Sunday Ride
2006-06-18 22:29:36.206321+00 by
meuon
3 comments
ChattBike.com had a Sunday AM ride that looked do-able, 35 miles at 15-20mph. First I rode down to Coolidge Park from Signal Mtn (Fun!) and then met the CBC crowd (nice people, welcomed us obvious newbies without jersey's, shorts with gel pads and titanium road bikes). The ride started off well, Joe (a friend from work) and I kept up until St. Elmo. I got a cramp on my left leg. They set a decent pace, but keep to it more steadily than I had attempted to previously. We bailed. Which lead to the next adventure, after walking out the cramp, we had heard the Incline Railway was allowing bikes...
The ride up Lookout Mtn was fine, roll the bikes on the platform at the lower end of the car with 1 wheel holder for one bike. At the top in became obvious this was a facade for Chattanooga becoming a Bike Friendly Community because there was no way to safely get the bikes off. Carta workers had to lunge from a grass bank, onto the elevated track, and extricate the bikes at great risk, with obvious OSHA-ish violations. We then carried the bikes and onto the road. No ramp, platform or safe practical means of getting them off the rail car.
The ride DOWN was.. well.. [big grin] best amusement park ride ever.
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2006-06-19 02:03:16.148049+00 by:
ebradway
Once you make it out here to Boulder and see what:
Boulder recognizes and supports its bicyclists by investing $4.5 million (19 percent) of its approved 2003 transportation budget on bicycle mode operations/maintenance and enhancement initiatives.
can do for bicycling... And having come from Chattanooga - a "Bronze Level" Bike Friendly Community to Boulder - a "Gold Level" community - I can say that the difference between Bronze and Gold is enourmous. But I bet the "Bronze Level" is for communities that have a "Master Bike Plan" and an occasional sign.
I just got through another ride on the BikeE. I'll have more pics and stuff to come. I'm hoping to be in shape enough to make the 11-mile commute into work by June 23rd for Boulder's Bike to Work day. Over 30 restaurants are giving free breakfast to riders that day and they are having festivities all week.
#Comment Re: So, you're one of the ones.... made: 2006-06-19 12:17:52.242171+00 by:
warkitty
I did my own ride yesterday and wound up hanging out with the folks from the Mudpie ride you were on after they finished. They told me there were two others that peeled off in St. Elmo. So, you rode briefly with my most recent ex-beaux Chris aka Bloodhound and my training partner Kelvin as well as "Jittery" Joe, Gary, Amy...
I almost went on that ride. Now I think its a shame I missed it.
As for Bronze level vrs Gold... I can only imagine the difference. The difference between here and, say, Gulf Shores where they *think* they're bike friendly after putting in a bike path off the side for tourists on beach bikes to pedal for about three miles... yeah. I can imagine the difference between Bronze and Gold is about like that. We're struggling to bring it up. The Bike Task Force here puts some effort in, but I think they lack between them the marketing and negotiating skills to make it happen.
#Comment Re: made: 2006-06-19 17:09:08.070619+00 by:
ebradway
Boulder takes bicycles and pedestrians seriously. I'll have to put together a photo montage to try to really show what I mean...