Calvary Cemetery Tour and Imaginary Infrastructure (If I Were King of the Forest....)

I have been meaning to post here since so very shortly after my last post! As I seem to mention often these days, I always think summer will be a time to slow down and appreciate simpler things and longer days. In my case? I tend to cram them chock full and wonder why I'm so exhausted! Melissa mentioned in her blog this week that the disruption to routine is really difficult for her, and I am inclined to agree. While I tend to be pretty fully-scheduled during the "school year" (I still think of my life in semesters, even though I haven't attended school in nearly a decade), I know exactly where the spaces are, and I can fill them or guard them as I need to. In summer, everything is so dang inviting, and it's far too easy to say yes! I want to do that! and here I sit at 9:30 on a Tuesday morning in early July and it's all catching up with me. I fell into bed last night, and despite sleeping nearly eight hours both nights, I feel as though I've been beat about the head and neck with an exhaustion stick. Eep. A good warning to slow down, for sure, if only I can heed it!

So, what have I been doing since June 20th? 

Calvary Bike Ride, June 21, 2014, St. Louis. Here's a little photo tour of a ride through Calvary Cemetery, one of the oldest and most beautiful cemeteries in the area. Many, many famous (locally famous and nationally famous alike) people are buried here, many associated with the Civil War, slavery and emancipation, the founding of St. Louis, and many of the industries that helped the city grow back when rivers were the nation's highways.

Beyond that, I haven't been riding a lot. It seems when the weather has been ideal (like preceding the July 4th weekend, when it was actually in the 70s for highs? Unbelievable), my schedule has been crammed. And when the weather in summer in St. Louis isn't ideal? I can barely handle being in an air-conditioned car. Yesterday, it was stormy and the high peaked around 97 or so, with humidity so thick the air was like soup. Erm, I sweat just existing when the weather is like that. 

I'm also figuring out quickly that I prefer to ride with traffic, but I don't like to ride very far by myself when I'm being traffic. I think there is added safety and visibility in numbers, and the ride is more fun when you have someone to share the experience with. This is a stark contrast to the joy I have riding Grant's Trail alone, where I don't have to worry as much about interacting with motorists (most intersections are signaled nor next-to-defunct and the trail is off-limits to cars). I haven't been riding to work much - I simply exert too much effort trying to keep up with motorists and it utterly ruins the experience for me. When I have the option to mosey, I ride happily. When I'm pushing myself, I end up hot and sweaty and stressed, and it undoes the benefits. A lot of this is truly about finding my limits, and for me, some type of well-designed infrastructure, a better network of multi-use paths, or at least designated bike highways would make travel between home and work much more pleasant. These, together with better education for all road users, would help to get to the shared-road, pleasant culture that we all want. 

From an ideal infrastructure standpoint, I don't know how to make things perfect any more than the next guy, but here are some things I'd do if I were in charge. And had an unlimited budget.

• 1" of sidewalk per traffic lane. 3" buffer/curb per traffic lane (between sidewalk and traffic lane). (A 2-lane road would have a 2' sidewalk on each side with 3" of curb and 3" of grass or plants on each side; a 4-lane road would have a 4' sidewalk on each side with 9" of grass and 3" of curb between sidewalk and street.) 
• No bike lanes between parked cars and traffic lanes; use a properly-placed sharrow
• Residential street speed limits not to exceed 20mph, residential "arterials" (2-3 lanes) not to exceed 25mph.
• Residential "arterials" to offer 5.5' bike lane, not overlapping gutter, no parked cars, along outside of traffic lanes with a 6" painted buffer. Lanes to end (force merge) at intersections.
• Major arterials (4+ lanes) to have 6' bike lane with 6" buffer zone (paint only) on either side, between lanes of traffic, to allow faster traffic to flow around bicycles. A turning bicycle would have to merge with the appropriate traffic lane in order to complete the turn, but would be able to stay in the designated lane to continue straight. Within the bike lanes, slower bicycle traffic would stay on the right, just like in normal traffic conditions. 

