50 States--100 Bike Blogs

I learned today that Cycling in Wichita was chosen by Jason of 100 KM as one of two Kansas cycling blogs to appear on his list of 100 U.S. cycling blogs (the other is the inimitable Commuter Dude, somewhere over in Johnson County.

As all of us know, sometimes a little question starts pestering us--an intellectual itch needs scratching. Jason's was, Can I find at least two cycling blogs for each of the 50 states? The answer, after a couple of weeks of searching, is Yes.

Here follows are some of Jason's guiding principles for choosing the blogs that would appear on his list:

I didn't have a completely set criteria for the bike blogs I chose beyond only two per state, but I did favor those that update regularly when I could. I tried to mix in some famous (dare I say canonical) bike blogs that I read regularly, with a bunch of others that I hadn't come across before. I also wanted to get a good mix of mountain bikers, bike commuters, hipsters, advocates, roadies and randos- and I think I did fairly well in that regard. The cycling diversity that I found throughout the country was downright American and reinforced what a powerful and unlimited tool for fun, utility and community the bicycle is.

Somehow or other, this blog fit in there, and I'm humbled and honored that it did, especially when any number of equally-deserving blogs could--and in some cases should--have been chosen before this one was.

I'll be putting a link to this list over in the gutter; in the meantime, I hope you'll go visit Jason's list, visit some blogs and, as Jason notes, get a sense of the diverse community that cyclists form in this country.

Thanks again, Jason.

Let's meet, shall we?

UPDATE: Welcome, visitors from Douglas and Main! Please consider yourselves invited to join me/us on Sunday as well.

What do you have planned for Sunday, August 24, at 9:00 a.m.?

If you're in the neighborhood and are able, I hope you'll consider riding over (or bring your bike(s) if you drive) to the trailhead on Hillside (just north of 27th Street) at Grove Park to meet me and whoever else might show up. Bring family/friends/Significant Others for (weather permitting) a morning of meeting and greeting me and fellow visitors to this blog, and a (very) relaxed ride either around the park or down the K-96 Bike Path.

No need to RSVP; just show up on Sunday, and we'll leave from there at 9:30.

I hope you can join me.

Cycling on the sidewalk

Ray of Bike Noob confesses and explains his rationale. Andrew of Carbon Trace links to Ray and offers his own take.

What say y'all on this?

I'm in no position to pontificate one way or the other. Personally, I use either the streets or designated bike paths; but on occasion, due to heat or getting winded, I've been known to hop onto the sidewalks for a little bit until I feel stronger. That happened much more often during my early days of cycling than it does now (the weather is cooler, and I'm in better shape now). But I am of the opinion, and I've seen it borne out, both while out and about and on others' blogs, that riding in the street and observing of traffic laws (riding with traffic, taking your lane at lights, stopping at lights and stop signs) is on the whole not only safer but faster than (proper) riding on the sidewalk is. And (okay, here I will pontificate a wee bit) if we want to see the day when cyclists are regarded by motorists not as moving road hazards but as also deserving of the same care and caution as other motorists are, the only way that will happen is if we're on the streets as well--it's then that cycling ceases being thought of first as recreation and, instead, as legitimate transportation.

As a commenter says in response to Bike Noob's post, if you feel uncomfortable in the street, you should consider changing your route to your destination. To which I say, "Absolutely!" If I hadn't found Mt. Vernon as an alternative to Pawnee for my commute, I'm not sure I'd still be persisting with cycling to work. As Robert Frost says in a rather different context,

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Though I'm not sure Frost's speaker is being entirely truthful here (read the whole thing carefully), I assure you that, as regards bike-commuting, I am.

Sunday Ride #4, Part II: South on Arkansas River Path, Herman Hill Park

Though the bike I saw it on was a road bike, yesterday I saw a commuter heading north on McLean with an engine assist like this one--first one I've seen. Image found here.

