Trailnet Peach Pedal Ride

Anybody doing the Peach Pedal Ride this Sunday? If anyone is interested, could meet at my house and ride to Marine, do the ride, and get about 90 miles in.
Greg

Weekend Rides 7/17 - 7/18

Folks,

Its going to be hot, but I plan to ride anyways.  I am open to ideas, but here are my initial plans.

Saturday - Leave my house at 8:00 am, and head out to do the Hills of Kirkwood, and then loop Grants Trail to head over to Mississippi Mud for Breakfast/Lunch.  Miles about 45.

Sunday - The Little Hills Ride out of St. Charles.  Departure at 8:00 am. Miles 44-61

Roark

News From St. Charles on Bicycle Ban

Folks....John J asked me to post the latest on St. Charles.

Folks,

 

I listened to the public debate that was on line from last night's St. Charles County Council meeting.  If you are not aware, a bill was introduced to ban bicycling on D, DD, F, Z, and south Hwy 94 in St. Charles County until such time as shoulders could be built.  While most of us rarely ride those highways any longer due to traffic and road conditions, my ultimate concern is that this ban would spread to other sections of the county.  That is exactly what happened last night. While the bill has been tabled, the county representative for the district that covers Hwy B, C, H, and Hwy 94 in St. Charles County has asked that the ban be amended to include his roads as well.

 

The issues seems to be that the angry farmers are calling that they can't get their tractors around the cyclists in Northern St. Charles County because there are too many of us.  It keeps them from harvesting their crops and plowing their fields.  The majority of the council was opposed to cyclists stating that we were not courtious, didn't obey laws, and disrupted the flow of traffic creating large traffic jams.  Nothing was said about the trucks that try to run cyclists off the road. 

 

The state representatives were also supportive of the ban on cycling.  They stated that millions have been spent on bicycle trails and we should only ride on the trails.

 

The bill was tabled until next month.  This gives all cyclists time to let our voices be heard.  The county council did say they heard from cyclists but the statements were all about us and not how we could solve the problems or help the community.  If this passes, we may all find that all roads are shutdown except the Katy Trail, Madison County trails,  and Creve Couer park. While we know of riders who create the problem by not riding single file when traffic approaches and not obeying the traffic laws, I think it is time we let our voices be heard.  Please read the following list of contacts and express your opinion.

 

It would also be helpful if the St. Louis Bicycle Federation, bike shops, and the Missouri Bicycle Federation started expressing opinions on this one.

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Proposed County Ordinance To Ban Bicycle On Hwy D, Hwy Dd, Hwy Z, Hwy F, Hwy 94

Joe Brazil, County Council Member, is introducing a bill on July 12th County Councilmeeting to ban cycling on these roads. The meeting is Monday night at7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at old courthouse in St. Charles. Bill No. 3620 - Prohibit bicycles on Highway DD, D, F, Z & 94 from Hwy. 40 to County line until shoulders or bicycle lanes are in place. July 12th Agenda http://council.sccmo...id=23&Itemid=44 Of course it could take a very long time before such changes are made to these roads. Debbie Dyn Keyes from Shoulders for Saftey are planning on having a group attend in support of this ban. Please contact the council members to urge them not to support this bill. Even if you are not in the district we are all users of these roads. Cheryl Hibbeler District 1 Map chibbeler@sccmo.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Joe Brazil District 2 Map jbrazil@sccmo.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Nancy Matheny District 3 Map nmatheny@sccmo.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Paul Wynn District 4 Map pwynn@sccmo.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Terry Hollander District 5 Map thollander@sccmo.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Jerry Daugherty District 6 Map jdaugherty@sccmo.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it John White District 7 Map jwwhite@sccmo.org

New Town Big Shark Triathlon

For anyone who is interested. The triathlon was today. The course was very flat and consisted of a .6 mile swim, 20 mile bike ride and a 4 mile run. Due to a glitch in the system, the swim time includes the first transition. Swim and first transition in 23:36 (the swim was quite a bit better because I spent between 5 and 10 minutes in the first transition). Bike in 1:01:52 with a max speed of 26.2 (my computer) and an average speed of 19.4 (their calculation) with plenty of head wind for half the ride. 3:31 in the second transition. The run (walk) took 51:48 (12:57 min mile). I had some guy drafting me (not allowed) just after the 10 mile mark on the bike. He was not right on my wheel but he was less than the required 3 bike lengths behind me. I would pass someone and then pull way over to the right and he would do the same and stay right behind me. I finally slammed my brakes on! He had to swerve and go around me. I don't think he will try that again in a no draft triathlon.

St. Charles County Considers Banning Bicycles on Some Roads

More evidence of the hostility toward cyclists in St. Charles County...

KMOV had a story on their website regarding the St. Charles County Council introducing a bill on Monday, July 12 to ban bicycles from any highway without shoulders or bike lanes. This would at least initially be in southwest St. Charles County. Here's a link to the story.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/St-Charles-consider-banning-bikes-on-some-roads--98136544.html

The council's meeting minutes will be published here:

http://council.sccmo.org/council/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=22

Saturday Bike Ride July 10th

Let's do a ride into the city - eat - ride more and ride back. Or St. Charles. Looking forward to Dan's Birthday ride on Sunday. I am thinking 60 miles from my house into the city and back out. I'll probably leave my house around 8:00. Let me know what you think.
Mark