 |
|
« August 2007 | Main | October 2007 »
Stop by between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. for free food, t-shirts and more. At 12:30 there will be a drawing for a bike, helmets, lights and locks. Located at the crosswalk area between the Sun Dome and business administration.
Ride Green Day is part of Tampa Bay Commuter Choices Week.
The weather is cooling and this week is perfect for riding your bike to work. (Or carpooling, walking or taking public transportation). Learn more about how to get involved at Tampa Bay Commuter Services.
The Tampa Bay Freewheelers are hosing their annual Hilly Hundred group ride on Oct. 21 at 7:30 a.m. Featuring routes of 18, 34, 63 or 100 miles in the Dade City area, it should be a challenge for even the strongest riders. The ride offers a free t-shirt, light continental breakfast fare, fully stocked SAG stops and about $1000 in door prize giveaways. As always, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to worthy cycling-related causes.
The cost is $22. If you register by Oct. 7 you'll be guaranteed a t-shirt. You can register online at active.com or download a registration form here. [.pdf]
Added the Spoke N Word calender:
By Times Correspondent Jessica Mundie
Antique bicycle collector and cycling author Chip Haynes of Clearwater is in the news again.
Haynes, who created the familiar green, spiral-bound Pinellas Trail Guide, is having his work published by Jim Joyce of Pittsburgh, Pa. The title of the book is "The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom & Wanderings."
The book is a collection of writings by cycling experts and editors including Lance Armstrong's coach Chris Carmichael; Richard Fries, a USF graduate and founder of Boston's "The Ride" magazine; Ted Katauskas, editor of the "Portland Monthly" magazine and Gianna Bellofatto, who created the "Life Is A Bike" series.
Joyce plans to donate 15 percent of book royalties in equal shares to SoldierRide, the League Of American Bicyclists and the United States Association Of Blind Athletes tandem cycling program.
To find out more, head to www.satyahouse.com or call Satya House Publications at (413) 477-8743.
Times correspondent Jessica Mundie can be reached at sptimescycling@yahoo.com.
Interbike officially got under way in Las Vegas today with the wildly popular outdoor demo. This is a chance for the cycling press, shop owners and other industry types to get their hands on the goodies. (Sadly, this blogger did not secure a ticket. It's also not open to the public.) I'll be updating this post over the weekend, so check back.
CyclingNews day 1, part one, part two.
Highlight: This Felt carbon 29er prototype:
Flickr Interbike photo pool.
Highlight: Kona Ute utility bike:
SRAM Red. It's as good as it looks:
UPDATE
Rouesartisanales.com. Check out the new all-boron wheelset from LEW Racing. These babies weigh in at 737g for the pair. For those of you counting at home, that's about HALF the weight of a typical high-performance wheelset. Want some? Better take out an auto loan. They'll set you back $15,000:
UPDATE
Singletrack magazine rides the new Spot belt-drive mountain bike. That's right. No chain. It uses a synthetic drive belt:
MTBR.com has the Interbike hotties. (Yes, they're safe for work.)
A 2008 Tour of America? That's the word from VeloNews. A North Carolina-based sports management firm announced plans to organize a 4,000-mile, 26-stage race from New York City to San Francisco. They promise it will include "25 of the most elite cycling teams in the world and will boast a prize purse currently pegged at $11 million, the largest purse of any international cycling event." Oh, and they plan to have it up and running by next fall. Additional details will be announced at a press conference Thursday.
For the record, that's more than twice as far as the 2007 Tour de France. It would also overlap dates with the Vuelta, the world championships and the second Tour of Missouri.
Stay tuned for more.
That's the word coming from Google.org, the the philanthropic arm of Google. They've partnered with Specialized and Goodby Silverstein & Partners to create the Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine Challenge. Participants submit a YouTube video of how they would harness pedal power in innovative ways. They've created a YouTube group where you can view the competition. When the winners are announced in January you could win a Specialized bike or $5,000. So what's your big idea?
