SaltCycle :: All Things Bike in Salt Lake City

New SLC transportation director, Hutcheson, appointed by Mayor Becker

2012-01-27T09:44:00.001-07:00

New transportation director, Robin
Hutcheson (Photo: Salt Lake City)

Following former Salt Lake City Transportation Division director Tim Harpst's retirement earlier this month, Salt Lake City mayor's office has appointed Robin Hutcheson as the city's new Transportation Director. She brings with her many years of national and international experience in transportation planning and sustainable planning initiatives. More locally, Hutcheson has been a key player in the development and design of the Complete Streets ordinance, the Sugar House Streetcar corridor, and other sustainable transportation projects.

From a press release dated January 26th, 2012, Hutcheson is described as an effective bicycle transportation planner and dedicated cyclists and outdoor enthusiast. In addition to other traits, Hutcheson will provide excellent leadership and expertise in furthering the City's initiative to be increasingly bicycle-friendly,

"In her new position Hutcheson will manage programs for sustainable transportation modes such as bicycle and pedestrian travel and streetcar network development as well as lead evaluations of transportation issues, traffic operations and parking. As director, she will contribute to policy development to support Salt Lake City’s livability goals, focusing on key transportation initiatives to improve mobility, access and quality of life.

“Nationwide, Salt Lake City is becoming a progressive transportation leader,” Hutcheson said. “I am thrilled to be a part of this team and look forward to continuing the work of connecting to our community and the challenge of improving and enhancing City transportation options.”

Prior to joining Salt Lake City, Hutcheson was a senior associate with Fehr & Peers’ Salt Lake City office. She is the co-founder of the Women’s Transportation Seminar Northern Utah Chapter promoting women in the field of transportation. Hutcheson is an accredited planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners.

In her free time, Hutcheson is a dedicated skier, cyclist and outdoor enthusiast."

Tonight! 4th Annual BIKEDANCE - 2012

2012-01-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

Free food and drinks! Critical Mass! Film screening! Music by Holy Water Buffalo!

BIKEDANCE 2012 will start at 5:30pm on Thursday, January 26th, at White Pine Touring (1790 Bonanza Drive, Park City, UT). We'll have free food and beverages from our generous sponsors Sidecar Pizza, Back Door Delicatessen and Moab Brewery!

Once you are properly fueled we'll have a critical mass ride from White Pine Touring to Flanagan's on main. Once we hit the door at Flanagan's we'll showing 2nd Base Films "From The Inside Out". After the film we'll be presenting city leaders and Charlie Sturgis, Director of Mountain Trails Foundation, with Park City's IMBA Gold Level Ride Center award! This is a huge honor for our town and you won't want to miss it. As soon as the award presentation is over Holy Water Buffalo is going to rock the house!

We will be requesting a $10.00 donation to participate in the event. A portion of the proceeds will go to purchase one World Bicycle Relief bike with the remainder of the funds raised

going to Mountain Trails Foundation. Your $10.00 donation gets you access to the reception/pre-party at White Pine Touring, a commemorative BIKEDANCE 2012 koozie to keep your beverage cold and hand warm, a commemorative BIKEDANCE 2012 t-shirt from our generous sponsor MTN Ranks (first 150 people), one drink ticket good for a tallboy PBR at Flanagan's, and your cover charge waived at the door of Flanagan's (with BIKEDANCE 2012 koozie). Come support two great causes and have a great time doing it!! Check out the event's facebook page here.

Thursday Night 999 Ride (Tonight!)

2012-01-26T13:06:00.001-07:00

Everybody loves a casual ride around town with friends, right? The Thursday Night Ride (now commonly known as the 999 ride, formerly known as Evening in the City with Naresh) was started months ago by Naresh, a popular face in the SaltCycle community, and happens every Thursday night. The ride meets outside Coffee Garden on 9th South and 9th East at 9 pm (but this ride isn't exactly known for leaving right at 9:00, so hang around if you're the first one there).

What to expect: casual speeds, group-minded riding, friends (old and new), and sometimes a drink at a local bar. Bring your friends, come alone, ride your cruiser, commuter, carbon frame or beater bike. Anything goes!

Naresh, founder and faithful leader of 999, pictured with his beloved "Gail" (right).

Tales from the Top Tube: It's not always sunny

2012-01-24T21:23:00.001-07:00

The worst day as a bike delivery guy begins in New York, with a snowstorm. Icy tracks that grab your wheel and slip the ground out from under you. Your breath freezes on your face and your chest shudders as the air rushes down your zipper into your core.

On the first run you get a pinch flat, on the rear no less, which would normally be just annoying, but it's horrific weather and your wheel is covered with dirty, icy sludge. Your fingers quickly become raw, pink, and useless. You're as far from the restaurant as you could possibly be. Digging through your bag you realize, stupidly, that you've somehow forgotten your patch kit and in an inexplicable coincidence the other two tubes you have with you are pinch-flatted as well. Swearing doesn't make you feel any better, so you let a cool calm wash over you, accepting the situation. You call up the restaurant and tell them to hold off on orders for a half an hour. Ride back hunched over your handlebars like a kid in 2007 trying to win a skid competition, your useless rim squirrelling and dinging the pavement. It's still snowing, and the cars passing you have no comprehension that things aren't going well, nor could they really give a shit. The bike shop next to the restaurant is closed. You're new to the city and don't have any friends nearby. There's another bike delivery guy down the street, but he doesn't speak english and when you finally get him to lend you a patch kit the glue's dry and useless.

The thirty minutes becomes one hour, two. Finally, after a hundred failed solutions, you're prying the tire off the wheel, eyes and soul a smooth static white, wondering how you got suckered into this position, into this terrible aching spot where a thousand things were going on in the world, breaking systems looming large, a million possibilities waiting for their catalyst, and you were the rube forced to spend your concern on some missed orders and a flat bicycle tire.

Sugar House Streetcar Public Workshop this Thursday!

2012-01-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

Calling all cyclists in the Salt Lake Valley! The Sugar House Streetcar project is holding a public workshop THIS THURSDAY January 26 from 6:00-8:00 pm at Kimball Distributing, 2233 South 300 East, South Salt Lake City. Attend this meeting to help design and critique the open greenway space and trail which run alongside the streetcar. This is important: let's show them that bike trails and other human-scaled infrastructure is important to us by showing up to this meeting and sharing our opinions. Check out the website here, or click more for more information.

The desire for open space on both the north and south sides of the Sugar House Streetcar line was repeatedly expressed during the public meetings held thus. Until now, improvements such as trails, landscaping, lighting, and site furniture have been referred to in general terms. The next step in the design process is to define and cost, block-by-block, which improvements will be constructed within the streetcar corridor.

Streetcar Greenway and Trail Public Workshop:

YOU helped determine the design of the Sugar House Streetcar. NOW, come and help define the improvements to the OPEN SPACE on the north and south sides of the streetcar line.

Design how the OPEN SPACE and TRAIL will look and function.

Critique design CONCEPTS that will be presented.

Provide FEEDBACK specific to your property and/or block.

All residents of Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake City, and Salt Lake County are invited to participate.

When: Thursday, January 26, 2012 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Held at: Kimball Distributing2233 South 300 EastSouth Salt Lake City, UT

Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Martie Nightingale

2012-01-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Meet Martie Nightingale, nurse midwife, member of the Cutthroat racing team,
high heel cyclist, and all around bad ass. (Photo: Christy Jensen)

Name: Martie Nightingale

Hometown: Lafayette, Louisiana

Occupation: Certified Nurse Midwife

Number of Kids: Two boys

Number of years in Salt Lake: I have been here on and off since 2000

Been riding a bike: For five years. I started riding to do an off-road triathlon and fell it love with it.

Favorite place to ride: Emigration Canyon! My favorite part is the downhill.

Favorite Restaurant: Since I am vegan, I have to say Cafe Supernatural.

Martie, with her Surly LHT
and Ortleib panniers and handlebar bag.
(Photo: Christy Jensen)

Number of bikes owned: Two mountain bikes, one road bike, and one commuter. But my Surly Long Haul Trucker is my favorite. It is so versatile, I feel like I can do everything on it.

Favorite bike accessory: My Ortlieb panniers. I can put my heels in them when I go out and I can use them as a cooler when I go to a concert. I am so glad I have a rack and panniers.

Most embarrassing bike story: I was on a team for the Rockwell Relay and was going up a hill. I could see my team cheering for me and when I shifted my chain dropped. I fell over and couldn't clip out! I was literally in the middle of the highway and my teammates had to come get me out of my bike. So glad a car wasn't coming.

Favorite bike shop in Salt Lake: It is hard to say just one, but I have to say Saturday Cycles.

Hopes and Dreams for Cycling: I would like to see more women in cycling, across the board. Especially in commuting. there are different social expectation I think women need to break. We have to be clean and smell good when we get to work, but if we build communities of women where we help each other out, we will see a change in the expectations. There is definitely more women-specific commuting clothing that I think will help out a lot with getting more women out on the road.

Tales from the Top Tube: Italy By Bicycle, Sola.

2012-01-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

The first night on my bike I slept in a little trench on the retained side of a retaining wall. It had poured rain for three hours, the nearby ocean dumping its contents onto the coast. I was exhausted. It was around 1 AM (I sat out much of the rain under a bridge), I had just biked through the treacherous sprawling city of Genova, Italy, and the campground signs I had followed up a big hill and past an eerie cemetery led me to a very closed “terreno per campeggio.” Not feeling up to sneaking in on my first night, I opted to riding further up the hill, battling the overwhelming desire to drop right where I was, and not exactly sure what I was looking for. A few hundred meters along I saw the retaining wall and the overhanging trees. Perfect. I tossed my paniers onto the 4 or so foot wall, laid out my tarp, took off my wet shoes and socks, and curled up inside my sleeping bag, half of the tarp folded over me. Loud raindrops dripped onto the tarp. I was asleep in seconds.

Two days later I’m crossing over a ridge 2000 feet above sea-level, trying to commit to memory the incredible tree-covered mountains that fade into the softest fog I’ve ever seen. I’m breathing hard, having just climbed through a steep town that stretches from the coast up into the hills. After a quick breather at the top, I descend back to the coast for miles and miles down a road windy enough to have to brake a little on the turns. That night I shared a rocky coastal campsite with Joost, a dutch artist and fellow bike-tourist who had rolled up behind me when I had stopped near La Spezia to draw a picture.

I rode an old mountain bike that I bought for 50 euros in Torino. It was called Giovinazzo, had an awesome white and blue paint job, and served me better than I could have dreamed. Except for the day my shifter cable gummed up and I had to pull on the exposed cable along the down tube to shift until I found a bike shop a bought a new cable. But that was an easy fix. I never got a flat tire, never had brake problems, and even ended up loving the triple Biopace crankset. Within a day I could adjust my friction shifters accurately the first time and without looking down when I heard something off-centered. It was easy to be in tune with the Giovinazzo. It held no secrets. It was what it was, and when something wasn’t right, it was obvious. Good communication is key to any successful relationship.

“Sola??” A fancy Italian road bike coasts along next to my rickety mountain bike, and a bewildered, beautiful Italian roadie repeats, “Americano? Bicicletta... sola??” Neither of us speak each other’s language, but it’s clear he’s impressed. Or confused. We’re riding along a beautiful bike path that runs north out of Rome and follows the Tiber River for miles (at least ten of them), cutting through beautiful sunflower fields and farm land, not a “real street” in view. I had caught up to him, fatty tires, loaded rear paniers, upright flat bars and all. I laugh, “Si, sola! Mi piace biciclette!” He’d better believe I like bicycles; he’d never seen anything like me before. A female American, traveling by bicycle, alone? Weird. We ride for a few miles, laughing at our attempted conversation, broken by our language barrier. He heads home, I continue on to downtown Rome.

It wasn’t all fun and games. The day I got lost in the rain, for example. I had about 90 km (55 miles) to ride from Pisa to Florence, but somewhere about 40 km down the road I took a wrong turn at one of the many roundabouts (which are completely awesome and functional and oh! how I wish the States would use them more) and later found myself about 20 km off course. Then it started to rain. It was beautiful at first. I rode along in the gentle rain, going back the way I came, learning Italian through my earphones and eating a baguette. I was happy, even if I was in the wrong place. But then it got bad. Really bad. Probably the worst rain storm I’ve ever ridden in. I was soaked to the bone. I forced myself to see the humor, but it was still a little hard to laugh. Eventually I got back to the fateful roundabout and found my way onto the nearest train to Florence, the rain still coming down hard.

