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It won't be long until the trails
once again look like this.
Regular Features
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In This Issue...
Valley News
State & National News (odds'n ends from here'n there)
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 Durand Link to be Paved
By Memorial Day bicyclists will be able to ride on a black-topped Durand link. Of the 6.5 miles of trail in Pepin County, only two are currently paved, and the rest gravel.
The 4.5 mile paving project will cost roughly $180,000 and combines state Department of Natural Resources funds ($85,000), Pepin County support ($50,000) and private fundraising ($46,000). Any extra money raised will go toward benches and signage along the corridor, according to Terry Mesch, Economic Development Coordinator for Pepin County.
A new friends group, Friends of the Pepin County Trail, will be incorporating soon and is planning a National Trails Day event in early June that will celebrate the trail improvements.
But... Eau Claire's Clairemont Ave. Path Project Delayed
At least one more year will pass before bicyclists and pedestrians can trade in rutted grassways for blacktop along Clairemont Avenue in Eau Claire. The $10 million project to repave Clairemont and add a separate multi-use path will not happen in 2007.
There will be grass under your feet for one more year
when walking along the north side of Clairemont Avenue.
The project required multiple traffic lane changes and held builders to a tight time frame to avoid an overrun penalty and, as a result, only one bid was received and the asking price was almost 25 percent more than DOT expected. In a conversation with Mike Ostrowski, project development manager for the DOT’s Northwest Region, he explained it this way:
“We want to be sure we get a good product for our money. The cost of repaving with concrete vs. asphalt will be revaluated. It might turn out that rebuilding the road (rather than covering the existing surface with asphalt) will be more cost effective over time.”
When asked whether the project to build the multi-use path was in jeopardy, Ostrowski said that is not likely, but the cost to pave the path was bid separately and also came back higher than DOT expected.
Ostrowski explained, “We don’t typically have only one contractor bid on a project of this scale. We will re-evaluate what factors kept the competition away and re-bid the project.”
In addition to the multi-use trail extending from Hastings Way to beyond Craig Road, the project plan called for improved bicycle and pedestrian crossings at intersections with Stein Boulevard, Rudolph Road and University Avenue. Project planning also included sidewalk construction along the south side of Clairemont Avenue in several locations.
 Willie Weir, Adventure Cyclist, Motivates Kids at Eau Claire Elementary Schools.
Willie Weir… adventurer, travel writer, and bicycle advocate presented his program, “The Magic Carpet," at five Eau Claire elementary schools during the last week in March. Through his assembly, Willie introduced the students to “the world's best Sports Utility Vehicle” ... the bicycle.
Through a combination of images, music and storytelling, Willie inspired kids to get on their bicycles and ride. "A trip around the world begins by bicycling to school, or to the store, or to the library." This advice is well founded. Willie has traveled solo or with his wife Kat to many locations across the world. During his talk, Willie shared tales of dancing at a Hungarian wedding and devouring pint after pint of ice cream during his trip across Canada.
Willie’s appearance in Eau Claire came as a result of the efforts of the Safe STEPS Workgroup and was funded in part by Sacred Heart Hospital and Laura and Duane Hookom. Safe STEPS promotes Safe Routes to School at Eau Claire schools. Programs like Willie’s help the schools encourage kids to start spring right by walking and biking to school.
During the program, Willie asked the students to remember to:
"Be Smart." (Always wear a proper fitting helmet).
"Be Safe" (Follow the rules of the road).
"Be Seen" (Use lights and reflectors and wear bright clothing while riding).
For more info about Willie, go to http://willieweir.com
 CORBA Update
By Laura Plummer
Now that Spring is here CORBA (Chippewa Off Road Bike Association) has a few new irons in the fire! We are currently working with the Friends of the Hickory Ridge Trail System (Chippewa County) on the development of singletrack trails. We have already built approximately 2-3 miles of singletrack and there will be plenty more to come. We hosted our first workday on April 1st and with our 9 volunteers we were able to log 27 hours of trail time.
Mark your calendars for May 10-13, 2007… CORBA and Lowes Creek County Park have been selected as a site for the IMBA (International Mountain Bicycle Association) Trail Care Crew. IMBA will be spending four days with our group to review our trails, lead a half day “course” on trailbuilding and then get us out working on a new section at the park. For more information from IMBA please visit their website www.imba.com. To learn more about the trail care crew visit check out our website at www.chippewaoffroad.org.
If you would like to be kept up to date on all the CORBA activities you should join the yahoo email group at http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/chippewaoffroad/.
  And now, the latest musings of Eric Johnson - living car-free and wrenching for a paycheck. If you have a question about your bike, drop Eric a line at eric@anybodysbikeshop.com with "Ask Eric " in the subject line and he'll take a run at it. Roll ‘em Eric.
