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| The May ride schedule is posted and available at http://surf-ici.com/chaingang/Schedule/RideSchedule.htm
Now that the weather is nice our ride schedule is full of events that you will not want to miss. The Monday morning road ride, that starts at Safeway, now starts at 8:30 and the Sunday morning road training ride, that starts at Young's Farm, has moved to 8:00 am. I have not been able to attend the Monday ride but the Sunday ride has been steadily growing and the group is always challenging and fun. The Tuesday and Thursday Mt bike ride is still at 5:30 at the Groom Creek trailhead (park free across the street) I have been throwing around the idea of changing this some how but it will remain the same for now. If there are anything changes I will email a notice to all recipients of the chain mail and change the online ride schedule. Another great event is the Mountain Sports' (formally Base Camp) Swap Meet. Mountain Sports' Swap Meet if famous in Flagstaff and they assure me that it will soon be famous down here. Last year, at the Prescott shop, they had a good selection of used stuff and I even came home with a bike. I believe that they let people bring their old equipment and sell it at no cost. Since our ride ends at the Court House on Saturday a bunch of us will be heading there after the ride. Please feel welcome to join us. Tim The May ride scheduleis posted and available at http://surf-ici.com/chaingang/Schedule/RideSchedule.htm
The Prescott Bike Plan will soon be updated by the PBAC. This update will probably reflect the cities new attitude towards bike facilities. This new attitude is evident by the Prescott City Council's decision to include bike lanes on the Watson Woods Bridge. In my opinion the Current bike plan is very wishy-washy in its language. It currently says things like "bike facilities will be considered." I do not blame the previous authors of the Bike Plan in any way. Things have changed for the better since then. We have a new openly pro-bike facility Mayer and a new City Council that appears very supportive. This presents a new opportunity that should not be missed in the updated version of the Prescott Bike Plan. We should write a Bike Plan that guarantees that things will happen. I have several convictions about bike facilities that I would like to share. This is no holds barred and aiming high. These are my personal opinion, based on 20 years of serious riding in several different settings. I do not speak for the Chain Gang or the PBAC in this article. This is not my proposal to be voted on or exactly what I think that the Bike Plan should look like. These are my ideas and beliefs. If you agree or disagree please come to the PBAC meetings at City Hall the first Weds. of each month 5:30 pm. and voice your opinion or write it down for a future edition of the Chain Mail. Sweeping could be the most important aspect to any bike facility. A lot of road bike wrecks have something to do with sliding on small debris or dirt on the road. Especially in the turns. A bike used for commuting usually has a tire that is pretty narrow. Commuting tires are much narrower than Mt. Bike tires that are meant for rough dirt trails. A bike used for riding to work or other transportation will have a tire just slightly larger than a road racing bike and road racing bikes will have tires as narrow as one finger and pumped hard as a rock. 120psi. This makes dirt on the road feel like ice for bikes with narrow tires and extremely dangerous. I have seen bike lanes in other cities that were rendered useless by too much dirt in the lane. Monthly or at least quarterly sweeping should be a component of any bike facility. In the past the limited bike facilities in town have been geared towards mountain bikes because of the expectation of riding on a dirt path or a dirty shoulder. Telling me that I have to ride a mountain bike on the road to get around town is like telling a motorist that they have to drive a 4x4 truck instead of a small car. Its my choice. I think that when we update the Bike Plan we should accommodate every type of bike. Just like the paved roads are designed to accommodate all forms of motor vehicles. Bike lanes are by far the best option when they are economically possible and meet AASHTO guidelines. I have lived in many towns that have bike lanes everywhere and it was much safer for car and bike. I saw no disadvantages to either car or bike. The advantages for bikes are obvious (to us bikers) but the advantages and clarity that it brings to cars is equally important. When I am driving my RV and I come up to a cyclist I can have a real problem unless there is a bike lane. If there is a bike lane I just drive the beast between the lines. All motorists are well practiced in