This is one announcement I've been very excited about. Organizers have been working very hard to expand the Florida cyclocross season for 2007-2008 and the dates have just been announced. This season will feature twice as many races spread across the state, increasing exposure and allowing wider participation in this rapidly growing sport.
Never heard of cyclocross? Imagine a bicycle steeplechase, where riders must tackle off-road terrain, fast road sections and the occasional hill or obstacle that forces riders to dismount and carry their bikes. If you've ever wanted to participate in an organized cycling race, 'cross is a great opportunity. The course is a small, enclosed area, there are rarely crashes and all types of bikes can participate. For more, check out Cyclingnews.com's great introduction.
Stay tuned for more details as the season gets closer. Special thanks to Lance Riddle for putting this season together.
As always, it's on the Spoke 'N' Word calendar:
Photo from the 2006 Citrus City 'Cross in Largo by Carrie Pratt/St. Petersburg Times
The Half-Ironman World Championships were held in Clearwater Beach for the first time last year. While the event was considered a huge success, several changes have been made to this year's 56-mile bike route in an effort to appease both participants and locals regarding traffic and navigation around Pinellas County. Both McMullen-Booth Road and Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard had to be closed to accommodate the bike route in 2006.
Like last year, this year's race will start and end next to Pier 60. In general, the new route is more compact, sticks to wide roads and puts bikers in right-hand lanes. The biggest change eliminates a 14-mile, single-lane stretch on the Courtney Campbell Parkway into Tampa. Instead, it goes farther north up East Lake Road, turning around at Lansbrook Parkway.
The race appeared to catch many people off-guard last year, so along with changing the route, the city will publicize the event more on television, the newspaper and its Web site.
Read more from the St. Petersburg Times.
UPDATE: Found a map of the bike course here.Photo of the 2006 event by Jim Damaske/St. Petersburg Times
Construction has been crawling along Nebraska Ave. in Tampa since June. The state-funded $11 million project to replace the roadway between Kennedy and Hillsborough Avenue should be finished next summer.
Some details:
via TBO.com
Florida Cycling announced the races originally scheduled to be held in Ocala October 6 and 7 have been moved right here to Pinellas Park. The FloridaVelo BikeFest circuit race will be held in the Gateway Center office park just off Gandy Blvd. and I-275.
If you've never seen bicycle racing up close, this is a great opportunity. The short course is spectator friendly, with riders completing laps every few minutes and a full day of racing action. Spectating and parking are, of course, completely free. Even if you're not interested in who wins or loses, it's still a great opportunity to be surrounded by hundreds of people who love to ride. And I promise there will be some cool bikes to check out.
Go straight to the race flier [.pdf], course map [.pdf] or online registration. You can even check out a short video clip of the course here.
As always, subscribe to the Spoke 'N' Word calendar for this and more great local cycling events.
Just west of U.S. 19 in Clearwater a new ribbon of smooth, flat asphalt stretches from Belleair Road to Bright House Networks Field. The Progress Energy Trail is the newest member of the county's trail network. Crossings at Gulf-to-Bay and Drew street are still a bit hazardous, but it is very close to connecting with the Ream Wilson Trail which runs to Safety Harbor.
The Progress Energy Trail is part of a project to eventually complete a continuous loop, connecting to the current Pinellas Trail and featuring a Friendship Trail extension across the Gandy Bridge. Next up: a section from Bright House field to Enterprise Road with federal funds going towards an overpass on U.S. 19. No completion dates have been set.
For a view of all of Pinellas County's current and proposed trails, click here. [.pdf]
Fast facts
• $3.5-million from Penny for Pinellas tax dollars.
• 2.6 miles long from Belleair Road to Bright House Networks Field.
• 5.5 miles long when the next extension to Enterprise Road is complete.
Pros: flat, smooth, convenient as a neighborhood trail.
Cons: Little shade, frequent road crossings, not challenging enough for serious cyclists.
