Source to Sea River Clean Up Vol. 7

I have come back from my exile to inform you that the river is getting cleaned again!

For the seventh (though not seventh year in a row), I am organizing a clean up of the bank of the Connecticut River at its confluence with the Park River. Since I moved to Tariffville, you might have thought I was going to start cleaning some other river, but you would be wrong. This spot doesn't get its due attention, but it is where two mighty river meet.. I think it deserves a good annual cleaning. The clean up will take place Saturday, September 26 from 10am to 1pm. If you come by car, your best option for parking is either on Charter Oak Ave or Van Dyke Ave. From there, you can walk down the paved access road and up the levee. I'll have some gloves on hand. I advise wearing pants and closed shoes. Also, bring water and perhaps a snack. I'll be bringing gloves and bags via bicycle, so I can't carry a whole case of water or pizzas. Give me a call if you have any questions at 860 729 9603 or email me. This clean up is part of the larger Source to Sea Clean Up, which is happening all up and down the Connecticut River Friday & Saturday.

If Hartford is too far away for you or you just don't like it but still want to clean the river, here are other locations: http://www.ctriver.org/projects/source-to-sea-cleanup/.

Here's a map illustrating approximately where the access road is and where you should park: http://g.co/maps/f9erq

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I Saw the Sign, It Opened Up My Mind

The title for this article is not just the lyric for a 90’s pop song.  Signs, and their placement, make a world of difference. If you can’t find it, it doesn’t exist for you.  Unless you are interested in obsolescence and avoiding the majority of those interested in your city or product, pay attention to signs.  I’ve noticed in my recent travels that many cities do signage in a more proactive way than Hartford, Connecticut.  Particularly from the viewpoint of a pedestrian or cyclist, there isn’t much to guide you in getting around Hartford and the near suburbs.  Finding the best route from point A-to-B, say for a work commute, usually involves internet research, asking local experts, and then testing the route out on the weekend to determine if you’ll become roadkill when you brave the trip during a morning commute.  In Columbus for example, there were several bike signed routes crisscrossing the city that included bike lanes, multi-use paths, and shared use roads (with Sharrows).

Learning up on history.  This sign was about the Homestead Strike.

The 2014 Parks Plan proposed (and was accepted by the City) a signed and color coded system of bike routes throughout Hartford, connecting the parks, and more importantly providing clear cross town routes for those choosing to make their way via bicycle.  This portion of the parks plan was the only section that received applause during the Parks Plan presentation and public comment session.  Since being adopted very little has been done to implement that beautiful and forward thinking concept.  Hartford residents, cyclists, and Parks users should continue to ask the City (City Council, Hartford’s Mayor, and the Department of Public Works) what they are doing to achieve the vision set out in that plan.

The East Coast Greenway runs directly through Hartford.  This is a nationally significant bicycle route connecting the entire East Coast, from Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida.  A significant portion of the trail (~30%) is on multi-use paths and that non-road share is growing.  The purpose of the trail is to provide safe and enjoyable routes connecting cities all along the Eastern seaboard.   The cities and states that embrace these non-car multi-use routes get benefits galore.  Weekend recreational users come from the nearby areas to take short trips, shop, and dine at the nearby restaurants.  Organized regional bike tours choose those cities for tour stops, filling up hotel rooms and restaurants.  Bicycle and hiking tour books list those trails and cities, drawing in out of state visitors that come from all over to experience the day trips and loop rides from a convenient central location.  Cross country cyclists, the tail of the bell curve, carry a lot of weight when making recommendations to others on where to ride – and where not to ride.

