brenna&mike

Snagged this from Danbo's blog. Mike proposing to Brenna on a rainy ride. That's a great way to make a rainy ride a lot better. Congrats to Mike and Brenna...

3 Silvers...

Jonathan Page and Katie Compton took second in their respective races today in Hooglede-Gits Belgium at the Cyclocross World Championships. These results come on the heels of Danny Summerhill's Silver in yesterday's Junior race.

Congratulations to Jonathan, Katie, Danny and ALL the USA racers!!!

Hey UCI, how 'bout a World Cup race in the states???

American Podium Place and belgium ale...

Danny Summerhill, junior cyclocross racer, placed second today in the Cyclocross World Championships.

Tomorrow we'll see how the Elite Women (Go Dee Dee!!!) and Elite Men do against the world's best. Starting the weekend off with a Silver in the Junior Men bodes well for American cyclocrossers.

Best of luck to Tonkin, Page, Trebon, Scholten and Wicks in the Elite Men and Dee Dee, Kerry, Katie, Rhonda, and Christine in the Elite Women. Show the Euro's what the Americans can do!!!

I took Chris' advice and made sure I had plenty of beer available for the World Championship weekend. I didn't stock the beer fridge with belgian imports It's tough to get here other than Stella Artois or Duvel which can be found for $14 and I even have the correct glass for Duvel. Instead, the fridge was replenished with a pig of Queen City Brewing's Belgian Ale. If you live in the valley and want a fine crafted microbrewery beer, try Queen City Brewing. They have a wide selection of lagers and ales available for purchase or if you want to brew your own, they are a Brew-On-Premise. Select a style of beer you want and they provide you with the ingredients to brew your own beer.



Enjoy and cheer for the Americans riding in Belgian mud...

Another step, more to go...

During this evening's work session, the City Council decided to hold a public hearing on the Frontier Trail Plan at the February 8th Council meeting. The public hearing will allow the city to move forward on finding and securing alternative funding sources. There are many avenues for funding and with the Council's support the city can begin the application process.

Plan, check
Money, soon
Trails...

Okay not really that easy, but the progress is encouraging...

Staunton Frontier Trail...

City Council will be discussing the Frontier Trail Plan (Greenways Plan) during their Work Session this Thursday (Jan 25) at 5:20pm.

Work Session Agenda

Briefing file (pdf)

Next step will be a public hearing and adoption of the plan at the February 8 City Council meeting.

Moving forward...

Sharrow the Road...

I'm a fan of sharrows.

Simple, Intuitive, Inexpensive. They are a good choice for communities that do not have the ability to create distinct bicycle lanes. Like Stauntons narrow streets.

When dealing with transportation issues/devices, if it's not in the manual, good luck getting it implemented. This has been a problem with sharrows. well...

Sharrow met Manual, Manual met Sharrow.

Sharrows will be included in the next Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. It will take some time for state departments of transportations to accept and adopt the new manual. But it's a good start.

thanks to Commute by Bike and Cyclicious for posting this info.

not so nice pic of a car not sharing the sharrow lane on cyclicious...

Super Bowl Ride...

This year's Super Bowl Ride is February 4th. Here's Shenandoah Mountain Bike Club's information page.

I wonder if the Beach crew will make the trek to the mountains??

The 2006 Super Bowl Ride is pictured here, and what a cold ride that was. Who knows what the weather will be this year. I wasn't in the main group last year, I went to the top with an early ride so I could get off the mountain and watch my Steelers win one for the thumb.

If it's cold, will Crazy have enough clothes to be warm...

Bike Meetings...

Not sure how, for the second month, I have multiple meetings to attend on the same night. The first meeting on tap tonight was the Shenandoah Bike-Ped Committee held at the CSPDC offices. Tonight's meeting was productive in that we began the process of creating sub-committees to tackle the many issues facing our communities.

This process was facillitated by a brainstorming exercise that asked "What will it take for our region to become bicycle and pedestrian friendly?" We broke into groups that came up with answers to this question. These answers were then grouped into four areas that shared commonality. The four areas became proposed sub-committees. (I tried to accurately write down each groups' area)

Infrastructure

• Bike/Ped Liaison with VDOT
• Safety - signs, road improvements, paths/routes
• Comprehensive Planning, Development that accomodates cycling and pedestrian issues

Marketing and Tourism

• Accomodate Bike Destinations
• Promote Tourist friendly/interesting routes
• Marketing - consistent logo/wayfinding signage and mapping

Health and Education

• Education Programs
• Special Events - Bike to Work, Rodeos
• Public Service Announcements
• School Involvement

Program Administration

• Full Time Staff, create a position
• Non-Profit Status
• Partnering with State/Local Agencies and citizen groups
• Fundraising

A lot of work needs to be done and now that committees will focus on specific areas, we can begin to move forward to improve cycling and pedestrian transportation.

