Friday, November 30, 2007

Tour de Stooges has a new home

I'm pleased to announce today that the Tour de Stooges bicycle ride has a new home: Lindendale Park in Highland, Ill.

Why are moving the ride from its old home at McKendree University in Lebanon to Highland? The simple answer is that the ride and McKendree outgrew each other.

When the ride began in 1997, we drew about 150 riders. The 2007 version of the ride drew about 700 riders. At the same time, McKendree added more students, buildings and programs. While McKendree did a great job of handling our crowd this year, university officials determined they would not be able to handle the ride in future years because of the university's growth.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed about McKendree's decision. Having the ride at McKendree was a major factor in the ride's success. Having an indoor facility with restrooms for registration was a big plus. Even bigger was the fact we were able to use McKendree's cafeteria for our all-you-can-eat buffet at a very reasonable price.

Fortunately, we are leaving McKendree on good terms. Special thanks go out to Ed Willett, McKendree's director of operations, and Shazad Baig, Sodexho's campus service/food services manager, for their willingness to work with us. Ed's and Shazad's staffs always met the challenges we presented.

Another factor in the success of the ride is the scenic course, and keeping as much of that course as possible was a goal in finding a new home.

At first, we looked at O'Fallon, Ill., because it's the closest community to Lebanon with potential facilities to handle our crowd. Unfortunately, there were significant availability, traffic and safety issues. That, along with the city's rapid growth, probably would mean we have to move the ride again in a few years.

That led us to Highland. That community always was a part of the longer routes, and many cyclists told me they really enjoyed riding through Highland. Lindendale Park is the home of the Madison County Fair and plays host to many events during the year, ranging from stock car racing to the Art in the Park festival. While Highland is a growing community, the roads in and near the park are safe for cyclists. Lindendale Park has plenty of parking for large crowds.

While the shorter routes have changed, we've kept many of the same roads we've used in the past for the longer routes. We've also changed the Moe Metric to avoid one community where we've had problems with a road hazard in recent years.

We still will serve a lunch after the ride, but it won't be a all-you-can-eat brunch as it was in the past. It's nearly impossible to match the deal we had with Sodexho at McKendree, but we've found a caterer in the Highland area that will be able to give us a good meal, complete with tea and lemonade. Soda and beer will sold by the Helvetia Sharpshooters, which operates the pavilions at Lindendale Park.

We think you'll enjoy our new home and our new routes, and we hope to see you May 3 in Highland!

Labels: Tour de Stooges

Roger 0 comments 12:36 PM

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Katy Trail Connection

On Wednesday an event that the Missouri Bicycle Federation, bicycling and trails groups, and thousands of individuals across Missouri have been working hard to achieve for many years came to fruition with an agreement to "complete the Katy Trail" by connecting it to the Kansas City metro area.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Attorney General's Office, and the electric utility AmerenUE announced a settlement regarding the Taum Sauk dam disaster Wednesday,

The settlement includes about $180 million in reparation payments from Ameren.

Included in the settlement is a "trail use agreement" and $18 million that will allow DNR to build the Katy Trail Connection to Kansas City and will pay a good part of the expense of building the trail connection.

"Our thanks go to Governor (Matt) Blunt, Attorney General Jay Nixon, and DNR Director Doyle Childers for working together to make sure the Katy Trail Connection was included in the Ameren agreement," said Dr. Brent Hugh, president of the Missouri Bicycle Federation. "Political differences made the negotiations rocky at times, but all sides were able to see the benefit of the Katy Trail connection for all Missourians and, in the end, all sides had to work together to make it happen.

"All involved can consider the Katy Trail Connection to be an important part of their legacy--a new 46-mile long state park that will be enjoyed by many millions of citizens for decades and centuries to come," he said.

Here's some details about the connection provided by the federation:

• The Katy Trail connection will be built on the Rock Island railroadcorridor between Windsor and Pleasant Hill. Pleasant Hill is on the edge ofthe Kansas City metropolitan area. (Union Pacific owns the Rock Island line from From Pleasant Hill on in to Kansas City, and plans are already underway to connect the trail through Lee's Summit and eventually to downtown Kansas City via alternate routes.)
• The portion of the Rock Island corridor that will be used for the trail isabout 46 miles. Putting this together with the 'Machens extension' on theeast end (about 11 miles), this will increase the total size of thecomplete Katy Rail-Trail network to approximately 282 miles.
• The Rock Island portion of the trail will be a "rails-with-trails" project--the trail will be built in the railroad right-of-way alongside the railroad tracks so that the railroad can still use the corridor in the future. Building the Katy Trail Connection alongside the existing track will be relatively expensive compared with building a trail on the railbed, as the rest of the Katy Trail and most rail-trails are. Much grading and foundation work must be done, and bridges and underpasses built alongside existing railroad bridges and underpasses.
• However, the agreement includes $18 million from Ameren to assist in construction expenses. Apparently this is not enough to completely construct the 46-mile segment and additional funds will be needed--either from the Missouri General Assembly or from other sources.
• The state also receives first right of refusal for purchase of the railroad corridor if Ameren ever decides to sell it.