staying between the lines. The fact that there is a bike lane would also serve as warning that bikes are common on this road and to look out for them, bike lanes also create a park like atmosphere which improves everyone's quality of life. I even hear that it increases property values. You can not lose with bike lanes. WIN-WIN For these reasons I think that any road that can economically have an AASHTO approved bike lane added to it should have a bike lane added as soon as possible. All new roads can economically have a bike lane included from the beginning of it's design. Existing roads that are getting widened or other major construction could economically receive a bike lane as well. There are many other existing roads that may already have enough room and may just need paint and signs. The only reason I can think of that a bike lane is not the best facility for any road is if it can not meet AASHTO standards or the cost to retrofit a road is unreasonably high. A new city policy or ordinance should state that all brand new roads and roads getting widened or other major construction automatically get an (AASHTO approved) bike lanes. This city Policy would ensure that bike lanes would be built for years to come. It seems like most roads around here get widened sooner or later and we would eventually wind up with a bike lane on most roads. Prescott will soon be erecting bike route signs on some of the logical back ways of getting around town. This is part of Phase 1. There appears to be a misconception, with some, in the Prescott bike community, that bike route signs will divert all bike traffic from the busy arterial roads and because of this we have no need to put a bike lane (if possible) or other facilities on these arterial roads other than a wider outside lane. I believe that no matter how many signs are pounded into the ground or maps with bike routes are distributed there will always be a considerable amount of bike traffic on all of the main busy arteries. I bet that the amount of existing bike traffic on busy streets remains nearly the same even after completing the bike route network. I believe that the main reason for this is the same reasons that most of the cars prefer the main artery roads. The main arteries are usually the shortest and fastest way of getting from one place to another. Most of the stoplights are timed out so that car and (sometimes) bike alike can sail to their destination without stopping much. Coming to a complete stop is frustrating and much more tiring when on a bike. Stoplights are always faster than a stop sign where you are required to come to a stop every time. A bike lane has a tremendous advantage over Bike Route signs in that it actually has a stripe and at least 4 or five feet of room depending on the type of shoulder. With all of the above have been said I do not dislike bike routes and signs. They do no harm unless they keep arterial road from receiving a bike lane or at least something better than just a wider outside lane. I see the biggest advantage to bike route signs to be a warning to motorists that bikes are common. I have even seen signs in Colorado specifically warning cars that lots of bikes are present. Bike routes (without Bike Lanes) should only be used when a bike lane is not possible. An example would be an existing road that is not wide enough for a real bike lane but still ridden a lot. That's my opinion, that's how I'm going to vote during the PBAC meetings when these issues come up. I invite you to email your opinions for future Chain Mail articles or come to the PBAC meetings and vote.
From Sara - Arizona Bicycle Club We're riding from Wickenburg to Prescott on Saturday. Leaving Wickenburg at 7:30am. Usually, we let you guys know when we are riding up and some of your club ride out to Wilhoit to meet us and ride in to the Hotel St. Michaels. If anyone is interested..... you know where we will be Sara abcnewsletterno smammail.com Sirs - I am writing from California and I have heard that there is a 6 day I would like to list our bike shop on your site....in Tucson.. AjoBikes.. let me know how to do it Ralph arizonmanno smamaol.com Hi Tim, I am visiting Prescott again this year with my wife who is competing in a dog agility show in town. Last year I rode with the Chain Gang on two mountain bike rides (during Bike Week) and had a great time! I'm a member of GABA Tucson and would like to hook up with the group again this year. I notice you have a "Peavine Loop MTB Loop" ride scheduled for May 14. Would this be an appropriate ride for an intermediate biker from the desert? If so, I'd like to check it out. Could you let me know meeting place and time? Thanks for any info. We're staying at Motel 6 in downtown Prescott and I will have access to a truck for driving to a meeting place for