As an example, let's consider a bike commute from downtown Kirkwood (Kirkwood Road and Adams Road) to downtown Clayton (the courthouse) using a direct route when it makes sense (a "car" or "arterial" route) and the scenic route when it makes sense (multi-use paths, for example, through a neighborhood or park). The total route is about 8 miles each way and takes us North on Kirkwood/Lindbergh to Clayton, where we would head East on Clayton Road before going left across the mall into the Francis Place neighborhood to cut under the highway and connect with Shaw Park to get to downtown Clayton. Under my plan above, the cyclist would have a dedicated place on the road (around which heavier and faster vehicles may travel) until merging into the right turn lane at Clayton Road.There, the cyclist would have similar infrastructure until they merged into the left-turn pocket at Francis Place. Francis Place is 2-lane traffic with on-street parking, so the cyclist would ride down the middle of the lane until reaching the bike path that cuts under Highway 170, which connects to the bike paths in Shaw Park. Take that to Parkside Drive on the NW edge of the park, which is again 2-lanes with on-street parking and you'd have the same rules (ride in the middle of the travel lane) until reaching Forsyth, which is 2-4 lanes with on-street parking. So here, we'd again find a middle bike lane to allow cars to pass us in multi-use lanes and to turn when we're going straight. When we get to the side of the courthouse we want (East or West), we'd signal to merge into the right multi-use travel lane and make our turn, etc. 

I'd do this. I don't mind the travel differential so much when I have a place to allow my speed to be comfortable and allow faster folks to go around me. You'd certainly have to watch out for cars changing lanes, but for those merging left, you're on the driver's side and pretty visible, and for those merging right, they are already looking for traffic on their right to avoid. You'd never have to worry about getting doored, and I think access to/from the bike lane would be pretty easy, since you'd almost certainly be coming at it from a signaled intersection, or a road that is slow enough that traffic is easily avoided. It might take some getting used to to get passed on the right by faster traffic, which is the only real issue I'd have with this sort of plan. But the increased visibility and access to all multi-use traffic lanes is appealing and offsets that downside. 

What do you think? If you ride with kids, would you be comfortable in a dedicated lane between two travel lanes of faster-moving traffic? What if you're older, or ride a recumbent? Would you prefer this to a door-zone travel lane, or no designated lane at all? I suspect the answers will vary widely. My only rules for comments: please do not disparage those with a different viewpoint from you. Whether the idea of riding in and as traffic appeals or repulses, your feelings are valid here and should be respected and respectful of those who disagree with you.

2014 National Bike to Work Day!

Today was National Bike to Work Day! 

What is National Bike to Work Day?

Bike to Work Day began in 1956[1] to celebrate and bring awareness to the option of commuting to work by bicycle. It is part of Bike to Work Month and the culmination of Bike to Work Week. In St. Louis, Bike to Work Day is the same as National Bike to Work Day, which, as far as I can figure, is the third Friday in May each year (May 16, 2014, May 17, 2013...)

I had never picked up on the existence of BTWD before last year. Before that, I was vaguely aware that the young and progressive folks in the city had taken up a distinctly non-lycra style of riding. (For those not from around these-here parts, STL City is geographically and politically and culturally distinct from the adjoining STL county, where I've lived the last 9.5 years.) I noticed naked bike rides, and moonlight rambles, and I was intrigued. And then, as I have written before, I started to see bikes everywhere that weren't these carbon-fiber speed machines. They had "swoopy"* frames, and swept handlebars, and rattan baskets, and the little part of me that had a pink swoopy (Huffy) frame circa 1984 wanted in. Badly. Unfortunately, my decision to buy a swoopy-frame bike (Fleur) coincided with a push to pay off some consumer debt, and so in 2013, I missed BTWD because I'd saved up for her*, and she was on order, but had not yet arrived (at the time, I only had my mountain bike, which is still in need of repair, and which is poorly fitted to me at the moment).

*er, that would be "loop" or "step-through" in real bike jargon...

**The Linus is a she, the Trek is he, and the Motobecane is whatever it feels like at any given moment. 

So this is my first official "Bike to Work Day" ride, but probably my dozenth (dozenth? is that a word?) or so bike commute to work, and I rode at least as many times to my church, where I have meetings 3 times per month, music rehearsal 3-5 times per month, and worship 3-5 times per month. So while this was my first BTWD, this is not my first rodeo, right? Right.

Today's Commute.