Here's some more links about the Katy Trail Connection

• Complete text of the agreement with Ameren (PDF format): http://ago.mo.gov/pdf/2007/TaumSaukConsentJudgment.pdf
  
• Where will the Katy Trail Connection go? What will it look like? A map and visualization of the "shared corridor concept" be found at the federation's site.
  
• Gov. Matt Blunt's press release
• Attorney General Jay Nixon's press release
• Kansas City Star
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  
• Associated Press
  

Labels: Katy Trail, Missouri

Roger 0 comments 3:01 AM

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Wide World of Bicycling Blogs

Thanks to my involvement in BlogShares, the fantasy blog stock market, I've been exposed to quite a few interesting bicycling blogs.

One that caught my eye, so to speak, is Copenhagen Cycle Chic, which as you can see from the image at left describes itself as being about "streetstyle & bike advocacy in high heels from the world's cycling capital."

Blog authors Mikael Colville-Andersen and Aaron Bateman seem to targeting this blog to male cyclists, although I would imagine female cyclists might be surprised by the type of shoes that can be worn while riding a bike. Here's Aaron's statement about the blog:

This is merely a photoblog from my everyday life in Copenhagen and a tribute to the women who populate this city.

35% of Copenhageners ride their bike to work or school each day, out of a population of 1.7 million people. Many of them are more aesthetically pleasing to the eye than others.

I have to say I'm in agreement with Aaron with his views about bicycle commuting. Here's what he had to say about the topic back in July:

If there are car commuters sitting in traffic thinking, "Hmm, today would be a nice day for riding to work..." they are hardly going to be encouraged to ride when they see lyrca-clad, hard-core cyclists flying past. On the contrary.

They'll think, "Oh bollocks, if I want to ride I'll have to infiltrate a closed sub-culture, not to mention buy loads of gear in order to 'fit in' and be accepted..."

They're not going to bother.

On the other hand, this blog, among others, serves an important purpose. It shows how easy it is to ride. How effortless and relaxing.

All you need is the clothes in your closet, a bike that works, and the desire to do it.

My experiences with newcomers who join the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society for a Wednesday Evening Ride but never come return backs that up. A lot of the newcomers are intimidated by the lyrca-clad veterans despite our efforts to reach out to them.

Another blog I recently discovered that happens to link to my blog is the Canadian Cycling Blog - Greener and Leaner. The blog is written by Nyall Engfield, an intellectual property lawyer from Ottawa who is trying to promote bicycle commuting in Canada. Another favorite Canadian blog of mine is Tanya's Toronto-based Adventures of Crazy Bike Chick.

Back in the United States, but further away from me than either of either of the Canadian blogs, is Jill Homer's Up in Alaska. Jill, a Juneau-based journalist, has one of the most well-written and well-illustrated bicycling blogs around. It helps that she rides in the world's most scenic areas.

Not surprisingly, some of America's best cycling blogs come from the West Coast. Three of my favorites are Fritz's Cycle-Licious, Kiril Kundurazieff's The Cycling Dude and Gene Bisbee's Biking Bis. All three do a great job of covering the cycling scene, not only in the West Coast, but the rest of the country.

Closer to home are Indiana-based Dan on Bike, in which Dan describes many of his rides. Jennifer's General Carlessness describes her efforts to get around the Chicago area without a car. League of Illinois Bicyclists board member Sue Jones writes the Urbana-Champaign Bicycle Commute Blog, in which she talks about her extensive riding as well as Central Illinois cycling issues.

STLbiking.com maintains a list of bloggers that may be of interest to St. Louis-area cyclists. Other blogs of note include Origin, which gives you a strong dose of caffeine with your cycling, and Beth Harris' Verbosity VELOcity, which gives you a strong dose of Catholicism with your cycling.