I bring up the East Coast Greenway because it is pathetic how little and sparse the signs are for the route in the Hartford metro region.  The East Coast Greenway Alliance has provided signs, and the local committee has valiantly hung them, but they are small and far between.  There isn’t a “Hartford Welcomes the East Coast Greenway” sign on Founders Bridge or at the Bloomfield border, and there aren’t signs directing ECG users to the nearby shopping and restaurants downtown.  Signs noting that there are temporary lockers for panniers at the Science Center and Wadsworth Atheneum would free riders up to economically cavort around the city with their bikes and locks alone.  A half dozen clearly labeled “bike lockers” located on Founders Plaza could be used by commuting employees and bicycle tourists alike.   This is a ripe opportunity for the Hartford Business Improvement District.  Spend a couple thousand dollars bragging about what you’ve already got and shout about the existing East Coast Greenway.  Pull folks off the riverfront and into your business establishments, and advertise that Hartford is welcoming to those that come to town via bicycle.

  

The Gold Street realignment would have improved the East Coast Greenway connection between the Hartford Club and Bushnell Park, but the expensive overreach of the project and a NIMBY short sighted condo board squashed that plan.  There are several infrastructure projects on deck in East Hartford (see page 19 of the linked PDF) that will massively improve the ECG route.  Connecting the multi-use path from Forbes Street to Simmons in the I-84 corridor is one of them.  The CT DOT is also looking at a way to connect Riverside Drive to the dirt road that comes off of the Route 2 off ramp.  Riding up the off ramp to the dirt road is a favorite non-road alternative to Main Street, but you run the chance of getting collared by the state police.  Closing that 400 yard gap shouldn’t be difficult, until you consider that it involves working with both the CT DOT and Pratt and Whitney.

  

Despite wrangling a $500,000,000 tax deal Pratt & Whitney (or someone at UTC corporate HQ) is against routing the East Coast Greenway from Pratt & Whitney Field and down Willow Street.  P&W is building a supposedly “green” engineering headquarters right on Willow Street.  One would wonder why a company trumpeting their environmental chops is against the best routing of a sustainable transportation connection for the both their employees and the community.  UTC just moved its headquarters out of Hartford to Farmington, where the amazing Farmington Valley Trail provides all the benefits that I’ve described above to the towns it passes through. I encourage folks at P&W, UTC, and the Town of East Hartford to ask about the plans and where they stand.  If you’re not asking for it, it will never arrive.

IMPORTANT NOTE - The other huge thing that affects the route of the East Coast Greenway is the I-84 Redesign.  This is the biggest infrastructure and public works project that Hartford will see in our lifetimes.  There is a public comment session next Tuesday (Sept 22nd) in Hartford at the Lyceum.  Go there.  Be loud.  Verbally and in writing include the importance of Complete Streets and the Greenway.  Can't make the meeting, you can still comment online.

Obvious sign showing the way.  Come spend money here.  And I did.

This type of sign is common along the gap.  Where the local amenities are.  Spend money guide map.

That being said, there are already amazing trails in the Hartford metro area that are woefully under-utilized.  Why?  Because there aren’t any signs and the publicity of those resources is non-existent. Only those that read the Beat Bike Blog know about these multi-use paths and trails.  I’ll list a few below:

• The Hockanum River Path – Part of the East Coast Greenway.  You can pick this up at the end of the East Hartford Great River Park trail or jump on behind East Hartford Town Hall.
• The Charter Oak Greenway – This path starts on Forbes Street just a block North of Silver Lane and follows the I-84 / I-384 corridor.  You can ride to Wickham Park on a spur or go straight to downtown Manchester.  This trail almost connects to the Hop River Trail between Manchester and Willimantic.  
• The East Hartford and Hartford multi-use paved paths along the riverfront.  There are several miles of paved paths along both sides of the river.
• North-South off road trails along the dikes and Connecticut River.  One can ride all the way from Hartford North to Windsor on off road trails – on both sides of the river.  Heading South from Great mountain biking right from Downtown Hartford.
• Mountain Biking in Keney Park – Right in our back yard.  Easy carriage paths and rather technical single track.  Keney is such a big park you could camp there for a week without bothering anyone.
• The I-91 overpass between North Downtown and Hartford's Riverside Park.  I wrote a whole article about that under used connection.
• The trail system from New Haven to Westfield, MA.  This nearly cross state route only has a few gaps remaining.  This is also part of the East Coast Greenway route.
• The 5 miles of trail along CT Fastrak between Newington Junction and Downtown New Britain.  