I don’t know what my favorite part was: the makeshift bicycle-tarp tents; the 75 km ride from Florence to Siena through unreal, jaw-droppingly beautiful vineyards and hill towns; meeting Stefano at the Leaning Tower of Pisa and sharing a campsite while teaching each other Italian/English; sketching the city of Florence from Piazzale Michelangiolo on the hill while eating pizza and gelato, my bike locked up at the bottom of a (seemingly) mile long staircase; navigating the busy streets of Rome with confidence, sneaking down one-way roads (because I can) then merging into a complex, multi-laned roundabout, popping out in front of the humbling Colosseum.

I’m sold: traveling by bicycle is priceless. I experienced Italy through warm air on my skin, ushered from town to town by the smell of bakeries and vineyards. Being alone, I was compelled to talk to the people around me and having a bike made me all the more friendly and approachable. It’s easy to trust someone who pulls up to the campsite outside of Rome at one o’clock in the morning when they’re red-faced and on a bike. I wouldn’t trade my ten day Genova-to-Rome tour for anything, and recommend to anyone and everyone to give bicycle touring a shot. It’s about the journey, not the destination. And besides, burning that many calories a day leaves a lot of room for gelato.

Caption Contest: Road maintenance infographic

2012-01-14T00:54:00.002-07:00

Leave your creative caption in the comment section below, see others', and have a good time.

Salt Lake DOT director Tim Harpst retires after 25 years

2012-01-11T21:48:00.001-07:00

Salt Lake City Transportation Division Director, Tim Harpst, retired today,
after 25 years as director, and 33 years with Salt Lake City (Photo: Tom Millar)

Emotions were high as Transportation Division employees and friends of director Tim Harpst gathered Wednesday afternoon to bid adieu to the director who lead and supported some of the most progressive transportation planning, especially for bicycles, in Salt Lake City's history. Harpst, who is succeeded by now-director Robin Hutcheson, formerly of Fehr & Peers consultants. Director Harpst's leadership and friendship toward and in behalf of all those around him will be greatly appreciated by all who had the opportunity to know him.

Harpst, though retiring from the public sector, will likely continue to work in transportation planning and engineering from the private sector as a consultant and expert in the field. Harpst, along with Hutcheson, will be leading a joint-lecture at tomorrow's ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers) Conference on the University of Utah campus, from 4:00 - 4:45 PM.

Prohibited On Sidewalk

2012-01-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

An editorial in tomorrow's City Weekly is about the writer's frustration with the downtown 'No Bicycles on Sidewalks' law: How he got a ticket and why he's asking the judge to find him guilty. Check out the article here, and let us know what you think below!

Tales from the Top Tube: Discouragement and Optimism on a Bike

2012-01-11T01:57:00.000-07:00

We always hear of the indescribablejoy that is experienced from the seat of a bicycle, or the sheer bliss oneexperiences when all the parts of the bike are moving in fluid harmony, propellingyou forward with greater ease than ever before, even riding with less effortalong the same road that you always take. Perhaps we romanticize bicycling toomuch, as the cure for all societal and emotional ills.

There are some days wherea bicycle seems to be my worst enemy. These days are very, very few and farbetween, but when they hit, they seem to come with full force, and try to knockme off my saddle for good. I returned from an amazing Christmas break in Californiaa few weeks ago, during which I spent the majority of my time riding my bike upand down mountains, over bridges, and through the fog. It was a delightfultime, full of that bliss that defies all words. Upon my return, I spent most ofthe day unpacking, putting bikes back together, getting a little riding in, andhaving dinner with my sister. It was a great day and it felt good, thoughbittersweet, to be back in Utah.

Later that night, I got ona bike to head over to a friend’s house for dinner. Nothing felt right on mybicycle. The shifting was stiff, the bottom bracket felt like it had sludge init, and everything was a lot slower than I thought. Part way through the ride,I noticed that my light had gone out. I smacked my light a few times so that itwould work again. “Why isn’t anything working?” I thought to myself. “Why did Ieven come back to Utah?”This is where, in retrospect, I think I might have been blaming a bit too muchon my bike, and for that I apologize. But then it just got ridiculous. Aftertrudging along at a tortoise’s pace for a few more minutes, I fell off my bikein the middle of the road because I couldn’t clip out of my pedal. A fewminutes later, after looking back to see if my light was still working, Irealized that the light and the bracket had broken off completely, most likelydue to the fall. Then, after dropping off a book at the library, I got a flatin my rear tire after leaving the parking lot. I was lucky that I was only afew blocks from dinner, but I trudged there with quite a scowl anyway.

I was quite grumpy forlonger than I should have been, but I couldn’t help but feel like my bike waspunishing me (or being punished itself) by some long overdue karma. I waspretty ticked off. What really sets me off (while on a bike, or while thinkingabout bikes) is the idea of having to fix (and pay for) something that I didn’tbreak, something that shouldn’t need fixing. Perhaps it is because we mightidealize bicycles as being indestructible,never-need-to-be-serviced-or-replaced kinds of vehicles. Maybe, when we talkabout bicycles too romantically and not realistically enough, our hopes anddreams are shattered when the smallest little wrench is thrown in the works (nopun intended).

Here is my point. When somuch time has gone by without any setbacks or any mechanical problems on yourbicycle, it can be easy to forget that it’s not just a dreamlike cloud thattakes you from place to place with little to no effort. Don’t allow theextended period of relative maintenance-free riding make you doubly upset whensomething does happen. Think positively, keep your bicycle maintained, and evenif there is a mishap or a mechanical failure (or 5 in one night), don’t let itthrow you off the saddle. That night where everything imaginable seemed to gowrong seems a bit silly in retrospect. Sure it was tough and frustrating to bestuck with a bike that wasn’t working quite how it was supposed to, or how Ihoped. But it was one day. I’m not stuck with that bike, in that conditionforever.

Bicycles are amazing. Our bodiesare amazing. We are immensely blessed to be able to move ourselves about,freely and under our own power. So, even when it seems like your bike hatesyou, or the universe hates you, or that big hill between you and your destinyhates you – just smile. Don’t think on it too long. Sing a song, or hum a tune,or think of better times. Depression and discouragement on a bike don’t lasttoo long. So try to see it as a passing storm cloud, don’t let it get you wet,and ride on. Ride on Salt Lake City.

Wildflower Pedalfest! Summer Event for the Lady Cyclists!

2012-01-10T12:50:00.001-07:00

Attention cycling women of Utah, keep August 18th clear on your summer calendar! The Wildflower Pedalfest is a huge cycling event for women, held in Mountain Green, Utah, a rural and scenic road biking area nestled in the mountain valley of Morgan County.

The all day event consists of a fully-supported ride with courses for all abilities, followed by a delicious catered lunch, raffle, live band, a Women's Cycling expo, and more!

"If you are a beginner, come to our Beginner Bike Class and choose the 20 mile Sunflower course. For those with a competitive edge, choose the Mountain Bluebell 75 mile course and complete the Wildflower Hill Climb for a special gift and a chance to win a free jersey."

Registration opens February 1st, with a discount for those who register in the first month. This will be a great event and a fun way to ride with or compete against other female riders in Utah. Not to mention all the food and music during the after party. Check out the website, wildflowerpedalfest.com and spread the word!

Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Ken Gronseth

2012-01-08T23:01:00.010-07:00

Ken poses with his commuter.
He built the frame himself.

Meet this week's "Caught On A Bike", Ken Gronseth. Builder of his own bikes, sewing repair man, and one of the nicest people you could ever hope to encounter in a bike lane.

Name: Ken Gronseth

Hometown: New Mexico, but has lived in Salt Lake City since the 1970s

Occupation: Bike mechanic at Bicycle Center, consultant, and sewing repair rock star

Number of Bicycles owned: Four. But my favorite bike is my commuter. I built the frame myself. I have four bikes because you need the right bike for the job.

Favorite Restaurant: The Red Iguana, because it is all around good Mexican food

Favorite place to ride in Salt Lake City: Millcreek for all around riding, but I probably ride Emigration more.

How has cycling in Salt Lake changed since the 70’s? You see more people giving the right of way to cyclists. But going east to West, whew, there are only a couple of ways to get to West Valley on a bike. Urban development has made biking more of a challenge but there are also more bike lanes. The bike path to the airport is nice.

Why do you ride a bike? Two reasons, I don’t have to pay for gas and it is great exercise for the body and mind.

What are your hopes and dreams for cycling? More bicycle infrastructure in Salt Lake City. If you look at other big cities, Portland, Denver, city officials have done more to create bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Salt Lake City keeps talking about an East to West corridor to parley for 30 years, it would be nice to see that happen.

It would also be nice to see more businesses with decent bike racks. It is rare to come across a decent rack. More people on bikes would be great. Lighter weight bikes have made it easier to get people on bikes all the time. I bike in the dark two nights a week. Modern day technology has made it possible to bike in the dark, but people are always seem so amazed when I ride my bike in the dark.

TOUR DE ALPINE POSTPONED: 2nd Annual Tour de Alpine Saturday, 1/14 (important pre-race info)

2012-01-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

RACE AND AFTER PARTY POSTPONED TILL JAN 14th.

SAME TIMES, SAME PLACES. SPREAD THE WORD.

Spread the word!!! Invite anyone you know who has a bike. After a postponing of the race last Saturday due to snow, we'll now have the Tour de Alpine and after party on Saturday, January 14th, at the same times and same places. Mark your calendars for the coldest race of the year. January 14th can't come soon enough.

The Tour de Alpine was postponed till January 14th.
More info on flyer above.

Updated race info, Strava account info, and sponsors list after the break...

Here's the gist, and some of the rules:

- 65 miles, SLC to Alpine, and back
- Cold and fast
- 2-man (and/or woman) teams
- Have to stick with your teammate for the whole race
- Awesome swag from:
     - Sock Guy (socks)
     - Saturday Cycles (water bottles for everyone and a few warm clothing items)
     - Chrome (surprise swag)
   - Strava (3 three month memberships, 3 iPhone cases, male and female segment winners get a one year premium membership, t-shirts, and 2 water bottles)   Note: Please create a free Strava account and download the Strava app for your iPhone or Android before the race. Segments winners who register with and upload race data to Strava will be eligible for the two annual premium memberships, t-shirts, and water bottles.
   - Cali's Natural Foods, Sage's Cafe, Vertical Diner, and Cafe Supernatural (3 $25 gift cards, redeemable at all four restaurants)
   - Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective (bicycle components, new and used)
   - Bern Helmets (two vouchers for free helmets
   - Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) (5 annual memberships)
     - DNA Cycling (a few italian-made high quality jerseys)
     - Bike Guy (5 tune up vouchers, valued at $40 each)
   - Wasatch Touring (surprise swag, and lots of it!)

- 2 chances to knock minutes off your time with KOM points
- Finish line, after party, and raffle at Saturday Cycles (600 N 300 W) at 5 PM

Update: ROUTE INFO!!

Here is the race start, and here is the turn around point. There is no set route, except for the fact that you have to go over Suncrest/Traverse Ridge twice, once on the way there and once of the way back. The halfway point is my uncle's house and there will be food and drinks there for everyone. More rules and things to come. But this is the "route". Be creative and get over the top to Alpine and back fastest to win. Finish line will be at Saturday Cycles (600 W 300 N), followed by an after party and raffle.

Download the map here.

SPONSORS:

Sock Guy => www.sockguy.com
Saturday Cycles => www.saturdaycycles.com
Chrome => www.chromebags.com
Strava => www.strava.com
Cali's Natural Foods => www.calisnaturalfoods.com
Vertical Diner => www.verticaldiner.com
Sage's Cafe => www.sagescafe.com
Cafe Supernatural => www.cafesupernatural.com
Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective => www.slcbikecollective.org
Bern Helmets => www.bernunlimited.com
Utah Museum of Contemporary Art => www.utahmoca.org
Wasatch Touring => www.wasatchtouring.com
DNA Cycling => www.dnacycling.cc
Bike Guy SLC => www.facebook.com/bikeguyslc

Tell everyone. Email me if you want the PDF @ longskull@gmail.com

RSVP via the facebook event page too.