I left my home at 7:45 a.m., wearing a long-sleeve black tee, skirt, tights, and heels, covered with a black wind-resistant jacket, plus my Nutcase helmet and my cycling gloves. Why does it matter what I wore? Two reasons: (1) it doesn't really matter, that's the point - it doesn't have to be "cycling clothing" to be cycling clothing; and (2) here's why, for me, this is cycling clothing:

1. Dark top - it was cool today, but my commute has hills, so while I didn't sweat much or for long, I was still pretty warm by the time I finished my 6.5-mile work commute. A dark top hides any perspiration. (Busy patterns and certain materials can, too.)
2. Skirt - with the dark tights, I was sufficiently warm (it was in the upper 40s/low50s) and my modesty was preserved, and knee-length-or-shorter skirts don't get caught in your crank. 
3. Heels - I personally prefer to do anything in flat shoes, but my ballet flats died and my replacements haven't yet arrived, so the only court-appropriate dark shoes I had available were low-heeled booties. That said, biking in heels isn't so hard. You use the balls of your feet (where flats and heels alike are flat), and heels are generally more comfortable to bike in than walk in! I have packed the heels and worn flats, too, so that's an option if you are biking with something that will haul your stuff.

So, how did I haul my stuff?
I've been experimenting with the ten-speed for distance, because it's lighter and has more gearing options than the heavy, basket-ed, upright bike. The verdict is still out as to which I prefer, which is a discussion for another post. However, I've decided as I bring some older bikes back into use (the ten-speed was my mom's and is circa early-70s) I'm adding, at least, fenders, a rear reflector, and a small rear rack. The ten-speed's rack is very little, but it worked just fine with my "makeshift pannier" from my early Linus days. I shared a photo of it here.

In my bag, I placed my smaller cross-body purse, cell phone, keys, u-lock, lights, and (after I was warm enough) jacket. The bag has mesh side pockets for bottles, and I use the rear one for my water bottle (I kick it if I use the front pocket). This means I have to stop to use the bottle on my ten-speed (the Linus has a front bottle-ring in the Delano basket; the Trek a bottle cage on the lower frame tube), but that's okay. I fall into the camp of people who don't like to wear cargo when I ride. Not a cross-body purse, not a messenger bag, not a backpack. It's distracting, heavy, or flops around uncomfortably. So cargo capability is my thing.

OK, you're all set. How was the ride? Glorious. Frustrating. Hard. Easy. Worth it. Discouraging. Educational.

Glorious. You can't ask for better than lows in the 40s and highs shy of 70 with no rain or humidity. It's perfect. You're a bit chilly when you start, but don't sweat too much, and the exertion and breeze are positively refreshing. We don't get many days like this in St. Louis, and in my opinion, there's no better way to spend them than on a bike.

Frustrating. I'm struggling with fit and comfort of the drop bars on the ten-speed. It's okay for shorter distances, but my shoulders and neck hurt, and though it's easier to "shoulder-check" what's going on behind you from a ten-speed, I'd like a mirror. That said, the ride on this bike is stiffer and more narrow than on the Linus, which I consider a drawback, but also the posturing is more aggressive and the bike lighter, which theoretically, with the skinny tires, could make hills less obnoxious... 

Hard. ...if I had added a little air to my tires. They felt pretty good when I checked them, but I ignored the nagging feeling I should check the actual PSI (I aim for 90 on the skinny tires, as recommended), and they were a little soggy, which made my ride positively sloggy. Also, shifting on this bike (downtube shifters, no individual gear "landing spot" so you can be stuck mid-shift) is hard. So all in all, I found myself wondering whether I do really need more gears on the Linus and if so how many and fighting my way up the saddest inclines (and hating the real ones). Dumb. I should have checked the PSI.

Easy. I can get there from here and I've done it before. The distance is do-able, and had I not stopped twice for water and to let traffic pass, I probably would have arrived at least five minutes quicker than my Linus pace. 

Worth it. Bonus: adding in my Cycling Savvy knowledge meant that my commute on Clayton Road and Forsyth was so much nicer, because I was better able to navigate rush-hour traffic in a way that felt safe and effective. Unfortunately...

Discouraging. No matter how safe and visible you are, some people are frustrated, impatient, don't understand the rules of the road (for motorists or cyclists) and decide to take that out on you by honking, swerving, and passing too close for comfort. That happened today on my least-favorite stretch of road, and it's put me off that part of the route, possibly for good now. I'm officially actively campaigning for a bike thoroughfare that connects Manchester Road to Clayton Road west of Brentwood and East of Woodlawn. The options right now? Frankly, they suck. For everyone. (My reward on McKnight for getting through angry motorists on the 4-lane roads bumper-to-bumper 2-lane traffic, followed by a hilly ride through a busy highway/street intersection. Inhaling exhaust is not why I chose to ride. Blerg.)