There's a great world of bicycling blogs out there, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Labels: blogs, cycling

Roger 4 comments 3:52 PM

Monday, November 26, 2007

Missouri trail plan suffers setback

Dardenne Greenway, initially proposed as a recreational trail across most of St. Charles County, Mo., is shrinking by more than a third, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported today.

The Great Rivers Greenway District hoped to build a 36-mile trail along Dardenne Creek from the Warren County line to the Mississippi River, the Post-Dispatch reported. But indifference or even hostility from some creekside landowners led the district to abandon its plan for the project's eastern and western ends. As a result, the trail will probably run from just west of the Busch Wildlife Area to just east of St. Peters' Lakeside 370 Park.

Nancy Thompson, the district's project manager for the Dardenne Greenway, said few landowners west of the Busch area and along the creek near the Mississippi were willing to grant trail easements.

"What happened is that we listened to the people and found that in the west part of the county there's very little willingness from property owners for a trail," she said.

Labels: Missouri, trails

Roger 0 comments 2:40 PM

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Educating and enforcing

The League of Illinois Bicyclists recently sent resources to Illinois police and sheriff's departments in an effort to educate and enforce the sharing of roads between cyclists and motorists.

The poster shown at left is part of that effort. It encourages officers and deputies to know the most frequent offenses by motorists and bicyclists. You can see a larger version of it by clicking on the image or by downloading the full-size version (19 x 27 inches, PDF format).

I think the poster, along with the PowerPoint presentation called "Safe Roads for Bicycling" (also available in a PDF format) and other materials posted at LIB's site, fairly presents the problems that cyclists and motorists create for each other. Among the materials is the new Illinois bike law card (PDF file) that includes the law that goes in effect Jan. 1 that requires motorists to give at least 3 feet of space when passing a cyclist.

The accidents that are caused by inattentive or impaired motorists that kill or seriously injure cyclists get the most attention by the bicycle advocacy community, and deservedly so. But the reality of the situation is that cyclists themselves sometimes are at fault. Hopefully, LIB's effort will educate cyclists, motorists and police officers about the rights -- and responsibilities -- for people who use Illinois' streets and highways.

The PowerPoint presentation makes some interesting points. For instance, it points out the worst offenses by cyclists:

• Riding against traffic.
• Traffic light violations.
• Failure to yield right-of-way.
• No lights at night.

As for motorists, the worst offenses are:

• Speed, Speed, Speed.
• Failure to yield.
• Disregard signs and signals.
• Turning and backing.
• Alcohol.

Another interesting section discusses teens and the poor and where they ride:

• Less-skilled, ride sidewalks.
• Prefer direct routes, need access to all destinations.
• Bike out of necessity.
• Ride at night.
• No lights or reflective clothing.
• Ride against the traffic.

My anecdotal experiences riding in the Belleville, Ill., area back up LIB's contentions. All too often, I see children and the poor -- sometimes those who are forced on bicycles because of DUI convictions -- ride against traffic, and they often ride without lights or reflective clothing at night.

I would recommend you review LIB's materials and spread the word.

Labels: accidents, advocacy, Illinois, League of Illinois Bicyclists, safety

Roger 0 comments 11:28 PM

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Walk-in vs. drive-thru

It never ceases to amaze me how much time -- and gasoline -- are wasted in fast-food restaurant drive-thru lanes.

I, too, once thought drive-thru lanes were wonderful things until I finally saw the light about 18 years ago. Tricia, a friend of mine who worked with me at The Telegraph, from 1989 to 1991, and I went to grab some lunch to go at a McDonald's in Alton, Ill. As I pulled in, she urged me to park the car and order the food inside. She told me it would be faster that way. I was skeptical, but I listened to her.

It turned out Tricia was right. We ordered and received our food well before the car that would have been ahead of us in the drive-thru lane reached the window!

Over the years, I've found that most of the time I've been able to get my food much faster by walking into the restaurant than waiting in the drive-thru, including today during a visit to a McDonald's in Belleville. (Yes, I know eating fast food isn't the best thing to do, but sometimes it's necessary.)

There was a long line of at least seven cars in the drive-thru lane. I, of course, walked into the McDonald's to get my meal. I took a look at the last car in line in the drive-thru. There was no line at the counter, and I got my food in a reasonably fast time. I looked outside, and that car still was sitting in line. I sat down and was nearly halfway done eating my meal before that car pulled away from the drive-thru window.

I much rather spend my money on bicycle tubes or lattes made and served by my niece at Mosaics on Main Street in downtown Belleville than on gasoline wasted in a drive-thru lane.