Route maps: MapMyRide; Veloroute. Official map of Arkansas River Bike Path here. As when I went north on the Arkansas path, this was in its essence an out-and-back trip, with a side trip across the river at Pawnee to check out the greenspace just south of that street, about which more later. The route is basically flat; the path is in decent to good shape, though there are some drainage problems where the path passes alongside O. J. Watson Park. The one notable road hazard is at the railroad trestle south of Broadway: there, the path narrows and turns sharply at the base of one of the bridge piers, and gravel from the trackbed is scattered about on the path. If geese count as a road hazard, you'll want to watch for them along Greenway just north of Garvey Park: you almost have to nudge them with your bike before they'll deign to waddle off the path.

(Pictures would be nice, you're thinking, and you're right. When I get a little money . . . )

Tuesday morning: another cool morning, no place to be at any set time . . . I highly recommend that y'all get yourselves one of these sabbatical things.

The day after I bought my Fuji, my first real excursion on it was south on the Arkansas Bike Path. That, combined with the fact that my daily commute runs south to where Harry crosses the river, means that most of yesterday's trip was familiar to me. Some Saturday or Sunday, I'll ride down to try and get a sense of how utilized this path is. Yesterday, though, I met only one other cyclist south of Pawnee, and he (older man, on a cruiser) was clearly just out for a relaxing ride. As, of course, was I.

Re the southern end of my route: The Google Maps apps I used--and for that matter, the "analog" (read: paper) city map I have here are simply not correct in their depiction of the area around Garvey Park. Washington St. abruptly ends where it intersects with Galena; and to Galena's south, it's basically parkland and an elementary school, as near as I can tell. The city's map of the park is the accurate one. At any rate, it's from Garvey Park to, more or less, where Gypsum Creek empties into the river that the city will be building the connector between the Arkansas River and Gypsum Creek paths that I've mentioned before. The park's developed section is quite small, with a community garden, a (very) small playground area, a few picnic tables, restrooms, and a place on the river to put in canoes and kayaks. Most of its acreage is given over to habitat preservation, and it's down at the river's edge--lots of cottonwoods, sandbars--that you can get a sense of what the river once looked like along its entire length through this part of the state. So, while it'd be hard to imagine spending an entire day there, Garvey Park is a nice, quiet place to relax for a bit before heading back up the path.

It was partly accidental and partly out of curiosity that I visited Herman Hill Park on the return trip. Heading south, I noticed that south of Pawnee on the east bank there appeared to be a bike path that wasn't on any of the city's maps, so on the return trip I crossed the river at Pawnee to have a look. No bike path, but this very nice park instead. Herman Hill is one of the city's older parks, but not too long ago it received a dramatic facelift. Already home to a filtration plant that treats storm sewer water before passing it on to the river, the city has built a facility dedicated to teaching people about water's role in the environment: there's a building with exhibits and classroom/meeting space, and outside is a fountain, a small recreation of a creek and wetland, and a nice view of the river. There's also a disc-golf course there, plus the requisite playground area, picnic tables, etc. As with Garvey Park, Herman Hill is not a place to spend an entire day, but it's definitely a quiet, easily-accessible spot of green on the river more than suitable for an hour or two of relaxing.

If they can make it there . . .

A pedicab goes down the dedicated lane for it on the newly-reconfigured Broadway north of Herald Square.

Matthew Yglesias has links to two excellent discussions of Complete Streets among his posts for today. In the first, he links to an article in the Boston Globe Magazine; in the second, he links to a post from Streetsblog on the new "Broadway Boulevard" project. Go have a look.

Yglesias argues that a citizenry gets the city it has the will to work toward, that the form it takes is not inevitable:

[A] town or city needs to decide whether or not they really think that maximizing vehicle speed is the right priority for the design of their streets. If you decide to make it the priority, then you’ll wind up with a city that’s bad for pedestrians — narrow sidewalks, wider roads to cross, walk signs that only work if you press a button, intersections where walkers defer to turning traffic, etc. — and at the same time you’ll have fast-moving vehicles that tend to collide with human beings in a relatively deadly manner. If you decide not to make it the priority, then you get the reverse — wide sidewalks, narrow road crossings, adequate walk signals, and intersections where turning traffic defers to pedestrians. Cars will move slower through your city and there will be fewer car-person collisions and those that do occur will be less lethal.