Educational. Every. time. I. ride., I learn a little more about what works and what doesn't. Using my Cycling Savvy skills on Clayton Road made that part of my commute an absolute breeze. And on more than one occasion, I figured that I do prefer the upright Linus, but I still wonder whether I need to play with the gearing, or maybe even shift the stable around someday. Maybe the right bike is none of the three, but has elements of all three? A decision for another day.

Now what?

Tonight, I'm riding my bike from my office to meet friends, and then hitching a (car) ride home. I'm so glad I rode in, and so looking forward to a group ride and picnic tomorrow, but tonight I'm too tired to navigate an imperfect route in the dark, with sore shoulders and lingering frustration from the aggressive motorist. Which is to say that every little bit counts and it's okay to keep trying new things. 

I rode today. Full stop. That I'm not putting in the full 13-14 miles is okay and doesn't diminish the experience in the least. And I'm quite sure that my route isn't right yet, so I'm going to keep experimenting, or, if I do move from my current house someday (likely), I will absolutely be taking into account my access to bikeable destinations and effective mass-transit options, and giving them proper weight. 

Did you ride today for National Bike to Work Day? How was your ride?

Just Ride Already, Will You?

I posted on April 11th that I've been struggling with returning to riding. It was a long winter and I was still recovering from a nasty chest cold when daylight savings time rolled back around. And then I ran out of excuses, but I still didn't ride. I feel like I've spent the better part of the past six weeks looking at the two bicycles in my living room (Fleur and The Radish) as if I don't know how they work. None of it makes sense. I really want to ride, and yet for some reason, the idea of commuting to work or church is met with a huge wall of emotional resistance.

Riders' Block, if you will.

In some ways, I sort of wonder if ignorance was bliss last year. I read a lot of blogs like Lovely Bike and LGRAB and Simply Bike, where the message is just ride; it's not scary, it's fun! And so, I did. As I started cycling, I rediscovered my Twitter account and have started following a lot of other avid cyclists, many of whom are staunch advocates for ditching the car entirely, for infrastructure improvements, and for shaping the car vs. bike discussion in any manner of ways. I devoured as much as I could in order that I might discover tips and tricks, or avoid problems other riders had encountered. And when there was something that frustrated a rider, I could sometimes revel in the idea that things that weren't easy or pleasant for me weren't always easy or pleasant for others.

Perhaps it was continuing to digest all of this information during months when cycle commuting felt out of the question - icy, hilly roads with heavy and rapid traffic patterns, and a sun that insisted on setting before I would get up in the morning or leave the office in the evening - but it started to feel complicated.

It's not complicated. My brain is trying to make it tricky, but it simply isn't. I just need to ride.

So today's post is in preparation of three bike-related events I have coming up in the next week or so:

1. I'm taking a fun ride with Melissa this weekend;
2. I'm taking a Cycling Savvy class (at Melissa's gentle suggestion) next week; and 
3. I'm going on the local Cycling Savvy bike ride next weekend.

I am looking forward to having a reason to get on the bike, and frankly, someone to keep me company. Melissa and I will be exploring the frustrating parts of my bike-to-work route and trying some possible alternatives. And, while I've made it clear in prior posts that I'm on the side of protected bike lanes and more cycling infrastructure (I don't particularly enjoy riding with or in traffic), there are parts of St. Louis City and County where you must engage in vehicular cycling, and becoming more familiar and more comfortable in that role will hopefully kick the anxiety portion of my not. riding. Finally, a group ride will hopefully help to connect me with other riders in my local community (and perhaps, other relative beginners).

So, a shout-out to Melissa, because whether she realizes it or not, she's really the rallying force that's getting me back on the saddle, and soon. 

Here's to National Bike Month.

Let's go for a ride.

x

Re-Routing

You guys, I just fixed almost everything that frustrated me about my work commute by changing my route just a little bit.

