The following are some hand-picked bicycling-related news items from Kansas and neighboring states, for January 2, 2013:
Bicycling News from Kansas
- Redbud Trail Informational Open House — The Redbud Trail is being built on a former railroad line, to connect Andover, Augusta, and Wichita. This open house provides an opportunity to view the plans and ask questions. Thursday, January 3, 2013, from 4-7pm at Andover City Hall, 1609 E Central Ave, Andover KS.
- 2012 Wrap — A quick look back at 2012, with news both good and bad to be remembered.
- Cyclists ring in new year with Century Ride — A group of cyclists from Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri welcomed the new year with a Century Ride, which is a 100-mile ride. Tuesday’s event was the 12th annual ride put on by Tailwind Cyclists in Pittsburg.
- Growing number of bike cafés gear up to serve cyclists — Santa Fe Trails Bicycle and Coffee Shop in Leavenworth perhaps best epitomizes this trend in Kansas. Any other bike shops in the state offer great food or coffee?
- 5,000 miles and counting … what are your goals? — Brandon Case writes from Pratt, Kansas writes about milestones: “I believe that anytime we set a goal and achieve or exceed our objective we get a boost of confidence to carry on each day and perhaps even strive harder to reach other goals. A goal achieved is definitely satisfying to the soul.”
Regional Bicycling News
- Little Rock, AR: Arkansas River Trail Website Launched — “Featuring trail news, activities, information on points of interest, a plan your trip section, interactive maps, user info, and events, the website will serve as a comprehensive resource for residents as well as visitors who are traveling on the Arkansas River Trail (ART).” arkansasrivertrail.org
- Denver, CO: The ten worst Colorado bike collisions of 2012 — “In 2012, a lot more people rode their bikes in Denver and throughout the state — which led to an overall jump in the number of crashes. But a more ominous trend, perhaps, was the growing tension on the road between cars and cyclists, resulting in a steady stream of high-profile collisions….some cultural, some physical.”
- Muscatine, IA: Ambitious goals for transportation outlined in plan — “The report calls for more opportunities to travel safely in Muscatine by foot or bike. It calls for sidewalk, trail and crossing improvements near schools, parks, bus stops, shopping centers and most major businesses. Trails ‘form the backbone of the identified critical non-motorized transportation routes,’ the report says, and should thus ‘be extended and expanded to better serve” functions that include local recreation and the enjoyment of the region’s broader trail system, the Mississippi River Trail and the American Discovery Trail’.”
- Columbia, MO: Three years in, cyclist harassment law yields no citations — An ordinance that makes it illegal to harass cyclists was passed in 2009, but three years later no one has been cited for violating the law.
- Nebraska: BRAN 33 – Coming Soon — Online registration for BRAN (Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska) will be opening on January 15, 2013. Looks like the route will run across the center of the state, from Kimball, through Chappell, Paxton, Gothenburg, Kearney, Aurora, Brainard, and end in Omaha, from June 2-8.
- Tulsa, OK:Cyclists, walkers want in on roadway tax package — “Every bike on the road means fewer cars, less congestion, better air quality.”
Upcoming Kansas Bicycling Events
Bicycling events are, understandably, thin this time of year, but there are a few races going on in January:
- Sunday, January 6, 2013 — Wintery Mix CX #1 — A cyclocross race at Mission Farms Shopping Center in Leawood, KS – Part of the Wintery Mix CX Series. The second event in the series is February 10th at the same location.
- Sunday, January 13, 2013 — Blanket Series: The Old Forest — The Old Forest in Great Bend, KS is part of the Blanket Series of mountain bike races.
- Saturday, January 26, 2013 — Cancer-Thon – Santa Fe Trails Bicycle Shop presents the annual Cancer-Thon relay race at Abele’s Field in Leavenworth, Kansas. 913-682-2444
The only other regional bike ride on the calendar at this point is the Triple D Winter Race, which is an endurance trail event that traverses Dubuque County, Iowa by bike, ski or foot. It takes place on January 20th.
Also of note is the route announcement for Biking Across Kansas, which takes place on “Kansas Day”, January 29, to commemorate the state’s birthday.
See also: Kansas Ride Calendar, Regional Ride Calendar
Personal Notes
I ended 2012 with just over 5600 miles, almost 50/50 between my vintage 10-speed Puch road bike and my Surly Long Haul Trucker touring/utility bike, as well as a few hundred miles on my Dahon folder. My longest ride of the year (in distance) was 133 miles; longest ride (in pedaling time) was about 10 hours. A good year! Hoping for more of the same in 2013. I have a very rough goal of 100 miles per week, on average, or 5200 for the year. (Incidentally, if you have a GPS cyclocomputer, or log your rides on a smartphone, you’re invited to join the Kansas Cyclist group on Strava.)
I wrapped up the year with a memorable ride — 50 miles on my 50th birthday! It was a mixed-surface ride — paved roads, gravel roads, minimum maintenance roads, and trails. A friend and I encountered some treacherous ice-covered gravel, a snowy singletrack trail, a dry lake bed, a missing bridge, and an evil flat tire that seemingly took forever to fix. Keith wrote it up on his blog: The Last Ride of 2012. A few pics from the ride:
Note: This is the very first installment of the Sunflower Cycling News. I’m going to try to make this a weekly feature, published each Wednesday, though I wouldn’t be surprised if that schedule, and the content and format of the pieces, evolves over time. Comments and suggestions are welcomed!
The Sunflower Cycling News is a periodic publication of Kansas Cyclist, featuring bicycling news from Kansas and neighboring states.
If you have a news item or upcoming event you’d like to share, please contact Kansas Cyclist with details.
Post tags: Digest
