Cycling Friendly Community

[Kerry1976]

This weekend I ran a half marathon and walk-ran and 5K with my mom (her first!!!!!) in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois (home of U of Illinois). I was really impressed with the bike friendliness of the community. First and foremost, there were signs everywhere that said they were bike friendly. Beyond that, they had a great network of bike lanes, good markings for cyclists, etc. And I saw tons of people riding tons of different bikes for tons of different reasons.

It really made me think in terms of my biking. I would like to do more "in town commuting." I need to get a rack and some panniers or basket or something on my Trek Pure, as well as rims. But of course part of me is thinking - would there be better bike options - such as a bike truly meant for that? Such as one that comes with some of those "features" standard (especially a chainguard!)....a steel frame.....etc. Gave me lots to think about as I saw lots of bikes in action.

[Mr. Bloom]

The signs represent a designation earned by the community in the Bike League's Bicycle Friendly America program. You can see other cities at

http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/b...iendlyamerica/

Good luck with the in town commuting! I think the statistic that the DoT has issued indicates that about 40% of car trips are within 2 miles and 60% are within 5 (if my memory recalls correctly...). Therefore, you set a very achievable goal!

[WindingRoad]

Shampoo-Banana! --- locals joke about the name Champaign-Urbana!

[Kerry1976]

Shampoo-Banana! --- locals joke about the name Champaign-Urbana!

Nice! I'll remember that. I'm a Leatherneck from WIU in Macomb - any good jokes about U of I or their home is good for me!

It was very refreshing to see a community trying to be bike friendly. My community has put up a few bike lanes, but frankly, it doesn't cut it at all. It is the perfect town for biking - some hills, but everything is within easy bike reach - but you simply see very few people doing it. I was really amazed by the numbers of cyclists I saw the last few days in C-U. It was really interesting.

As an example of our "bike progress," a few years ago they designated two bike lanes....both on one-way roads. When the newspaper did the feature story on them, the picture they took was a bicyclist going THE WRONG WAY ON THE ONE-WAY. Ugh.

[TrekTheKaty]

I have to giggle at "bike friendly" signs. My suburb is pretty good, but I've seen other parts of St. Louis with "bike friendly" signs on a 1-foot-wide shoulder with 4-lane traffic going 45 mph. Rush hour on a weekday and you'd be road kill.

Bike communities are refreshing. They tend to center around colleges. Too bad bicycles weren't the rage when I wash in college--I may have found my passion sooner

[emily_in_nc]

Bike communities are refreshing. They tend to center around colleges. Too bad bicycles weren't the rage when I wash in college--I may have found my passion sooner

I've thought the same thing. We live in Chapel Hill now, which is where I went to school. Back in those days (I grad. in '83), no one rode bikes (or ran, for that matter). I do vaguely remember a bike rack at my dorm but no bikes on it at all. Girls were less likely to ride than guys back then, and this was an all-girls dorm. Now, we ride through campus all the time, and every dorm has a full bike rack; we see students cycling everywhere, there are just bikes everywhere you look. It would be neat to be a student in such an environment. Especially since I was so broke in my college years, it would have saved me on gas money and time (since I walked so much).

[Mr. Bloom]

I have to giggle at "bike friendly" signs. My suburb is pretty good, but I've seen other parts of St. Louis with "bike friendly" signs on a 1-foot-wide shoulder with 4-lane traffic going 45 mph. Rush hour on a weekday and you'd be road kill.

Bike communities are refreshing. They tend to center around colleges. Too bad bicycles weren't the rage when I wash in college--I may have found my passion sooner

The designation from the bike league is based on five criteria: engineering, enforcement, encouragement, Education, evaluation/planning. I think that by casual observation, it seems that success at one of the "e's" will get you to bronze, 2-3 will get you to silver...etc

The applications can be 50-100 pages...while you may giggle, you're just observing one of the e's...and for the record, I wouldn't be uncomfortable on the road you described (I'm presuming it's near Washington University)... But I'm one of the bold 1% . I don't think bike friendly means paths everywhere...give me a tight road with educated motorists, and half the war is won...

[zoom-zoom]

DH lusts after a Big Dummy...which is kinda fitting, heh.

[Geonz]

This weekend I ran a half marathon and walk-ran and 5K with my mom (her first!!!!!) in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois (home of U of Illinois). I was really impressed with the bike friendliness of the community. First and foremost, there were signs everywhere that said they were bike friendly. Beyond that, they had a great network of bike lanes, good markings for cyclists, etc. And I saw tons of people riding tons of different bikes for tons of different reasons.

It really made me think in terms of my biking. I would like to do more "in town commuting." I need to get a rack and some panniers or basket or something on my Trek Pure, as well as rims. But of course part of me is thinking - would there be better bike options - such as a bike truly meant for that? Such as one that comes with some of those "features" standard (especially a chainguard!)....a steel frame.....etc. Gave me lots to think about as I saw lots of bikes in action.

Oh, and getting a commuting bike is really, really fun and a good idea. It can be a whole lot cheaper and the specific features make more sense. You don't even want to park a bike with all kinds of quick-removal pieces on campus for five minutes. Those pieces and/or the whole bike *will* depart.
On of the best and sweetest aspects of riding my Xtracycle is that people see it and for many of them, it shifts their whole perspective. I'm not a poor soul who can't afford a car -- I'm riding a vehicle *designed* to get me places and haul things. (On the other hand, on my old Schwinn with the big baskets, I get some pity...)