Photo by Douglas R. Clifford/St. Petersburg Times
That's what's going on in Jupiter Island. There seems to be a debate as to who is responsible for the beach and the parking lot that most visitors use for it. The city wants to cut back on the number of cars parking on the island. Cycling groups use the lot as a staging area for group rides on the weekend. Local businesses are annoyed with cyclists' cars filling up the lots, rather than paying customers'.
Stuart police officer Dan Pantel, a member of the Treasure Coast Cycling Association, questioned whether [Town Manager Joe] Connolly's suggestion is fair or legal."Whether I go there wearing a bathing suit or with a bicycle, how can they tell me I can't park there?" Pantel said. "They'd just be opening up a big can of worms if they did that."
In 1998 Town 'N Country was selected as one of several Hillsborough County neighborhoods chosen for community-based planning. Now residents are still trying to shape the future of their "downtown" center known as Town 'N Country Commons. A new library is on its way, as are some other government buildings and a park, but it is still far from being the pedestrian-friendly mecca envisioned by urban planners. So far $16 million of taxpayer money has been spent.
Not everyone is convinced a walkable downtown is the best idea.
"People don't walk," Hyon Pak, owner of a sewing alterations shop on Paula, told the Times. "They want the convenience of cars."
Rob Gamester, who lives in Town 'N Country and was one of the plan's architects, said an important component is a series of transportation improvements that will help nondrivers."There are channels and ditches in Town 'N Country that stop pedestrian traffic cold," Gamester said. He's proud of the new sidewalks, bicycle lanes and pedestrian bridges over Sweetwater Creek, Rocky Creek and Channel G.
So is Greg Thole, owner of Flash Antiques at Paula and Hanley Road. "I'm looking forward to when it's all finished," Thole said. "It would be nice to have this as a walkable destination. It has the potential for cute shops."
If you're a Town 'N Country resident, there is still time to get involved. Tampa is already one of the least walkable cities in America. Let's not pave paradise and put up a parking lot.
Now, I always ride with front and rear lights at night, and I know that puts me in a small minority of cyclists in Tampa Bay. But more people may be sporting lights after reading what happened to Terry Brown in Bradenton: He was tazered Wednesday after fleeing from a police officer who tried to stop him for riding a bicycle without a headlight.
Mistake No. 1 was not having a light, but Big Mistake No. 2 was running from the police. It's also interesting how the Florida headlight law seems a convenient way for police to stop and question cyclists of a certain socio-economic status who use bicycles as transportation. I have a feeling this law is quite selectively enforced.
Have you ever had an incident involving police and your bicycle?
I only know what it says on the flier:
October 13.
5 bucks.
For more info contact bobbymayo@gmail.com.
Fran Kane, owner of Flying Fish Bikes (formerly Dud Thames Bike Shop) on MacDill Ave., says he's fed up with the cycling conditions in Tampa. All 10 of his shop's employees have been hit by cars, including himself. His shop is the latest to join the South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers, the non-profit advocacy group coordinated by Alan Snel.
"Our mission is to try and improve bicycling conditions in Tampa Bay and to really plant the seed of bicycling interest in the community," Alan told the Tampa Tribune. Read the full story here.
SWFBUD is hosting its annual Bicycle Bash By the Bay November 4 at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg.
Click for larger view
Time to pass along the passion to your kids. Admit it, you're not spending as much time with them as you'd like, so cancel your plans on Saturday, October 6, and head on out to the nearest trail.
IMBA and Red Trail Racing have teamed up to host guided family rides at the Carter Road trail at Loyce Harp Park in Lakeland from 9 a.m. to noon that day with free lunch and snacks for everyone.
Hit up the Spoke N Word calender. All the cool kids are doing it.
It's official, Landis will be stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory. You can read all about the details elsewhere and get plenty of opinions from others, but I will say this: In no way did this man "win" the 2006 Tour. Leave a blank spot in the records book, please.
AP photo
Today the Florida cabinet unanimously agreed to spend $16 million to convert an abandoned railway right-of-way in Brevard and Volusia counties. The East Central Regional Rail-Trail should be open within two years. More details are available via the Orlando Sentinel, along with some cool multimedia and maps of trails in the Orlando area.
