News Spew

I’ve been out of town on a family vacation in recent weeks, so I’ve fallen a bit behind on reporting regional cycling news. Here’s a quick recap of what’s been going on in Kansas and neighboring states:

Kansas

• The fifth annual Cruise the Blues mountain bike festival takes place August 30th at the Palen Family Farms east of Tipton, Kansas. learn more
• The Eastern Kansas Bike MS Ride takes place September 20th and 21st, and organizers are looking for volunteers to help with the event.
• Joe Douglas of Lawrence recently took a trip to Portland, Oregon and writes about his impressions of their transportation infrastructure: “We spent five days with young grandchildren and used only bicycles and public transportation. Not needing a car was a wonderful sort of liberation. Lawrence could have this kind of rational transportation, especially an expanded bus system and greater bicycle ridership. We just need to decide that we want that quality of life.”
• The bicycle business is booming in Topeka, according to Jerry Armstrong of Capp’s Bike Shop.
• Jerry Smith and Curtis Stubbs of Newton, Kansas recently completed a bicycle tour of the 2,241-mile Underground Railroad route from Mobile, Alabama to Toronto, Canada.
• Five young men on a cross-country tour called Biking The States recount their experiences in Kansas: “Kansas his been filled with weather that we didn’t expect, hills that we thought would be plains, and some of the most incredible people we’ve met on the road so far. Missouri, you have a lot to live up to.”
• New bike shop in Overland Park (Elite Cycling)
• The Tour de Shawnee, which normally offers 12, 25, and 45-mile route option, is dropping the long route this year due to “budgetary constraints”. Huh?
• Cross-country trip raising awareness about housing for disabled adults
• When you lose your house, and your job, what do you do? For Bill Fox, it’s get the seven kids and the wife together and start bicycling across the country.
• On August 20th, an 18-year-old boy was beaten and robbed while riding his bicycle in Prairie Village. Police are looking for four male suspects.

Arkansas

• Advice from Little Rock 4-H bicycling mentor Willa Williams: Bicycle riders need extra safety in rain
• Profile of Maumelle resident Rhonda Syler, Arkansas cycling champion and a professor of business at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
• In northwest Arkansas, it may be years before residents can enjoy a regional trail system, due to disjointed trails in numerous municipalities.
• The Conway city council passed a resolution to add bicycle lanes, and plans to apply for the bicycle friendly city designation from the League of American Bicyclists.
• Cindy Reese and Doug Bittinger of Rogers have lost a combined 75 pounds while biking on the paved roads of northwest Arkansas in the last three years.

Colorado

• Boulder cyclists hope their planned bike park is a model for other communities.
• In Colorado Springs, a $4 excise tax on new bicycle sales has generated over $2 million since it began 20 years ago, and has helped pay for a world-class bikeway system. What a sensible idea!
• Mountain bikers are giving a thumbs up to a new mountain bike trail on Teton Pass, built as a public service project by local Boy Scouts.
• The Fort Collins cycling community is mourning the loss of two local advocates. Woody Hesselbarth, 59, died July 2 of cancer after a five-year battle, and Rebecca Allen, 32, died July 23, hit from behind by a drunken driver. “We need 10 people to step into the void these two left.”
• 1,000 Free Bikes will be available through a bike-sharing program during the Democratic National Convention in Denver August 25th to 28th. Register at freewheelinwaytogo.com.
• Boulder man battling depression, diabetes pedals his way to happiness

Iowa

• Council Bluffs police are looking for a hit-and-run vehicle that struck a teenage girl while she was riding her bicycle on August 18th.
• As Davenport goes bike-friendly, safety becomes a priority.
• In South Sioux City, a driver was cited for careless driving and failure to yield in an accident on August 14th.
• According to a Des Moines Register editorial, Des Moines is smart to promote bicycling.
• 61-year-old Dr. Craig C. Schultz of Davenport was killed by a hit-and-run driver on August 7th. The driver, who said he drove off after hitting Schultz because he was “scared“, was released on $1000 bond.
• How bike-friendly is Le Mars?
• Mr. Pork Chop honored for years of RAGBRAI service

Missouri

• Tour of Missouri to shine spotlight on St. Joseph.
• Cyclists push their limits at the fourth annual Missouri Mountain Bike Ride in Cape Girardeau.
• Bicyclist Shot On Bridge in south Kansas City on August 13th. The victim suffered two gunshot wounds and is paralyzed from the waist down. Police later charge a 17-year-old with first-degree assault.
• In Columbia, a resident prefers unpaved trails over concrete or asphalt surfaces.
• In Springfield, More Taking to Bicycles.
• From KCBike.info: Missouri Riverfront Trail opening in Platte County, Finally, progress on BikeKC!
• A coalition of cities and agencies is banding together to negotiate with Union Pacific for rights to use the Rock Island Railroad corridor to create a link to the Katy Trail in eastern Missouri.
• From Roger Kramer Cycling, coverage of the World Naked Bike Ride in St. Louis on August 2nd: Modest coverage for World Naked Bike Ride, More revealing photos of the World Naked Bike Ride
• Kenneth Walker, of the new Urban Kansas City Community of Cycling project received an anonymous donation o two new bikes, left on his front porch. “Those bikes were just validation, that people see value in my work and they want me to continue,” he says. “So I will.”
• LifeBALANCE Sports & Wellness is bringing legendary cyclist John Howard to Missouri to offer midwest cyclists his PowerFiTTE system, “a unique, dynamic process that fits you and your bike together, taking into account your unique biomechanics and determines your ideal riding position.” You can schedule an appointment with John during the week of September 8-14 in Kansas City, Columbia, or St. Louis.

Nebraska

• At the Pine Ridge National Recreation Area near Chadron, hikers and mountain bikers will have more than 70 miles of trails on U. S. Forest Service land, but there is controversy over how much of that is open to motorized recreation.
• The Missouri River Pedestrian Bridge connecting Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa will open two months ahead of schedule, on September 13th. The 3,000 foot long bridge is the nation’s only pedestrian bridge linking two states, and (despite the name) will be open to both pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Cyclists biking across the country for poverty overnighted in Fremont on August 2nd.
• The Ponca 155 is a gravel road ride that takes place each August. Here are some reports from this year’s edition: Cornbread, DirtBlog, Folks From Lincoln
• 71-year-old Patricia Starr, Ms. Senior Nebraska 2008, will ride her bicycle from Wahoo, Nebraska to Atlantic City, New Jersey to participate in the Ms. Senior America Pageant Oct 24th.

Oklahoma

• Gavin Cannizzaro and Kim Rice undertook a 1,000-mile, month-long bike trip from Norman to Eagle River, Wis.
• Commander John Herrington, a Chickasaw citizen and the first Native American in space, began a new 4,000 mile journey Wednesday, August 13th, a coast-to-coast bicycle tour to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
• A Shawnee man was arrested for hitting a boy on a bike, moving the injured boy to the side of the road, and then driving away.
• Bike racks are being rolled out in Oklahoma City’s downtown.
• In a despicable article from the Edmond Sun, a discussion of bicycle safety devolves into a lecture targeted at riders, with almost no mention of motorist responsibility.