1. It's a full half-mile shorter, because it's more direct (less meandering). 
2. There's a bike lane for part of my ride now! A real, on-street, clean-and-smooth bike lane!
3. I LOVE REAL BIKE LANES.
4. Not as fond of sharrows.
5. Especially when the sharrows are in the door zone.
6. Or worse, in the parking lane.
7. We need more bike lanes.
8. Though it is FAR from perfect, the .6 miles of sidewalk on the busiest street is preferable to having cars zip around me at 35+ mph. 
9.  And by far from perfect, I mean:
• The sidewalk is about two feet wide.
• There are pedestrians, including pedestrians with dogs on the sidewalk.
• They (pedestrians) are going both directions.
• On this tiny sidewalk.
• Because I'm polite and practical, I dismount and let them pass.
• When there aren't pedestrians, there are telephone poles. 
• Telephone poles smack dab in the middle of the two-foot-wide sidewalk.
• And a street sign for work that isn't being done.
• Blocking. the. entire. friggin'. sidewalk.
10. My new route has much fewer crazy hills. 
11. This is life-changing.
12. For the first time since I have started biking to work (I've biked to work about 7-8 times now? Not enough, because it was too easy to talk myself out of a commute I wasn't enjoying), I'm ecstatic, have full-on "bikey face", and can't wait to ride to work more often. 

I consider this a MAJOR coup.

In bike event news, the Arch Women's last brown-bag luncheon for 2013 is next Wednesday, October 16, 2013 from 12-1pm at the Railway Exchange Building on the 12th floor in the lobby. Topic: bike laws! No luncheons in November and December in anticipation of the crazy holiday season. For specifics, click here!

Scenes from my ride in this morning:

Bike Lane! Yay!

Quiet side-streets.

Bike Path.

Sharrow!

Streets of downtown Clayton, MO.

Totally sweaty and gross, right? Nah.

Sidewalks, Great Commuting Link, Bikey Dates

Can I get a hallelujah for cooler fall weather? 
With lows in the 50s and 60s and highs barely above the 80-degree mark, being outside is a good thing again.

Since my last post, I rode my bike as transportation three times, and three days in a row! I rode to a retreat 2 miles from my home on Saturday, to church two miles from my home on Sunday, and to work 6(+) miles from my home on Monday. It's been a long time since I've ridden that much and 21 miles in 3 back-to-back days did me in. I will try to ride twice to work next week, and go from there - maybe add once per week and see if I have a week where I can ride all five days?

The bike is set up perfectly for commuting, now, in terms of accessories: I love all my baskets, and having ready access to my phone (photos while stopped; safety) is fabulous. I also continue to love my easy-to-charge-mount-remove Serfas lights. Where I'm struggling this week is with the hills to and from work. I am trying to decide whether to replace the rear wheel/hub and shifter (currently a 3-speed Shimano Nexus) with an 8-speed Shimano Alfine. I wonder if that would help much on the hills... I struggle on a few. I may also require (at least temporarily), a slightly different route in order to reduce some of the hills. In particular, a route I favor for familiarity and safety and reduced traffic may not be my best bet. It may be better to take the road just a smidgen West of it, which I have been reluctant to do because: (1) it also functions as a highway on/off ramp in both directions in addition to being an overpass, and (2) it requires additional time on a very busy, if only somewhat bike-friendly arterial road (which makes it friendlier by a mile when compared with most other arterial roads in the area). My current route places me on this large road for .3 miles; the changed route would place me on the road for .6 (1/2 kilometer vs. full kilometer).

On this arterial road, I find my ride east in the morning to be okay to share with cars. I think this is because the sun is blocked by tall buildings, and because there's not really a standard "start" time to cause a total glut of cars - people are working their way in to their offices any time between 7:00-9:00am. My ride home is a different story. People flee the area between 5:00-5:30 en masse, and after a day of work, they are anxious to get home and annoyed with traffic. Their mood is not improved by a struggling bicyclist huffing up an incline at 5MPH. I feel crowded, like I'm at risk, and it's upsetting enough to make me want to ditch th commute...all for this .3 miles of my 6+! That's, what, 5% of my ride? Crazytown. So, Monday, I opted to take the sidewalk on my westbound .3 miles on this road. There are occasionally pedestrians, but there were none that day. The sidewalk is hardly ideal. It is narrow, bumpy, and quite close to the road, but the decision was made for me when I saw that the position of the setting sun would operate to blind both me and the cars behind me. (Ah, that time in the fall when the sun is right in your eyes at 6pm. Duly noted; no staying at the office past 5pm when you're biking home, Rebecca.) Added to my stress about this stretch was the realization, at about 5:30pm, that I had left my pouch with my bike lights at HOME. So I couldn't even be blinky to help my visibility, and I was stressed bout getting home in time for the 7:00pm sunset. I ultimately decided that the decreased visibility (I got home before dark; no worries from that angle), the aggressive rush-hour drivers, and the narrow and busy arterial street posed a greater risk (one which I had minimal control over) when compared with the sidewalk for the following reasons:

1. Limited risk of pedestrians. In half a dozen rides so far, I think I've seen pedestrians twice. If I see a pedestrian approaching from the opposite direction, I can hop off the bike to let them pass comfortably. This is entirely within my control.

