Bicycle Blog Cyclelicious

2009 Tour of Missouri start times Tour of Missouri in jeapordy Talk about penny wise and pound foolish. 'Cyclists should be shot' ...sheesh, fritz, now ya got me calling for the former mayor to apologize to the locals in madison...but hey, i was polite at least... That's my response too... he should apologize. And what's that about fresh vegetables? Kind of odd. Is he trying to be ironic?
Gene
Biking Bis I didn't write about the Webster Groves incident on my blog because 1) I thought discussion on the STLBiking.com was handling the issue well and 2) I saw it as a situation where the individual cop in question was ignorant of the law, not as a campaign against cyclists.

Unfortunately, some officers in the St. Louis region are ignorant of state and local traffic laws and how they pertain to cyclists.

I can't speak for the Missouri side of the river, but I'm hoping the League of Illinois Bicyclists' effort to educate the law enforcement community about traffic laws that apply to cyclists will make a difference. ...fritz, you mentioned that the post might likely be link-bait...the huge volume of responses was even commented on by his regulars...guess he struck a nerve...

...my contention is that the kind of attitude expressed by the statement, "should taken out and shot", while maybe said in jest in the mind of the ex-mayor, is irresponsible in that it allows a certain segment of the population, who already have little consideration for cyclists, to further be dismissive in their actions...

...along the lines of, "well, if the former mayor thinks they're idiots, why should i be concerned about 'em ?"...

...it will be interesting to see how soglin responds... ...fritz...if you're still following this, ex-mayor soglin did respond on 12/6/07 & again to a lesser degree on 12/7/07...he took snippets from various posts (including one of mine) & basically used them to defend his stance...

...what bothers me is that despite those of us who addressed soglins' irresponsible choice of words, that did not rate a response from the man whatsoever...

...so, bottom line, no apology, which doesn't surprise me but the lack of response to the most contentious point is disturbing... Howdy all,
I wrote a bit more about the Madison Teapot Tempest over on my blog.

I have no idea what's up with the fresh vegetables crack, because there haven't been any crashes involving a cyclist and a truck here in Madison since summer before last. Or maybe the summer before. Let's call that one a Straw Man. Tour of Missouri news Tour of Missouri 2007 video I've expanded my Bicycle racing feeds section over on my blog so it includes more items about Tour of Missouri.

I'm hoping the Tour of Missouri will do a lot to enhance the Midwest cycling scene because -- because as you know, Fritz, from your time in Illinois, cycling can use any boost it can get! Overland Park transportation and bicycling i know this area quite well as it's been my stomping grounds for the past 5 years. i think something that is always missed in discussions such as these is the fact that road condition and bike lane absence or neglect is only part of the equation. Drivers attitude and knowledge is a major factor. Like it or not KC in general is not very bike friendly in this regard as well. You could have a small group of riders obeying every law and rule possible, the farthest to the left as they can - and Mr SUV will freak out because he has to be a few precious moments late to his destination....

This has become so clear to me as i have recently relocated to the mecca that is Boulder.. Drivers (even those that apparently don't ride) know how to drive with cyclists, and don't worry or mind it either. Of course there is bike lanes or wide & swept shoulders just about everywhere, but still... I like metcalf south of 143rd street. It's pleasant, has a shoulder as big as most (pathetic) bike lanes out here, and people are used to seeing bicycles on the road. Any further north of that and you're in for a surprise. I've never ridden on the parts of Metcalf that they're talking about -- and for good reason! I've ridden on some parts of Metcalf that were out of my comfort zone, but only once in the daylight. The other time was almost midnight and there was no traffic to speak of.

I agree, though. Metcalf is a huge problem. I, myself made some passing comments on the state of suburban Kansas City's love affair with arterial roadways. The goal seems to be to make them wider, faster, and use them to make sure there's an interstate-accessible mini-highway within half a mile of anywhere.

The end result? Six or eight lanes of traffic with a posted limit of 45 (or sometimes 55) miles per hour, actual speeds averaging 50-60 miles per hour, and some people pushing the pedal for little 70 MPH jaunts between stop lights. Metcalf isn't just hell for bike/ped traffic. It's hell for everyone, including businesses and residential areas within half a mile either side. I live one block off Metcalf right where the new construction project is under way. There are SO many alternatives to riding on Metcalf that I never even considered using it for bike transportation. Between 83rd and 103rd you can use Lowell. Between 110th and 51st, Lamar is wonderful. Both Lowell and Lamar are wide enough that other traffic can get around you easily. I ride Lamar for ~30 to my Dad's and ~ 30 blocks back every Sunday and I've only had one incident where an elderly lady rolled through a stop sign forcing a quick stop.

Sure, I guess some bike facilities would be nice, but I don't think they're really needed.

A note about the Indian Creek Bike/Hike Trail: The construction at 103rd and Metcalf is taking out the part of the trail that ran under Metcalf. They have placed bike detour signs up both east and west to direct you to the crosswalk ACROSS Metcalf. I really recommend getting off the bike to walk it across and KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!!! They've added some pavement to join the sidewalk and path on the east side. I used to work in OP. It's been a few years, but I definitely had the feeling that cycling was not within the realm of most people in the area. Having moved to that area, I was surprised by how much the local roads look like LA highways.

I haven't lived in the KC area for a few years now, but I did see that a study was issued that KC is one of the least bicycling cities in the US. I don't know if they included OP in that study, but bicycling just doesn't seem to be in the cards for those folks. St. Louis County: "Bikes not an option for commute" Hey, you legal eagles out there, throw us a bone on how to stop this kind of crap in the courts. Obviously, they have NO intentions of listening to us. I think Mr. Earls might be misinformed. Sure ten speeds are a little dated, but they still work just fine. Personally, I alternate commuting on an 18 speed and a 1 speed, but I don't see why I couldn't get around on a bike with exactly 10 gears.

Wait, am I missing the point again :) "Hello, This is Emily Litella. I'm not home right now, but I will call you back as soon as possible. Just leave your name, number and what time you called after you hear the sound of the Jeep." Nevermind paul tay - don't give up yet! They may listen. In Atlanta we've been fighting road construction that would take out a bike lane. After tons of letters to the mayor and demonstration bike rides they stopped construction today:

http://www.atlantabike.org/Wesley_Road.html

Try it, it might work. Write tons of letters. Get the local residents involved. Ride the streets involved: show them what it'll be like to share these roads with lots of bikes during rush hour. The link doesn't indicate stopping construction... are they behind on updates?

Time for the monkeywrench gang? bradley, can you arrange for some of your more outspokin' cyclists to visit StL for awhile? We need more critical mass as our letters get the typical canned response and perhaps a few thousand riders would help. Don't worry, we don't have any roads here named Peachtree!