In the news . . .

It's a few days old, but it's still good to see some local-media coverage of commuter-cyclists.

Jim Grawe of KWCH posted this story, "Wichita Bike Riders Running Out of Room," on July 25, 2008 on the KWCH website. Grawe interviews Erick Riedell, who apparently commutes into the downtown area. Some of what Riedell says will be familiar to local cyclists (on the city's bike-paths: "They're great if you're going where those paths go, but if you don't live near a bike path and you want to come to Old Town, there's no paths coming downtown."); some, less so--at least in my (admittedly-brief) experience (on impatient motorists: "They'll throw bottles and spit on you and throw trash out the windows."). The story concludes with a general statement about how the city plans to link bike-paths together and make some major streets bike-friendlier (as I've noted elsewhere, most recently here).

The chief value of such a story is not in informing those of us who get about town but in informing those who don't. We become a little more visible via this piece, which is to the good.

An interview with a Wichita bike dealer

Hey! Have a look at this!

Bike sales are also brisk at Heartland Bicycle in Wichita's Old Town, said owner Byron Fick, a former Hutchinson resident.

"I haven't set any records, but sales have been up," Fick said. "There are seven bike shops in Wichita, so it gets spread around a little more than in Hutchinson. On average, we have the same amount of business."

Just like Harley's Bicycles, Fick's store has plenty of customers buying accessories or complete bikes and helmets to ride back and forth to work.

He likes to tell customers if they drive a large SUV, four or five tanks of gas would pay for the bicycle and some of the gear. Then when they've saved the money they would have spent on another tank of gas, they can buy shoes, a pair of glasses or something new for biking.

While some are probably spending their economic stimulus checks at the gas pump, Fick has also had customers using the check in his shop.

"I know six or seven customers who said that was what they chose to spend their stimulus check on," Fick said.

One customer in particular, coming from Salt Lake City, earmarked his stimulus check to buy a bike for his father.

The surge in business, and more people commuting to work, hasn't peaked yet, shop owners said.

That might come when gas sits at the $4 mark, said one salesman at the Heartland shop.

Meanwhile, Fick sets an example by commuting to work.

"Any rider starting out can ride 10 to 12 mph," Fick said. "Then, after getting used to the bike and interfacing with the bike seat, they can average 12 to 18 mph."

Wonderful to see, eh? Except: This article didn't appear in the Wichita Eagle but in the online edition of the Hutchinson [KS] News.

I myself found this story via the newsfeed for cycling news at Kansas Cyclist (thanks again, Randy)--see the nifty widget over in the right gutter I've added? But if a goal of cyclists here in town is consciousness-raising among Wichitans regarding cycling and cycling issues--as, in my humble opinion, it should be--it's a bit frustrating to see a piece like this appear in an out-of-town paper that, I suspect, even Eagle-readers are unlikely to run across.

Ah well. The journey of a thousand miles begins . . . with a kick of the kickstand.