rides. I am a member of the Southern Bicycle League in Atlanta, GA. We have a group that does road tours together every year. We are interested in doing a tour in Arizona. We usually spend a week on the road. We would like to take in the Grand Canyon and Sedona areas. Our thought is to fly into Flagstaff, but we really don't know anything about road conditions, routes, etc. We are thinking of a September tour time. Can you provide us any advice or suggest additional web sites to check out that would help us fill in details. We are primarily a hotel/hostel/bed and breakfast kind of group. We love state and national parks that have cabins or lodges. Any advice on places to stay would be appreciated. We can handle distances of 50 to 100 miles in a day, but don't generally put centuries back to back in a tour. We like to check out the local sights along the way, so 65 is a typical day. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sam Mosley samosleyno smamix.netcom.com Dear Sirs I am finding it very difficult to find an operator or agency that could organize a group that would arrive in Phoenix, trek in the Canyon for a couple of days and cycle back to Phoenix. Do you know of a company that has any bicycles, or an agency that would be able to set event for charity up? I look forward to hearing form you Yours Stefan Action Challenge UK Ltd. Hello, My name is Ava Smith and I am a member of the affiliate team here at GearPro.com. I have visited your site and thought you might be interested in joining our affiliate network. The GearPro.com Affiliate Program allows you to earn 10% from sales generated as a result of your link(s) to our site. It is a program that allows you to use the money you generate to support your site, support your local group/club that you might belong to, or keep for yourself! You can create a link to our site, like the one at Thebackpacker.com http://www.thebackpacker.com/classads/ , or build your own outdoor gear recommendation section like the one found at The Lightweight Backpacker http://www.backpacking.net . Regardless of how you set it up, you earn 10% from the sales your site generates. Many of our current affiliates have found that the program enables them to create a new revenue stream, offer a new source of content, or provide their visitors with a rewards program like Visa Signature Rewards offered by Merrill Lynch http://www.mlol.ml.com . GearPro.com pioneered outdoor gear sales on the web. With the widest selection of gear, advice, great prices, and service, it's no wonder companies like Amazon and AOL have chosen GearPro.com as a strategic partner. You will have access to real-time reporting 24/7 so you can see which items are doing well for you and which ones you might wish to change. If you would be interested in partnering with us, please visit our affiliate URL at http://www.gearpro.com/affil.html to learn all about the program and join right away. Have a great day! Ava Smith Affiliate Team GearPro.com affiliatesno smamgearpro.com
We are optimistic that we will be getting a bike lane on Willow Creek Rd. If you are interested in learning more please come to the Prescott Bicycle Advisory Meetings. Cindie
In a special meeting with Mayor Steiger, City Engineer Tom Long, and Councilman Lee Nidess, Prescott Bicycle Advisory Committee (PBAC) Chairperson Cindie Travis got the go-ahead to write a city-wide plan for implementing bicycle facilities. The plan is due to the City Council later this Fall and will define where bike lanes and smoothly paved shoulders should be on existing and future roads throughout Prescott. When Cindie inquired about funding for bike facilities, Mayor Steiger agreed that one source would definitely be the "Road Improvements Tax" or "Sales Tax Extension Initiative." This 1% tax not only applies to Prescott's precious open spaces, he said, but also will be a source of funding for bike lanes, safe shoulders and signage!! SPREAD THE WORD - Vote "Yes" on May 16!! Also, below is an email sent to PBAC members and guests. You are invited to attend. Please post this entire email on bulletin boards around your campus and place of employment. We need new members to help with the bike plan and survey. And we need 'em NOW!! Thanks for your support!! Marcee Keller Hi. Here are scanned versions of the bike survey that the City of Chandler did. Please review it and be prepared to discuss it at our meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3. Also, Reed Kempton, the bicycle coordinator from Maricopa County will be at the meeting to provide an overview of how Maricopa did its bike plan. Please attend the meeting and bring friends (potential bike committee members). Thanks much. See you in the City Hall basement on Wednesday. Cheers. J.J.
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