Tales From The Top Tube: A wrencher's manifesto

2012-01-06T00:08:00.002-07:00

I went to work today knowing I had at least two bikes to tune and felt giddy to get the day rolling. Not every day is like this at the shop where I work. Although I am a bike mechanic, some times my days are filled with writing copy, talking with customers, and taking care of the shop. The days that I get to work on customers' bikes are the days I love the most. Cleaning, adjusting, lubing, tightening, loosening, straightening. I live for these days. The days where an “impossible bike” comes in with a person who just wants it to run for a few more months. Or the woman who wants to get her husband's Peugeot restored because that is the bike he rode in grad school, twenty years ago.

Each bike tells a story of the person who owns it. Red sand caked on the crank arms means that they have been to Southern Utah recently. Salt residue means they commute in the winter. I love getting to know these bikes and the people who ride them. I occasionally see these people at a stop light, in the bike lane, or at the grocery store. Being able to ask how their bike is doing, or how their new panniers are treating them and hearing them say, “Great!”, brings joy to my day. Seeing how my work has kept them liberated from the confines of an automobile, seven days a week, is the most satisfying of all feelings.

When people ask how I found bicycling, I always tell them it really found me. It sounds cheesy to say, but it is true. I have always ridden bikes, for one reason or another, but wrenching on bikes and myself collided into each other. Being a bike mechanic doesn’t pay well but that isn’t why I have stayed with it. The joy I get from fixing a person's bike, or selling them one that they will love just as much is more satisfying to me than making six figures.

I never planned on falling in love with having greasy hands, facing tools and allen wrenches, but my life has been all the better since.

Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity

2011-12-30T11:00:00.008-07:00

Meet Derek and Moudi, a couple that went car free a year ago in order to save money and live better.

Name: Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity

Home Town
Derek: Salt Lake City, Utah
Moudi: Beirut, Lebanon

Occupation: Student at the University of Utah and after school teachers for elementary students.

Years together: Two years three months

Bikes
Derek: Giant OCR2

Moudi: Motobecan Fantom CX

Why do you bike?
Moudi: It is a good feeling to ride your bike. I really just like riding my bike.
Derek: I gave up my car to ride a bike. Plus, it is a really great way to stay in shape.

Favorite place to ride:
Moudi and Derek: City Creek Canyon road. Through the avenues and on 11th ave. It is a killer view of the city and the smog.

Favorite restaurant:
Derek: Cafe Shambala on E street
Moudi: My own kitchen! (editors note:he makes killer hummus)

Bike accessory you can’t live without:
Derek: My water bottle
Moudi: A good bike mechanic!

Hopes and dreams for cycling:
Derek: I hope to see everyone bike commute some day. I would also like to see bike only streets in Salt Lake, like 200 South or Main Street. A full lane for bikes each way would be great.
Moudi: I want to be able to bike wherever I want. Seeing a bike community that is less pretentious would be nice too. I'm not a high endurance racer, I’m a bike commuter.

Disqus Amongst Your Salty Selves.

2011-12-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Disqus comment system has been added to SaltCycle.

It features full integration with Google, Facebook, Twitter and many more features.

Let the comment commenting commence.

Test your commenting skills in the comment section.

Salt Decentralized Dance Party

2011-12-27T01:32:00.004-07:00

In an earlier recent post the building of a bicycle revolution was mentioned and now here is some inspiration for motivation:

The Decentralized Dance Party is touring to select cities in the USA with cities near Salt Lake City, namely, Boulder, Colorado being visited.

SaltCycle should bike dance, too. Whether or not its DDP or your own transmitter oddity, dance Salt Lake City, dance.

More details about the DDP @ decentralizeddanceparty.com.

Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City: Carly Monahan

2011-12-23T20:42:00.003-07:00

Carly Monahan, with her Trek,
posed for a photo. (Photo: Christy Jensen)

Happy Holidays SaltCyclers! As a Christmas present to the community we have started a new column that will appear once a week, “Caught On A Bike In Salt Lake City”. This column will feature people we meet who ride bikes, to showcase the diversity of the Salt Lake cycling scene.

Meet our first spot light, Carly, who hails from Wisconsin and recently moved to Salt Lake. Check the blog every Friday for a new edition of Caught on a bike.

Name: Carly Monahan

Job:Fire effects monitoring technician.

Home Town: Milwaukee Wisconsin

Bike: 90’s Trek. I can’t remember the model, I covered the bike in stickers.

Favorite place to ride in SLC: I don’t have a favorite place to ride yet. I like that I can ride anywhere in Salt Lake.

Favorite Restaurant: The Korean BBQ that has the Mexican bakery and ice cream parlor in the same complex.

Hopes and dreams for cycling: Because I move around a lot, it is nice to see cycling become more prevalent. My hopes and dreams for biking are that it will continue to become more prevalent and accessible. I lived in Madison, Wisconsin for a summer and could bike any where. So many people ride bikes, I could set my watch by the people I saw on my commute.

One piece of bike gear you can’t live without: My bike lock! I got my bike stolen once in college (same bike she rides now) and it was so stressful. Luckily the person was really just borrowing it.

Nightmare Before Christmas Alleycat Tonight!

2011-12-23T11:44:00.001-07:00

Hey Salt Lake City, Welcome Santa into the city by shredding the streets and wreaking two wheeled havoc wherever you go! This race will be a "medium" on the difficulty level; Expect a single, complicated manifest but not too intense of riding.

Bring: Bike, Lock, Pen, $5, and all the awesome you can muster. 6:00 pm at Memory Grove! See you there!

Building a Bicycle Revolution

2011-12-17T23:52:00.007-07:00

In 2009 during the COP15 UN summit protests in Copenhagen, Denmark an idea for a bike bloc was created from the The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination.

From their laboratories came many ideas including the idea of a mass bike swarm. The mass bike swarming held many pedal powered protesting ideas including a sound swarm in which several bicycles were equipped with bicycle PA systems.

The event happened, the protest occurred and the site which held the information, funbetweenyourlegs.info ceased to be.

Until 2011 when it evolved to the United States.

In November, it was announced that the Occupy Portland encampment was to be shutdown according to park camping laws in Portland, Oregon.

The PDX Bike Swarm was created out of a need to create a buffer zone between the encampment and any police action.(read more on this event here.)

It worked well and followed other bike swarming actions while picking up press on outlets such as treehugger.com and eventually spread to other cities.

Could the Salt Lake City Swarm be next?

Deleted post: How Bikes Can Save Us

2011-12-17T00:48:00.001-07:00

A post was recently published called How Bikes Can Save Us! and though it was an awesome +1 for bikes, it seems to be "black hat SEO," or a tricky way to mess with search engines through spammy, fake websites. Transit blogger John Hendel wrote up a whole article about it.

A brief excerpt:

The legitimately pretty and well-done infographic has made the rounds of several news sites and blogs in the last two weeks. People saw the visual, loved it, published and commented on it, all the while linking to and supporting what would seem to be a link farm, a spammer, a farce of a website called HealthCareManagementDegree.com, which exists to game the Internet. The bare-bones, purposeless Health Care Management Degree website was created in 2004 and registered to Mascot Media Circle LLC, based out of Austin, Texas. This shadowy entity also created OnlineBachelorDegreePrograms.com in that same year, RatedColleges.com in 2004, and Computer-Colleges.com in 2002, among what I would imagine are many other bogus web addresses likely meant to take advantage of Google's search engine selection and enjoy a little SEO payoff.

"As a blogger that works very hard to make his own Google juice, I occasionally speak out about Black Hat SEO mischief like this," DL Byron remarks in his Google+ post. "You've probably noticed how irrelevant, at times, Google's search is. That's because of sites and tricks like this."

We are pro bikes but anti spam, so we decided to remove the post. To see the well made graphic, check out that article. It's a happy, feel good link, but unfortunately somebody out there is taking advantage of our passion for spreading bike love. We hope you understand.

Thanks,
SaltCycle Admin

Tales from the Top Tube #1: Fog City

2011-12-15T02:15:00.000-07:00

When I left the apartment building at 1:00 AM to head homeafter a long and eventful night with great friends, over great food, andlistening to great music, a dense fog blanketed the city and the temperaturehad dropped well below freezing. It was an unusual night for Salt Lake City. Fog isn’t a common occurrence,but it brought a great serenity to the roads and made me feel like I was theonly one around. Visibility was about a block, or less than ¼ of a mile. Icould see my light, like a solid beam, way out in front of me, and everythingwas wet. The ground had what looked like snow on it, but it wasn’t slippery. Icouldn’t see anyone around, and counted four cars during the three miles backto my house. It was solitary, quiet, and wet.

When I was riding on 8^th East, I noticed morewhite on the road ahead. It started snowing lightly and I realized that for oneshort block, the ground was blanketed with an even layer of snow. Then it wasgone. The snow turned back to fog and the anomaly of a weather system hadpassed. I rode the rest of the way home without seeing anyone, alone in thecity, with all the streets to myself. At one point, my eyelashes froze togetherwhen I help my eyelids closed for too long. It was solitary, quiet, wet, andfrozen.

Rides home like the one I had tonight remind me of how safeand how perfect the bicycle is. Gliding through the fog and snow, I rememberedall of the other great rides I have had. It gave me time to think, and I alwaysthink best on my bike. To quote the late John F. Kennedy,

“Nothingcompares with the simple pleasure of a bike ride.”

(Note: Tales from the Top Tube will be a regular feature onSaltCycle.com, chronicling adventures and tales of the big city, from abicyclist’s perspective.)

State of the SaltCycle

2011-12-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

The recent direction that SaltCycle has taken has opened us up to more followersand views every month. The facebook group, SaltCycle team, new weekly rides,etc, have made our community blossom. We want to keep the momentum going andsince a rolling stone (wheel) gathers no moss (mud), we are making some improvementsto the site (and not just boring html stuff). Here are a few things you canlook forward to in the next few weeks:

Newweekly columns:

Tales from the TopTube: Essays on bikes and riding of all kinds, fiction and nonfiction. If youhave an essay on biking, here is the place to have it published.

A weekly spotlight on people who ride bikes in Salt LakeCity. Everyone rides a bike for different reasons; we want to celebrate thediversity this little town contains.

The SaltCycle twitter account has been revived which meanswe will now be populating the Library of Congress with 140 characters of bikehashtags and goodness. Follow us and usethe #bikeSLC hashtag when you have the chance.

There is talk of the website getting a facelift in the nextfew months. This means more features, pages, better layout, and a few newthings here and there. Along with all of these changes and addition to the website/blog,we have some great events in the works for the spring.

A digital SaltCycle calendar is in the works and will befeatured monthly on the website. If you are interested in having your picturetaken for this, let us know. We would like feature lots of people who lovebikes.

We are happy with the direction SaltCycle is going and thecontributions everyone makes. Thank you for continuing to help build asuccessful bicycle community. We look forward to more bicycle fueled discussions,adventures, dinner parties, late night rides, meetings, and laughs.

-The SaltCycle Family

Jessica JudyGilmore

Tom Millar

Christy PunkinPants Jens

Jordan River Commission Awarded Grant to Develop an Interpretive Trail Map

2011-12-14T22:37:00.007-07:00

Good news for those who enjoy the Jordan River Parkway Trail. The Jordan River Commission and Salt Lake County are pleased to announce that they have been awarded a technical assistance grant from the National Park Service’s River and Trails Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program. The grant will focus on developing an interpretive trail map for public use of the Jordan River Parkway trail system. Read the details on the Jordan River Commission's blog:
http://jordanrivercommission.com/2011/12/jordan-river-commission-awarded-rivers-and-trails-conservation-assistance-grant/

Local cycling blog, Spoke(n)

2011-12-13T16:10:00.001-07:00

Check out Spoke(n), a local blog about cycling, has great stuff to read and watch, including a video highlighting local BMX events and riders! (sneak preview below)

Music Video: SLC + bikes + sex, drugs, & rock'n'roll

2011-12-13T15:35:00.001-07:00

Check it out: Local musician Secret Original recently released this music video, "Arson," filmed all over SLC and including a few shots of some local urban riders!

Ever wonder what the current air quality is like? I do.

2011-12-11T13:35:00.009-07:00

U.S. Counties violating PM2.5 Standards

It's schiesty right now considering this island of haze floating around us. We have a fine particulate problem (PM2.5), the kind of problem that is very damaging to everyone's health. As with any outdoor sport, you're breathing in a lot of air so I wanted to share my way of knowing if I should wear my Respro hepa-filter mask or not. If you don't own a mask, I urge you to give it a chance, they save your lungs and heart. The Utah DEQ website makes it easy to check major population centers such as Salt Lake, Cache or Weber counties just to name a few. And another site I find useful if travelling abroad is AIRNow simply because they have a database to check many locations AQI or Air Quality Index. One last crucial thing to announce: the Wasatch Front is one of the few places in the U.S. to be currently violating PM2.5 and PM10 standards, which means you really need that protection.