2. Exclusive sidewalk-riding on this particular road. One of the most dangerous things a bicyclist can do is alternate between sidewalks and the road. Weaving in and out makes you unpredictable, and cars are not looking to interact with or avoid bicyclists on the sidewalk and aren't prepared for you to enter the stream of traffic. On this part of my route, I was able to turn directly onto the sidewalk from a quiet side-street, and stay on the sidewalk until I could cross the route with a crosswalk, then resume road-riding on a less-crazy and wider street (=friendlier for bikes).

3. Very quiet side streets and minimal driveways.  On the .3 mile route, there are only two side streets which intersect the sidewalk, and only a couple of business driveways. Again, this is something I can control for by being especially observant of traffic patterns around me. I ride slowly on the sidewalk (~4-5MPH) and looked around extensively prior to entering any driveway or street.

I am generally an advocate of "bikes belong in the street / pedestrians belong on sidewalks", but I also think that you have to make a call based upon how aggressive your vehicular companions are and how visible and easy to avoid you can be (in this stretch, and with the particular angle of the sunlight? NOT EASY).

If I decide to continue west past my normal street to the next option to the west, I will lose the sidewalk option, but gain a wider shoulder. The road, in general, gets a smidgen wider and quieter at this point, so I think this could be okay. And when I reach the road on which I'd need to turn off, I can, as with the current route, take advantage of the crosswalk and light to safely transverse the five lanes of traffic.

The advantages to the alternate route? It's flatter. Also: shorter! By half a mile. How do I know?

There is a great link I discovered (in desperation, due to some of the hills I encounter) called Flattest Route. You put in your start and end point and it tells you, in color code, and section-by-section, the % grade of every incline you encounter. It defaults to the flattest route (which, in my case, would require heavy reliance on two arterial roads that feel more like courting suicide than reasonable options), but like on most mapping software, you can grab parts of the route to move it, and see how that affects distance and the grading of the slopes you'll encounter.

Mapping my current route and a proposed alternative, I am able to determine:

• The current route is 6.5 miles and is estimated to take 43 minutes (this assumes I can cover a mile in 6 minutes and 40 seconds; it takes me more like 8 minutes and 10 seconds per mile or closer to 53 minutes to complete the route).
• The proposed route is 6.0 miles and is estimated to take 40 minute (extrapolating from my real-life experience with the 6.5-mile route, this would shave about 4 minutes of my route, getting me to work in 49 minutes instead of my normal 53).
• The current route has a maximum slope on the way to work of  15-20% ("Very Difficult") twice. There are two places where the incline is over 10%. On the way home
• The proposed route never exceeds 15% slope and exceeds 10% just four times in each direction.  
• My lowest altitude is 465' above sea level; my highest altitude is 603'. In both routes, I start high, work my way to the lowest point about 1/3 of the way through (toward work) or 2/3 of the way through (toward home) and end high. 

I may try out the route this weekend; if it feels good, I will try it for my work commute next week. Through this site, I can find even flatter routes, but certain bike-commuting obstacles, like highways, business complexes, or an inability to avoid arterial roads, require me to increase those routes to closer to nine miles.  

Let me just say that I totally understand why people consider bikeability when they scope a new residence, now. If (when) we decide to move someday, I will definitely require the route to be at least as, and preferably more, bikeable than my current route.

Upcoming bicycle events:

Next Arch Women brown-bag lunch: Wednesday, 10/16/13 from 12-1PM

Where: Railway Exchange Building, 611 Olive Street, 12th Floor Lobby

Topic: Knowledge Is Power! (Missouri Bicycle Laws)

Special bike events:

25th Trailnet Anniversary Ped-A-Palooza

Friday, October 11, 2013, 630-11PM

Randall Gallery downtown

Drinks, dinner, dancing, raffle, prizes!

Registration by 10/4, cost: $150pp

25th Trailnet Anniversary Family Fest

Sunday, October 13, 2013, 11AM-4PM

Culver Pavillion at Forest Park

Free entry; food and drink available for purchase

Registration encouraged, demonstrations, helmet fittings, cake, raffles

More information about either special event here.

More information about weekly rides and events here.

Happy fall! and happy riding!

Photo Source. Image Credit: Bryter Later / Flickr.