What do we do about this lack of signs?  I suggest we make our own.  I’m tired of waiting for cities, committees, and the DOT to turn their broken rusty gears.  I would love to see Hartford Prints design and hang their own way finding signs that takes walking and biking visitors from Bushnell Park, Downtown North, and the Founders Bridge to Pratt Street.  Hartford Prints could then offer "way finding sign design services" to the other businesses clamoring for the exposure to directed and hungry foot traffic.

Sign for Round Bottom Campground.  I like signs.

Free camping trail side.  Round Bottom!  Like both.

Listed below are other "proactive" things I’ve noticed while riding the Great Allegheny Passage, an economic engine for many cities along its route.  The more of these we do along the Connecticut East Coast Greenway route, the better.

• Camping.  Informal, free (or cheap) primitive camping at ~10 to 15 mile intervals.  These sites are maintained by the local park district or volunteers.  The lean-to shelters are for through hikers and bikers only and are built by the local scout troops.  This would be an ideal amenity in the Riverfront Park on either the East Hartford or Hartford side.  Cyclists that stay at the shelters are guaranteed to stop in your city for groceries, tourist activities, and restaurants.  They’ll also wax ecstatically about the awesomeness of your city to friends.  Examples – Connellsville, PA has 4 lean-to shelters on a grassy rise outside their business district.  I ate a huge breakfast there and they just got free advertising.  Confluence, PA has $5 hiker / biker camping at the city campground, walking distance from the city center.
• Obvious and advertised lodging, hotels, and bed and breakfast directly along the route.
• Mileage signs along the route letting you know how far you are from nearby cities and amenities such as lodging, restaurants, and bike shops.
• Warm Showers hosts to provide options to budget bike tourists.  These bike tourists are usually on a tight budget.  If you can’t get their hotel dollars, they’ll still eat in your city.  Hartford fortunately has an active group of WS hosts, but it would be good to get more of them along the route in other Connecticut ECG cities.
• Connectivity.  Connect the damn segments.  Even if there are on road segments.  Put up clear signs that hook trails into each other so that folks don't have to guess - or miss the connection altogether.

Let’s all see the signs – and where we don’t – we’ll create them ourselves.

Mckeesport.  A narrow bike way under a building overhang, next to rail.  Creative!

While leaving Mckeesport, PA outside of Pittsburgh on the GAP trail I noticed many creative infrastructure solutions that accomodated a multi-use path on a constrained or otherwise challenged corridor.  I challenge the CT DOT and Hartford's DPW to stop being whiners about "corridor width" and look to other cities for solutions.  Part of the solution is a city (and businesses) that cooperate.  We're all in this together.  If mountainous Pittsburgh can be a bike friendly city (with winter, cobblestones, and so many rivers), Hartford has it damn easy.

An unused (so far) rail bridge connection.  I chilled here for a bit.

Can you spot the coal seam?  

Learning about coal from a sign.  Holding in your hand is akin to reading porn.

I'm not sure why, but touch coal feels illicit.  I just want to burn it and act like a romping caveman.  So much history, geologic and human, in that small handful.  And so much slow destruction of our climate.

Entrance to a mine... that horizontal sliver.

Peeking into the mine.  Rotten timbers support the rocks above.  

Ohiopyle is beautiful!

This summer we most definitely made signs for BiCi Co.  You won't catch us under publicizing a new Hartford gem!

Summer BiCi Co service project - Painting signs with Brendan Gingras!

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All About the Connections

Before I get started - Don't miss these things.  Represent and spread the word!