Thanks, Tricia, for teaching me that money-saving tip.

Labels: Belleville, conservation, food

Roger 1 comments 2:13 PM

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my friends on my MySpace page -- yes, I have one, but only primarily to bring people to this site (And, no, I am not too old to have a MySpace or Facebook page!) -- encouraged people to stop dwelling on the bad things or things that need improvement and try just being thankful for what you do have and that you are alive.

In addition to being alive, I'm grateful for:

• My family, whom I'll see tomorrow for Thanksgiving and the joint celebrations of my nephew and oldest niece, both of whom turn 17 this year.
• My friends. My odd hours keep me with connecting with you as well as I would like, but be sure you are frequently on my mind.
• My ability to ride a bike.
• My ability to play a leadership role in the Tour de Stooges and the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society.
• My job. Even though the newspaper industry is going through a difficult transition as more people rely on the Internet for news and advertising, it still gives me a lot of satisfaction to design a strong front page that draws people to read our paper.
• My faith, which keeps me anchored when things get a bit crazy.

I'm sure I can think of more if I had time, but I need to get back to work. I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S.: For those of you who live in the St. Louis area, KPLR-TV, Channel 11, will be having a Three Stooges marathon from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST Thursday. Thanksgiving is a great day for TV viewing -- if you're a guy!

Labels: family, friends, Thanksgiving, Three Stooges

Roger 0 comments 6:51 PM

Friday, November 16, 2007

Metro-east gets bike trail grants

Nearly $1.5 million has been awarded to communities in Southern Illinois to make improvements and expand bike trails.The grants were administered through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Bicycle Path Grant Program.

Here are the grants:

• Alhambra: $200,000 to build a 4.5-mile trail as an extension to the Nickel Plate Trail. The trail will begin at Hoxey Drive in rural Madison County to Main Street in Alhambra.

• Granite City: $199,800 to build 1.9 miles of trail as phase two of the Six Mile Prairie Trail System in Granite City. The trail runs along a sanitary canal between Pontoon Road and Maryville Road.

• Madison County Transit District: $600,000 total in three separate $200,000 grants. The grants will be used to: Build four miles as an extension to the Confluence Bikeway. The section begins at 20th Street in Granite City and runs to the McKinley Bridge which crosses at the Mississippi River. The trail will be built on top of the Chain of Rocks Canal levee; build 2.8 miles of limestone screening trail as an extension to the 14-mile Nickel Plate Trail. The section starts at Fruit Road in rural Madison County and extends east to Hoxey Drive; build a 0.4-mile addition to the Watershed Trail in Edwardsville. This segment start at West Union Street and ends at West High Street.

• Metro East Park and Recreation District: $200,000 to build a 6-mile trail on Chouteau Island along the levee. The trail will run from Chain of Rocks Road south to the southernmost tip of Chouteau Island. This is phase one of the new Eagle Points Trail System.

Labels: Illinois, trails

Roger 0 comments 2:45 PM

McKinley Bridge dedication

Just a reminder: The dedication of the refurbished McKinley Bridge, which connects St. Louis with Venice, Ill., will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday on the Illinois side of the bridge.

After the dedication, the bridge won't be open to vehicles until later this month, when the two vehicular lanes will be open to the public. Illinois Department of Transportation construction engineer Ted Nemsky told the Belleville News-Democrat that "very minor" steel repairs remain, bridge and bike rails need to be installed, and some touch-up painting needs to be completed.

Once the bridge is open to cyclists, there will be no direct connections -- for now, anyway -- from the bridge to any existing trails, the Riverfront Trail in Missouri and the Madison County Transit's Confluence and Schoolhouse trails in Illinois, but you can use streets and highways to get to them.

A trail to connect the bridge with the bridge with the Confluence Trail is likely to be finished in 2008. Until then, you can use Illinois Route 3 to get to 20th Street in Granite City, the southern trailhead of the confluence trail. The trail is on the west side of Route 3. Between the bridge and 20th Street, Route 3 has a wide, paved shoulder.

There also will be a direct connection from the bridge to the Riverfront Trail. Until then, you can take the bridge to the North Broadway intersection in St. Louis. Turn right on North Broadway, turn right on East Grand Avenue, turn left on Hall Street, turn right on East Prairie Avenue, and that will take you to the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing stop on the Riverfront Trail.