Choosing a Bike That’s Right For You
Q: Dear Eric. Now that the robins are here I decided it was time get my bike out of the storage shed (I really should have closed the door over winter) and go for a ride. But after a few tenuous moments of trying to polish up Ol’ Reliable, staring at the cracked tires, picking at the chipped paint, and pondering what to do about the frozen cables, I began to think about that fresh, new ride with the glossy red paint sitting in the window of the local bike shop. Any suggestions?
 A: It’s easy to come to the conclusion that you need a new bike, but it can be much more confusing trying to figure out which one is right for you. Bicycle manufacturers keep expanding their lines, coming up with new models every year and continue to blend the lines between heavy-duty, downhill, full-suspension mountain bikes and feather-light, super stiff, all-out performance road racing bikes. Further compounding the problem is the fact that several different bikes might be well suited to accommodate your demands.
The first step in the bike buying process should be to evaluate your needs and determine where you plan to ride and how you are going to use the bike.
- Are you going to ride exclusively on the pavement?
- Do you want off-road capability for the occasional trail ride?
- Do you plan to use the bike for transportation?
- Will you be riding in all weather conditions?
Once you can answer those questions with confidence, the helpful folks down at your favorite bike shop will be able to very quickly narrow the selection for you.
After you have an idea which category of bike is going to work the best, it is very important to get out and ride a few. Most bicycle manufacturers will offer similar products, but just like with shoes or clothing, each brand has its own unique sizing paradigm. Just as we human beings have our own unique proportions, so do bicycles and you may find that one brand will fit more comfortably than another.
Another key difference that may impact your experience on a new bike is the level of precision and detail that a bicycle was given during its assembly at the dealer. The assembly process is the primary difference between a bicycle purchased at a specialty dealer and one that was purchased from a discount mass-retailer. How well the shifting works and how true the wheels are is a function of the level of competence and attention to detail given by the assembly mechanic. A bicycle that was assembled over two hours at an independent bicycle dealer and one that was slapped together in fifteen minutes at a department store should yield vastly different results.
Test ride, test ride, test ride. There is no better way to determine if a particular brand, model, or category of bicycle is going to work for you. You will glean far more information from your experience riding a bike than any catalog, website, or salesman can tell you. It’s also important to remember that when you’re testing a bike, you’re also testing the workmanship of the dealer who assembled it. If you buy the bike that you liked the best in the test riding, you can’t go wrong.
Eric J, eric@anybodysbikeshop.com
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Act Now: Keep Bicycling Money in Our State
Your help is needed now to protect funding for bicycle projects in Wisconsin. The federal government is requiring state Departments of Transportation (DOT) to return a percentage of the money they were awarded for transportation projects in SAFETEA-LU—the $286.5 billion federal transportation law passed in 2005. The bicycling community worked hard to get a portion of this money for bicycling projects, much of it in the category of "Transportation Enhancements" funding. Now, the U.S. DOT is requiring state DOTs to return transportation money already awarded, a process called rescissions.
 A recently released accounting of 2006 rescissions shows that bicycling lost several hundred million dollars of potential funding—most of it unobligated, unspent money from the previous (2001) federal transportation law. The 2007 rescissions threaten current funding. We can't let this happen! In Wisconsin, the rescission amounts to more than 80% of the money that was awarded, the most of any state in the nation. For a comparison chart, go to http://old-www.railtrails.org/TE%20Rescissions%20by%20State.pdf.
You must act fast. State DOTs will make their decisions by April 18. The League of American Bicyclists has organized an e-mailing campaign to let the governor know that you want him to protect funding for bicycling in Wisconsin. If you'd like to help, go to http://capwiz.com/lab/issues/alert/?alertid=9559261 and complete the online form, which can be personalized with your own message.
Stevens Point man traverses two continents to help those losing their sight to macular degeneration
Found in The Journal-Sentinel, Feb. 19, 2007
By Tom Held theld@journalsentinel.com
Quinn Baumberger set off on his bicycle from the edge of North America last May, seeking to help those losing their vision to macular degeneration. Nine months, hundreds of encounters and 19,000 miles later, he's found that his own eyes have been opened to different cultures and landscapes, extremes of poverty and generosity, decay and beauty. Baumberger, a 23-year-old graduate of Stevens Point High School, is near the end of his journey. In Argentina this weekend, he had a reunion with his parents, Brad and Rose, and his brother, Jeff. Together, they are covering the last 300 miles of his trek, ending in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city of South America - roughly 19,500 miles from his starting point in Deadhorse, Alaska. (complete story)
Silent Sports
Found in Lifetime Fitness, November 2005
By Matthew Solan
Listen up: There’s a quiet subculture of outdoor enthusiasts who prefer muscle power to motorized recreation — and they’re beginning to make some noise.