• Envisionfest - Saturday, 9/19 in Hartford.  There's a ton of stuff going on, bikable and walkable.  And introducing Hartford Bike Share - Beat Bike!
• CT Cycling Festival, Criterium Races, and Expo - All day on Sunday, 9/20 in Downtown Hartford.  Get out your coffee thermos, a cow bell, and pots and pans.  Make a racket and cheer this international field of racers.  There are also urban mountain biking and novice races.  Even if you don't race, these criteriums are exciting spectating.  Close and fast.  You can see the riders responding to the crowd cheers.
• I-84 Redesign Update and Public Comment Meeting - Tuesday, September 22nd at the Lyceum on Lawrence Street near Billings Forge and Firebox restaurant.   The format is an open planning studio and you can show up anytime between noon and 8pm. This is the most critical (and largest) infrastructure project that Hartford will see in the next 20 years.  You have to get involved early and often to make sure it comes out right.  Don't miss your chance to get involved and ensure that the redesign repairs the damage wrought on Hartford's neighborhoods by a divisive highway project.  Repeat - this is the most important public works project in Hartford metro in the next 20 year.
• Discover Bicycle Friendly New Britain - Sunday, September 27th.  Register before the 18th for your last chance at the early bird discount.

My recent tour musing has been on connections.  Connecting good people to events (see above). Social connections.  Connections to our history.  Transportation connections, or lack thereof.  The connections that adhere a community together, providing key support and access to opportunity.  Without connections life gets pretty bleak and lonely.  Recently on my ride, the connections have been magical.  I'll share some of those thoughts and connections below.

The past residents and industries of the places I live and visit are fascinating.  Just down the street from my home in Hartford is the Butler-McCook House.  Home to four generations of interesting pack rats, and now a beautiful museum within a short walk from many neighborhoods in Hartford.  The museum is bursting at the seams with Hartford history, and to boot, has a serene back garden for sitting or listening to their small summer music concerts.  While ambling up quiet Route 124 along the Ohio River I noticed a Civil War monument and information board.  I don't stop at all the historical markers, but I stopped at this one and was pleasantly surprised.  I had found a memorial to the patriarch of Hartford's Fighting McCook's.  Major Daniel McCook was fatally injured in the Battle of Buffington Island.  The connection back to Connecticut almost sizzled.  Although it felt like I was riding in the middle of nowhere, I was absorbed in the deep history immediately under my feet in Ohio - and back at home in Hartford.  

The fighting McCooks!

While checking out the civil war site I met Barbara from Bloomington, Indiana.  She was a couple weeks away from her 80th birthday and driving solo to the coast for a vacation - and taking the winding back roads.  Her friend that was supposed to travel with her had just unexpectedly passed away.  She took the trip anyway!  Another solo traveler with an interesting story.   Barbara's husband had attended training with Aetna in Hartford, and after he got out of the insurance business they opened a bait and tackle shop.  Meeting Barb, although just a passing social connection, added depth to the trip and inspired me that day to treasure every moment and experience.  My travels have been filled with these brief but meaningful human interactions.  I am richer and more fulfilled for each one.

Fun Fact - Did you know that part of Ohio used to be Connecticut - the Connecticut Western Reserve?  Many settlers in Northeast Ohio hailed from Connecticut.  More on this in a later post I'm putting together about John Brown.

The Ohio River waterway is a key connector, both historically and currently for industrial and freight traffic.  I was lucky enough to stop in at both the Howard Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville, Indiana and then catch the very end of the Sternwheel Festival in Marietta, Ohio.   I was lucky enough to see these two riverboats in a tight race down the wheel.  Hartford, Connecticut in part exists because of ill fated steamboat racing.  Captains eeking out a little extra power from their steam engines would wire the safety valves shut with occasional explosive, expensive, and tragic consequences.  You don't want to be on board when a steam pressure vessel lets go.  Captain training, boiler inspection, certification, and insurance was a cornerstone industry for Hartford.  Mark Twain's name was scattered all up and down the Ohio River Valley during my trip and I need to snag a copy of Life on the Mississippi.

Sternwheel river boats racing on the Ohio.

Roger and Betsy.  My permanent quad-hawk helmet hair.

