Post Office Box 104871
Jefferson City, MO 65110-4871
MoBikeFed is a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation
Webmaster email: webmaster @ mobikefed
.org
BikeMO--MoBikeFed's Fall Foliage Bicycle Ride Join us October 18th for BikeMO, the ride that supports bicycle advocacy in Missouri. Beautiful mid-Missouri roads, beautiful fall weather, beautiful fall leaves . . .
We haven't seen any ADT markers or blazes in MO. The Katy Trail was straight forward. We just happened on the access trail and other trail users helped guide us.
We needed blazes today. The trail disappeared in a soybean field. We wasted time and steps looking, then we ended up on the alternate trail. . . .
We continued through residental areas on straight road that went up and down over the hills. We found lots of coins again (35 cents to Ken's 1 cent) but no place to spend them...and no public facilities for miles.
I know it's unusual for a 55-year-old, but I bicycle the five miles from my home to UM-St. Louis. I like it. It's better for me and for the world in general. Besides I enjoy it. . . .
There is a big correlation between how much I ride and how much I weigh.
I discovered a bigger health bonus when I was diagnosed with arthritis. My rheumatologist looked at my x-rays and said that she was amazed that I could walk without difficulty. The only reason, she said, was that I ride my bike so much. That gives me even more motivation to ride.
So think about it. I don't need a parking permit. I save money. I pollute less. I'm healthier. After all, if a 55-year-old arthritic can do it, maybe you should try it as well. Oh, and you can take your bike on MetroLink or on the bus.
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, a book comes along and changes your life in a subtle way. Bill Hancock’s Riding With the Blue Moth is like that. The book is, ostensibly, about Bill’s bicycle ride across America just a few months after his son, Will, was killed in the 2001 Oklahoma State basketball team plane crash. Of course, it’s about much more.
Leisure-time physical activity at midlife is associated with a decreased risk of dementia and AD [Alzheimers Disease] later in life. Regular physical activity may reduce the risk or delay the onset of dementia and AD, especially among genetically susceptible individuals.
The study has followed 1449 individuals over a period of time from 1972 to 1998. This allowed researchers to check on earlier exercise habits of those who later developed dementia or Alzheimers Disease.
The study controlled for age, sex, education, follow-up time, locomotor disorders, genetic pre-disposition, vascular disorders, smoking, and alcohol drinking, finding that exercise was associated with a lower risk of dementia and AD independent of these factors.
On July 16, 1999, Steven Selz was operating his bicycle along State Route 49 in Trotwood, Ohio, a five-lane roadway with a speed limit of 45 mph. He had stopped a light and was going uphill from the light when Trotwood Police Officer Vance, with lights and siren blaring, pulled him over. Officer Vance issued a citation to Mr. Selz for "impeding traffic" under a local Trotwood ordinance.
At the February 7, 2000 trial, Officer Vance testified that Mr. Selz "...was driving in the middle of the lane..." and was going "...no more than 15 miles per hour..." She further testified that "...cars had to stop and ... go over to the other lane to get around him..." . . . .
Officer Vance had some vague notion that Mr. Selz was somehow in danger because he was riding on State Route 49, a roadway that is, admittedly not for everyone. Officer Vance candidly testified as follows on cross-examination:
Q: I take it your opinion is that State Route 49 is simply a dangerous place for bicycles to be? A: Honestly, yes.
It became clear as the trial progressed that the City of Trotwood was going to take the position that if you can't ride 45 mph then you can be charged with "impeding traffic." Further, the prosecution simply felt that it was "unsafe" to ride on this stretch of State Route 49 and, therefore, was trying to "protect" Mr. Selz from his own foolishness. . . .
On October 20, 2000, the Court of Appeals released its decision - a victory for Steven Selz. The court found a case in Georgia involving a slow moving farm combine. In that case, the Georgia court found that operator of a slow moving vehicle, which was traveling at or near its top speed, could not be convicted of "impeding traffic" under a similar law. The Court of Appeals compared the Georgia case to this one and stated:
In either case, holding the operator to have violated the slow speed statute would be tantamount to excluding operators of these vehicles from the public roadways, something that each legislative authority, respectively, has not clearly expressed an intention to do.
An article in Kansas City infoZine highlights mountain biking trails in Missouri State Parks:
Operated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, state parks offer abundant mountain biking opportunities and offer trails suitable for all skill levels. Enjoy a relaxing, easy ride on the nation's longest rails-to-trails trail -- Katy Trail State Park -- or feel your heart racing and blood pumping as you pedal up and down the rugged Ozark hills on a more challenging trail at Lake of the Ozarks State Park.
Two St. Louis executives started the race three years ago as a bet. It's grown into an annual charity event with 10 riders. This was the first year co-founder Richard Laughlin, president of Midwest Testing, beat co-founder Michael Staenberg, president of THF Realty.
Most of the money will be split between the Ronald McDonald House and St. Louis Variety's therapeutic bicycle program. The program buys bikes for disabled children, many of whom suffer from cerebral palsy or spina bifida
One of William Shakespeare's seven ages of man was "the schoolboy, creeping like a snail unwillingly to school."
Today's scholars, riding a school bus, their parents' or their own cars, might hoot atthat description.
But wait. A Sept. 7 story in the News-Leader, "Bus runs on kid power," told about a Walking School Bus program at Weaver Elementary School.