For several days each February, near the rural resort town of Hayward, Wis., you’ll hear a lot of huffing and puffing coming from the otherwise quiet north woods. It’s the sound of more than 6,000 cross-country skiers moving along the 51K-long Birkebeiner trail. The American Birkebeiner, or “Birkie,” as it’s commonly known, is North America’s largest cross-country ski marathon, attracting skiers from around the globe. (complete story)
 Bicycle Parts Furniture
Hey, what could be better after a day of hard riding that coming home and sitting down on a pile of old bike parts, right? Bike Furniture Design, in Marquette, Mich. specializes in contemporary, modern furniture made primarily from recycled steel and aluminum bicycle rims, handlebars, and frames. We have no idea how comfortable they are, but they look kinda cool. For more info go to http://www.bikefurniture.com.
 Bike Rock
There's a guy in Ohio named Attila Horvath who is both a rock musician and a bicyclist, so he decided to put out an album of original, bike-themed tunes. If you'd like to take a listen, go to http://www.bikerockmusic.com/music.html.
Cities Make It Easier for Bike Commuters
Fair- and foul-weather cities alike are gearing up to make it safer and easier for commuters to bicycle to work. Chicago can be stiflingly hot during the summer and rain-chilled in the spring, and its wind-whipped winters are the stuff of legend. So when the subject is bicycle commuting, Chicago is not the first city that springs to mind. But it’s becoming a hot bike-to-work town. In the next decade, it plans to expand its network of bike trails to 50 miles, and has set a goal of putting a bike path of some sort within half a mile of ever city resident. (complete story by Zach Patton at http://www.governing.com/articles/11bikes.htm)
How Far to the Right Should You Ride?
 Riding on the right doesn’t mean hugging the curb or edge of the road. This may not be the best place to ride. For example, if you hit the curb, you could lose your balance and fall into traffic. Other times when you shouldn’t ride too far to the right include:
- When avoiding parked cars or surface hazards
- When a lane is too narrow for a bicycle and vehicle to travel safely side by
- When making a left turn
- To avoid conflicts with right-turning cars
- On a one-way street, you may ride on the left as long as you are riding with traffic.
The above exceptions also apply to riding in a bike lane.
Road surface hazards Keep an eye on the road ahead. Avoid running over potholes, gravel, broken glass, drainage grates, puddles you can’t see through or other unsafe road conditions. But first look over your shoulder t o avoid swerving suddenly into traffic. If necessary, signal before moving over. To make riding safer for you and other bicyclists, report unsafe road conditions to local authorities as soon as possible.
Parked cars Ride far enough away from parked cars so you don’t risk being hit by an opening car door.
This article was excerpted from the Oregon Bicyclist Manual by the the Oregon DOT. It can be found in its entirety at http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/docs/bike_manual_06.pdf.
While crossing the U.S.-Mexican border on his bicycle, a man was stopped by a guard who pointed to two sacks the man had on his bike. “What’s in the bags?” asked the guard. “Sand,” said the cyclist. “Get them off––we’ll take a look,” said the guard. The cyclist did as he was told, emptied the bags, proving they contained nothing but sand, reloaded the bags, put them on his bike and continued across the border.
Two weeks later, the same thing happened. Again the guard demanded to see the two bags, which again contained nothing but sand. This went on every week for six months, until one day the cyclist with the sand bags failed to appear.
A few days later, the guard happened to meet the cyclist downtown. “Say friend, you sure had us crazy,” said the guard. “We know you were smuggling something across the border. I won’t say a word––but what is it you were smuggling?”
“Bicycles!”
Do you have a good bicycling joke? Send it to Spoke Joke.
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Bicyclist & Pedestrian Times is published in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, quarterly or as there is news.
Submission Guidelines: We would love to hear from you. Send us your suggestions, opinions, news, features, artwork and photographic submissions. Please submit by e-mail and include your name, phone number and address.
E-mail to: bhndrsn@charter.net
Phone: (715) 831-9912
Executive Editor: Brad Henderson
Copy Editor: Kathy Tank
Photographers: Kathy Tank, David Tank, Brad Henderson
Webmaster: David Tank
Circulation/Subscription Manager: Jeremy Gragert jgragert@gmail.com
Contributors: Todd Heinz, Turner Howard, Laura Plummer, Drew Brandenburg, Eric Johnson, David Tank, Jeremy Gragert
Publication Date: April 11, 2007
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Baumberger, a 23-year-old graduate of Stevens Point High School, is near the end of his journey. In Argentina this weekend, he had a reunion with his parents, Brad and Rose, and his brother, Jeff. Together, they are covering the last 300 miles of his trek, ending in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city of South America - roughly 19,500 miles from his starting point in Deadhorse, Alaska.