News Spew

I’ve been out of town on a family vacation in recent weeks, so I’ve fallen a bit behind on reporting regional cycling news. Here’s a quick recap of what’s been going on in Kansas and neighboring states:

Kansas

  • The fifth annual Cruise the Blues mountain bike festival takes place August 30th at the Palen Family Farms east of Tipton, Kansas. learn more
  • The Eastern Kansas Bike MS Ride takes place September 20th and 21st, and organizers are looking for volunteers to help with the event.
  • Joe Douglas of Lawrence recently took a trip to Portland, Oregon and writes about his impressions of their transportation infrastructure: “We spent five days with young grandchildren and used only bicycles and public transportation. Not needing a car was a wonderful sort of liberation. Lawrence could have this kind of rational transportation, especially an expanded bus system and greater bicycle ridership. We just need to decide that we want that quality of life.”
  • The bicycle business is booming in Topeka, according to Jerry Armstrong of Capp’s Bike Shop.
  • Jerry Smith and Curtis Stubbs of Newton, Kansas recently completed a bicycle tour of the 2,241-mile Underground Railroad route from Mobile, Alabama to Toronto, Canada.
  • Five young men on a cross-country tour called Biking The States recount their experiences in Kansas: “Kansas his been filled with weather that we didn’t expect, hills that we thought would be plains, and some of the most incredible people we’ve met on the road so far. Missouri, you have a lot to live up to.”
  • New bike shop in Overland Park (Elite Cycling)
  • The Tour de Shawnee, which normally offers 12, 25, and 45-mile route option, is dropping the long route this year due to “budgetary constraints”. Huh?
  • Cross-country trip raising awareness about housing for disabled adults
  • When you lose your house, and your job, what do you do? For Bill Fox, it’s get the seven kids and the wife together and start bicycling across the country.
  • On August 20th, an 18-year-old boy was beaten and robbed while riding his bicycle in Prairie Village. Police are looking for four male suspects.

Arkansas

Colorado

Iowa

Missouri

Nebraska

  • At the Pine Ridge National Recreation Area near Chadron, hikers and mountain bikers will have more than 70 miles of trails on U. S. Forest Service land, but there is controversy over how much of that is open to motorized recreation.
  • The Missouri River Pedestrian Bridge connecting Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa will open two months ahead of schedule, on September 13th. The 3,000 foot long bridge is the nation’s only pedestrian bridge linking two states, and (despite the name) will be open to both pedestrians and bicyclists.
  • Cyclists biking across the country for poverty overnighted in Fremont on August 2nd.
  • The Ponca 155 is a gravel road ride that takes place each August. Here are some reports from this year’s edition: Cornbread, DirtBlog, Folks From Lincoln
  • 71-year-old Patricia Starr, Ms. Senior Nebraska 2008, will ride her bicycle from Wahoo, Nebraska to Atlantic City, New Jersey to participate in the Ms. Senior America Pageant Oct 24th.

Oklahoma

  • Gavin Cannizzaro and Kim Rice undertook a 1,000-mile, month-long bike trip from Norman to Eagle River, Wis.
  • Commander John Herrington, a Chickasaw citizen and the first Native American in space, began a new 4,000 mile journey Wednesday, August 13th, a coast-to-coast bicycle tour to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
  • A Shawnee man was arrested for hitting a boy on a bike, moving the injured boy to the side of the road, and then driving away.
  • Bike racks are being rolled out in Oklahoma City’s downtown.
  • In a despicable article from the Edmond Sun, a discussion of bicycle safety devolves into a lecture targeted at riders, with almost no mention of motorist responsibility.

About The Author

By Randy Rasa, editor/webmaster at Kansas Cyclist, the web's premier Kansas cycling information site, featuring authoritative guides to Kansas cycling clubs, bike shops, organized bike rides, touring, trails, and much more. [learn more]

One response to “News Spew”

  1. Thanks for the info about Colorado biking. I live in Fort Collins and am blogging about mountain biking, hiking, and camping. Specifically, you might enjoy my latest posts about mountain biking in Lory State Park and the mountain bike skills parks in Fort Collins.

    Also, if you need a bike, try an Iron Horse mountain bike.