If you’d like to find people who share your interest in running, cycling, training for triathlons or supporting our growing network of trails in Linn County, check these out:

• Cedar Valley Running Association (CVRA) www.cvra.net
• Hawkeye Bicycle Association (HBA) www.hawkeyebike.org
• Iowa Bicycle Racing Association www.bikeiowa.org
• Iowa Coalition of Off-Road Riders (ICORR) www.icorrmtb.org
• Kennedy Mt. Biking Club (Chain Gang) www.kenn.cr.k12.ia.us
• Linn Area Cyclers Bike Club www.lacbc.vpweb.com
• Linn Area Mountain Bike Assoc. (LAMBA) www.lambaonline.com
• Linn County Trails Association (LCTA) www.linncountytrails.org
• Midwest Xtreme Triathlon Club www.mwxtri.com

Thanks to the C.R. Bicycle Advisory Committee for putting the list together.

Have a group to add? Send it along.

Thanks.

A few dates to put on your community involvement and cycling calendar:

November 16: Linn County Supervisors

Get to this meeting to show your support for making our county roads safer. Details in this recent post.

November 17: Tower Terrace Road Open House

To make sure your input regarding bicycle facilities (lanes, sharrows, etc.) is considered in planning for the Tower Terrace Road extension, go to the stakeholder group Open House on Tuesday, Nov. 17. The MPO will be reporting on proposed alignments and previous feedback.

Your feedback matters. If people who think accommodating bicycles as part of traffic don’t show up, it’s entirely possible someone else will make the decisions.

Do you want to be restricted to sidepaths? I sure don’t. I think they’re dangerous, and I’m far from alone.

Date: Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Time: 6:00 – 8:00pm
Where: St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Fellowship Room
8300 C Avenue
Marion, IA 52302

RSVP by Nov. 13 to Tara Bradley (t.bradley@cedar-rapids.org) or by phone at 319-286-5161.

December 5: Holiday Parade

Light up your bicycle and join the C.R. Bicycle Advisory Committee and Bicycle Ambassadors in a holiday parade.

The parade starts at 6 pm at 6th Street and 2nd Avenue SE, proceeds west on 2nd Avenue, south on 2nd Street, then east on 3rd Avenue, ending at Greene Square Park. Requirements for riding in the parade with this group: headlight, taillight and battery powered Christmas lights on your bike, helmet (with antlers optional), bells on bikes (optional).

No Santa character costumes are allowed except for the official Santa in the last float. The theme for our group is “Every Season is Bike Season.” The theme for the parade is “Dashing Through Downtown.”

Please email Gina Weaver (g.weaver@cedar-rapids.org) if you would like to participate.

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“When you’re in your 60s, you may want to go out for a vigorous 30-minute walk, while when you’re in your 90s, you might try to lift your legs in a wheelchair.”

You can find those words of wisdom in a Chicago Tribune article. The source is Dr. Cheryl Phillips, president of the American Geriatrics Society.

Talk about setting the bar low.

When I reach my 60s and later years, I want to be on my bicycle. I’ve ridden with a lot of “seniors” and been dropped by more than a few.

A little walk is nice now and then, yes, but give me a road with some rolling hills and even a few hard climbs.

That will make a person feel like a kid again.

Linn County supervisors will be discussing cycling on county roads at their Nov. 16 meeting.

If you can’t make it that Monday at 9 a.m., Supervisor Linda Langston said at an open house today, be sure to let the supervisors know your thoughts ahead of time.

Meeting place: old Steve & Barry’s building at Westdale Mall – 2500 Edgewood Road SW.

They’re expecting to have some information about cost of bike lanes, signage, funding sources and I’m not sure what else. (The terminology can be confusing. If you see “trails” on the agenda for that meeting, it means bike lanes. Other times, it might mean “trails” as in Cedar Valley Nature Trail.)

You want improved safety on these roads, cycling public? Now’s the time to speak up.

