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Pedal to the People
John LaRue - The Daily Iowan

Amid the crazed, November elections, an important issue pedals by unseen. Cars and pedestrians. Try walking down a Burlington sidewalk any time of the day without being tensed up, and it's clear why so many people are stressed out. Barreling SUVs force pedestrians to pick the lesser of two evils. Either blare the iPod and risk blowing out eardrums or let the steady drone of engines drive you insane. I like to think that the men and women behind the wheel understand the unbridled power they have been privileged with. I fear this is not the case. At every crosswalk, I see weary pedestrians trying to peer beyond the tinted windows and dividers to see if the drivers are really monitoring their vehicles or monitoring the screens of their cell phones and the bowls of Cheerios in their laps. It does not matter whether pedestrian commutes involve putting a foot to the pavement or the pedal. We are losing to big, ugly four-wheeled death-dealers, and it looks as if it's going to get worse before it gets better.

According to a 2000 census, 78.6 percent of Iowa commuters drove solo 18.5 minutes to and from work. Four percent walked, and fewer than 1 percent used "other means," such as a bicycles or jet packs. It's going to take lots of work to change the statewide trend of bouncing along in air-conditioned, gas-powered bliss to Jimmy Buffet's B-sides, but there may be some things we can do here in Iowa City. I have a few ideas, and most of them involve bicycles.

The first step is making alternative modes of commuting seem like a safe, viable option. Bicycle lanes would vastly improve the confidence of commuters on the road. Drivers need to learn that roads may have been created for them, but that doesn't mean they can disregard other vehicles. I've heard all the arguments against bicyclists. How they, "blow through stoplights and signs and don't pay attention to traffic laws." My response is simple. No matter what the situation or who is in the right or wrong, the car will always win. Period. Unless of course you're riding a 15,000-pound bicycle, which would be amazing.

Let's dream large and pretend the city of Iowa City gave cyclists the gift of spray-painted bicycle lanes. That doesn't necessarily mean people will stop driving. The city needs to make pedaling around town more lucrative. Folks may think Iowans are wholesome, but at heart, we're all cutthroat capitalists. Give people money not to drive their cars. I know, it sounds like a crazy idea, but Atlanta is already trying it out. It's giving alternative commuters $3 a day to find some other way to get to work than by car. However nice the incentive would be, the depressing fact remains that if you were to ride your bike every work day a year, you would only make $780 compared with the $3,400 tax credit consumers who buy hybrid vehicles receive.

The two initiatives would improve the conditions for cyclists in the city, but I have a feeling some still may not be convinced. So here is the scare-you-straight version. Driving makes you fat and stressed out and lowers your life expectancy. As people continue to move to the suburbs for god knows what deluded reasoning, the average commute time increases. More driving means more traffic, parking enforcement, and stress. And stress causes heart disease. Which kills you.

Just ride a bicycle, and do your mind and body some good. After all, Daniel Behrman wrote in his book, The Man Who Loved Bicycles, "People whose life it is to take the joy out of other lives do not go around on bicycles, such people are too important for that. So the bike is accepted everywhere."

DI columnist John LaRue will be biking all winter long unless he gets hit by a car. Then he'll probably stop. Because of an injury. But then he'll start again. Unless of course he's scared to. Then he probably won't.

Email him at:
john-b-larue@uiowa.edu

New Website Features on the Horizon
Nick Maddix, Webmaster & new Touring Coordinator

Greetings everyone. I hope you have so far had a great riding season. For some of us, the end of the regular season is drawing ever closer, while others prepare to break out the heavier gear for Fall and Winter riding. At the end of October, the only rides in progress are the Weekend Tours. Website activity in general will probably decrease as well, and so, I'm anxious to perhaps break out a couple of new features for next year. Now officially as of Sept 18th, 2007, I will be replacing Neil E. as the BIC Touring Coordinator, and so, heralding this new position will allow the website to hopefully become even better than ever. Please bare with me as I discover the responsibilities and such with this new position.

Some features I'd like to bring to the website for 2008 are:

1) Online map database / interactive maps - While there are currently a few already up, I have not been able to have access to a wide variety of maps, until now. Once they are up, riders and ride leaders can print them out for their personal benefit. With different style riders come different maps, and so a variety of maps will be available for download or print. Additionally, features such as zoom, directions, and elevation can be accessed. A GPS system may be implemented also, although online maps such as Google Maps allows the user to create the route without having to actually ride it.

Some of the Touring Coordinator's duties will be shifted onto the responsibility of the rider and rider leader. If needed, the ride leader can contact the coordinator and request hard copies sent via mail, which is the system that is currently used. There are advantages and disadvantages to this, but I generally see more positive than negative. The off season riding period is a good opportunity to "test" this feature, make adjustments, and more so that it can be ready in time for next March or April. Feedback from riders will be essential in order for this to work.

2) Online liability forms - This already exists, but is not implemented to its full potential. Hard copies are still sent via regular mail to the ride leader. A recommendation is to allow ride leaders to print out the release form online and to fill in the info themselves. Also, currently at the end of the ride, forms are sent back to the Touring Coordinator for record keeping. This is a double expense that can be remedied with online attachment sending. The ride leader, upon having access to a digital camera, or a scanner can send an image or Adobe PDF file to the coordinator via e-mail. In this digital age, if one does not have access to any such devices, they can usually be obtained easily at various locations, such as the Public Library at little to no charge.

3) Phone & E-mail Database - There may be an eventually need to organize our growing number of members into a database, and the Touring Coordinator should have access to it. Members could also print this database out for contact other members about various things. Communication should become more organized between riders, rider leaders, and the Touring Coordinator and Ride Recruiters.

Feel free to contact me at anytime with any opinions - positive or negative. I'm always open to suggestions! Currently, the system will NOT change until approved by the executive club members, but may be worked in since we're entering such low-key months.

 

Iowa City almost a bicycling friendly town
http://press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070927/NEWS01/70927008/1079

Amish Harvest Century Ride Complete

We hope you had a blast at this year's Amish Harvest Tour to Cure Cancer! If you have any comments - good or bad, or general suggestions on what you liked, what you didn't like and what we can improve upon, than why not e-mail us at bicyclistsofiowacity@gmail.com? We'd love to hear from you! Also, if you had a camera during the ride, we'd love to include your photos in the gallery. E-mail them to us at bicyclistsofiowacity@gmail.com. We hope to see you next year!

Pedaling for A Cure

    http://press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070909/NEWS01/709090316/1079

Cyclists, Motorists Work Together to Stay Safe on the Road

http://press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070829/NEWS01/708290305/1079

Future Court Hill Trail Proceeding

The Iowa City Council recently passed in a 6-0 vote a consideration for authoring the acquisition of property interests necessary for construction of the Court Hill Trail Project. This is a huge step forward for the east side Iowa City trail that will connect Creekside Park and Scott Park generally along the banks of Lower Ralston Creek. Construction is scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2008.

Council member Dee Vanderhoef responded very favorably to the resolution. "This is a huge trail connection. This is one I have wanted for years, and I thank Council for putting it on the work plan and Capital Improvement Budget for this year."

A map detailing the route possibilities for this trail can be viewed here.

Eating along the beaten path
http://press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070715/NEWS01/707150306/1079