Children sign up to walk between home and school, with adult volunteers for safety and protection. The Walking School Bus offers hope that kids will use their feet for something besides kicking back in front of TV or a video game.
There are now 50 youngsters walking in three groups, said Julie Siglock, vice president of the Weaver PTA.
The Nickells made their way across flat yet gradually uphill Kansas, sometimes against strong headwinds. They went through Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks — among the best in the country, the couple agree.
The Rocky Mountains are along the route, as is a long ride adjacent to Idaho's Salmon River.
"At 12 miles an hour on an average, you see everything," Rae says. "From the little farm along the road to beautiful flowers. Life was very simple. ... The bottom line is we were having a great time. We enjoyed the entire thing."
MoDOT will clean road shoulders upon request. Simply fill out MoDOT's online feedback form or call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (toll free) to request that a particular shoulder be swept.
Please explain that you would like the road/shoulder cleaned because you bicycle there (that helps build awareness of the needs of bicyclists within MoDOT).
Whether you call or fill out the online form, explain clearly which section of road you would like cleaned; it is helpful if you know which MoDOT district it lies in (D1-St. Joe, D2-north central, D3-Hannibal, D4-KC, D5-central, D6-St.L, D7-Joplin, D8-Springfield, D9-south central, D10-Cape Girardeau).
Keep in mind that MoDOT roads include all federal freeways and highways in Missouri (with numbers like I-70, US Hwy 40) and all state highways and roads (with numbers like 350 Hwy, Route V, Route JJ). Basically, any road with a highway number or letter is a MoDOT road. permanent link to article: "MoDOT will clean road shoulders upon request"
posted by Brent Hugh at
10/02/2005 06:50:00 PM |comment on this article
Major Taylor Flaming Sprokets promotes bicycling in KC's African-American community
Kenneth Walker couldn’t have imagined a prouder moment.
As he gazed at the medal stand at the end of the 2005 Tour of Kansas City bike race in August, he saw something no one had seen in its 43-year history — a black rider standing on top. It was his 15-year-old son, Christian, who had just captured the 12- to 18-year-old junior division with a powerful burst of speed. . . .
More than a hundred years ago, in a sport historically dominated by whites, the fastest bicycle racer in the world was black.
When it came to raw speed, Marshall "Major" Taylor simply had no peer. In 1898, when bicycle races were so popular they filled Madison Square Garden, Taylor held seven world cycling records, and was the biggest draw the sport had ever seen. . . .
Every Saturday morning at 11:30, between one and two dozen riders in the Major Taylor bike group gather in front of Acme Bicycle at 412 E. 18th St. They ride six miles to Cliff Drive, then back — 12 miles round trip.
"I’ve lived in KC my entire life, and for more than half of it I’ve been riding a bicycle," Walker said. "And I can’t recollect a time when I have ever seen a group of African-Americans riding a bicycle together in my city. When we ride 10 or 12 strong, it’s absolutely amazing. We’ve actually seen accidents happen at least three times because (drivers) were watching us instead of watching the road." . . .
That’s fine with Walker. He didn’t start riding until he was 26 and then only out of necessity. Needing to go eight miles to his job in North Kansas City as a paint stirrer at Cook Paints, but with little money to buy a car, he hopped on a bike.
At first it was purely practical — free pedal-powered transportation. But as the miles rolled by, something happened. He began to like his bike. It not only made him strong and fit, but it also made him proud of his aerobic accomplishments.
Chillicothe's railroad, called the Chillicothe-Brunswick Shortline, is about 36 miles long and runs from Chillicothe to a point near Brunswick; however, most of the line has been embargoed and just about four miles at its north end are in use. . . . .
One possibility the board is considering is converting the rail line into a hiking and bicycling trail, similar to what was done with the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad (better known as Katy). When that railroad decided to cease operation on its route from St. Charles County to Sedalia in 1986, it presented the opportunity to create a 200-mile long-distance hiking and bicycling trail. The trail is operated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as part of the state parks system.
For the first time since the 1970s, bicycle sales have exceeded car sales in the United States. And bicycle sales in the U.S. are near an all-time high. According a YahooNews story:
More bicycles than cars have been sold in the United States over the past 12 months, with rising gas prices prompting commuters to opt for two wheels instead of four.
Not since the oil crisis of 1973 have bicycles sold in such big numbers, according to Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong, an industry association.
"Bicycle sales are near an all-time high with 19 million sold last year -- close to the 20 million sold during the oil embargo in the early 1970s," said Blumenthal, whose association is based in Boulder in the western state of Colorado. . . .
[Paul Gaiser, owner of Scooter Commuter in Bethesda, Maryland] believes the bicycle trend is no passing fad.
"Our sales have quadrupled in the last two months," he said. "I think it's a major paradigm shift. It's here to stay."
Cyclists on the streets of the US capital agreed.
"I bought my first bike six months ago to go to college. I could not do without it. It's faster in traffic and less expensive," said Erik Lubell, a student at George Washington University wearing a multi-colored helmet.
Near the affluent district of Georgetown, Stella Hardwood said she had a different motivation.
"I don't want to put on weight and my bike forces me to exercise," Hardwood said.
Bicycle Federation was a sponsor of the 2005 Speaker's Fitness Challenge across the Katy trail.