Bike Education Classes & Bike To Work Day
I wanted to pass along a couple of useful bicycle related bits for you. First, my friend Martin Pion will be teaching some education courses starting tomorrow. I took this course from Martin a number of years back and then in 2005 I received a training course so that I am also a League Certified Instructor (the League is the League of American Bicyclists). Anyway, here is the info from Martin – the course is highly recommended for anyone cycling on the streets:
It makes the utmost sense to use a bike instead of a car for local commutes, plus it’s good for your health, pocket book, and planet. And May, National Bike Month, is the time to start, or hone your skills if you already bicycle.
I’m offering two 12-hour bike education classes via Ferguson Parks & Rec. department, starting next week, details below for any interested readers. They can also e-mail or call me: 314/521-0299.
LOCATION: Ferguson Parks & Rec., 501 N Florissant Rd, Saint Louis, MO 6313
DATES & TIMES: Classroom: Weds. or Thurs. 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., May 9/10 & 16/17 On-bike: Saturday’s 10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m., May 19 & 26 (tentative dates)
FEE: $30 Ferguson residents; $45 Non-residents Note: $10 discount for additional family members; St. Louis Bicycle Federation also offers its members a $10 student discount.
To register, please call Ferguson Parks & Recreation during business hours at 314/521-4661.
Regards, Martin Pion League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor #625 thinkbicycling.com
And soon we will have the annual bike to work day, May 18th. Local groups are getting ready, here is some information for those interested:
Join St. Louis bike commuters and the rest of the nation as we show our communities the benefits of riding your bike for transportation. Bike commuters and supporters are invited to stop by our Companion Baking Refueling Stations at the Missouri History Museum, Missouri Botanical Garden, both on Bike St. Louis routes, or at Memorial Park in downtown Clayton, for a continental breakfast provided by Companion Baking.
Pedal Past the Pumps in May and enter the Drive Your Bike Challenge. Use your bicycle instead of a motorized vehicle whenever you can, and you qualifiy to enter our drawing for a chance to win one of two new bicycles (one men’s and one women’s) compliments of Sunset Cyclery. Friday, May 18th 2007
Features: FREE CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST for Bike Commuters 6:30 – 9 AM
FREE SHOWER coupons to redeem at any YMCA location
• Memorial Park in Clayton is located at 41 S. Meramec Ave., at Carondelet Ave., in
downtown Clayton.
• The Missouri History Museum is located at Lindell Blvd. and DeBaliviere Ave. on the
north edge of Forest Park. Look for the tents at the north entrance to the Museum. If
driving, please park at the “Twin Lots” at the Davis Tennis Center.
• The Missouri Botanical Garden will host the event in the front plaza of the Ridgway
Center. (The main entrance at 4344 Shaw Boulevard between Tower Grove and Vandeventer).
Three Refueling Stations!
Here are a few tips to get you started bicycling safely:
- Wear a helmet and make sure it is properly fitted — if we can see your forehead you are not wearing the helmet properly.
- Ride with traffic, not against it.
- Do not ride on sidewalks where pedestrians are present.
- Act like you are a vehicle — because you are. This means being in the correct lane and signalling.
- If you are going straight ahead, do not place yourself to the right of cars turning right.
Here’s something to get you off the couch and commuting to work next Friday.
The St. Louis Chapter of the AIA, in conjunction with Trailnet’s Bike to Work Day (and with thanks to The Pyramid Companies for the use of the space) will host an additional refueling station *WITH BIKE STORAGE* at the Mercantile Library Building, 305 North Broadway, *DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE MARQUETTE YMCA*.
That’s right. Ride your bike in, we’ll store it in a secure building, grab a bagel, and walk across the street to the showers.
Bike storage will be open from 6 to 9 am and from 4 to 6 pm.
Cities around the world which have successfully integrated cycling have clearly demonstrated why the approach here is NOT working. In other cities like Davis, CA and Boulder, CO, bike lanes are being constructed and used along with other strategies. Some of the measures like education along with well designed bike lanes improve safety while other measures are targeted to make auto drivers pay for the cost of special services to them. Taxing auto purchases and fuel are used to prevent overdependency. Building cycling infrastructure is absoulutely necessary to ease concerns and create more comfortable situations.
As shown by numerous surveys, the number one reason why more people chose not to bike is based on FEAR, particularly the imbalance of risk between cars and bikes.
In our area, we need to limit free parking, educate the public on the rights of cyclists, create enabling infrastructure, and ENFORCE LAWS against aggressive drivers. In a nutshell, quite subsidizing autos and support measures that lead to a friendly environment for all road users. We need complete streets.
Currently, NONE of this is being accomplished. In fact, our roads are being made more dangerous for cyclists as lanes are narrowed and more cars will be forced onto arterial roads with the construction of the New 64. In the funding and building of our two most important itransportation projects (64 and MetroLink extension), do you see any new bike lanes or paths? In other words, OVER $1.3 Billion will be spent for this infrastructure and how much is oriented to primarily support cycling?
Knowing how to ride a bike is clearly a necessity but so is the need for friendly environments. Otherwise, people load their bikes on the back of cars and drive a few miles to get in a bike-friendly area… Ooooh that drives me NUTS and says everything you need to know about our area.
I agree w/ the critique on the I-64 project, but MetroLink is pretty bicycle-friendly.
The Cross County / Forest Park Parkway rights-of-way just didn’t lend themselves to parallel bikeway construction like was done in Belleville IL alongside the MetroLink tracks. It could have been done, but it would have been very expensive.
I wish there was an alternative bike/ped route to access the Shrewsbury/Lansdowne/I-44 station, though. A little swinging bridge spanning the River des Peres at, say, the foot of Lindenwood Place, would better connect that neighborhood to the MetroLink platform. That park-ride emphasis is a flaw of the Shrewsbury station. However, most of the other stops are located in established neighborhoods with fairly quiet, residential streets nearby that would not be too hazardous for cyclists in most situations.
Back in 2003, I was shown a “grand design” for the infrastructure developments (64 & MetroLink) which included a bike path running from Shaw Park in Clayton to the River Des Peres bike paths. This would have been the critical link (and a great addition) to the plans to extend a bike path north of Shaw Park to St. Charles, currently known as the Centennial Greenway. Clearly it had nothing to do with FP Pkwy.
In effect, this could have been one of our most important bikeways in the region which would have connected St. Charles with the River Des Peres Greenway. Cyclists could have ridden from south city to the Katy Trail. Eventually this would become the critical link between St. Louis and Kansas City. I still have a copy of that map. Unfortunately, MetroLink was not cooperative and now neither is MoDOT. This great opportunity is being destroyed and few even know of the potential value of these plans. What will it cost to delay the development of this important link, monetarily and in lost opportunity?