We're lucky here in Tampa Bay to already have access to the 42-mile Suncoast trail and the 46-mile Withlacoochee State Trail.
From deputydog, a blog who "loves ranking", we bring you the steepest streets in the world. Taking the top spot: Canton Ave. in Pittsburgh, above, at 37%. It's not "officially" the steepest street in the world, but is actually steeper. Check out some of the steepest streets on earth here.
Think you can ride this? It's Fargo Street in Los Angeles.
For comparison, Sugarloaf Mountain in Clermont, Fla., the highest point in peninsular Florida, is said to have a grade in the mid teens.
What's the steepest hill you've ever ridden?
Cyclocross season is underway in some chillier parts of the world and rapidly approaching here in Florida. Now one of its top domestic teams has a new co-title sponsor, Clearwater-based YourKey.com, a privately held residential mortgage lending company.
Team Kona - YourKey.com, which has dominated the North American 'cross scene for the past three years, includes defending US National and US Grand Prix Champion Ryan Trebon along with teammates Barry Wicks (pictured above), Wendy Simms, Dale Knapp and Erik Tonkin.
These are some big names in the world of 'cross. Think they might be persuaded to come visit sunny Florida for a cross race in their sponsor's back yard?
For an inside look at the team, check out Wick's blog, Too Tall.
Stay tuned: My super-secret sources tell me more news about the Florida cross season is coming soon...
Photo from Kona Bikes
Don't worry, the photo above isn't real. It's an artist's rendering created as part of a new, $1 million New York City bicycle safety campaign appearing on bus shelters, kiosks and in print and broadcast spots.
"We want to beg drivers, insist that they share the road with bicyclists," Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum told the Associated Press. "And that they're fair. And that they look in their mirrors and make sure that when they see a bicyclist they slow down a little."
Nearly 70 miles of bike lanes have been installed citywide this year.
Imagine what $1 million could do for Tampa Bay.
Read the full AP story here.
AP Photo
Editor Marlene Sokol of the St. Petersburg Times shared some thoughts in her weekly column in Friday's Times regarding a program called Run @ Work. Designed to encourage modern sedentary office workers to get their 35 minutes of exercise each day, she explains how she feels the program is incompatible with the work day. She also relates this to bicycle commuting:
Isn't it funny when people ride their bicycles right in the road, like that's healthy? Where my kids go to school, out in Odessa, you see them, wearing the little hat and hogging a whole lane when there's a perfectly good sidewalk nearby. I'm behind in my minivan, doing 10 mph, if that, because you can't pass the bike without hitting a school bus head-on.
I called it a hat, yes. I know it's against the law to ride on the sidewalk. And I have heard of bike lanes. Like a stripe of paint will keep you safe.
Columnists at the Times are entitled to their opinion, but I can tell you they do read their emails and letters to the editor. If you have an opinion you'd like to share, write, email or post it here.
Read the column "I wish I could Run @ Work. Really!"
This is your chance to get out of the traffic, enjoy the smooth shaded lane of the trail and ride as far as your legs will take you. The Withlacoochee Rails to Trail ride is Sunday, October 7. The entire 46-mile trail will be SAG supported so you can ramble as far as you'd like. There is no mass start and no designated finish line. Beginning at the N. Apopka Ave. trail crossing in Inverness, a fun ride to Floral City will run you 14 miles and for those looking for a challenge, there will be a mapped eight mile road extension to notch a coveted century ride.
If you register by Friday (9/21) the cost is $15 and you're guaranteed a T-shirt, otherwise it is a still-reasonable $20. All proceeds go to maintaining and promoting the trail. Pre-register riders will also be eligible for door prizes, including two $500 bikes. Download a registration form here.
As always, add the Spoke 'N' Word calendar to keep track of this and other great events.
Photo by Will Vragovic / St. Petersburg Times (2006)
Some other great Web resources to check out when you're not reading Spoke 'N' Word. (Hey, I can't be everywhere at once!)