We need new members who would like to help. If you live in the following counties; Augusta, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge or Rockingham, or live in one of the cities/towns within these counties, and want to get involved let me know.

.................

Berry Farm...

I attended the Augusta County Parks Commission meeting this evening to outline our proposal to create the Berry Farm trail system. Ron spoke briefly on the history of the property and how we have gotten to this point. He then invited me to the lecturn to discuss our proposal, whew. Public Speaking 101.

Here we go with the short version - We want to partner with the County, IMBA Trail Solutions and other local groups to develop a sustainable trail system on the Berry Farm property. We envision creating 6-10 miles of single track trails that will allow hikers, joggers, mountain bikers, bird watchers, families to enjoy this wonderful area of Augusta County. The trails will be be built in phases with the initial 'loops' being geared towards beginner and intermediate cyclists/users. This will build a constituency that will help maintain and construct future trails.

The Parks Commission recommended to follow up with our discussion and create a full plan/package that details what is to be developed and how to accomplish it. The ball is rolling.

Two issues that were brought up that will need to addressed:
(1) Protect the water source. Berry Farm is a source for county water.
(2) Create an accessible area/loop
These can and will be accommodated.

Productive, Encouraging, Positive...

Warmth will end...

At some point the cold weather has to settle in over the midatlantic. Until that point I'll enjoy being outside. And once it gets cold I'll still enjoy being outside, albeit with more layers.

Rolled up to Harrisonburg yesterday with Patrick, thinking we'd get 50-60 miles in our legs. Well, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and ticked off 71 miles. I took each of the city/county sign sprints, just 'cause Patrick didn't know where most of them were. Experience counts. He was flying up the hills. Virginia Juniors be forewarned, he could/should repeat as State Champion. Took a picture of the "attack cow" sign on Patrick's phone. Maybe he'll remember to send it.

Luckily there were a few hours of football waiting for me when I got home. The legs needed the rest...

World Class...

The list of World Class cyclists in the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia continues to grow.

Here's the CyclingNews interview with Dee Dee Winfield. She is now in Belgium preparing for the World Championships in Hooglede-Gits Belgium.

I remember seeing Dee Dee climbing above Crabtree Falls on rt 56 back in August. She was floating up the mountain road about as fast as I was descending it.

Best of Luck...




(photo by JB @ Love2Ride)

Other B-Lists...

In case anyone is actually reading B-Lists (I am)

Here are others that have been posted in the cycling blogosphere...

Masiguy the original
Cyclelicious Part 1 and Part 2
Treadly and Me
Bitch Kittie
Bicycle Diaries
De Choc
Bicycle Design

If you NEED a reason...

Here's a link that gives 28 Reasons to bike.

Not that you would NEED a reason, but it's a good list that you can use to promote cycling in your community.

Thanks to Fritz at CycleLicious for the link...

Custom Bikes...

And I don't mean a bike from Orange County Choppers. Their schtick was humorous for at the most 2 episodes but I digress.

The LATimes has an article on custom bicycles. An interesting read even though you don't have spend $8000 for a custom and custom bicycles are not solely an LA phenomenon as the article implies.

Too bad they don't mention Independent Fabrication or some of the West Coast frame builders such as Vanilla and DeSalvo.

It's about time for my new custom bike.

And not something from OCC...

Cobblestone Cross...

I wonder how Sambo and Mr Horvath did at the cyclocross race at Pole Green Park???

Obviously, I didn't go but did get a solid three hour ride in this morning. Need to take a camera next time to get a picture of the "Attack Cow" sign.

Staunton,
FranksMill,
Springhill,
Moscow,
MtSolon,
Sangerville,
SpringCreek,
Bridgewater,
Centerville,
MtPisgah,
Staunton.

Fun Stuff...

Spreading the word...

