Kansas Cyclist - Kansas Bicycle Guide and Reference

The Lawrence, Kansas Mayor’s Task Force on Climate Protection is preparing a report that it hopes to present to Lawrence city commissioners sometime in March.

One of the proposals, among many, is “Equipping police cars with bike racks so that it would be easier for police officers to do bike patrols in the city.”

That certainly sounds like a sensible, effective, and inexpensive way to get more police officers using bicycles, which will increase the effectiveness of the police, and save fuel in the process.

It seems that a bike rack would be a very simple piece of equipment that should be available to nearly every police car, but I don’t recall having seen bike racks on any police cars in my community. Have you?

Read more from the Lawrence Journal-World.

According to The Hutchinson News:

Developing a hike-bike trail from northeast Hutchinson to Sand Hills State Park appears to be at a standstill.

Last year, then-Reno County Commission Chairman Larry Sharp wanted to issue $300,000 in bonds – later deciding temporary notes were the better financial tool – to jump-start the project.

That never happened, and Sharp left office about four weeks ago.

“I’m not interested in it,” said Commissioner Brad Dillon, who defeated Sharp in the August primary and took office in January.

Commission Chairwoman Frances Garcia was cautious about moving forward with the trail project now because of uncertainties surrounding the 2009 budget and uncertainties about the planned, new K-61 that would allow the existing K-61 corridor to be used for the hike-bike trail.

New Commissioner James Schlickau said he didn’t know that much about the trail project, but he regarded it as “on hold” until the commission could sort through questions about the 2009 budget.

As his term in office wound down, Sharp advocated financing to cover the extra funding that would be needed for the 2009 Halstead Street improvement project and the hike-bike trail.

Quietly, though, the idea evaporated. [ read more ]

It’s too bad, and goes to show that, oftentimes, projects such as these without a high-profile “champion”, can just wither away and die…

The Des Moines based women’s team, Punk Rock Cycling, is offering up a valentine’s date to the highest bidder. The eBay auction ends Friday before Valentine’s day and the cost of the dinner date with the team has already climbed into the hundreds. This is the second year that the women of Punk Rock Cycling will be selling a date with the team. Last year’s Valentine’s Day auction was won with a bid just over $400, of which the girls on the team used to help subsidize entry fees and other costs they incur during a hard fought season of racing.

With a struggling economy and cycling sponsorships and unique publicity becoming harder and harder to come by, the girls of Punk Rock Cycling are taking matters into their own hands. To place your bid visit the team’s website at www.punkrockcycling.com.

Punk Rock Cycling is sponsored by the Elder Corporation, Papa John’s Pizza, Rasmussen Bike Shop, Specialized, Visionary Services, RBS Training Systems, Shimano, Chrome, and Oakley.

You can learn more about these women and all they do at punkrockcycling.com.

From time to time we like to take a look at leaders within the cycling community, and today’s profile is of Kenneth Walker, an accomplished cyclist and bicycling advocate in Kansas City, Missouri:

Kenneth Walker is a 48-year old cyclist from Kansas City, Missouri who is working to promote cycling to youth in the urban core of our communities. As the founder of the Urban Kansas City Community of Cycling, Ken gives large amounts of his time, talent, and abilities to “bringing into the light” the advantages of cycling within the African-American and urban community.

Ken has spent most of his life in Kansas City busying himself with many different aspects of cycling. His first taste “in the saddle” was at the young age of 26 and he has yet to turn his back on it. Even after 30 years, and recovering from a ruptured right Achilles tendon in 2003, he’s still riding strong and is about to begin his second year of racing. . . always emphasizing the importance of staying fit and exercising and providing himself as an example for others to follow.

“Kansas City has one of the highest rates of obesity in the nation, and a huge proportion of that is represented in the African-American community … I saw first-hand how our youth were getting bigger and bigger at younger ages and began thinking about a way to give my community some options.”

Kenneth’s mission to spread the news about the benefits of cycling has reached the ears of hundreds of other cyclists, as well as those who support his attempts to enlighten the community. One such supporter of his agenda is the Kansas City Mayor’s Office, that has graciously extended to him an invitation to serve on the city’s first ever Bicycle/Ped Advisory Committee. He also has recently been selected to serve as the Mo. State Ambassador by the League of American Bicyclists.

“I really want our urban youth to have options besides the conventional sports that they are always offered. All they need is to have someone to educate and support them… I am going to do whatever I can do to get more of them and minorities on bikes!”