Roger and Betsy pulled me onto the sidewalk and offered me a place to stay in Marietta, OH.  I was just passing through and had to decline, but not before they bought me a delicious brownie Sunday and I got to talk to them about their five year world-wide bicycle adventure.  Super awesome couple!  Brownie sundae topped with story telling was perfect fuel for a 15 mile end of day crank into the next riverfront campground in Wayne National Forest.

GW slept here.  Probably peed too.  I joined in the later.

I see this time spent exploring and thinking to be not unlike the journeys others took before us.  With the different connections, mental and physical, I'm finding a lot applicable to what we're doing right now in Hartford with BiCi Co.  The community bike shop that is starting at the Center for Latino Progress will obviously provide efficient and sustainable mobility for city residents.  Those residents will be empowered to fix their own beautifully simple vehicle, and in doing so will be socially making connections within our own community.   Those with functioning bicycles (with lights and secure locks) won't be confined to the vagaries of the CT Transit bus schedule for getting to and from work.  Jobs access and cultural events expand greatly with a bicycle.  Getting across a small city like Hartford on a bicycle takes half the time as a bus ride with a transfer - and the bicycle still runs after 6:30pm. (PS - Make sure you Like the BiCi Co. Facebook Page.)

At the same time BiCi Co. will be inviting those in other Hartford neighborhoods, surburban dwellers, and Hartford tourists to experience bustling Park Street.  Creating these new professional, volunteer, economic, and social ties will provide opportunities for both experiences and advancement that wouldn't otherwise happen.  The simple bicycle and riding has been compared to the next golf.  In an age where jobs are offered due to social connections, and deals are made during a conversation - this tool is critical to our city and the rising Latino population.  Those visitors will participate in and contribute to the already thriving Park Street area local economy.  The shop location at the border between Downtown Hartford and the entry to the Park Street district is perfect for enabling this cross city connection.  

Riding the river valley keeps me out of the hilly stuff.

Signs connecting people to businesses.  Easy and important.

Tunnel connecting neighborhoods.  Reusing an under used historical connection in Wheeling, WV.

A local cyclist connecting me to the best route - better than Google Maps!

James, pictured above, from the Wheeling area gave me great advice on a non-hilly route to the start of the Peninsula Rail Trail.  We rode about 10 miles together on our way North out of Wheeling.

The neatest state line marker yet.  An iron casting on the rail trail.  A border connecting states.

Sometimes the trail (and view) leave you in awe and you have to stop.

Pittsburgh is one of my favorite cities.  So sexy looking.

 Bonus points for the first person to guess (in the comments) what these brick mounted brackets are intended for.  Bonnie, my host and college friend in Pittsburgh, is pointing them out for you below.  Genius solution, really.  Pittsburgh is doing all sorts of neat stuff.  Today I'm shoving off, rather late, from Pittsburgh and jumping onto the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail.  In a couple days I'll be meeting my dad in Cumberland and he'll be joining for three days of riding on the C&O into Washington DC.

You get to guess what these awesome wall mounted brackets are for. 

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An Ode to Ohio

Side note - On the day I left on my trip Margo Lynn caught me at breakfast and had me model a knit hat for this Mountain Man competition.  It looks like I'm climbing in the polls, but need your votes to reach the top.  Any winnings will go to BiCi Co.  You can vote once a day for the next week.  Just "skip" the initial pop up and vote for the guy that looks like the photo below.  The theme is fitting as I'm a day away from riding across West Virginia to Pittsburgh.  Ouch.

Vote early and often for your favorite mountain man.

After suffering through Kentucky, the Ohio River Valley route has been a dream.   Starting in Cincinnati through this morning in Portsmouth, Ohio I was almost entirely on route 52.  I was a bit worried that the route would be busy with truck traffic and repeat the Kentucky experience, but I've been pleasantly surprised.  Most of the mileage has had a comfortably sized shoulder allowing me an informal bike lane.  The drivers, car and truck, have been courteous and are passing at a comfortable distance.  Hard to believe that just across the river in Kentucky you'll find a backwards third world nation state of dangerous rednecks.  Don't go there.