"The primary cause is the burning of fossil fuels by transportation and industrial sources." Lets slow down the burn by cycling, not polluting.

Respro Techno

Wild Rose bike shop in the Avenues hosts Christmas Party

2011-12-10T14:50:00.001-07:00

I apologize for the late notice, but Wild Rose bike and mountain sports shop is throwing a Christmas Party right now for all valued customers, friends, new-comers, and strangers alike. The party, which includes food, drink, and a live band, will run today, December 9th, from 1 PM - 6 PM. The address is 702 3rd Avenue, Salt Lake City Utah. Click here for directions, or see the map below.

View Larger Map

How-to: Travel with a bike on Amtrak

2011-12-09T18:15:00.001-07:00

Welcome to a new series of informative pieces on how to dosome pretty fun things on and with bikes to make your bicycling experience allthe more simple and seamless. This inaugural how-to article will deal with howto travel by train, and bring your bike along for next to nothing.

Thereare many ways to travel with a bike. But with rising fuel costs and luggagesurcharges, taking a bike with you on the plane can cost you upwards of $150each way, in addition to your additional baggage, airfare, and taxes. (Not themention security). However, if you are traveling by plane, simply box your bikeup as you would with any form of transportation paying close attention that youdo not exceed the maximum box size. But we digress. This is all about trains,isn't it?

Traveling by train is one of the simplest and mostecologically-friendly way to travel. According to Amtrak's amazing environmental impact studies, trainsare more than just a convenient way to travel. They are also extremely energyefficient.

"Traveling by rail contributesless per passenger mile to greenhouse gas emissions than either cars orairplanes. According to U.S. Department of Energy data, Amtrak is almost20 percent more efficient than domestic airline travel and 30 percent moreefficient than auto travel on a per-passenger-mile basis. "

* BTU stands for British Thermal Unit, a standard unit of energy.
Figures listed are from 2009 and refer to BTUs used per passenger mile. (Source: Amtrak.com)

Whetheryou’retraveling east to Chicago (a two-day trip from Salt Lake City), or west to SanFrancisco (17 hours), Amtrak takes bikes on all trains. For our purposes asSalt Lake City-ites, we’llfocus on the California Zephyr train, which departs each direction once a dayfrom the Amtrak Station at the Intermodal Hub (350 S 600 W, SLC). It is best tobox your bike before getting to the station, to avoid any last minute mishaps.Or, as I have done, ride your bike to the station with a folded-up box on theback of your bike, and uninstall and box up your bike once you get there. TheSalt Lake City Station is only open from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM, so make sure youdon’ttry to get there too early or else you’ll be locked out.

Thewhole process is much easier than most make it out to be. Let’s see if we can review and summarize,using Amtrak’ssuggestions as a guide:

Check your bicycle at the station at least an hour before departure.
You may bring your own box or purchase one at the station. Bicycle boxes (new or used) are also usually available for purchase at staffed stations that accept checked baggage for $15/box. Boxes are 69 x 41 x 8.5 inches (175 x 104 x 22 centimeters). Call ahead for details and to make sure that boxes are available. Local bicycle shops also may be able to provide you with boxes. After your trip, you may keep your box and use it again if it is in good condition.
Bicycles usually must be partially disassembled: Loosen and turn the handlebars sideways, and remove the pedals. Both wheels must remain in the forks. Nothing may protrude from the box or make the box bulge. Nothing except the bicycle may be placed in the box.
Bring your own tools. It may be helpful to disassemble and reassemble your bike before your trip to avoid any surprises. Some parts, especially pedals, may be especially difficult to remove.
You may also use a container especially designed for transporting bicycles. Such containers must have handles and must be fully closed and latched, with no portion of the bike exposed.
Attach your name and address to the box.
Tandembicycles may be checked and require two boxes, telescoped together.

Afterall is said and done, one of the best benefits of traveling by rail is thescenery and the peaceful feeling one has while traveling by rail. Whether it’s the peace of mind one gets from savingmoney or protecting our precious resources and non-renewable fuels, enjoy yourtime on the train and knowing that you’ll have a bike with you wherever you go.

(Note: A train ticket from Salt Lake City to San Francisco runs around $85)

Repost: How the Dutch Got Their Cycle Paths

2011-12-07T14:32:00.001-07:00

(Projects for Public Spaces - Nov 30th, 2011) Given the reputation of the Netherlands as a cyclist’s paradise, you might think that its extensive cycling infrastructure came down from heaven itself, or was perhaps created by the wave of a magic wand. Not so. It was the result of a lot of hard work, including massive street protests and very deliberate political decision-making.

The video below offers vital historical perspective on the way the Netherlands ended up turning away from the autocentric development that arose with postwar prosperity, and chose to go down the cycle path. It lists several key factors, including public outrage over the amount of space given to automobiles; huge protests over traffic deaths, especially those of children, which were referred to by protesters as “child murder”; and governmental response to the oil crisis of the 1970s, which prompted efforts to reduce oil dependence without diminishing quality of life.

The Netherlands is often perceived as an exceptional nation in terms of its transportation policies and infrastructure. And yet there is nothing inherently exceptional about the country’s situation. As the narrator says at the end of the film, “The Netherlands’ problems were and are not unique. Their solutions shouldn’t be that either.”

Updated: Girls on bikes, etc.

2011-12-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

With all the talk by the more afeminate side of the cycling community, and amid today's Women's Night meeting at the Bike Collective, I thought that this article written by Jessica Gilmore a few months ago would be an appropriate reminder. Enjoy.

- Tom Millar

In 6th grade I was playing goalie at recess when I got hit in the face with a soccer ball. You know that feeling, a sharp throb prickling like thousands of needles. The numbing sting made my eyes water and lip quiver. But I didn’t cry. There were boys around, including the one who kicked the ball and I knew I’d get more respect or maybe less crap from the boys if I didn’t cry. [click more for more]

One time in 2nd or 3rd grade I wore a dress for picture day. It was purple and striped. I played on the monkey bars anyways; I wasn’t about to sit around for the whole recess. Hans Locher ran beneath me while I was swinging across the bars and yelled some kind of “I see Jessie’s underpants!!!” thing, which was mostly just annoying but embarrassing enough to keep me from wearing a dress to school for a long time. Not only was it harder to play soccer and play on the playground in a dress, it brought on some kind of debilitating attention from boys and I caught on to that quickly. I wore shorts every day for years.

I thought I only had two options: either I was a tomboy who wore my hair in a ponytail and liked sports more than I liked boys, or I was a girly-girl who hung out with those chicas who painted their nails by the tree stump at recess. So I was a tomboy. For years and years I kind of ignored the feminine aspects of myself. Only recently have I realized how much of a woman I am and how possible it is to balance the sporty feminine side of me with the competitive masculine side.

Women’s bodies are beautiful. Not because they’re sexy, but because they can work and sweat and get strong and fit while being curvy and pretty. I love being a woman. I’ve grown into my own skin a lot in the last couple years. I like having a female figure, a female voice, a female mind. I love my body and wouldn’t trade it for the world. So what’s the problem?

There’s this mountain bike world champion lady named Willow. She’s also a model.

When I heard her story I thought ‘that’s fine, she’s using her sexuality in ways she wants and she’s earned it because she’s so fast and strong.’ So do I think that a woman has to be fast and strong in order to be sexy and feminine? Does she have to be a crazy intense biker chick to ‘earn’ her sexuality? When I’m riding around on my bike in cute clothes or something more feminine than my usual t-shirt and shorts, I find myself hyper-aware of my speed and strength, as if my thoughts are something like, “you can check me out as a cute girl on a bike if and only if you also recognize that I’m fast and strong at the same time.” Wouldn’t it be more interesting to be a beautiful sexy model who rides around on a bike and is just super comfortable with her sexuality and femininity without feeling like she has to earn it in any way? Without trying to balance or justify her sexuality with some kind of masculine feat of strength?

Sort of along those lines, a couple weeks ago there was some construction happening just outside my house and every day I’d ride my bike past the same workers. For the first few days this one worker would stop and stare at me as I passed. I felt a little bit objectified by his stare and I let it bother me. Then finally one day I looked at him and said “Hi” as I passed and he smiled, looked at me as a person, and said ‘hi’ back. I had realized that maybe he was objectifying me and just seeing me as a body on a bike, but I didn’t have to perpetuate that in my mind. I could take a more active position and say hello, do something that pulled him out of the silent voyeurism he was hiding behind and make him recognize me as a person. I don’t know if it worked, if he started seeing me as a person with a name and story, but it helped me step out of this place where I was the victim, passively gazed upon, and into a position with slightly more control.

“Sexuality is the most powerful way in which patriarchal ideology oppresses women’s strength. Sexuality is most ones own for women and yet most taken away in patriarchy. It can be women’s greatest source of strength so if you can suppress that you can keep women from being able to navigate their way to their own strength, that’s how you can keep them subservient.” -Dr. Jennifer Finlayson.

I feel like most women [and I apologize for using simple genders like ‘men’ and ‘women.’ I know things aren’t nearly this simple] in this society are taught (either through educational moments or through social experiences) the social construct that if I wear short shorts I’m a slut, if I kiss too many boys I’m a slut, if I show any cleavage I’m a slut, if I show too much desire I’m a slut. So naturally I did the opposite, hiding my female form for years, playing hard to get, and ignoring my sexuality because it was ‘bad.’ After 20+ years of that way of thinking about myself and about other women I finally broke through it and now find a huge strength through my body and my power as a woman. I have gained a certain respect for myself as a woman and for women all around me. And it’s not because the women around me are strong or fast or have earned or proven their strength and wisdom and sexuality through some feat of strength or what not. I’m learning to appreciate sexuality as a beautiful, positive empowerment. Check out this project, Thought You Knew, for example.

Alexis is a woman who lives in Chicago and for the last few years has been making pin-up girl calendars of women with their own bikes, dressed up how they want. Above is Kathryn. Check out the website, the project, and tell me what you think.

These are our bodies, this is our sexuality. I’m still not a fan of exploiting women or any of that jazz, but feeling beautiful or sexy or cute, wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, shaving our legs, not shaving our legs, putting on makeup, doing our hair, wearing a ponytail everyday, being checked out by a cute boy, being checked out by a cute girl, checking ourselves out in the window, being sexy and showing desire or being totally disinterested, all of this is part of a huge spectrum of female sexuality and all of it is okay, all of it is personal. I’ll have no more of the expectations (of any type, really) placed on me by men, by the media, by other women, and especially by myself. I don’t need to be told what kind of a woman to be. I’m figuring out who I am and who I want to be every day and it’s a beautiful process.

Sexuality is a powerful thing, and context matters. How we use our (or others’) sexuality matters. But being sexual is not the problem, it’s how we’re sexual (Dr. Finlayson again).

As I finish typing this up I’m thinking about men and the expectations that surround them. A lot of what I said here is exactly applicable to men with a few words swapped out. But I see things from a female perspective. I’d love to hear responses from both men and women about both women and men. All this gender and sexuality stuff is real and present and important and fun and I want to talk about it.

After wind storm, UTA shuttles passengers, bicyclists between Layton and Farmington

2011-12-03T23:59:00.001-07:00

After this week's wind storm (which reached a sustained 100 mph in Farmington, Centerville, and surrounding municipalities) several public facilities and transportation outlets are out of service. A situation that poses difficulties for commuting bicyclists is the closure of the Farmington FrontRunner station. After winds ripped through the narrow stretch of Davis County between the mountain and lake, the station was left in shambles. UTA has instructed train operators and has informed commuters that, till the station can be repaired and cleaned up, the train will not be making stops at the Farmington Station.

After the Farmington Station was left in shambles after
Thursday's windstorm, UTA has begun to shuttle commuters
and bicyclists between stations (Photo: Tyler Lloyd)

Northbound commuters, including bicyclists, are encouraged to ride to the Layton Station, some 8 miles north, where UTA will provide a free shuttle back to the Farmington Station. Southbound commuters needing to access the Farmington Station will need to deboard at the Layton Station, and take the same shuttle south to their destination.

The shuttle that UTA is provided is a 10-15 passenger FlexTrans bus that could pose problems if multiple bike commuters expect to use the shuttle at the same time, adding to the already overcrowded shuttles.