Bike Commuters
Bike Commuters is an awesome collection of riders from across the country who have gotten together to create a site for people who "Bike their drive". They have product reviews, a cool gas-savings calculator and commuter profiles. If you ride your bike as alternative transportation, check this one out. One author is Tampa's own Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney.
The Practical Pedal
An old-school-meets-Internet-age 'zine, The Practical Pedal is available by a free, print subscription or via downloadable .pdf. As the name suggests, it focuses mostly on ways of making cycling a functional part of daily life. The current issue features profiles of Dutch cargo bikes, cargo trailers and even how to haul plywood with your bike! Check out some things you never thought you could do with a bicycle in their Flickr group.
Urban Velo
Published in my hometown, Pittsburgh, Urban Velo is a blog/'zine that focuses on cycling in the city. In traditional 'zine style, readers are encouraged to participate and contribute, just like here at Spoke 'N' Word! Issues 1-3 are available for .pdf download or viewable right in your browser.
If you have any other cycling Websites you write or read (or despise!) and you'd like to share them with Spoke 'N' Word readers, just shoot me an email.
By Sharon Ginn/St. Petersburg Times
Trek Bicycle Store of Tampa is expected to open in early November at 530 S MacDill Ave., not far from Flying Fish Bikes (the former Dud Thames, a local cycling landmark) at 2409 S MacDill.
David Sanborn, who owns the Trek location in Tampa, has four David’s World Cycle shops in the Orlando area. There is also Trek Bicycle Store in Lakeland.
“Most bicycle shops have a little bit of a mom-and-pop feel, compared to going to a mall and going to a traditional retail store that’s company-owned,” Sanborn said. “This store will have that company-owned feel but will be privately held.”
Trek is a 7,000-square-foot open space that, until recently, housed furniture store Ancient Arts.
“There will be more customer space than people are used to,” Sanborn said. “When you walk into other bicycle stores, it seems all the space is devoted to inventory.”
Aside from inventory, the store will have two fit stations, so cyclists can get their bike settings custom fit to improve comfort and reduce injury risk. The store also will have a 1,600-square-foot Vision Quest Coaching training center, which will offer “remote coaching” by Robbie Ventura, commentator and former pro cyclist, and his Chicago-based staff at Vision Quest. Ventura will devise training regimens through e-mail and phone consultations.
The training center will feature computer-driven stations where cyclists can mount their own bikes and try a new workout or even “road test” some of the country’s most popular race courses. “I can’t duplicate wind, but I can duplicate a course,” Sanborn said.
After using the training center, cyclists will be able to use one of two showers at the store.
Tentative store hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
For more, see Friday's St. Petersburg Times or tbt*.
A new bike lane has been striped as part of the resurfacing of N. Highland Ave. and N Tampa St., a great way to get to downtown from Seminole Heights.
Photo by Alan
We've seen that in the Tour de France, cyclists must watch out for stray dogs...
In the Criterium International it's horses...
But in the Tour of Missouri, taking place this week, several riders crashed and one was hospitalized when they collided with an armadillo. Dan Schmatz of team BMC seems to have gotten the worst of it. He keeps a fairly active blog, so we may hear more of the story soon.
On my rides here in Florida I've seen deer, eagles, wild pigs, gopher tortoises, fox squirrels and of course, plenty of armadillos. Ever seen any crazy wildlife on your rides? Let us know.
Everyone knows a couple of cold oat sodas taste better after a long ride, so it should come as no surprise that there are plenty of beverage related cycling products out there. But I'm not talking about those hideous Primal jerseys that are rolling Corona ads. Or the pint glasses that any shop can have their logo printed on. No, a true cyclist knows that when they need to get at their favorite suds, only the finest will do. And so I present:
The Pedros Beverage Wrench. Compatible with both Standard and Italian threaded beer bottles
The classic Park Tools BO-1 bottle opener...
...has since been upgraded to the B0-2 version:
If you're the tree-hugger type you could use a recycled version. I have one made with a Dura-Ace chain.