A lot of my Ohio River Valley riding looks like this.

I heard that the Ohio DOT has been making strides in Complete Streets design that started when the director from Columbus moved up to the state DOT.  I can believe it.  The Ohio to Erie route from Northeast Ohio to the Southwest Ohio corner was amazing, with much of it on paved multi-use paths.  Even this southern state route 52 hugging the Ohio River is a pleasant ride.  Ohio is rightfully ranked 19th for bike friendliness, leaps and bounds ahead of Kentucky (49th).  Check out the Ohio DOT website for bicycle route information.  Ohio also has 12 bicycle region coordinators identified on their website.  For comparison, only one person on the Connecticut DOT has this role.

Portsmouth is a bike friendly landing spot for lunch after my stealth camp last night off a steep logging road in the Shawnee State Forest.  Portsmouth is an early stop on the TOSRV ride, and they have a large bike mural on the flood wall.  In fact, the entire flood wall is adorned with high quality murals.  A neat little town.

TOSRV mural on the Portsmouth, OH flood wall

Even in the Pea Soup fog, drivers have been courteous in Ohio.

This goes to show that it's about leadership.  A city and state with leaders that appreciate sustainable transportation can really improve things.  Keep this in mind when you're voting.  What are the candidates saying about transportation, biking, walking, and transit?  We spend a lot of time and resources getting from point A-to-B, so our elected leaders should be up to speed on the topic.  If they look at you like you're speaking French when you talk about Complete Streets, they shouldn't be in charge.

U.S. Grant whupped up on the Confederates.  Hooahh! Y'all lost.

Unfortunately, Utopia was a failed experiment.

Sometimes you find your camp spots in the most curious locations.  You might stay in a national forest campground, like the Vesuvius Recreation Area.   Other times you may be in a riverside city park in the ghost town of Cheshire, OH.  The local power plant bought up all the homes and businesses and tore most of them down to prevent future law suits against the coal fired plant in their backyard.   The funny part is, most of the mercury and pollution heads downwind.  Can these power plants buy off the entire Northeast?

Historic hot blast furnace at Vesuvius.  Coal and ore in them there hills.

Cheshire, OH.  View from my camp at the local park.

Entering Pomeroy, OH.  Creative treatment of a concrete retaining wall.

Bridge from Pomeroy to West Virginia - worth a stop.

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Connecticut cyclocross season starts this weekend

The 2015 Connecticut Series of Cross begins this weekend with two races in the Hartford area. Cross is a great spectator sport--in countries like Belgium where cross is extremely popular, crowds come out in droves to watch riders wrestle with muddy, wet, and slippery conditions on off-camber turns and hills. If you're interested in cyclocross but not ready to race, or if you're a fan of live sport, this weekend's races are a great chance to see competitors up close on a variety of terrain. Bring some beer or bust out the apple cider, ignoring the 90 degree heat we've been having and celebrate the beginning of fall in your local parks.

Not Connecticut cross.

This Saturday, September 12 is Silk City Cyclocross in Manchester, CT on the campus of Manchester Community College. There are races for all levels, including juniors, women, and men.

On Sunday, cyclocross returns to the City of Hartford's beautiful Riverside Park with Riverfront Park CX. Riverside Park will be the venue for the 2017 US Cyclocross National Championships, a pretty big deal for the City and for Connecticut. There should be beer for sale at the event. Tony wrote about this national event coming to Hartford on the beat bike blog during last year's cross season. 'Cross races have been taking place at Riverside Park since the early 2000s. It might not be the best, pure cx course out there, but riding trails feet from the river in a race is pretty rad.

A great place to watch the action at Riverside Park is on the dike that the course rides up, down, and around in the northern end of the park. Heckling is encouraged. I rode an old steel mountain bike at last year's Veterans' Memorial CX Race in Colt Park (moved to Waterbury, CT this year) and was laughed at and heckled mercilessly by anonymous spectators--it was wonderful. My sense of the races in Hartford has been that they are relatively staid affairs, and could use more brash, inebriated spectators. I know that Connecticut itself is a staid affair, but we can do better, I know it.