And, I'll just add: streets with fewer cars, because alternate methods of getting about town will be more appealing.

Today's commute: things noted

Out to the base and back today, I saw a good half-dozen folks who looked like commuters: no spandex, most with helmets, a couple with panniers, all of them with packs. Also, this afternoon one of the elementary school's bike racks held at least six bikes when I went by around 3:30.

At school this morning I spoke to my colleague Kerry, who teaches biology. During Finals Week this past May, she and her sister took a bike tour of Tuscany while I proctored one of her exams for her (I offered to fax her the Scantron sheets (the "bubble" sheets so beloved of your public school days of yore) so she could score them and enter the grades, but she e-mailed me back to say that the Scantron machines there only read Italian. Smart-ass.) Anyway, I asked her how her trip had been, and we got to talking about cycling. Turns out, she's considering biking not only to the base but to her classes out in Andover as well. The distances for her would be about the same in each case (she lives in College Hill). Moreover, she said she's thought about starting a cycling club for the college, which would of course be a Good Thing.

Add to this a conversation with a long-time adjunct of ours who saw me ride in and another chat with one of our advisors who said I've inspired him to get to exercising (because of various ailments, cycling isn't an option for him, but he's consulting with his doctor about possibilities). So, Bobby, if you're reading this and are still worried, I'd say today was a pretty good day for passive-aggressive proselytizing.

Fashion statement

Over at Carbon Trace, Andrew answers the familiar question of what to do with your bike helmet when you arrive at your destination by saying, "I wear mine like a hat.":

Now I’ve had students tell me that’s a huge fashion faux pas. I tell them I’m not out to impress anyone with my looks, and, besides, one of the perks of being an academic is that people kind of expect you to be a bit odd.

Preach it, brother. We are, after all, Academics Who Bike.

No wonder bike helmets are egg(head?)-shaped.

He goes on:

Wearing the helmet instead of stashing it in my backpack (always with me when I ride) also allows the people I encounter to ask: “Do you ride a bike?” They know the answer. They’re aren’t looking for an answer. What they want to know is why I ride or how I manage it. Some are even looking for encouragement to do it themselves. So I always answer: “Yes. I ride most of the time. In fact, I’ve cut my driving down to once every couple of weeks.”

And then the conversation begins.

The conversation is the point. It’s the thing. The helmet makes it possible. No one is afraid to talk to a guy wearing a bike helmet because, I assume somewhat fancifully, they figure there’s no way they can be any weirder than I am. I must be safe to talk to.

Andrew is right about this last, of course. It's not the figure that one cuts while cycling or when one dismounts that is the point of cycling. It's the dialogue that is the point of this sort of cycling he and I and, I gather, many of you reading this, are interested in.

Now in my case, I remove the helmet (that old rule about gentlemen removing their hats in the house), but I still have my share of conversations with folks. Something I neglected to mention in this post is that at work I have a long walk down the hall from where I leave my bike to my office and so I'm certain to run into a colleague or someone else, helmet tucked under my arm, in all my sweaty glory, before I can dash into the bathroom to change my shirt at least. But the effect on others is the same: they ask if I rode my bike in (Duh, people--look at me!), how it's going, etc. I bear witness as best as I'm able, not with the goal of converting but with the goal of being something like proof that bike-commuting is more than possible.

And then I dash off and try to make myself look a little more professional.