The Santa Cruz Heckler comes with one built-in on the dropouts. Many custom builders include this feature as well.
Worried about the chain tension on your singlespeed mountain bike? Open a cold one and relax when you're using the Surly Tuggnut.
Or maybe you do need to tighten that bolt before you toss a few back, just in case, so use your Surly Jethro Tule.
And afterwards, take care of things with the Park Tools TP-1, which sadly, seems to be out of production.
UPDATE! I've been alerted to the existence of the most blinged-out, cycling-related beverage opening device ever. The Campagnolo Corkscrew*. From Campy's Website: "The patented system of the telescopic self-aligning cover always places the screw in the central part of the cork. The large screw in hardened steel with a wide and sharp profile provides maximum grip on the cork and the two large levers enable the corks to be pulled out of bottles of the finest vintages without disturbing the sediments that are typical of such wines." Well then. Want one? Remember, "Big" is Italian for "expensive". These bad boys will set you back about $200. But my question is: Where is the carbon version?
*Not compatible with French wines.
Oh, and I should say, Spoke 'N' Word in no way endorses drinking and riding. Please ride responsibly. ::wink wink::
Struck cyclist in serious condition
via the Bradenton Herald
CORTEZ - Stefanatto Tullio, 57, was in serious condition after the bicycle he was riding was struck Sunday morning by a vehicle driven by James L. Joyner, 58, of Tampa, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
Tullio was traveling westbound on the sidewalk located on the south shoulder of Cortez Road when he was hit as he crossed the intersection of 124th Street Court West.
Joyner, who was northbound on 124th Street Court West, failed to stop at the stop, the report said.
Joyner's vehicle struck the left side Tullio's bicycle, throwing the victim onto the pavement, said the report filed by Trooper John Edwards.
Tullio, who lives in the 8100 block of 19th Avenue Drive West, Bradenton, sustained serious injuries and was transported to Bay Front Medical Center in St. Petersburg.
Tullio was not wearing a helmet.
Joyner was charged with failing to stop at a stop sign.
Photo: Chris Etaugh rocks the 24 Hour Solo World Championships
Cycling films are one of my favorite guilty pleasures. When I'm feeling down about sacrificing aspects of a normal life in order to spend more time cycling, I can pop in a DVD or fire up YouTube and feel rejuvenated. Films like The Road to Pairs, Transitions and countless Paris Roubaix finishes on YouTube keep the fire burning.
I'm very excited to let you know that there will be a showing of 24 Solo in Tampa next week. It follows 24 Hour Solo World Champion Chris Eatough on his quest to a 7th consecutive world championship. Shot in high def, this rare glimpse into the personal life of the sport’s most successful 24 hour racer is a rollercoaster of energy and emotion.
The film features commentary from the biggest names in mountain biking including Gary Fisher, John Stamstad, Hans Rey, John Tomac, Alison Dunlap, Ned Overend and others. Viewers will have an unprecedented glimpse into the intense machine that is Eatough and his support crew. The film’s dramatic conclusion leaves one racer victorious and one hospitalized with severe blood poisoning.
Awarded the Director's Choice Award for its overall beauty and manic excitement at the Independents' Film Festival, a showing will take place Thursday, Sept. 13th, at 9 p.m. at the Channelside Cinemas, 615 Channelside Drive in downtown Tampa. Tickets are $7.50.
Need more modivation? Check this out:
I am making an effort to reprint letters to the editor related to cycling published in the St. Petersburg Times. If I miss one, feel free to let me know. You can post your own comments below or write your own letter to the editor here. -ed.
Safety tips for bicyclists (9.5.2007)
To all bicycling groups:
1. The St. Petersburg area has many beautiful places to ride bicycles and many miles of bike lanes for safety added at quite an expense. Please use the bike lanes. If you want to ride 20-40 in a group, you are the ones needing to make concessions to accommodate your large group. I'm sure if car clubs started traveling the streets in groups of that size and disobeying traffic laws, you would see the problem.