Plan to face delays and lack of room on the shuttles, especially during rush hour, when the amount of bikes on the commuter train's bike car often exceed twenty.

UTA expects the Farmington Station to be cleaned up and in service again by Monday, December 5th.

Women's Night Open House at SLC Bicycle Collective

2011-12-01T18:47:00.001-07:00

We're looking to revamp Women's Night at the Collective, and this coming Wednesday, 12.7.11 from 5:30-9:00 PM, will be the first big push to get more ladies to the Collective. Please invite your friends!

Please share this event with all of your cyclist friends, Salty Spokes Ladies, SaltCycle aficionados, newcomers to Utah and anyone who you've ever heard say, "I wish I had a bicycle." Let's make this place more friendly for cyclists by getting more of us on the road with the skills and tools we need to keep our bikes running well.

Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective operates on the philosophy, “Teach them to fish, and they can feed themselves,” but many students won’t even ask for lessons.

Walking into a warehouse full of gearheads can be intimidating, especially for fiercely independent women who are embarrassed to admit they can’t change a flat bicycle tire. The collective understands, completely. Female mechanics teach women how to work on their own bikes in a friendly, pressure-free environment. Come learn how to build a bike yourself, fix that flat tire or just meet other women who love to ride their bicycles.

All ages and levels welcome, first Wednesday of the month.The SLC Bicycle Collective can be found at 2312 S. West Temple

801-328-2453

Link to Facebook Event

Tribune article on bikes gets some negative attention

2011-12-01T14:10:00.001-07:00

This article in the SL Tribune is getting a little bit of attention on SaltCycle's facebook page. Check out the article and post a comment - How could have this article better represented the concerns with bikes and cars?

Can America Afford Not to Bike More?

2011-11-29T21:45:00.004-07:00

The above map from the CDC shows obesity rates across the United States. It was recently featured in blogs on both Streetsblog and Copenhagenize to illustrate America's need for exercise. This begs the question "can america afford not to bike more?"

UTA's new safety campaign includes some added features for bicyclists

2011-11-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

I boarded the FrontRunner train southbound for Salt Lake City Friday morning and noticed a different bike symbol on the outside of the bike car (the one nearest to the locomotive). The bike car has been around for a little while now, and I believe that it has been one of UTA's best investments on trains. Here is what the new and improved signage near the door of the train looks like. Pretty spiffy huh?

And bike-friendly it is, or rather, always has been. But this extra nod to cyclists and our needs was quite a nice thing to see. Thanks UTA.Then I got on board and immediately noticed these new hang tags at each entrance. They are visibly noticeable and caught my eye as soon as I walked in. A nice personal touch, and reminder so that you don't forget your bike. And they're free and yours to take!So I took one!

And this is what the nice and non-condescending PR folks at UTA ha to say to cyclists. A very nice touch indeed.So next time you're on the train, be sure to follow these simple guidelines to stay safe.

And if you'd like to see more simple and small gestures like this, let UTA know that you like what they're doing. Positive feedback from the public, though rare, goes a long way toward safer facilities and programs for bicyclists and others alike.

Occupy Critical Mass SLC - by Ryan McCalmon

2011-11-29T15:34:00.001-07:00

When I bought my first bike as an adult approximately ten years ago, I had no preconceived notion where it would lead me. I'd spent almost 9 years driving at the neglect of my long forgotten BMX bike that used to carry me everywhere around Riverton, UT growing up. I wasn't happy, that much I knew. Deciding that my life lacked sufficient activity and realizing that my body composition wasn't what it once was, I bought a bike. Little did I know it would become a way of life.

Over the years, as apathy and depression got the better of me and I lost a number of jobs on my way to rock bottom, I began to ride that bike more and more. At first, it was absolutely necessary as I could no longer afford to insure, register, fuel, maintain, and pay for parking and no-insurance tickets for my little car. I'll be the first to admit that I became a fuck-up. [click 'more' to keep reading]

As the years passed and I rode my bike more and more, became a little rougher for the wear, and perhaps added a little edge to that apathy, I rode myself out of my own private economic hole. For the most part. The edge has dulled a bit. And as my mental health improved significantly, I've felt like I've gained a new lease on life these last few years belonging and interacting in the local cycling community. As the world has gone to shit, I've felt like we've carved out a little Mecca of sorts here. It's far from perfect, but it's growth has astonished me. It has injected hope where I thought none could exist. I know that sounds cliche, but it's true. You've inspired me.

I'm a fairly introverted person who often finds himself needing to be much more extroverted than I'm comfortable in order to answer the call of conscience. I love SaltCycle for everything that it is and I love that we seem to have cultivated a very inclusive group that can also be very permissive and regulate itself. With that said, I personally try to keep my other passionate beliefs separate. SaltCycle is all about local cycling. As much as we can cover and discuss. And I like it that way. I don't want more divisive and controversal issues diluting and fragmenting the one thing we are all very much in agreement about...

Cycling rocks!

With that in mind, I have now created a new Facebook group that is much more political in nature. It is meant as a bridge between Occupy SLC and the local cycling community. In time, I hope that through this group we can organize ways in which people on bikes can help the greater Occupy movement while at the same time using their collective voice to help amplify issues that are near and dear to our heart. Safe streets, more and better funding for inclusive infrastructure, CLEAN AIR, a sustainable future for ourselves and our children, etc. Also, further helping to get more butts on bikes. Like the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective did for me, all those years ago. We can further help direct volunteers and future bike commuters to them.

I've found that Occupy is a vehicle for engagement. Anti-apathy if you will. We've experienced such a long and drawn out failure of leadership that I think most of us hardly even notice our general apathy anymore. There are aspects of Occupy Wall Street and points of view I could take the time to point out that I don't generally agree with. They are minor in comparison to the HUGE general agreement I have with them, though. Please excuse my language if I offend, but that's not my intention here. Shit is fucked up. At some point, we all have to ask ourselves what percentage of our fellow human beings have to be suffering before we stand up and personally do something? I think many of us reached that point long ago on an individual basis but felt, standing alone, we were powerless. As a great man said recently, we are strong. If we stand together, we become part of a powerful, many-fingered fist. Not to strike out in anger or violence. But to show that together, we can make a difference. Perhaps even change things for the better. But first, we must organize. We must fight back the apathy. Make our voices heard. And eventually, in the long term, we will win. But we must also have patience and resolve because real change takes time.

The group I've created, Occupy Critical Mass SLC, is about reclaiming our regular monthly ride. Critical Mass is what got me out of my shell and more involved in the local cycling community, once upon a time. Over the years, it degenerated into many, at times violent, confrontations with motorists. And while it seemed that some crazy insane motorist behavior started it, escalation was an inevitability. In it's place, we can use our resources to help Occupy when they need us, while also creating a new regular ride to help bring awareness to our core issues without antagonizing traffic. Help reach out to those who have been suckered into car slavery; never to move any great distance without the power of an inefficent motor.

Thank you for reading my thoughts. If you wish to join, welcome! If not, I understand. My part in this movement has been a slow evolution. I think everyone has the right to come to this movement on their own terms.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/131552993621218/

Ryan Wade McCalmon

The Nightmare Before Christmas Alleycat (Medium+)

2011-11-28T16:38:00.003-07:00

Do you think you're brave enough to face frantic last minute shoppers, icy roads, and frigid temperatures? Then this is the race for you. The Nightmare Before Christmas Alleycat promises to be the craziest, most monstrous, most legendary race of the year and is the perfect way to say hello to 2012 and au revoir to 2011. It will be dark and cold so be sure to bring appropriate clothing (ugly christmas sweaters hand stitched by your granny are optional) and all the lighting and reflective gear you find necessary. Be sure to bring:

-Your bike,

-A lock,

-A pen,

-and $5

Meet at Memory Grove Park at the bottom of City Creek Canyon at 6:00 PM on Friday, Dec. 23.

Historic Photos

2011-11-28T11:42:00.005-07:00

I found this photo of a bicycle delivery man at the Salt Lake County Archives. Check out his kick-stand, and the umbrella he has tucked into his handlebars. The photo was taken at 1764 S. 200 E. circa 1936.

(Source: Salt Lake County Tax Appraisal Cards and Photographs)

If you're interested in the history of cycling in Utah, the Utah Historical Quarterly has published two interesting articles in their summer and fall issues. The article in the summer issue is titled "Fast Revolutions: Bicycles, Paved Paths, and the Creation of a Middle-Class Salt Lake City, 1890-1903" (by Ted Moore) and the article in the fall issue is titled "Speed Merchants: The History of Professional Cycling in Salt Lake City, 1898-1914" (also by Ted Moore). Both are available at the main branch of the public library, or the Marriott Library on the U of U campus.

Home Depot Center Velodrome

2011-11-27T19:47:00.001-07:00

I was doing a little Sunday surfing and found this neat velodrome in California. Just imagine a large scale velodrome in Salt Lake... If you build it, they will come. Here is the quote from their site.

"Welcome to the Home Depot Center Velodrome located on 125-acre Home Depot Center Complex in Carson, California, near Los Angeles, CA. The Home Depot Center Velodrome is a 100,000 square foot, $15 million specially designed 250 meter indoor wood bicycle racing track. The Home Depot Center Velodrome is also a part of the United States Olympic training centers. The velodrome is open to the public during specified hours. See calendar for details. The Home Depot Center Velodrome will host training and competition under the guidance of USACycling, including state, national, world cup, and world championship events.

The Home Depot Center Velodrome, America's largest indoor velodrome, is committed to the growth of the sport of cycling. Youth, beginner, intermediate, and advanced training programs are available to those curious about riding the velodrome all the way to aspiring Olympic and World Championship athletes."

Stop driving, start cycling.

Utah Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Guide

2011-11-22T13:13:00.001-07:00

For any planning-minded readers out there, check this out! The Utah Department of Health has released the Utah Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Guide! Read an article about it here on Cycling Utah's webpage, and check out the guide here!

Innovative Bike Turn Box Debuts in Salt Lake City

2011-11-22T12:56:00.001-07:00

Press Release from the Mayor's Office; SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City’s improvements to bicycle infrastructure are rounding out the 2011 construction season with a new, innovative treatment – a recently installed “two-stage bike turn queue box” on Main St. at 200 South.

The design, known as a “bike turn box” for short, allows bicyclists to make left turns across the TRAX light rail tracks in two traffic signal phases. Bicyclists riding south on Main St. use the 7' x 10' box to turn left by riding toward the south side of the intersection, waiting in the green box, and then proceeding on the green light with the traffic on 200 South.

The bike turn box is the City’s first implementation of a design taken from the new Urban Bikeway Design guide put together by U.S. cities interested in promoting innovation in bikeway designs. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and the City’s Transportation Division Director Tim Harpst have endorsed the guide, published by the National Association of City Transportation Officials.

“The endorsement represents the City’s intention to continue to consider 'progressive' bikeway designs in addition to the more standard engineering manuals,” said Salt Lake City Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator Becka Roolf.

The new design provides bicyclists with a safe and legal left turn across the tracks where it is currently prohibited to automobiles due to the light rail right of way.

The bike turn box was proposed for this location by Tom Millar, an undergraduate student in Urban Planning at the University of Utah and intern with the City’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Program.

“The bike turn box simply makes what is already legal much safer and more visual for bicyclists, motorists and pedestrians,” Millar said. “The design also discourages bicyclists from illegally crossing the tracks.”

Roolf said the bike turn box complements the “green shared lanes” already installed by the City on both Main St. and 200 South.

“The green shared lanes remind everyone that bicyclists have the right to use a full travel lane under Utah state law,” Roolf said. “Bicyclists may use the full lane any time a lane is too narrow for motorists to pass safely.”

Roolf noted that the shared lane design is compatible with downtown streets, particularly on low-volume, low-speed, or multi-lane roads where motorists may use another lane to pass.

The green bike turn box is not delineated with paint, but with a new epoxy product called CycleGrip which is being tested by the City for its durability under winter snow plow conditions. CycleGrip is also being tested on 1700 South and 500 East, where green rectangles highlight shared lanes.

To see a video of riders using the new turn box, go here: http://youtu.be/rVswICVFlEQ. For more information on bicycle programs in Salt Lake City, and to see a newly updated map showing citywide bike routes, go here:www.slcgov.com/bike.

