Cycling Tips & Stories

Steve Rhoades of Kansas City's MetroGreen Alliance sent this message:

Join us for the first City-to-City Tour of the Kansas City Region sponsored by the Mid-America Regional Council. The event will promote MetroGreen, the regional vision for an interconnected greenway and trail system.

Participants are encouraged to ride at their own pace as it is not a timed event. All participants must wear a helmet. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a responsible parent or guardian (or other designee) on the route.

The event will begin on the Riverfront Heritage Trail in Richard L Berkley Riverfront Park, at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 1, 2005.

Cyclists can choose between two routes: an 11-mile loop or a 23-mile route that tours many of the historic areas in both Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas. Each route follows two scenic byways, the Riverfront Heritage Trail, and passes by many historic and cultural points of interest that help shape our two downtowns. See route map >>

The roads will be clearly marked but not blocked off. Participants will cycle on the streets along with regular vehicular traffic and must obey all traffic signals and signs.

Volunteers are needed to help with promotion and registration, as well as handing out refreshments and directing bicyclists along both routes of the City-to-City tour. For more information, or to volunteer, please contact Steve Rhoades at srhoades@marc.org , or call 816/701-8281.

More information/register here.

permanent link to article: ""City to City" tour in Kansas City October 1st"
posted by Brent Hugh at 9/20/2005 04:12:00 PM |comment on this article

Today's Carthage Press has an article about John and Susan Wagner of Carthage, who

found their addiction almost by accident when Susan was on the hunt for a high-powered exercise routine to make up for her mostly sedentary job. She stumbled onto a spinning class at the gym and was immediately hooked. The intensity and comraderie of stationary biking was exactly what she was looking for.

"I just love to be on the bike, I love to ride," Susan said. "I'd always just ridden for pleasure. Then I did the spinning classes for eight months and, through hanging out with that crowd, learned about distance rides."

permanent link to article: "Cycling addiction?"
posted by Brent Hugh at 9/16/2005 06:44:00 PM |comment on this article

This week's UMKC University News has an article by MoBikeFed Executive Director Brent Hugh;

My first year in college I made the amazing discovery that I could actually get to class quicker on my bike than in a car or on foot. As a bonus I saved about half a tank of gas every week and managed to replace the "freshman bulge" with a pair of very strong legs. Each year millions of college students discover, like I did, that riding a bicycle is a quick, easy and fun way to get around.

Now I put in four or five thousand miles a year on my bike, much of it "utility bicycling" to the store or work. Here are a few of the things I've learned along the way . . .

Read the UNews article for the bicycle commuting tips aimed at college-aged bicyclists. permanent link to article: "College students riding a bicycle?"
posted by Brent Hugh at 9/15/2005 08:15:00 PM |comment on this article

How do bicyclists stack up?

According to an article on STLBiking.com these are the stats for recreational riders in the U.S.:

Total U.S. Cyclists: 64.3-million
Adults (16 and over): 48-million
Children: 14.3-million
Avid cyclists (Fitness/health): 31-million
Male/Female Ratio (Adults): 45%/55%
Median Age: 32
Median Household Income: $60,000+
College Graduates: 70%
Ratio to Golf: 2.5/1
Ratio to Tennis: 6/1

Cycling is the #1 fitness and health activity among doctors and lawyers over the age of 40.

Cycling is the second most popular recreational activity behind sport walking. It is the only one of these two that lends itself to commercial sponsorship.

17-million bicycles are sold in the United States each year.

BikeThisWay also has some interesting stats.

More stats are here, with sources. permanent link to article: "Bicyclist demographics"
posted by Brent Hugh at 9/08/2005 08:10:00 PM |comment on this article

Today's Rolla Daily News has an article about the Tour of the Ozarks:

About 90 percent of the tour riders are from out of town, according to Morgan.

"It's great that we get so many people from out-of-state, but we really hope to see more local support," Morgan said. "Remember you don't have to be a professional rider to participate. There's no need to do the long rides if you don't want, the shorter ones are just as good and fully supported too."

There are 10 fully supported rest stops along the routes with food, drinks, volunteers and support vehicles.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation urges you to support the Tour of the Ozarks, which has been a major contributor to the Missouri Bicycle Federation (Gold Level Sponsor) and a major supporter of bicycle advocacy in Missouri this year. permanent link to article: "Tour of the Ozarks in Rolla Sept 17th"
posted by Brent Hugh at 9/08/2005 06:46:00 PM |comment on this article

Amahia's China Adventure, documented on the CyclExtreme web site, continues:

I'm astounded by life on the streets in Shanghai. The sidewalks are spilling over with people and commerce. Traffic blends the sidewalk and street together as pedestrians, cars, buses, motorbikes, electric bicycles, push carts, parked vehicles, construction workers and bicyclists all fight for space. At first it seemed like complete chaos but now that I've been out riding and walking in Shanghai, I think its more like an intimate dance. Despite the fact the cars come half and inch from you, despite that the oncoming traffic breezes within a hair, despite that bikes ride against traffic on roads that bikes are forbidden, despite that traffic signs, traffic cops and stop lights are mere suggestions and not the law, I am not afraid. If I were sending an audio postcard from Shanghai, it would sound like this: honk, beep, honk, beeeeeeeeeep, honk, tweet, honk, ding-a-ling, honk, beep beep honk. Every vehicle has a horn, bell or some form of noise maker. A honk from behind usually means "I'm coming up behind you" and is generally polite. Among the ubiquitous politeness is the nasty "Would you get your butt out of the way" kind of horn blast as well.

There are more bikes stopped at any one intersection than I think I've ever seen in my life. I'm giggling with pleasure to see all the ways a bicycle can be functional. At first I wanted to begin a list of things I saw being toted by bike and it included beer, other people, chickens, violins, large plastic water jugs, PVC pipe, rolls of fabric, refrigerated carts...but quickly I learned that anything goes by bike and quit making a list. In the US, the cyclist is so maligned that riding a bike has become an identity badge, but here it is a way of life. I'm sure any one of the young or old, woman or man, rich or poor people that I have ridden with on the street would think my bicycle euphoria odd.

permanent link to article: "Amahia's China Adventure"
posted by Brent Hugh at 9/02/2005 07:45:00 AM |comment on this article