling fans have had to rely on cable networks to get same-day coverage of events such as the Amgen Tour of California.

Let's hope the broadcast gets decent ratings so the networks will increase their coverage of cycling.

Labels: cycling, racing, television

Roger 0 comments 11:39 AM

Monday, April 02, 2007

MCT Nature Trail closes Tuesday

As I mentioned Thursday, Madison County Transit will be resurfacing the MCT Nature Trail because of massive cracks in the pavement. On Thursday, the timetable had not been set.

That's no longer the case. Beginning Tuesday, April 3, the MCT Nature Trail will be closed from Sand Road, south to Anderson Lane in Pontoon Beach for reconstruction. The trail will reopen in this area on June 1. For your safety, MCT is asking cyclists to avoid the trail in this area.

Thanks to MCT's extensive trail system, you'll still be able to ride on a trail between the Granite City/Pontoon Beach area and the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area while work is being done on the Nature Trail. Instead of using the Nature Trail, you can use the Nickel Plate Trail, which intersects with the Nature Trail near Long Lake, and take the Nickel Plate Trail through Glen Carbon into Edwardsville.

Labels: MCT Trails, trails

Roger 0 comments 8:25 PM

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Bello the clown gets his mini-bike back

There's good news in the circus world tonight: Bello Nock, the daredevil clown, and his lost little bike were reunited Sunday.

The Associated Press reported the star of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus thanked Ricky Robinson, who found Bello’s shiny foot-high, 6-inch-wide contraption Friday night outside a restaurant on Manhattan’s West Side.

The bitty bike was taken from a Manhattan street Friday. Bello and two fellow clowns had put on an impromptu show for a passing camera crew, when Bello rested his bike against a street sign and forgetfully walked away.

No matter if you're a circus star or a humble cyclist in the Midwest, Bello's reaction reveals the relationship between a bicycle and the person who rides it:

“I need my bike. That is my bike."

Labels: bicycles, clowns

Roger 0 comments 10:15 PM

It's Opening Day!

Spring is officially here in the St. Louis area.

How do we know that?

Simple, it's Opening Day at Busch Stadium!

No, I didn't have tickets to the game, but I did listen to part of the pre-game ceremonies on the radio while I was driving home from Edwardsville and saw the raising of the 2006 World Championship flag.

To most of the country, the old Budweiser jingle "Here Comes the King," doesn't mean much, but it means a whole lot here in St. Louis -- especially this year. I have to say I was totally pumped up and humming along as Busch Stadium organist Ernie Hays repeatedly played the song while Cardinals broadcaster John Rooney and actor Billy-Bob Thornton introduced Cardinals from the past and present.

I have to wonder what the New York Mets were thinking during the ceremony. The Cardinals beat the Mets 4 games to 3 in a hard-fought National League Championship Series. Whatever it was, the Mets ended up beating the Cards 6-1 tonight.

But as a reminder of how magical the Cards' 2006 season was, I share with you Ernie Hays playing "Here Comes the King" during Game 5 of the 2006 World Series:

Labels: baseball, spring, St. Louis Cardinals

Roger 0 comments 9:37 PM

Thank God for duct tape!

Way back in November, I had to buy a roll of duct tape during the BubbaFest bicycle tour of the Florida Keys to keep my bike pump on my rental bike for the trip.

It's a good thing I had that duct tape today.

Several of us from the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society did an informal ride on the MCT Trail system with a finishing stop at the Vintner's Cellar Winery in Edwardsville. It was a bright, sunny day with winds from the west of about 22-24 mph, but the winds weren't the worst of it for me.

When I took the bike out my car, I noticed a small bump in my front tire. I probably should have something about it then, but I thought it would make it through a 13-mile ride.

About three-quarters of the way through the ride, the bump was getting more noticeable. I deflated the tube and found that the Kevlar bands were starting to separate. I figured a couple of layers of duct tape would see that tire through, and I was back on the road.

As I was pedaling north on the Goshen Trail, I started hearing a pinging sound. I thought at first it was a brake pad that was rubbing, but that wasn't it. Less than 100 yards later, my rear tube popped.

While examining the tire, I noticed interior fibers of the tire stick out of it. Sure enough, the Kevlar bands were separating in the rear tire as well. Out came the duct tape again, and I put three layers of it over the gash. Fortunately, my buddy Charles Beil was in the vicinity and helped me get back on the trail.

The tires made it the final three miles back to the winery. It looks like I get to go the bike shop tomorrow!

Labels: Belleville Area Bicycling Eating Society, MCT Trails, repairs, wine

Roger 0 comments 7:58 PM