Cycling Class: Road I Course offered June 14th in St. Louis area
Cycling instructor Bill Carlson sent the following announcement:
I am having a Road I course at Holy Trinity Lutheran CHurch, 2030 Union Road, in Affton June 14th 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Last March I had a rider from Kansas City and two from Springfield, MO. So far I have one cyclist signed up. The cost $20 includes a Road I Student Manual. I teach emergency maneuvers, some basic maintenance and vehicular cycling. This is a prerequisite for anyone considering becoming a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) with the League of American Bicyclists.
Bill Carlson, League Cycling Instructor 978
9614 Labette Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63123-6623
(H) 314-544-8152
(W) 314-263-4470
wfosterc@aol.com
Bike Month: Raytown Cyclists Take it to the Streets
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
The following article appeared in today's Raytown Tribune under the headline "Raytown Cyclists Take it to the Streets":
A group of Raytown bicyclists were on hand to receive a proclamation from Raytown Mayor Sue Frank declaring May "Raytown Bike Month" at the City Council meeting May 6th.
The proclamation says that bicycling is "a wholesome leisurely activity as well as an environmentally-friendly alternative to the automobile." May is the 48th annual National Bike Month.
"It's a little-known fact that Raytown is a great city for bicycling," said Brent Hugh, member of the Board of Directors of the Missouri Bicycle Federation and Raytown resident. "Bicyclists can find so many quiet neighborhood streets and side-streets that are very low-traffic and pleasant for bicycling. I can ride to the store, library, nearby schools, parks, and many other places all around Raytown, riding only on quiet, residential streets."
Hugh adds that Raytown parks have some very nice trails for walking and bicycling.
"Bike Month gives Raytowners a good excuse to have some fun exploring Raytown from the seat of a bicycle. How far can you bike from your home, keeping completely on quiet, comfortable streets?" asks Hugh. "You might be surprised."
Hugh has lost 35 pounds since Raytown installed bicycle lanes on 59th Street near his home. He began riding by exploring one mile of "bike friendly" 59th Street and the over 20 miles of quiet residential streets that interconnect with it.
He has worked out routes on quiet residential streets from his home to destinations as distant as Arrowhead Stadium, Longview Lake, Swope Park, and Blue Ridge Mall.
At the meeting, Alderman Greg Walters outlined recent and future projects that are making Raytown even friendlier for bicycling. He mentioned the bike lanes on 59th Street, planned bicycle lanes on 87th Street, and a number of future projects.
At the meeting the Board of Aldermen also adopted a resolution declaring May 19-23rd Bike to Work week in Raytown. These dates coincide with the Mid-America Regional Council's "Bicycle/Pedestrian Commuter Challenge" which is designed to encourage workers from around the metro area to bike, walk, or take the bus to work at least once during that week.
"Bicycling is a fun, fast, safe, and healthy way to get around Raytown," says Hugh. "Just get out there and try it!"
This year I am starting a month later, and I am hoping to avoid the wintery weather of last year. So rather than the buds of March, we will be riding through the flowers of May. Beltane, what better time to roll down the KATY trail with one's sweetheart.
Lisa Finnerty moved from a walkable neighborhood in Chicago to an automobile-oriented neighborhood in Montecito, Calif. What was the impact on her children? "It's a very difficult thing for them to be dependent on me to get places. In Chicago they had a sense of independence, they had a sense of their neighborhood. They had a sense of where they belonged. Here, they are in a car, they are watching out through the car window. All they can do is look at maps as we go places. They're the ones that have had the most difficult adjustment. In Chicago they were masters of their own schedule. They could go out, hang out in the sidewalk [and] have lots of incidental contact. Here there is none." . . .
School children, like other pedestrians, have suffered under the automobile-oriented development patterns of the last half century. They will be among the first beneficiaries of efforts to make our neighborhoods more walkable. As a result, they will be healthier and happier.
A new study of marathoners shows that a small percentage of long-distance runners stop excreting urine after a certain point in the run.
The result is water retention that reduces the sodium level in their bodies, with rather nasty--sometimes even fatal--results.
[At the Boston Marathon, the experimenters used scales], positioned in Red Cross stations every mile throughout the second half of the course . . . [the scales] are part of a new push to protect runners from hyponatremia, a rare condition that claimed the life of a healthy 28-year-old woman who collapsed during last year's race.
Only a handful of people have died from the condition, in which their blood sodium concentration falls to an abnormally low level, usually from drinking too much water. But the risk of suffering from its symptoms during a marathon is higher than most people think. . . .
Moreover, in clinical studies, he and his team of researchers discovered that almost 85 percent of the subjects had lowered blood sodium levels during or after running a marathon. Nearly 25 percent had levels below 135 milliEquivalent (mEq) per liter of blood, the point at which a diagnosis is made (136-142 is considered normal). . . .
Hyponatremia presents a particularly vexing problem for runners and race medical staff, because many of its symptoms -- throbbing headache, nausea, cramps, and dizziness -- mirror those of dehydration.
But the standard treatment for dehydration, pushing fluids by mouth or intravenously, can prompt the brain or the lungs to swell, which can produce seizure, coma and death in a person who is severely hyponatremic.
Instead such a person should receive an IV with a concentrated sodium solution, a diuretic medication to speed water loss, and an anti-convulsive medication, in case of seizure, according to Cianca.
In more moderate cases, he added, doctors should simply restrict fluids and encourage salt consumption and wait for the person to "pee off" the extra fluid. . . .
Health advocates plan campaign against obesity epidemic
Friday, May 09, 2003
According to a USA Today article, health advocates are planning a wide-ranging campaign against what they call an "epidemic of obesity". They will use many of the same tactics they used in the battle against smoking. Public information campaigns to encourage walking and other activity, campaigns targeted to get school children to be more active, education about portion sizes, taxes on fattening snack foods, and other measures are being considered.
It's a crushed limestone ribbon that takes bikers through wooded bluffs, deep valleys, pastures and the Missouri River bottoms along a former railway that stretches east to west across central Missouri.
At 225 miles, the Katy is the longest surfaced rails-to-trails bike route in the country . . . .
Little did we know that the Katy would lead us through treacherous mud flats, too many tire flats and the Wild Dogs of Tebbetts. But the trail also beguiled us with gracious old hotels, a rail tunnel punched through solid rock at Rocheport and a cast of characters who fed, housed and humored us.
Having just returned from a Katy Trail ride myself, I can vouch for both the flats and the characters. If you haven't biked the Katy yet, you ought to do it!
Missouri doesn't have anything else that compares to it . . .
permanent link to article: "Katy Trail journey"
posted by Brent Hugh at
5/06/2003 09:17:00 PM |comment on this article
Weston Bluffs Trail The Weston Bluffs Trail begins at the Weston Train Depot and stretches for about 3.2 miles before reaching its end near Highway 45 and Beverly Road. Along the way, the route presents scenic views of Fort Leavenworth, or early fall 2003. The project is already deep into the master planning process and cost estimation for trail construction is underway.
64th Street Trail Planning is nearing completion for the 64th Street Trail, located west of Interstate 29 linking Kansas City, Mo. and Parkville, Mo. The trail alignment for the two-mile route has been pre-liminarily approved and is set for construction in summer or fall 2003.
Prairie Creek Greenway The Prairie Creek Greenway is an eight-mile trail located south of Platte City along the Prairie Creek corridor. Construction could begin in early 2004.
Missouri Riverfront Trail The Missouri Riverfront Trail will follow the Missouri River corridor along the southern boundary of the county, beginning at the Clay County line and running northwest to Interstate 435.