Find out more about the CT series, which runs from September through December at the stylish website for the series: http://www.ctseriesofcx.com/.

See you Sunday, Justin Read more!

Don't Go to Kentucky on a Bike. Ever.

Today was a day for very strong feelings.  You know those feelings that make you want to pull someone out of the cab of their vehicle and orally extract their spine?  Those feelings.  Before I get to those, I'm going to breathe and think happy thoughts.  It's difficult really.  Once you've tasted fear, the follow on anger, and then spend hours planning for the demise of an entire state's bicycle tourism industry, its quite a process to take yourself back to those happy thoughts.

Happy thought.  I had an excellent ride from Santa Claus, Indiana to Clarksville, Indiana on my first day back on the bike.  Despite the inclusion of some state routes, the traffic on Labor Day was low and the drivers were great.  The Corydon Ridge Road was a treasure of low stress and beautiful to boot.  It was a scorcher, so took a nap in a park / barn / shelter with a pile of ice on my chest.  Explanation.  A Labor Day picnic had just wrapped up and they left a cooler worth of ice on the lawn near the shelter.  As you may have ascertained from my previous post, my tire had acquired a bit of attitude.  I noticed the tire flaw after my brain reached operational temperatures.

Found some excellent graffiti art in Louisville.

Louisville, KY was a successful pit-stop for a tire.  I grabbed a top notch Schwalbe Marathon Supreme from Parkside Bikes along with a couple of backup spokes.  In Santa Claus, my dad hooked me up with the Stein Mini Cassette Tool so I can change rear wheel spokes on the fly without heavy shop tools.  That is a key tour tool.  I caught dinner at a trendy downtown breakfast joint, Wild Eggs, over priced but tasty.  On my way out of town, I wandered around and found all sorts of interesting bicycle infrastructure improvements.  Louisville has earned it's Bronze Bicycle Friendly status.  The locals I talked to said there have been massive improvements in the last five years.

A wide bike lane (not parking) with a striped buffer.

There were bike lanes next to parallel parked cars with a marked "door zone" to keep folks out of it.  I recommended a similar treatment to Hartford's DPW for the new Wethersfield Ave. bike lanes, but... It takes a while to bring the barge around.  Note the reference to barges.  I've been riding along the Ohio River.  Lots of barges.  Barges and steam boats are super neat.  While leaving Louisville, on the Indiana side, I caught the Howard Steam Boat Museum in Jeffersonville, Indiana.  A required visit for someone on a bicycle ride starting in Hartford, Connecticut - home to Mark Twain.

And a bike lane on a one way street with a painted buffer to denote the "door zone"!

Of note, the Louisville Norton Hospital (take notes Hartford Hospital) had a street level cafe, bike parking near entrances, bike lanes, and "Sharrows" in their area.  It totally makes sense for an urban health care campus, surrounded by dense residential districts, to pay some mind to creating outward facing aspects of their business.  Everybody wins, more feet on the street, more money in the business, and you create a neighborhood that a percentage of your employees will be interested to live in.  First - let's make the Bone and Joint Institute less of a sterile, suburban-style medical office building.  Second - add standard sidewalk mounted bike parking in convenient areas around the other Hartford Hospital buildings.

Downtown hospital with a coffee shop, outdoor seating, and a bike rack!

Going from Madison, Indiana to Cincinnati, Ohio I happened to overlap with another bike tourist, Conner.  We suffered the slings and arrows of Kentucky as a pair.   We got an early start and it was a beautiful ride until the gravel trucks showed up.

Conner's rig.  A fully loaded Surly Cross Check

And now back to the less productive, but more gratifying portion of this article.  Why you shouldn't ride a bike in Kentucky (aside from Louisville).  