2. Stop signs and stoplights are meant for you as well - please obey them. Would you like to be the ones guessing if I'm going to stop or not when I come to a stop sign?
3. Even though you are riding in a large group, you are not a funeral procession and therefore not allowed to run red lights and turn left with your group when oncoming traffic has the green light.
4. Safety should be a primary concern for everyone on the roads, including you. This means not passing on the right side of a vehicle turning right with a right turn signal on. Wait your turn like everyone else.
5. Most drivers are more than willing to share the road. You must be willing to share it also. You don't own it, however.
6. If you want drivers to respect your rights, you must respect theirs as well. This means not passing drivers on both the left and right sides of their vehicles so that your group can stay together and run the red light at which the car is stopped. It also means not yelling, "F--- you" to the drivers of those vehicles.
Of course, the bicyclists who need these reminders the most probably won't be reading this. It does not apply to all cyclists nor to all drivers. Bottom line: If you want respect, earn it, and if you want the right to use the road, obey the same traffic laws you demand that others obey.
Janet Austin, St. Petersburg
In the past year St. Petersburg's Bicycles and Pedestrians program has taken great strides to improve the quality of resources for cyclists and pedestrians. New bike lanes are being designated and bike racks are popping up across downtown. A major intersection at 1st Ave. N and 34th St. now features colored bike lanes where cyclists must merge with turning vehicles. Whether or not you believe bike lanes are in the best interest of cyclists, their presence shows the city is committed to creating cycling infrastructure.
When I was in Portland, Ore., this spring I was amazed at how many public resources are dedicated to cyclists. Each neighborhood had a free map detailing which routes were best for cyclists, accompanied by a larger map featuring the entire city. These are available not only at bike shops, but coffee shops, bookstores and restaurants. I was pleased to discover St. Petersburg has printed similar maps this year. So far I've only been able to find them at bike shops, but it's worth stopping in to grab one. They feature color coded guides to cycling quality on local roads both across the county and with a detail of downtown.
There are online versions you can view, but be warned, they are fairly large .pdf files, so downloading is your best bet. Don't even bother trying to print them out. [Downtown map] [County map]
Across the bridge, Tampa has a very basic map of city trails and parks online. I've not seen a Tampa road map featuring cycling routes. Anyone seen one out there?
Photo by Georg Oehl
Reader Georg Oehl was willing to share the story of his commute with Spoke N Word. It's true, it may take some prior planning to navigate the area's roads, but the payoff is worth it.
Always funny, how exotic this topic is treated here. I come from Germany where bicycling to work is no big deal and to have a report on TV or an article in the newspaper about commuting to work by bicycle is kind of hilarious for me.
This article from 2003 in the St. Petersburg Times gave me the final push to start cycling to work here too. I had thought about it for a while but I was somewhat intimidated by traffic shortly after moving here in the summer of 2002. But it turned out not to be so bad as I had thought. Roads are mostly wider here than in Europe, so motorists who pass cyclists on a single lane with oncoming traffic (when they shouldn't) usually have more space to do so. I am also more visible than Kimberly (the subject of the article linked above - ed.), because I am taller than her and usually stick out above car roofs, so drivers can see me from several cars back.But it does take some route planning for certain commutes. I used to commute to downtown Tampa for a project in the summer of 2004. I took a whole Sunday scouting a suitable route to go there. It's sometimes quite interesting what routes I have to come up with in order to avoid certain busy stretches, although sometimes even those are unavoidable.
Back then I had to take part of Memorial Highway between the Hyatt at the end of the Courtney Campbell Causeway and a side street off Spruce Street opposite International Plaza Mall. I continued on Spruce Street the whole way to the downtown area which was ideal in avoiding the busy streets that run parallel, like Kennedy Blvd. I also put some photos of that commute online. For another commute to Largo I found a very good route with the help of a local company's maps (Mapsource in Largo). In certain spots the online maps from Google, Mapquest or Yahoo are useless, since they often show minor roads going through when in fact they don't.