Someday, MCT hopes to connect the Schoolhouse Trail to the bridge, but that's many years down the road. I suppose you can go from the bridge to the Route 3/Broadway intersection in Venice, turn right on Route 3/Broadway, stay on Broadway when Route 3 veers to the right, turn right on Second Street in the city of Madison, turn right on Illinois Route 203 (McCambridge Avenue), turn right on Harrison Street and hop on the trail there.

However, I would advise you not take to use option unless you're sure of where you're going and feel comfortable riding in urban areas. A wrong turn could put you in some dicey neighborhoods in the Venice-Madison area.

Labels: Illinois, McKinley Bridge, MCT Trails, Missouri, St. Louis

Roger 0 comments 1:01 PM

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Welcome to the world of widgets

Yes, it's true, I have a widget for my blog now! I originally did it as an application for Facebook, but if any of you are interested in adding the widget, be my guest!

Labels: computers

Roger 0 comments 12:29 AM

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Tragic accident can't take away photographer's spirit

The Sunday edition of the Belleville News-Democrat has an extensive feature about Gerry "Chief" Frierdich, the Belleville photographer and recumbent cyclist seriously injured in an accident Aug. 19.

About 6:10 that morning, he was riding his bicycle on the shoulder of South Green Mount Road in Belleville when a pickup veered off and slammed into him.

Gerry doesn't remember the accident, according to the article by Sunday Magazine editor Maureen Houston. He woke about five weeks later, a quadraplegic. Cervical discs 6 and 7 in his spine suffered severe damage from the impact. Every ligament and tendon near the discs were torn.

He has paralysis from the chest down. He can move his forearms, but has no fine motor movement in his hands. His diaphragm is weak, but building his strength back will help him breathe easier, said his sister, Robyn Weilbacher.

Over the last couple of months, Gerry dealt with four broken ribs, a blood infection, pleursy, pneumonia, a collapsed lung, a traecheotomy, multiple infections, peripheral vision loss in his right eye, constant pain in his back and left arm, and a lot of wondering about the future.

"It's scary," Gerry told the News-Democrat. "You wake up and you just can't move. I'm taking it day by day. If I think about it too much, I get depressed."

On Thursday, Gerry was transported to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago for up to a year of rehabilitation.

To raise money for his expensive treatment, friends of Gerry are selling the T-shirt shown at left. The shirts are $15 for adults (sizes S, M, L, XL and XL) and $12 for children (sizes S, M and L).
To place an order, contact Sandy Gore at 4gores@charter.net or 618-277-5129. So that your order doesn’t get delayed, please specify the number of shirts and sizes. Payment will be due when your order is picked up. You can get more information about the shirt and Gerry at the Chief Get Well Web site.

There is a strong probability the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society will help friends and family of Gerry put on a benefit ride in the spring of 2008.

To date, no charges have been filed against the driver of the pickup truck, but my understanding is that the case remains under investigation by the St. Clair County State's Attorney's office. It was only recently that investigators were able to speak to Gerry about the accident.

Labels: accidents, Belleville, cycling, Gerry Frierdich

Roger 0 comments 11:56 AM

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Hit the Donut Trail!

Thanks to Alton Brown and his Food Network show "Feasting on Asphalt," St. Louis has developed a reputation for its family-owned doughnut shops.

That prompted Thomas Carter, a St. Louis-area cyclist who regularly rides with the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society, to create the Donut Trail, a 23-mile route that hits five of those doughnut shops.

T.C. isn't trying to create a new version of the Tour de Donut, where people eat as many doughnuts as possible to earn time bonuses. Instead, this is intended to be a social ride where people can actually savor the doughnuts.

And, believe me, these doughnuts are worth savoring.

T.C. and his girlfriend, longtime BABES ride leader Arlene Willmann, Verbosity VELOcity blog author Beth Harris and I hit the trail this morning with the hope of hitting all five shops along the route: Donut Drive-In, World’s Fair Donuts, St Louis Hills Donut Shop, Eddie's Southtown Donuts and O'Fashion Donuts.

We met at the Forest Park MetroLink station about 9:30 a.m. I know that's not early for many of you, but it is for me. I have to work most Saturday nights at the Belleville News-Democrat because I'm responsible for designing the front page for our biggest paper of the week. That means it takes me a long time to wind down at the end of the night, between 11:30 and 12:30, and it takes me until about 3 a.m. to get to the point where I can get to sleep. That's why people in the St. Louis area don't see me at too many Sunday morning rides.

Even though my cycling today reflected my lack of sleep, the quest for the perfect doughnut kept me going.