BTA provides tips on how to bike when it's cold and icy

2011-11-19T20:52:00.001-07:00

Taken from the BTA (Bicycle Transportation Alliance) website, a regional transportation advocacy organization based in Oregon. These tips will help us as winter sets in and ice and snow coat the roads. Be safe out there and take these tips to heart:

"Recently, we provided a few tips for effectively biking through wet leaves, which have just about saturated Portland’s streets. With temperatures expected to dip below freezing soon, now is the time to prepare for safe winter bicycling and icy conditions ahead.

Black ice refers to a thin coating of glazed ice on a surface. It’s virtually transparent on asphalt, making it practically invisible to bicyclists, but just as slippery as regular ice.
Keep reading for tips to avoid being caught by surprise on slick roads.

Get your bike ready for ice.

Lower tire pressure to the lowest recommended psi.
Lower your saddle slightly to lower your center of gravity. (It’s also easier to get your feet down flat on the road should you suddenly need to.)
Plan your route ahead of time. Keep in mind: side streets might not be treated for snow or ice.

Be aware of how ice affects different surfaces.

Streets are most slick when it first begins to rain or snow.
Metal, including manhole covers and bridges, and painted surfaces can be especially slick.
Bridges and overpasses can freeze more easily and take longer to thaw than regular roadways.

Know what to do when you encounter ice.

Slowing down may not always be the safest option. Speed provides momentum, and momentum keeps a bicycle upright. As always, use your best judgment.
Take turns much more gradually, and don’t lean into turns as much as you normally would. Try to keep the bike as upright as possible.
Avoid sudden changes of direction and maintain a smooth pedaling action.
Give yourself longer stopping distances, and keep a firmer grip on your handlebars.
Lay off the front brake. On ice, you don’t want to lose any of your front wheel’s traction — loss of control at the front is going to be sudden and very hard to recover from."

Bike lights: LED signaling from SLC

2011-11-19T19:08:00.077-07:00

A nice innovation in bike lighting: LED signaling courtesy of Salt Lake resident Brandon Smith. Via a bar-mounted controller, riders can signal turns through rows of LEDs mounted to the fork and seatstays. A few months ago, I unwittingly followed a cyclist with this system down 900 East. Watching the rider clearly signal a left-turn in the dark, I was sold. This set-up should be a great way to boost visibility and predictability, while supporting local innovation.

Thanks to Salt Lake City Green for the links.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=18102264&title=utahns-bright-idea-making-streets-safer-for-cyclists

2008 UDOT bicycle crash study older, but still relevant

2011-11-18T16:47:00.001-07:00

A snapshot from UDOT's bicycle crash analysis

I have had this document for a while now and it never crossed my mind to share it on the blog. UDOT, the state transportation department behind the Road Respect campaign and most state-wide road improvements, released their 2008 Bicycle Crashes analysis report a while back and it highlights some of the well-known facts as well as some surprises about bicycle crashes. Where they happen, when, why, and who is at fault. Check out the report (2 pages) and tell us what you think.

Download report here.

Streetfilms: Guadalajara’s Paseo de Todos

2011-11-18T01:56:00.002-07:00

Streetsblog and Streetfilms have been doing a lot to further the cause of bicycles throughout the world. They just released a great 5-minute documentary highlighting Guadalajara's efforts to promote bicycling:

http://www.streetfilms.org/critical-mass-is-alive-and-well-guadalajaras-paseo-de-todos/

TWO EVENTS in the NEXT 24 HOURS!

2011-11-17T18:36:00.001-07:00

Once again for the Non-Face-Bookers, there are two events this week, one in 2 hours!?!? Tonight at 9 is a Tweed Ride led by Naresh Kumar. He has been throwing Thursday night rides every week, 9 o'clock at Coffee Garden (9th and 9th). Tonight's is Tweed themed, but the only real requirement is to show up wearing something (but feel free to challenge even that). They ride around town for a couple hours, casual and fun.

The second event this week is the third Screw Fall; We're Riding! Alleycat Series of the month. It's tomorrow, Friday 11.18.11, at 6 pm. It is the 4th annual Cranksgiving alleycat, so we'll be stopping at stores and spending $5-$10 on groceries which will be donated to the food bank. Come one come all to the Hospital Trax Station (last stop on the University Red line) at 6 pm. We'll be meeting there then riding to an undisclosed starting location. Bring $10 or so for groceries, a bag, a lock, and probably some lights. It ends at the SLC Bicycle Collective, meaning the race is almost entirely downhill (very beginner friendly)!

Screw Fall, We're Gonna Ride! Alleycat Series!

2011-11-11T13:13:00.001-07:00

For the followers out there not on facebook: SLC is being hit with 4 alleycats this month (one every Friday), put on by Chris Ginzton of CycleSmith! These 'cats are perfect for beginners and good practice for the regulars, so get on your bike and head out tonight! The second of four races is tonight at 6 pm. Meet at on the roof of the downtown SLC Library with $5, a pen, a lock, and a bag. This race focuses on route finding skills and, again, is very beginner friendly. Come one come all!

Other Effective Programs Pt. 1: TA Traffic Monitoring Kit

2011-11-04T09:16:00.002-06:00

The local SLC efforts in building up a better environment for cycling have been impressive, it's great to witness those developments and their effects in the community. Beyond the local, however, there are a lot of different tactics and efforts out there in the advocacy world that we can keep our eyes on, for implementation in the future.

Today Transportation Alternatives' Neighborhood Traffic Monitoring Kit caught my eye. It's an impressive and enabling document that lays out in step-by-step terms the civic and research actions that can be taken to improve a problematic area of city infrastructure. New York City's civic structure is complicated and comprehensive and this kit helps activists navigate that with specific examples. The specifics may not be relevant to Salt Lake, but we would do well to learn from the comprehensive tactics of assessing a problem area, notifying community liaisons within the Department of Public Safety, scientifically recording data, and presenting it though a variety of information outlets. The toolkit can be downloaded here, an example of this system being used to good effect can be read about here.

Second Annual Bike Count Shows Big Jump in Cyclists

2011-11-01T12:29:00.003-06:00

Coordinator says bicycling in Salt Lake City is easy, money-saving and “cooler” than ever

SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City's investments in bicycle infrastructure, including approximately 50 lane miles of new on-road bikeways and locally designed "green shared lanes" in the downtown area, are paying off with a one-year 27 percent increase in the number of bicyclists, according to the City's second annualbicycle count.

"The City's bike count reflected a tremendous increase in bicycling," said Becka Roolf, Salt Lake City bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. "Our results compare very favorably to other cities. For example, New York City has been heralded for its gains in bicycle commuting, yet saw only a 14 percent increase from its 2010 to 2011 April count numbers."

Roolf says the one-year boost may be attributed to a mix of factors including Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker's commitment to bicycle infrastructure, higher gas prices and a growing "hip" factor for bicycling among urban twenty- and thirty-somethings.

The count, which uses volunteers to collect data, surveyed 16 locations during the second week of September. The 27 percent increase was calculated by comparing the 12 locations that were included in both the 2010 and 2011 counts. The weather was similarly sunny and seasonably warm for both years’ counts.

Andrew Coffey, a senior political science major from the University of Utah interning with Salt Lake City through the Hinckley Institute of Politics, coordinated the 2011 survey. Coffey, who is not a regular bicyclist himself, said he was impressed at the strength of the local bicycle community turning out to help with the data collection.

"Even during the count, our returning volunteers remarked that they were seeing more bicyclists than last year," Coffey said.

Coffey directed 60 volunteers in staffing the count and used his statistics background to analyze the results.

The top locations for bicycling were near the University of Utah and in the heart of downtown. Also, Coffey noted that the Jordan River Trail posted a considerable amount of bicycle traffic.

The area with the biggest jump in number of bicyclists–a 109% increase–was on 1700 South at 900 West. Most of the 1700 South corridor from 1700 East to Redwood Road received new or redesigned bikeways in 2011 in conjunction with a resurfacing project. This work was designated as part of the City's implementation of the Complete Streets ordinance.

To find out more about bicycling in Salt Lake City, and view a recently updated citywide bikeways map, go to www.slcgov.com/bike/.

Ignorance and Transportation Funding

2011-10-31T14:58:00.003-06:00

As much as we'd like the bicycle to be the solution to all the world's problems, there is no single panacea that cures all transportation ills. Bikes play a crucial role in a larger system consisting of a spectrum of intermodal components ranging from pedestrians to jumbo jets.

Unfortunately America is becoming increasingly ignorant of how this system is funded. A recent study revealed that almost two-thirds of Americans believe that gasoline and diesel fuel taxes actually cover the full cost of building and maintaining the nation's highway network. The same proportion of Americans is unaware that the nation's network of freight railroads are almost entirely owned and operated by private businesses. The bliss perpetuated by this ignorance will eventually lead to a loss of prosperity for Americans. [Click More to read on!]

Due to the complexities of highway funding and oil company subsidies, it's difficult to determine how much of the cost of each trip we make by car has been paid for by taxpayers. Despite the sprawl and the pollution, it always seems that the Utah legislature is magically able to come up with funding for highways, yet it's often a political battle to get funding for multiuse trails and mass transit projects. This isn't to say that new highways and improvements to existing ones are a waste of our taxes, but unfortunately their necessity is often a result of short-sighted land use policies and the lack of alternative transportation options.

Our nation's network of air transportation is also heavily subsidized. The price we pay for each ticket pays the airline to operate the flight, but does little to offset other costs like air traffic control, security, and building and maintaining airports. On top of those subsidies, airlines often receive federal funds to offset the costs of operating short regional flights. Salt Lake City to Pocatello, Idaho, is a good example.

In spite of all the public funding for highways and air travel, Amtrak, our nation's intercity and long-distance passenger rail network, continues to have to fight for funding and justify its existence. Amtrak has transported more passengers in 2011 than in any previous year of its 40 year history, yet many view Amtrak as a failure, since it does not turn a profit. To further illustrate the funding disparity, the federal government gave out more subsidies for highway construction and maintenance in 2010 alone than it has provided to Amtrak throughout its entire 40 year history! One can only imagine what Amtrak could accomplish, if it were given the same funding priority as highways.

The irony to transportation funding is that despite not turning a profit, our nation's transportation system does pay for itself indirectly. Our police departments and fire departments do not turn a profit, yet it's obvious that there could be no economic stability without them! The same holds true with transportation. For example, it would be unimaginable for America to have the prosperity that we enjoy without the Interstate Highway System. However, our future prosperity is in jeopardy, if we fail to diversify our transportation infrastructure and focus on transportation alternatives that will allow Americans to live lifestyles that are more sustainable.

Fortunately there is hope. Our mass transit expansion and emphasis on walking and biking are evidence that Salt Lake City is moving transportation in the right direction.

Mike Christensen is an unemployed graduate student and a resident of Salt Lake City. He enjoys biking and skiing (when he can afford lift tickets) and can be seen aimlessly riding around on TRAX and FrontRunner from time to time.

Scan me, and bike awesome!

2011-10-29T12:58:00.001-06:00

Open House for potential Bike Trail and Street Car

2011-10-26T15:18:00.000-06:00

Open House for public feedback on two city projects! Tomorrow, October 27 from 5-8 pm at 1840 S 1300 E (Westminster). Give your feedback on the feasibility of a bike trail between 800 S and 3300 S at 1050 East, as well as on the possible extension of the Sugar House Streetcar. More info (flyer) after the break.

Opening Celebration of 9 Line Trail!

2011-10-26T14:32:00.000-06:00

Check out this opening of the 9 Line Trail at 9th West and 9th South next Saturday, November 5! Bike Parade, 3-legged races, local vendors, and free food to the first 150 people! More info after the break!

Join this Community Celebration on Saturday, November 5th from 12-3pm on the SouthEast corner of 9th West and 9th South. This event is open to the public. The event will celebrate two major Westside initiatives: the opening of the 9 Line's first phase and the re-branding of the surrounding neighborhood business district along 900 West, which will be known as 'River District Gardens.' And remember, free food to the first 150 people!

Biking in the City

2011-10-26T13:21:00.000-06:00

"Biking through the minimal urban traffic is liberating and thrilling. It’s an excuse to stay places longer. An excuse to watch patrons come and go, knowing that you’ll be there for hours on either end of their stay. Cycling is a way to see how new haircuts will live up to the rigors of a wind tunnel. A method to test your jean’s crotchal durability. A reason to yell at people opening car doors and give dirty, disapproving head shakes to oblivious right-on-redders."