Sunday Ride #4: North on Arkansas River Path to Sedgwick County Park

Maps of route: MapMyRide, Veloroute. In essence an out-and-back route, with a big loop around the perimeter of Sedgwick County Park, the zoo, various county offices, and the baseball diamonds at the corner of Ridge and 13th. On the way north, I took Charles Street (located just north of the intersection of 13th and McLean); on the return, I took the bike path, which runs along McLean. South of 13th, the path is basically level; between 13th and 21st, the path arbitrarily ascends and descends the bank. One warning: at the 21st Street bridge, which the path passes under, there's construction occurring directly over the path. There's a "Sidewalk Closed" sign but no barrier in place. The amount of debris (concrete, pieces of wood, etc.) on the path makes pretty plain that during the work week, you'll want to go up to street level and cross that way.

Another cool day (we Wichitans collectively must be engaged in some serious clean livin' to have been blessed with this early-fall-like weather), another longish ride for me.

As the city's bike paths go, the Arkansas River Bike Path is its crown jewel. It's the longest (almost 14 miles); it's the best-maintained; its route--it passes through downtown, the Museum district, and links up at the north end with paths that run to the Sedgwick County Zoo--is great for visitors wanting to cycle to the city's Greatest Hits. It's clearly intended primarily for recreational cycling, but its generally north-south route, along with its length, its passage along the western edge of downtown, fairly easy access to it at its northern end for West Wichitans, and its eventual linkage at the southern terminus with the the Gypsum Creek path (which I posted on here), make it a decent commuting route.

I briefly considered riding the entire route as I'd done with the Canal and Gypsum Creek routes but in the end decided to ride the southern half on Tuesday. Just in case anyone is wondering . . .

It was a cool Sunday morning, so I expected to see folks out--but the pedestrians and other cyclists (more about the latter later), especially downtown and at the park, were numerous enough that we had to be alert for each other. It was fun. I was especially intrigued to see a fair number of cyclists who were clearly older than I am--some appeared to be in their 60s. Wearing the cycling jerseys and spandex shorts. Passing me by, no less. Today also gave me my first glimpse of West-Side cycling culture in Wichita, and--at least as far as rec-cycling is concerned--it seems to be alive and well: in addition to the ubiquitous Treks there were lots of folks on cruisers, and a couple of mothers were towing small children in trailers. As I rode along Westdale Road, I happened to glance into a house's open garage and was startled to see about half a dozen bicycles leaning against one of the walls.

I'd like to wonder aloud a bit about these spandexy folks or, as Andrew calls them here, the "thin-tire" crowd. Thus far, because most of my riding has been during the work week, I've not had too many encounters with them. Today, though, 4 or 5 of them passed me, and though they all warned me as they approached, I found myself thinking, "Don't these racing bikes come with some sort of bell or horn or something? Or are bells for weenie cyclists?" (My Fuji came with a bell.) While I don't begrudge them their desire to attain and maintain a certain speed, it seems to me that attempting to do so on a bike path on a weekend with lots of folks out--and not just slow-pokes like me, either, but pedestrians as well--is, well, in its way akin to motorists presuming that cyclists have a lesser right to use the streets than they do. They--the thin-tire folks--would have had more success had they been on the street, or had they just driven out of town a half hour in any direction. The last thing we need to have happen is incidences of cyclist-on-cyclist road rage on bike paths.

All that said, though, they aren't entirely to blame for wanting to ride there. The simple truth is that there aren't many other places for them to go on that side of the city: west of I-235, there are no other designated bike paths for folks to ride on except at the park and the connecting path to the north end of the Arkansas River path. That's about a quarter of the city that, relative to the rest of Wichita, is woefully underserved as regards bike paths or designated bike lanes on streets. The WAMPO proposals recognize this, but its list of priorities (pdf file) don't rank west-side projects very high.

I'd like to say that the crowded paths are a nice problem to have, but it seems to me that they indicate instead that, as the city has grown to the west, it and the county have fallen behind in providing bike-paths and bike-friendly streets (yes, that's true all over town, but I'm speaking relatively here). Until that circumstance changes, "sharing the road" will be a needed principle to apply on at least some of Wichita's bike paths, too. At least on the weekends.