After riding through Forest Park and The Hill neighborhood, our first stop on the Donut Trail was World's Fair Donuts at Vandeventer Avenue and Shaw Boulevard. It was a good sign when we saw one of the proprietors making doughnuts behind the counter. I bought an apple fritter and a cup of coffee. The apple fritter was probably the best I've ever had! The fritter had a healthy dose of cinnamon, which really enhanced the taste. Beth has posted her photos from the trip at Picasa.

We took a trek through Tower Grove Park, which is known for its distinctive picnic pavilions and being a favorite spot for St. Louis-area couples to get married, on our way to Eddie's Southtown Donuts on Kingshighway. Eddie's is a favorite doughnut stop for Beth, and the folks there know her by name. I splurged ate two doughnuts, a glazed and a buttermilk doughnut. The glazed doughnut was heavier than a Krispy Kreme doughnut, but lighter than the doughnuts Jubelt's Bakery in Mount Olive, Ill., make for the Tour de Donut. I was surprised the folks at Eddie's had never heard of the Tour de Donut, but they were flabbergasted when I told them some people have actually eaten 30 doughnuts during the course of the race. I enjoyed the buttermilk doughnut as well.

We rode toward St. Louis Hills Donut Shop, only to find that it had closed early. Beth left us at that stage because she had to get home, but T.C., Arlene and I continued up to Donut Drive-In, located on Chippewa Avenue (old Route 66) near Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. There, I drank a bottle of milk and ate a chocolate-iced cake doughnut complete with orange and black sprinkles. Donut Drive-In lays the icing on thick, and I could really taste the chocolate.

Arlene had a sugar-coated doughnut, and the sugar left its mark on the top of her lips. All too cute!

Our course for the day went past many well-kept homes and other buildings with interesting architecture. The city of St. Louis gets a bad rap because of its high number of homicides; one TV station once called them the "mean streets." While it's horrible that St. Louis has as many homicides as it does, the vast majority of them are in one section of the city. Most of the rest of the city is as safe -- if not safer -- than other major U.S. cities.

We continued toward O'Fashion Donuts, only to find that shop had closed for the day. Most of the family-owned doughnut shops in St. Louis are closed by noon or 1 p.m. on Sundays, so I would recommend starting the ride sooner that 9:30 a.m. if you want to visit all five shops.

All in all, the Donut Trail is a very sweet ride. The BABES may do a more organized version of the ride in 2008.

Labels: cycling, doughnuts, St. Louis

Roger 1 comments 8:39 PM

Saturday, November 03, 2007

St. Louis bike rack design winner

Patty Vinyard, acting executive director of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation, passed along this press release about the winner of the group's bike rack competition:

The St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation has announced Justin Gerard of St. Louis as the winner of its bike rack design competition. The competition is part of the Bike Parking Demonstration Project which aims to work with local municipalities and businesses to get approximately 100 bike racks in the ground. The Bike Fed selected Justin’s design out of the 40 design submissions it received.

Justin’s design is reminiscent of the St. Louis Arch and incorporates a medallion that can carry a bike image or customized sponsor advertising. In addition to receiving name recognition on all racks produced with his artwork, Justin will also be able to choose the location for a bike rack to be installed.

The Bike Parking Demonstration Project received $40,000 in federal funding and a $5,000 grant from REI Gives.In addition, $5,000 will be funded to the Project through donations from individuals as well as matching funds from the William A. Kerr Foundation.

Honorable mentions in the bike rack design competition include: Brian Bergfeld, Mathew Wright, Robin Murez, Elizabeth Kramer and Annemarie Spitz.

About REI Gives: Annually, REI dedicates a portion of its operating profits to help protect and restore the environment, increase access to outdoor activities, and encourage involvement in responsible outdoor recreation. REI employees nominate organizations, projects, and programs in which they are personally involved to receive funding or gear donations. During 2006, REI granted $4 million to more than 430 of our community partners.

About the William A. Kerr Foundation: The William A. Kerr Foundation is a small family foundation funded by the estate of, and named after William A. Kerr. The Foundation is managed by Kerr’s two nephews, John Sweet of St. Louis, and William Sweet of Walnut Creek, California. The foundation focuses the majority of its charitable grants in these two geographical areas.

I like the design of the rack, at least on an aesthetic level. It incorporates the most iconic image of St. Louis, the Gateway Arch, and the medallions are a nice touch. Are the racks practical? That's a question that those of you who are engineers or use bike racks more often than I do might be able to answer.

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

Roger 3 comments 1:31 AM