Excerpt from Brody Leven's website, this post being all about his take on biking in the city of salt! Check it out!

Councilman Garrott stresses bicycle legislation, community gardens

2011-10-24T13:44:00.000-06:00

Incumbent Councilman Luke Garrott (District 4) wants hisconstituents and residents citywide to know that there will be two foundationsfor his second term as councilman for the Downtown and Central City areas: bicyclingand urban agriculture. A veritable shoo-in for a second term, CouncilmanGarrott is basically uncontested. His only opponent is Jack Gray, listed as “Utah’s leader” of theAmerican National Socialist Workers’ Party, who has $3.06 in his campaignaccount and who has made zero effort in the current campaign.

In an article today in the Salt Lake Tribune, Garrottexpounded about an important part of his current term and a central pillar ofhis campaign for a second term: bicycles.

One of Garrott's faithful, bicycle-loving supporters

From the Derek Jensen at the Salt Lake Tribune:

Askedabout his highlights in office, he cites leading the “complete streets”codification, which requires engineers to design new roadways with an equal nodto pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists...

If re-elected,Garrott says he will focus on bicycle legislation, and its enforcement, beyondjust more bike lanes. But key to that is establishing a balance withautomobiles and pedestrians.

Garrott wants toimprove the experience of pedestrians in the downtown business district “sothey don’t feel menaced by bikes on sidewalks.” That may mean issuing traffictickets to cyclists and perhaps requiring bells on bikes.

He also wouldcontemplate bike registration and push more rider-education programs. “Being acyclist, I can understand sometimes why motorists feel they are being treatedunfairly,” he says. “I think it’s important we strengthen our social contracton the streets with some clear rules.”

What do you think Councilman Garrott can and should do toimprove bicycling in his council district (Downtown and Central City)? Let himknow by emailing him and letting him know at luke.garrott@slcgov.com, or hisliason, Nick Tarbet at nick.tarbet@slcgov.com.

Or visit his website at http://version-1.luke-garrott.y5nh.stackablehost.com/

Reality DOES Suck. Luckily bicycles don’t…

2011-10-23T17:41:00.001-06:00

Giant’s response to GM ad – photo found on reddit.com – view full size. Thanks to James D. Schwartz from theurbancountry.com for sharing this, a similar style blog but based in Toronto. Giant Bicycles has responded to GM’s anti-cycling advertisement by coming up with an ad of their own. It reads:

“Reality DOES Suck. Luckily bicycles don’t… In fact it’s the best thing you can do to save hundreds… even thousands of dollars a year. It doesn’t matter if you’re in college, young, or old. The only thing you have to lose is some weight.. and the burden of fuel prices”.

The ad compares the price of a Giant bike ($420) to a $27,300 Chevy truck as well as highlighting the annual fuel cost for the truck ($3,600). The ad doesn’t even need to mention the insurance costs, parking costs, depreciation, repairs, registration, or maintenance. Or the fact that Americans work 2 hours each day just to pay for their cars.

“Stop driving.. start pedaling.”

Lori Harward: The Driving Force Behind the Utah NICA League

2011-10-21T21:05:00.001-06:00

Everything about Lori Harward exudes enthusiasm, passion and commitment, especially her involvement in the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). After only meeting her once briefly at a press conference about NICA I knew I wanted to talk with her more in depth because her gusto was infectious… A few short emails later and she had eagerly agreed to meet me for lunch and discuss her current role within NICA as, Utah League Director.

The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) “is the National Governing Body for grades 9-12 interscholastic mountain biking. NICA provides leadership, governance and program support to promote the development of Interscholastic Mountain Biking Leagues throughout the United States” (www.nationalmtb.org). Under NICA‘s governing body, high school’s within a state can have mountain biking teams that compete with each other on a collegiate level.

It was this mission statement along with other visions of NICA that truly inspired Lori. She had been a road and mountain biking coach for over 5 years, and a biking enthusiast and racer for most of her life when she heard about NICA. At the USAC coaches summit in October of 2010 she met a coach of the Southern California NICA League and learned enough about the organization to realize she could take it to her home state: Utah. Once she was back in Utah she quickly got her coaching license and started a team at Bingham High. It didn’t take long for parents and supporters within the Bingham community as well as the greater Salt Lake community to start asking Lori how they too could become involved in such a great organization. With support and encouragement growing steadily she realized this idea could really grow so she looked into what it would take to start an official League in Utah. There were many components that needed to be completed before anything could move forward, but Lori was committed and saw the project through. In June of 2011 Lori submitted the final piece; the bid for the Utah League, which was a comprehensive collection of information including everything from racer demographics to race maps and even parking for events! The bid was approved and the Utah League became official within a month or two and will begin in the high schools in September of 2012.

According to Lori, all of her work was made possible by the clear, and accessible steps from NICA. Everything a potential coach, director or volunteer needs to know is right on the website with easy-to-follow instructions. This concept is outlined in one of NICA’s mission statements which states that “NICA is more than just a governing body, it provides direct League, event, coach, team and rider support including defined programs, education, licensing and insurance” (nationality.org). Everything from risk management to the race timing system is under the NICA umbrella, making it so that potential coaches do not have to start from the beginning when they want to get started. This was a huge plus for Lori as she pursued the League, there was never a time that she felt like she was being left to recreate the wheel.

Not only does Lori have continuous logistical support from NICA, she also finds herself continually in agreement with the organizations visions, goals and overall mission. She told me about NICA’s scoring system, which is one-of-a-kind on the high school level, incorporating both the boys and girls scoring together to create one overall total. This type of equality means every person on the team has the potential to contribute points. Lori also loves how NICA works to instill important morals in participating student athletes. For example, the Utah League vision states that NICA wishes to “enable every Utah team to strengthen body, mind and character through cycling.” And Lori could not agree with this idea more! Coming from a fitness background herself, she supports the notion that teaching kids at a young age to appreciate outdoor, physical activities, will inspire them to be more physically fit throughout their life.

Toward the end of lunch I asked Lori about some of her “best moments” since being involved with NICA. She smiled and had two words for me, “so many”. She reiterated how personally invested she was in NICA and its visions, but then she also talked about how amazing people within local communities have been. She explained how since she began toying with the idea of starting a League in Utah, community members and parents have been coming up to her, asking how they can help and what they can do to be involved. In most cases people have come to her, she hasn’t even had to ask for any help. She told me a story about how the Parks and Recreation branch of the government of a Salt Lake City suburb enthusiastically agreed to pay for students within the community to participate in the League if they could afford a bike. There definitely seems to be natural community growing around Lori Howard and the NICA Utah League.

Come September 2012 we will see high school mountain biking throughout the state of Utah and we can thank Lori Harward, her enthusiasm and the NICA organization for making it happen. If you would like to learn more about NICA or how you can help with the local League please visit: http://www.nationalmtb.org/ or contact Lori directly at: lori@utahmtb.org.

Stepping down at SaltCycle: My resignation letter

2011-10-20T21:39:00.000-06:00

The “power” of being an administrator was given to me in January 2011 by former SaltCycle admin, Davey Davis. His departure to Palestine would have left a void in the organization and responsibilities of overseeing. So, he asked me (or maybe I asked him) to fill it. Ever since then, due to some great contributions from members of the cycling community, an amazing growth in comments, opinions, contributors and encouragement from individuals and organizations, the website and blog have grown incredibly.
To cite statistical information, SaltCycle saw anywhere from 2500 to 3000 visitors per month in 2010. Since the revamp of the website, a little bit of advertising, word of mouth, and great community collaboration and unity, the visitors to the website have nearly tripled, peaking at around 9200 in the month of July 2011 alone.

As the blog has grown, so has the demand of my scholastic, ecclesiastic, work-related, and extra-curricular responsibilities and I’ve realized I can no longer completely fulfill the task of being the administrator of SaltCycle. I did what I felt was best for the blog this year and feel great about its success, but it’s time for someone else to breath new life into it. I want nothing more than to see our community grow, and I believe that constant attention to and creativity on the website will provide this growth.

Don't worry, I won’t be gone forever. I still love to report on things ongoing in the city and write how happy cycling makes me. You can call me or text me whenever you want with cool questions about cycling or ideas about how to make the city more bike-friendly. I am hereby resigning only from intensive administrative and maintenance duties of SaltCycle. Your new editor-in-chief will be Jessica Gilmore. She will have the help of tireless and gifted contributors who bring to our community different voices and great perspectives. If you’d like to make her life easier and readers’ experience of the website more enjoyable, please offer your assistance in organizing events, becoming a contributor on the blog (please see directions on the right sidebar), and creating new multimedia outlets by which to promote cycling in Salt Lake City. To contact her, simply visit the Contact page of the website.

I constantly hear, “Oh I love SaltCycle,” or, “I love the site, I wouldn’t have known about this event if I hadn’t joined the group or checked the website.” Your contributions will help this kind of community to continue.

Thank you for everything that you, as an individual and as a contributor, have done for the cycling community in Salt Lake City.

Thank you,

Tom Millar

And now a word from Jessica Gilmore:

Jessie Gilmore (pictured on the salt flats)
will assume admin responsibilities this week.

I'm lucky to take part in this blog, this community, and this lifestyle. I'm here because, like you, I love riding bikes. I hope to help keep SaltCycle strong by acting as a conversation starter and facilitator, but none of that works without participation from the nearly 400 other members of the facebook group and forum, the contributors to the blog, and the friends at the events. I love this city and this community and I'm happy to be able to bring people together through the love of all things bicycle. Let's keep this up. See you on the streets!

Jessie Gilmore

Kopchovsky Cat unofficial results and photo montage - UPDATED (with more pictures)

2011-10-19T16:52:00.000-06:00

Pictured are the results of today's all-girls alleycat
(L to R, Top to Bottom).
Please let me know if you are in order.

It was a fine day for racing. Jessica Gilmore won the Kopchovsky All-Girls alleycat, which began with a brutal climb from Memory Grove Park up to 11th Ave and Virginia. The finishers were tired but happy. Emily asked me, "Are they [alleycats] this fun even with the boys?" Well of course!

I will allow someone else who raced to tell you about their experience. It was a very fun time. More pictures after the break.

"The Boys" - Alleycat volunteers, secretly discussing the route.

Finishers and spectators alike relax in the park.

New friends were made and the weather was perfect.

South Carolina man pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter of Utah cyclist

2011-10-19T16:05:00.000-06:00

Matthew Burke (center) with his
wife, Bonnie, and daughter,
Anna (right)
(Photo: Paul Burke)

Today, Peg McEntee of the Salt Lake Tribune reported thatthe man who collided with and killed a Utahcyclist on October 1, 2010, has pleaded guilty in a plea deal for involuntarymanslaughter, an offense with a maximum term of 5 years in prison. This sentencewas suspended, replaced with a shorter 90 day term – to be served on weekends. ForMatthew Burke’s family, it was “some measure of justice”.

According to the Tribune article,

Burkewas riding with 14 friends on a country road when Johnson hit him and fourothers. One rider said he’d heard “a very loud rumble” — apparently whenJohnson revved his engine — an instant before impact. Another said she thoughthe was going to buzz the group, a common irritant by annoyed drivers.

Theriders were hugging the side of a straight stretch of road. All were in singlefile except Burke and Scott Moore, their handlebars inches apart as they rode,legally, abreast. All wore bright clothes, helmets and reflective gear, and allbut two bikes had flashing LED lights.

Johnsontold Highway Patrol troopers he was distracted when he hit the riders, but alsosaid he was reaching for his sunglasses, that papers had fallen from thedashboard, and that the sun was in his eyes.

Thesun was behind him, Burke and the others.

An army doctor, soldier in Iraq,and father to a young daughter, Anna Ryan Burke, Matthew Burke will be missedby his friends and family in Utahand abroad.

Read the full article here.

U of U implements first (but not last) bicycle-only path

2011-10-19T11:57:00.000-06:00

Signs like this along the U's HPER mall mark the
beginning and entrances to the campus'
first bicycle-only path. (Photo: Tom Millar)

As part of the University of Utah's initiative through Commuter Services,Facilities, and Sustainability to become a more bicycle-friendly campus (and asignificant achievement toward the University's goal to achieve League ofAmerican Bicyclists Bronze Bicycle-Friendly Univeristy status by 2016), thefirst ever bicycle-only path on campus, and perhaps in the city, was recentlypaved and signed in the HPER mall corridor.