Kenneth, and his wife Alyce, has three boys and one girl. His 18-year-old son, Christian, the youngest, also races, and is proving to follow in the footsteps of his father. In 2008, he became the Jr. Missouri State Road Race Champion. His first win was the Tour of Kansas City bike race in August, 2005, where he made history as the first African-American in its 45-year history to win that race. Since then, he has become on of the top jr. racers in the Midwest area. It’s easy to see that the apples aren’t falling far from the tree. Even moreso, this is evidenced by Ken being awarded by Road Bike Action Magazine with a $10,000 racing sponsorship in 2008.

It is Kenneth’s hope that a love for cycling will take root in his community–as well as within the nation–because he knows the possibilities are endless if the urban and minority community were to come together and make their numbers known.

“I can’t recollect a time when I have ever seen a group of African-Americans riding a bicycle together in my city. But, when I have a group of kids with me and we ride 10 or 12 strong, it’s absolutely amazing! One day, we’ll number into the hundreds …”

Thanks for all you do, Kenneth! Your story is inspirational.

You can follow Kenneth’s progress at urbankccc.com or on Facebook.

A reminder from the Earth Riders Mountain Bike Club:

Please be aware of ever constantly changing conditions of the trails during the winter months. Often times the trail surface will be frozen and Solid in the morning but thawed and wet during the afternoon.

Please note that if you are leaving tracks on the trails while hiking or riding or there is mud on your shoes or bike, then you are doing damage to the trail. Sometimes it’s best to just turn around and call it a day. Damage to the trail is very difficult to repair and can be considered Vandalism/Destruction of park property.

And from our friends at the Osage Region Trail Association in Jefferson City, Missouri, a real-world example:

I know that we are all very proud of the trail we have built at Binder Park. I also know that we are all very protective of that trail and would never intentionally damage what is probably the finest 13 miles of single track in Missouri.

Evidently someone new to mountain biking has ridden the Blue and Green loops when the trail was way too wet and done some severe damage.

We have enjoyed a long reprieve from doing any real trail maintenance at Binder but now its time to roll up our sleeves and get our baby back into the awesome condition we have all gotten used to.

So, this Sunday Feb 1st at 9:00 am we will meet at the bait shop parking lot. Bring a rake if you have one. We will bring mattocks and fire rakes. We will be working on the Green and Blue loops fixing badly damaged area, removing debris and deberming the lower edge of the tread. Our goal is to create better drainage so the trail drains faster, dries quicker and stays dry longer.

Please, I know it’s tempting to hit the singletrack at the first glimpse of warming weather, but a few minutes of fun in the mud can really cause a lot of destruction that will take many hours of labor to repair. Think before you ride.

The Boulder Mountainbike Alliance, along with the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation and the International Mountain Biking Association, is planning a huge new multi-discipline cycling park to be located Boulder, Colorado.

Valmont Bike Park will consist of 40 acres containing a “vast array of trail networks, including epic single-track for the mountain biker, rhythmic pump tracks for BMX enthusiasts, and cyclocross circuits designed in the style of the best courses in Belgium.”

The park, which is currently in the design stage, is scheduled to begin construction later this year.

The park recently received a $50,000 grant from the Dalbey Foundation, which will be used to add educational features to the bike park, to help children and families learn how to ride safely.

According to Dalbey Foundation spokesperson Susannah Christy, “The opportunity to invest in Valmont Bike Park was a natural fit for the Dalbey family. The project promotes everything they care about – families and children, education, health and fitness – in this case, promoting health and fitness through cycling. We are so excited to be part of this project and the opportunity to collaborate with the city of Boulder.”

To date, the Boulder MountainBike Alliance has raised over $120,000 to help fund enhanced features and ongoing maintenance of the bike park.

Bikes Belong has also set up a $10,000 matching funds campaign. The drive runs through February 6th, and all personal and business donations made in that time will be matched up to $10,000.

“This is such an important project, and it will have a big impact on Boulder,” said Elizabeth Train, grants director for Bikes Belong. “And it’s a great model for folks to do this kind of thing nationally.”

In addition, the city has allocated $800,000 to the bike portions of the park, and in March, the Parks and Recreation department will apply for a $200,000 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado, a state trust that helps projects like these.

Read more from the Daily Camera, or follow progress at the Valmont Bike Park Blog.