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Off the bike…

…from a Lu Barron email asking people to spread the word:

Linn County is holding open houses Oct. 26 – 29 to gather public input about a permanent location for its administrative building. Attendees will be asked to fill out a survey at the open houses.

Through November 4, Linn County residents who can’t attend an open house can go to http://www.linncounty.org/ to see the displays and complete the survey.

Linn County is weighing five options for an Administrative Office Building because of flood-related damage to the site at 930 First St. S.W., in Cedar Rapids. County offices and staff from the AOB have been operating out of temporary locations since the 2008 flood.

The five options being considered are:

*    Returning to the Administrative Office Building as it was pre-flood.
*    Renovating, improving and expanding the Administrative Office Building.
*    Buying and renovating the Steve & Barry’s building at Westdale Mall for long-term use.
*    Buying and renovating the former Econofoods building on 51st St. NE in Cedar Rapids.
*    Co-location with the City of Cedar Rapids and/or school district in a yet-to-be-determined location.

Cedar Rapids has been mentioned honorably by the League of American Bicyclists for its efforts to become bicycle friendly. The city came up just short of a bronze rating, the lowest Bicycle Friendly Community designation. (Iowa City did get a bronze, joining Cedar Falls in the BFC ranks.)

Downtown C.R.

Sounds about right.

Cedar Rapids isn’t bike friendly, but it is bike friendlier than it was a year ago.

The present City Council and the people who are responsible for the progress understand the value of becoming a better place for people to pedal where they want to go.

They know it will encourage residents to live healthier lifestyles and that one characteristic of a great place to live – the “vibrant community” of our city’s vision statement – is that it’s a great place to ride a bicycle.

They surely know that being recognized for the effort has value in marketing the community to potential employers, visitors and residents. Improving next year and the year after that will have even more value.

Congratulations on the honorable mention, but don’t be satisfied with it.

Pedal on.

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A prediction:

“Share the Road” signs will begin showing up on Linn County roads in 2010.

They will be funded, in part, by cyclists.

That’s who paid for STR signage in Buchanan County and Madison County, according to Mark Wyatt of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition.

Hawkeye Bicycle Association members endorsed the idea at the group’s annual meeting recently. How much HBA, other cycling groups and individual contributors will kick in remains to be seen, but at $250 per installation don’t expect lots and lots of signs right away.

It’s a nice gesture.

However…

This is a serious public safety and public infrastructure issue, and cyclists should not be expected to shoulder all the costs. The “share the road” message is for everyone who uses our roadways, and everyone will benefit from improved safety and more courteous behavior by all. That includes motorists as well as bicycle club members and cyclists who don’t belong to a club.

The City of Cedar Rapids doesn’t expect cyclists and bicycle clubs to pay for similar signage that will sprout along city streets, or for sharrows that have already begun appearing on the pavement to indicate that lanes are to be shared, or for painting bike lanes on the streets. We weren’t asked to hold a raffle to raise money for putting bike carriers on buses.

That’s because city leaders recognize the importance of encouraging and accommodating cycling as part of building a more vibrant, healthier, more attractive community.

Our county leaders should recognize that, too, and use public funds to install and maintain public infrastructure.

At least one cycling group has generously offered to share the cost. Linn County should do its share, too.

* * *

Say thanks to Lisa Paulos for digging into what it takes to get signage installed, and to County Engineer Steve Gannon for providing information on various possible approaches.

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As if there weren’t already lots of great reasons to get on your bike and ride…

Sometimes you get to eat great, great food.

Example:

Take the Red Cedar State Trail just under eight scenic miles from Menomonie to Downsville, Wisconsin. From the trail, pedal a couple of blocks east on County Road C to The Creamery. Enjoy.

You’re welcome. (You will thank me.)

Now we learn you can see bicycles as art in a Philadelphia gallery if you get there soon.

Think your bicycle is a work of art?

Ours are on display in the basement. They can only truly be appreciated while in motion.

Pedal on.

This Communities Putting Prevention to Work program would appear to be a great opportunity for Iowa.