The newly paved asphalt, blacktop path runs parallel to the formerly highspeed, longboard-attracting HPER mall which was a speedway during campus rushhour. In an effort to improve mobility and separate uses to ensure safertravel, the University's path is one of a kind. And it promises not to be thelast.

The HPER mall bicycle-only path runs parallel to a wheelchair-only
pathway to the north (pictured), and the pedestrian thoroughfare
to the south (not pictured). Each mode is encouraged to use their
designated paths to ensure safety for everyone. (Photo: Tom Millar)

During the University's Bicycle Master Plan open house, hosted by AltaPlanning and Psomas, several more bicycle-only paths were suggested for futureyears of development. Such paths are proposed from the Medical Campus to maincampus (east-west), Marriott Library to University St (east-west), and OlpinUnion to the Huntsman Center (north-south), among others.

As of now, pedestriansare the only transportation mode explicitly prohibited from the path (by use ofregulatory signs). Future pavement markings encouraging bicyclists to slow downand look at crossings will accompany signs and common sense by bicyclists.

Reverse of the previously pictured sign at the west end of
the bicycle-only path along the HPER mall, encouraging bicyclists
to yield and look for cross traffic. (Photo: Tom Millar

Environmentalists and Hummer Owners

2011-10-17T17:42:00.003-06:00

There was a trend a few years agowhere environmentalists were vandalizing Hummers, primarily via spray paint, inorder to show their disapproval of SUVs and those who would own a vehicle thatis flagrantly unnecessary in most circumstances. This strategy did two things:

(1) Owners of vandalized Hummers gotnew Hummers (If they can afford a

Hummer then they can affordinsurance).

(2) Hummer owners, who previouslymight have had at least a green bent, became resentful of environmentalists andthe environmental movement.

Some people are never going to beeven the slightest bit ecocentric, just as there will always be motorists whohonk at cyclists as though it’s a bodily function or those that are at extremerisk for a middle finger, repeated use injury.

Riding down Emigration the otherday, I followed a cyclist who, after being forced to brake slightly, appearedobligated to flip off the motorist who may or may not have intentionally cutthis rider off. Regardless of intention, being on the business end of themiddle finger is a black mark in the mind of that motorist who may now be lesswilling to slow down or give an adequate cushion of safety to the next cyclist.This is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The marginalized-cyclist mentality,and the associated negative behavior, does little to improve our standing inthe road usage hierarchy. For our own sake, there is a vital need to begingiving motorists the respect they deserve. Our positive interactions are a farmore influential tool in encouraging the responsible behaviors in which wewould like motorists to engage.

This begs the question, how do weboth exert our rights to the road while not alienating the users who arelarger, more ubiquitous and often entitled? Which cyclist behaviors arebeneficial in creating an attitude among motorists that cyclists belong?

Mayor Becker leads international group on bike tour

2011-10-16T19:58:00.004-06:00

A few short weeks away from this year's mayoral election, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker took time out to lead a bike tour through Salt Lake City. On Friday, forty-two participants from the American Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Conference (hosted this year in Salt Lake City) joined Mayor Becker to explore the bikeways and sights of Downtown and Central City.

Mayor Becker breaking in Salt Lake City's green shared lanes in 2009.

Hailing from far-flung destinations including Norway, Switzerland, Japan and bike meccas such as Portland, Boulder and Davis, participants were excited to spend the afternoon viewing our city by bike.

The tour followed green lanes through downtown, before heading up to Memory Grove Park at the base of City Creek Canyon. Mayor Becker, a long-time former resident of the neighborhood, discussed historical and personal perspectives on the City Creek community tucked at the base of the Wasatch Front. He highlighted the ability to bike directly from Downtown into the depths of the Wasatch, as well as the closure of City Creek Canyon to cars on odd-numbered days.

Later destinations included the South Temple Historic District and Liberty Park (with an extended stretch along new shared lane markings on 800 East.)

Participants were impressed by the inviting neighborhoods and Mayor Becker's willingness to lead a bicycle tour in the midst of an election season, a testament to his abiding passion for improving bicycle travel in Salt Lake City.

Discussing sustainable development at Library Square (photo: Tom Millar).

Enjoying a sunny ride through Memory Grove (photo: Tom Millar).

Gathering to hear the Mayor discuss City Creek Canyon (photo: Tom Millar).

Contender Bicycles hosts CX clinic at Sugar House Park

2011-10-14T11:32:00.000-06:00

Every Thursday till November 4th, from 5:30 - 7:30, racers from Contender Bicycles will put on cyclocross clinic in which participants will learn how to hone their skills on the obstacles that will be present on that Saturday's CX course for the UTCX CX series.

For example, this week's clinic (pictured at right) dealt with smoothly running through hurdles and mounting your bike in one fluid motion. Saturday's CX race at Wheeler Farm will have quite a few hurdles every lap, so this kind of practice was the hot topic for the evening at last night's clinic.

More info for registration, flyers, maps, and explanations from the Contender website, here:

CONTENDER CYCLOCROSS SKILLS CLINIC

Thursdays, Sept 23 - Nov. 4 (8 weeks total)
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Sugarhouse Park, Salt Lake City. 2100 S. 1500 E.
Register | Download flyer and map

All-inclusive Fees for the entire 8 weeks:

USA Cycling License Holders: $10
Non-licensed Riders $25
Registration online at Sportsbaseonline.com ONLY. You must register!

Fine Print: Fees partially cover the cost of the permits (USA Cycling and Sugarhouse Park), insurance for USA Cycling members ($1/rider/day), and the $5/day/rider one-day license fee for non-licensed riders. Do the math. No extra charges, no refunds, no profit. Riders must sign in each week.

Goals: Learn something about cyclocross techniques; how to go over barriers, run up hills, and ride a skinny-tired bike off the pavement. Selfprofessed expert crossers will conduct the clinics and distribute nuggets of wisdom. Cyclocross and/or Mountain Bikes are welcome. Be cool: sell your capri pants and your fixie and buy a ‘cross bike.

Rules: Bikes are absolutely prohibited off-pavement anytime except during the clinic! Violation will result in us losing use of the Park. This is a promise. Do not ride on the grass except for Thursdays, during the clinic. Clinic participants are expected to police themselves and their colleagues.

More info: darrell.davis@utah.edu

USA Cycling Permit # 2010-2839

Utah cyclocross season begins with a bang

2011-10-11T11:14:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Grizzly Adam for an amazing video of the third race of the season at Ft. Buenaventura in Ogden. If you're interested, check out www.utcx.com for more info on races, registration and how to have tons of fun this fall.

UTCX3 - Fort Buenaventura from Grizzly Adam on Vimeo.

BBC News report may explain the recent rise in car-bicycle accidents and fatalities

2011-10-10T15:22:00.002-06:00

Kate Dailey, writing for BBC News Magazine begins her piece this way, "As American cities attempt to make their streets more bicycle friendly, some tensions arise between cyclists and motorists." Dailey continues, reporting on the recent explosion of bikeway infrastructure in the United States and the open hostility by motorists that it may be causing. Read the full article below and then leave your opinion in the comments section on how you think this article applies to us in Salt Lake City:

Are bicycles and cars in a war for American streets?

By Kate DaileyBBC News Magazine

Sharing the road

In today's Magazine

As American cities attempt to make their streets more bicycle friendly, some tensions arise between cyclists and motorists.

When New York City installed a bike lane next to Brooklyn's Prospect Park West, cyclists rejoiced.

The new lane was placed between parked cars and the pavement, providing them a safe place to cycle to and from work. It made it easier to circumvent the park, where cyclists heading towards Manhattan had to fight against the flow of bikes heading in the opposite direction.

The bike lanes were part of a larger city-wide initiative to increase bike access, one that found 66% support in the city.

Culture clash

Across North America, growing pains as cities become more bike friendly

Boston This September, the Boston Herald newspaper ran a string of articles on the city's "car-bike war" and "war of wheels"
New York City: In 2010, Hasidic residents of Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighbourhood successfully petitioned to have bike lanes removed, citing both the speed of cyclists through residential areas and the immodest dress of female cyclists
Seattle: Three cyclists killed in close succession have stirred a debate: some ask if the city is doing enough to make the city safe; some wonder if cyclists are being too reckless. In late September, the mayor called for a safety summit

But not everyone was happy with the change. Two groups - Seniors for Safety and Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes - sued to have the Prospect Park lanes removed.

They claimed that the city forced the lanes on residents, and that the bike lanes blocked traffic, created unsafe environments for pedestrians and were bad for commerce.

"While bike lanes are a terrific idea and they have a lot of recreational value, they're just not a reasonable alternative for the overwhelming number of city dwellers," says James Walden, an attorney representing the two groups.

A judge recently rejected a suit put forth by the group to remove the lanes. Walden and his clients have filed an appeal.

The lawsuit is an extreme example, but it's not an isolated one. As America becomes increasingly bike friendly, cities have had to find the best way to promote cycle-centric policies in a country where car is king.

Bikes on the rise

There's no denying that cycling popularity is on the rise in the US. Since 2001, the number of total bike trips has increased by more than 20%. While the levels of recreation bicycling trips remained steady, the share of bike trips taken for the purposes of commuting to work has increased by a third.

“Start Quote

When we make improvements for bicyclists, often the biggest beneficiary are people who drive motor vehicles”

Mark LearBureau of transportation traffic safety program manager, Portland, Oregon

That rise has been aided in part by conscious policy decisions designed to get more bikes on the road. These include additional bike parking, more bike-friendly public transit, and the expansion of bike lanes - often at the expense of available motorways.

"The whole point of these policies is to get people, to some extent, out of our cars and into transit, walking, or bicycling," says John Pucher, professor of urban planning and public policy at Rutgers University. "There's no way you're going to make car drivers happy with this sort of a policy."

Cyclists complain that drivers have showed their disdain in obvious, dangerous ways.

In Washington DC, the city council has introduced a bill allowing residents to sue those who intentionally harm or distract cyclists. The law came in response to a video showing a motorist intentionally hitting a cyclist in a DC neighbourhood.

But unhappy motorists - very few of whom are reckless - worry that new rules give special privileges to an elite few at the expense of the driving masses.

Safer streets

Research shows that infrastructure changes made to accommodate bicycles more often than not have the net effect of making the streets safer for everyone.

"This isn't a zero-sum game," says Janette Sadik-Khan, the commissioner of transportation for the city of New York. "You can make streets that work better for everyone. They can be safer for everyone, they can be more attractive. We can engineer a better environment for buses, a better environment for walking, and safer streets for driving."

In Portland, which has been a leader in promoting cycle-friendly streets, neighbourhoods have responded positively to changes made for cyclists. In large part, that's because the city works carefully to coordinate changes with communities.

People also respond well after seeing the changes take effect.

"Residents recognize that when we make improvements for bicyclists, often the biggest beneficiary are people who drive motor vehicles," says Mark Lear, Portland bureau of transportation traffic safety program manager.

That's in part because bicycle lanes force cars to slow down, which reduces both accidents and injuries. Because city driving is already punctuated by stop-and-start driving, dictated by stop lights and stop signs, a reasonable reduction of speed doesn't affect overall commute time or result in noticeable congestion.

But even Portland is not without its cycle cynics. Lear heard a complaint familiar to cities with cycling policies: namely, that cyclists were biking recklessly without being held to the same standard of accountability as cars.

In response, the city set up enforcement areas in places identified as frequent crash zones. Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians were ticketed for violations, and first time offenders were required to take a safety course.

"Anyone running a red light on a busy street is a risky thing," says Mr Lear. "We've gotten positive support both from people who have gone through the program and those who thought we were going about enforcement unevenly."

Inflated rhetoric

As cities adapt, its citizens react - but the issue is not nearly as polarizing as it seems.

"It's easy to find a quote from one side and a quote from the other and trump it up as a war," says Pete Stidman, the director of the Boston Cyclists Union. In reality, he said most people just want to work together to build a safer community.

The idea of "cyclist" versus "motorists" is shortsighted, says Gabe Klein, the commissioner of transportation for the city of Chicago.

"We have to get away from this idea that people are in just one camp - that they are only a biker or a driver or a transit user," he says.

Even the most bike-friendly European cities required years to move towards pedal-and-engine harmony. "It took four decades to transform Copenhagen," says Mr Pucher.

Women-Only bike race in one week, men still needed for volunteer positions

2011-10-07T22:46:00.003-06:00

The Kopchovsky women-only alleycat (bike race) will be only the
second all-women urban bike race in recent history in Salt Lake City