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.

The adventure begins

Thanks, Zunguzungu.

Welcome to Cycling in Wichita, which is/will be about exactly what the title suggests: my notes on getting around the Air Capital on a bicycle, along with some musings of a more philosophical nature regarding how cycling re-shapes how we think of pragmatic issues such as transportation and transit issues, as well as discussions of such things as the notion of community, our habits as consumers, etc.

Why this blog, on this subject? Well, for one thing, I feel a bit like the fellow on the Raleigh, blogospherically-speaking: Wichita has some wonderful dedicated bikepaths but its streets aren't particularly bike-friendly. Meanwhile, some Googling about turned up several local clubs and blogs about touring, racing and recreational cycling (which, as time permits, I'll be linking to over in the gutter). However, I didn't find any local blogs dedicated to the thrills and chills of using a bike in town as primary mode of transportation--or, for that matter, how cyclists might engage each other and non-cyclists (not to mention, potentially, our elected officials) in discussions about how addressing cyclists' concerns can make a city more livable for everyone and not just people on bicycles. Maybe I just didn't find them. So, one hope I have is that people will find this blog and together we can foster a virtual and, eventually, an in-person community that the 'Nets are supposed to be so conducive in doing.

The other is that I find I have much more to say about all this than I had thought would be the case when I first decided, back in May, to buy a bike for my primary in-town transportation. As you'll see below, I'd already written several cycling-related posts at my other blog, but the people who visit there are almost exclusively not just out of town but out of the country. Some of the things I want to post on regarding cycling here in town simply wouldn't be of interest to such folks. But neither would local people be well served with only vague commentary about my routes--they'd want to know some particulars. So, when I realized that if I wasn't careful my other place would be overrun with posts on cycling, I decided to create this place.

For some initial context, readers should know that I live in the Riverpark Plaza apartments, located at the corner of West Central and Waco streets. Geographically, I could not be better-located as a Wichita cyclist: I'm in the city's center; and Riverside Park, directly across the Little Arkansas from my apartment complex, provides easy access to those wonderful bike-paths through Oak Park and along the Arkansas. However, I teach for Butler Community College's McConnell AFB site; bikes are allowed on base, but commuting there will be a challenge due to major roads to be crossed and the fact that shortcuts through residential areas are risky options. Fortunately, though, I have the summer to work all that out.

To give you some idea of what to expect to find here in the future, here are links to earlier cycling posts at my other blog:

Pedaling as butterfly-wing flapping

The experiment begins

Cycling and the fostering of community

As I get/make time in the next few days, the right gutter will fill up with links to sites that I hope other cyclists will find useful. If you have suggested links, let me know, either in comments or via e-mail at "blogmeridian AT sbcglobal DOT net".

Enough preamble. Welcome, and thanks for reading this far.