I have to commend the News Leader for keeping bike issues in the public eye. Yesterday the paper ran an article on the trails at Betsy Bell and Mary Gray (my blog entry on the trails). Here's a short blurb from yesterday's article and the link (if the link dies, please let me know and I'll get a permanent)

City ready to open mountain routes
By David Royer/staff droyer@newsleader.com

STAUNTON — The path is clear for two-wheeled adventure-seekers in the region — Staunton is wrapping up work on its first off-road trails, as Augusta County and Waynesboro begin planning their own.
The Queen City's links in the bicycle chain are the first to open. This week, city employees used a GPS system to create a map of the routes up the 1,900-foot summit of Betsy Bell Mountain and its smaller sister, Mary Gray...

http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070106/NEWS01/701060330/1002/NEWS17

I was surprised to see that the online edition of the article provided a link to this blog.

The article mentions Berry Farm, but not the proposed trail system. James, myself, and Rich met with Ron Sites this past Thursday to discuss the creation of trails at Berry Farm. This was a very productive meeting. James and I will follow up with Ron this next week. We will also attend the Parks Commission meeting on January 17th to show public interest in the trails. I am trying to get/keep other constituent groups interested/aware of the trails, like local running clubs and SVBC/SMBC. While we may not be able to construct trails this year, we can get a solid design plan developed for construction in 2008. Maybe we'll catch a break and get some trails started this year...

The B List...

Masiguy had a post a few days ago that listed his "B List". The list is a meme that seeks to bring the bicycle blogging community together by exposing new blogs to others. check out his list.

Here is my B-List, like masiguy it's not in any specific order.
Sambo Wonderful world of Crickets
Bike Centric a bike blog, go figure..
Empathy Test riding in Frederick
Go Clipless mtn bike blog
Gwadzilla the man the myth the legend and a nice guy too
ifjeff beer drinking, IF riding what more could ya want
Jeremiah Bishop's blog Finished a race with a broken jaw, righteous
Jason Sager Free Sager
Mr Horvath The K-Dogg
Ride with Nick Martin Trek VW racer in Colorado
Mad Dog Media Angry O'Grady
Wash Cycle cycling advocacy in our Nation's capital
Wrench in the Gears one gear and beer, what could be better?
24 Solo Mtn Bike Film Maker ORTA
Blue Collar Mountain Biking fun without spending much $$
Cyclocosm pro cycling news and commentary but not too angry
Cycle-licious delicious tasty mmm Mmm good
FatMarc must be a typo, should be fastmarc
Joe Foley DC cyclocrosser
speedgoat knowledge
Team Green IF Grassroot Racing
Mr Harshman cyclocross racer in the mid atlantic
Dream Your Life, Live Your Dreams cyclocross racer in the mid atlantic
Commute by Bike what more people could do
kerrylitka runner bike racer interesting take on things
Phattire cyclocross racer in the mid atlantic
Love2Ride don't we all
MtnBikerTaz Living it her way
Harlan Price wicked fast for lots of miles
Old Man Ridin my neighbor
RideItLikeYouStoleIt yeah how we all should ride

Enjoy and let me know if you post your own B-List.

ya bike nerds...

Bicycle Lift...

Here's a video of a bicycle lift in Trondheim, Norway.

I can think of a few hills in Staunton that would benefit from a lift. I wonder if the Frontier Trail Plan could be revised to implement one of these...

Parker's First Race...

Parker completed his first race on Sunday, the First Night 5k in Harrisonburg. He did well considering he's a week shy of six months and hasn't been training much. He finished at around 22:10.

Bill W pushed his son and finished 3 minutes ahead of us. show off... We started towards the back and had to thread the needle at the beginning to get through the pack. Staunton was well represented with Bobby and Mark Y putting in solid times, at a little over 19 minutes. I haven't seen the final results.

Holly and Parker met me in H'burg as I rode the Planet Cross to the race. I had plenty of time to get 40 miles or so in before the 5k. Hit some of the gravel roads around Dayton. Fun Stuff.

Training for 2007 has begun...

Icicle Ride...

Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Club hosts the Icicle Ride on January 1st each year. This year's ride was far from seeing Icicles with temperatures in the 60's. Great riding weather. 17 leisurely miles for this year's Icicle Rides. The Planet Cross has its Ksyriums mounted and is ready for road duty now that Cyclocross season is completed. Sam was rolling his Planet Cross too. Gotta love the smooth ride of Steel.

60 degrees+ on January 1???