Georg also put together this great interactive map of his commute:
Seems a new breed of young New York socialites has taken to making their basket-adorned cruisers the ultimate fashion accessory. Noted pedalers include actresses Naomi Watts and Chloë Sevigny and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen. From the September 10 issue of The New York Observer:
Meet the beautiful bicycle girls of New York, a breed that bears little resemblance to the hard-charging, Spandex-short-wearing species of 20 years ago. Those women were athletes, pumping the pedals, fighting to win. Getting somewhere. Today’s girls—and one always thinks of them as girls, even if they’re well into their 40’s—are more meandering, their long legs flashing along the pot-holed alleys of SoHo and the boutique-lined bike lanes of the West Village. Eco-conscious and ethereal, they wear flowing frocks and gigantic sunglasses but never helmets. Their hair flutters in the breeze as they leave a trail of swooning male pedestrians in their perfumed wake. They’ve been known to weave up the Brooklyn Bridge, holding up traffic as they absent-mindedly chomp on almonds, steering through a stop sign while texting on their BlackBerries.
While this trend hasn't exactly caught on in Tampa Bay, the real question is could it ever? Whatever their motivations, I'm just glad to see them riding.
Suncoast Trailside Bicycles will open Monday, Sept.
10, right off the popular Suncoast Trail in the Target
supercenter on State Road 54 [map]. Featuring all types of bicycles, including road, mountain, recumbents,
cruisers and commuting bikes, the 1,300 square-foot store will
provide full bicycle service, repairs and maintenance. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
Saturdays and Noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The co-owners are David
Luppino and Geoff Lanier. Luppino also is a co-owner of the Carrollwood
Bicycle Emporium and Oliver's Cycle Sports in New Tampa. Suncoast Trailside Bicycles is also a member of the South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers (SWFBUD), a coalition of Tampa Bay-area retail bike shops that is committed to improving conditions for bicyclists in the region.
Well, in some cases, incredibly enlarged hearts. A new study suggests that while some athletes are born with higher abilities (shocker!!), scientists...
...have long noticed the phenomenon of the 'athlete's heart.' Athletes who train hard in aerobic sports, such as cycling, running or swimming, tend to have a bigger heart that pumps more blood throughout the body.
Solo men's winner Robert McCarty | Photo by Art North
The 13 Hours of Santos in Ocala, Fla., was cut short due to a nasty storm that rolled through Sunday. Check out the full results here, as well as photo galleries here, here, here and here.
Stay tuned for more from this an other great mountain bike events in Florida.
Cannondale is a company known for pushing bicycle design beyond convention. A few years ago they unveiled the radical Jackknife concept bike and now they've followed it up with the ON concept. The Jackknife featured a not-quite-functional hydraulic drive-train, but the ON bike features a fully functional and completely enclosed SRAM 9-speed internal hub and chain.
Why should you care? It's designed as the ultimate urban ride, folds in half for easy storage and transportation and won't grease up your trousers on the way to work.
First impressions? The R&D that went into this bike is incredible. There appears to be very few off-the-shelf parts used, so everything had to be designed and built. My concern, however, is that this level of engineering comes at a price, and if it ever makes it to the street it will prohibitively expensive for casual or new cyclists who could benefit the most from its features. I'd also like to see more functionality built in, such as incorporated fenders, lights or racks as other manufacturers are testing on their urban bikes.
It's still a concept for now, but word is that Cannondale is gauging dealer response before making a decision on its manufacture.
The Jackknife concept bike:
The enclosed drive-train:
As folded:
The non-drive side:
"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the
human race." - H.G. WellsSpoke 'N' Word is your online source for cycling news, views and events in Tampa Bay. Like the people who ride them, bikes come in all shapes and styles and here at Spoke 'N' Word we love them all. Whether you ride for exercise, to commute to work or just for fun, check back often for tips and trends to make your next ride even better. Need to talk bike? E-mail Adam Newman: anewman@sptimes.com |
Recent Comments