Sunday Ride #3: Gypsum Creek

Route map here. The path itself has some brief but easy inclines, with the exception of where it passes underneath the bridge at Pawnee: there, the incline on the north side is very steep, with a curve right at the base of the bridge pier--great for adrenaline junkies heading that way from the north, but potentially hazardous for runners or cyclists approaching from the south. In general, though, from north to south the path runs downhill.

[Edit: A reader has alerted me that, at least for him, the route marking on the MapMyRide link doesn't appear. If this has been a problem for others, please let me know.]

Eh, so it's Saturday and not Sunday. This morning was too deliciously cool to let pass by without going on a long ride. Well, okay: long for me. As you'll see if you look at the map, it was a little over 22 miles, and including a 10-minute break at about the half-way point, it took me about 2 hours in all to ride it.

The Gypsum Creek Bicycle Path is something of a misnomer: though it does indeed follow the creek in places, it's more accurate to say that it at present follows the creek's general course across the eastern and southern quadrants of the city. That is in the process of changing, though: down along the creek from Woodlawn to Pawnee, a distance of about a mile, there's a great deal of construction going on that looks a whole lot to me like it will result in space for a bike path. Not only should the new route be much more scenic than the current one in that area, which provides sweeping vistas of the Kansas Turnpike, it will also shorten the overall distance by perhaps a half mile. I also understand that there are plans (the official phrase is "active planning") to link up the southern end of this route with the Arkansas River Bike Path, which would facilitate commuting from downtown and the near-west side down south.

So, then, this route indeed has real potential to be a first-rate north-south commuter route for cyclists who live on the eastern and southern sides of town. My daily commute crosses the southern portion of the path at the intersection of George Washington and Oliver, which is just north of the west entrance to McConnell, and the path continues south to what used to be the Boeing plant and is now Spirit Aviation. Meanwhile, as I learned this morning, the construction on Kellogg means that the northern end terminates on the south side of Kellogg at Armour. I assume, though, that once that's done some sort of provision will be made for the path's crossing Kellogg as it had once done. There's one difficult street crossing, where the path intersects Lincoln at Armour--the chief difficulties being that that street is busy no matter the time of day, and there's no traffic light there.

Given all the obvious improvements going on along this path, I hate to say too much that's too negative, because it may be that what I'll be mentioning will be addressed as well as part of those improvements. But just in case . . . For one thing, the route map shows the path's southern end extending considerably south of 31st Street; what I found, though, was that the path (a dedicated bike lane, by the way) just ended about 100 yards south of 31st, with a sign declaring as much. So, I crossed over to the path on the other side and found that asphalt path almost completely overgrown with grass. I don't know the history of those paths, but given that they are on both sides of Turnpike Drive south of 31st, it's pretty clear that once upon a time the city wanted to facilitate bike-commuters to the Boeing plant but, for whatever reason, at some point could/would no longer justify maintaining it. The path's condition at its northern end, along Armour from Lincoln to Kellogg, isn't much better. Here, Armour is divided, and the creek (such as it is--along this stretch, it's more like a constantly-running storm sewer than a creek) runs down the median. A point in this path's favor is that it has little of the pointless winding about that other paths in town have--only at Plainview Park does it indulge in this sort of thing. The newer stretches are concrete and are in great shape.

So, as I say, it may be that these problems will be addressed along with the improvements and changes to the path. But the path, though pretty bumpy in those overgrown stretches, is still ride-able--and at its very best (from Pawnee to Harry) is pretty darned nice. Those changes in the path's route that I mentioned above are occurring in that same already-nice stretch and will make it even better.

Many thanks . . .

. . . to bike-blog extraordinaire Cyclelicious for the very very generous plug for this humble blog.

Welcome, visitors from thence. I hope you'll have a look around and enjoy some of what you find. And to my regular visitors, if you haven't already you'll want to make yourselves acquainted post-haste with that bike-blog by the Bay.