Solar Freakin' Roadways!

Imagine just how cool this would be if they really started putting these in everywhere!  And isn't Nevada pretty much the poster child for this type of thing with 300 days a year of sun.  If we built this type of technology here in Nevada, it would make the Tesla deal look like a little start up in Midtown!

**Disclaimer -- I love the little start ups in Midtown.  Go Midtown!**

Last Sagebrush Cyclocross Race this Weekend!

That's right....be there or miss out on all your potential glory!

A New Bike Rack to Me and some Bicycle Advocacy.

Last week we had a meeting of the minds with a small group of local bicycle advocates.  We do this about once a month at various locations (that serve beer) around town.  For this particular meeting Chapel Tavern was chosen.  While the meeting itself was based on evaluating the Truckee River bike path and the bicycle boulevard (Riverside Dr.), a few things besides this did catch my attention.

First up was this:

A nice hanging bike rack at Chapel Tavern.  I've never noticed it before....I just always locked up on the patio to the metal railing.  However, this rack is a great use of space....as long as you have a cable lock rather than just a U-lock!

The second surprise at the meeting was that we had a few new faces.  Two fine gentlemen joined us for a beverage and expressed some new ideas.  The first friendly face took on a challenge that I'm afraid can't be accomplished without some extra bodies....mainly mapping out the condition of the Truckee River path along it's entire length.  He very kindly took the length of path between Wells St. and the Lake St. off my hands for an analysis similar to one I posted last week.  The second gent, had some great ideas of biking and walking in the form of "Bike Trains"...or groups of kids and adult supervisors that meet up each morning and form a "train" of kids making their way to school. 

We'll have to touch on this topic in more detail in another post, but I'd like to thank both guys for joining us and adding to the growing group of people who represent our bicycle community!

Glow in the Dark Bike Path.

This ends up being kind of a repost....since Reno Rambler had his version up on Sunday.  Damn, that guy is good.  Anyway, it's worth a repost.



The recently finished Van Gogh Bike Path is, not surprisingly, in the Netherlands (where they know a thing or two about using bicycles).  It's modeled after Van Gogh's Stary Night and powered by solar panels.

I'm struck that in an age where the Dutch are doing custom cycle infrastructure (and other glow in the dark bike paths) like this, that we still struggle to justify what I'll call "POP" (paint on pavement) bicycle infrastructure! How is it that one group of people can see things so clearly....and so many others cringe at the thought of loosing a few vehicle parking spots for a bike lane (Ehhem....Midtown!).  Hopefully, projects like this will inspire others to make a transition from the vehicularly mundane to bicycle bliss!

Oh...if you want to see the original article click here.

Cyclocross makes the local news!?

So....I'm completely stoked to see a story like this actually make the local headlines.  On the other hand, I'm guessing it must be a slow news day for them to cover this.  Either way, this could be a huge plug for Reno biking in general if we could land the event! 

And I can't help but throw in a little personal editorial on our competitor cities (think Bike Snob sarcasm here folks).

Louisville, Kentucky....these guys just hosted the single speed cycloscross world championships like a week ago.  They've had their day....let's move on!  Also, insert Redneck joke here....

Hartford, Connecticut....East coast, nuff said....no one wants to go there.  And what do they say back east, "Forgotttaboutit"?

And then there's Bend, Oregon....what to say about Bend.  If you like "craft" beer and like your waiter to have a minimum of a masters degree, I think there's a brewery or two that fit the bill.  Although they're hipster enough that PBR will be available.  They also have "a" bike trail built by some guy named Phil (I think).  When I hear people talk about it, they usually say "whoops", so it must be a mistake to go ride there.  It's also a great town for cross racers (who are notoriously lazy) because you don't even get out of your car to pump your own gas (in fact it's illegal).  And if you can't figure out how to fill your car with gas, there's at least a bike lane or two in town....so you might be able to ride around, if you wanted to take your life in your hands.  So yeah, if it can't be in Reno, Bend is probably a strong second choice.

So good luck other towns.  Once the dirtbag cyclocross community hears Reno is in the running with legal prostitution, breweries and distilleries in non-fixed up warehouse space, cheap hotel rooms with gambling only steps away, and real 80's bands playing nightly....you don't have a chance of landing this Olympic caliber event, unless Reno turns up its nose at it!!!

River path evaluation begins (Fisherman's park section).

Well, I grabbed a tape measure and my phone this morning and picked a section of the river path to evaluate.  Here's what I found.

Green = Good width and pavement condition, Yellow = Moderate width and fair pavement condition, Red = Narrow width and poor pavement condition.

And a few pics to go with the sections that need improvement....

Looking back (West) at the section that begins to narrow....the pavilion pavers are significant bump and hold water and debris.

Looking East at the 10 foot section...not bad but there's no reason for it to narrow.

The pavement in this section could use some crack sealing and a sealant coat.

The beginning of my red section.  A steep hill (where people will likely need to pass others) narrows to 6 ft and has deplorable pavement conditions that border on dangerous.  Riders can easily hit 20 mph on the downhill and then hit these bumps.

More deterioration at the top of the hill.

Overview, looking West back down the hill.

So that's what it takes to evaluate roughly a 1/4 mile section of the path.  If it's in good condition the pics aren't really required to document it.  In places where the path has issues the pictures help for whoever has to think about rehabing the path.  All in all the measuring, pictures, etc. only took me about 5 minutes for the whole section.  So if you want to document a section feel free to do something similar and pass it along!

Three blocks of finding fun.

I detoured on one of my "normal" commute routes today to avoid waiting for a long light.  E.g.  I turned right on the red and rode up just one block and then swung a left.  This left me paralleling my normal route.  After a couple blocks it also put me in a kind of alley way, that had a nice little stretch of gravel riding.

It isn't particularly noteworthy, but it did add something different and fun for a few blocks of the commute.  So, what did you find interesting on your ride to work?  If the answer is nothing, try diverting a few blocks just for the heck of it....you might just find some fun!