• The Kentucky DOT has a pretty awful standard for putting tiny shoulders on state highways, and then putting rumble strips on the 12" of available shoulder.  If a cyclist doesn't want to vibrate to pieces, they are riding in the traffic lane.  Not the most fun with 55 mph trucks and a lot of blind corners.
• It looks like the state of Kentucky doesn't have a three foot passing law.  The League of American Bicyclists ranks them at 49th for bike friendliness.  The only state worse was Alabama!  Ha.  Good company.
• Gravel trucks.  We were purposefully close called by four or five of these wonderful vehicles.  They were talking via CB radio and sadistically entertained themselves by risking our lives.  
• More "Get off the road!" hollering in one day riding in Kentucky that three weeks combined cross country riding.
• Folks may call the sheriff on you for simply riding a bike.  It happened to us.  The sheriff drove by, stopped, waved us over and said someone had called us in.  His review noted that we were riding perfectly legally and he wished us a good day and safe riding.
• Rolling coal.  It happens in Kentucky.  Yup.  You thought it was just a redneck internet meme.
• And Confederate flags - I hate those things.  They are an indicator of an either insensitive or under educated resident.  There are a lot of these in Kentucky.

Cincy - Finally getting out of Kentucky.  A most welcome view.

For further reading enjoyment.  My open letter to the Kentucky DOT.

***********************************

Lynn (Lynn.Soporowski@ky.gov),

I'm doing a cross country bicycle tour, and blogging about it.  Kentucky by far has been the worst state for my safety.  Riding from Madison, Indiana to Florence, Kentucky was awful.  We rode primarily along routes 42 and 127, since the region is rather hilly and there weren't alternate routes.  

Questions:

• Is it a design standard to put very narrow shoulders on the side of state routes, and then put a rumble strip on the entire narrow shoulder?  That makes the shoulder useless for cyclists.
• Does Kentucky have a 3 foot passing law?  Many states do, and couple that with an education campaign.
• I stopped into Louisville for a short visit.  They seem to be getting it right for Complete Streets and safe street design, they were recently awarded Bicycle Friendly Community Recognition by the League of American Bicyclists.  On the other hand, the state of Kentucky is ranked 49th.  Wow.  That's awful.

A bit of venting here, but after being purposefully passed within inches by multiple gravel trucks on route 42, I'm particularly irritated by my time spent in your fine state.  The truck drivers were communicating by CB and thought it was sadistically funny to put my life at risk.    For some reason it was particularly the "gravel trucks".  We had no issues with the tractor trailer drivers, who gave us ample room when passing.  Aside from the gravel trucks, a couple of individuals in personal diesel trucks "rolled coal" when passing, at least that's what I think it's called.  A healthy helping of diesel particulate is a great way to win over Kentucky fans.  

While we were stopped at a CVS on Route 127 another gravel truck, these guys are winners, came to a locked up screeching stop and just missed a school bus full of children at the stoplight.  Not sure who the major sand and gravel yards are hiring for drivers, but it seemed to an outsider that the entire fleet of drivers is due for a safety review and training - and firing the bad apples.

Earlier in the day someone called the county sheriff and reported cyclists operating recklessly.  Seriously.  The sheriff came out and noted that we were riding in a perfectly legal and responsible fashion.  I'm a certified bicycle safety instructor and regularly teach classes on how to safely and courteously ride with traffic.  I'm glad the sheriff knew what he was doing, but bothered that residents of Kentucky found it illegal that we were riding bicycles.  Sprinkle in more, "Get off the road!," yells from vehicles in one day than I've gotten in three weeks of riding, and Kentucky has far and away earned it's 2nd to last ranking.

I know it's difficult to work on bicycle and pedestrian design issues within a DOT that seems focused on highways, trucks, and cars - but other states are doing it.  Kentucky is far behind the other states that I've ridden through for both infrastructure design for safety, laws on the books for vulnerable users, and personal interactions for vulnerable road users.  I wasn't surprised to see very few pedestrians or cyclists.  

I'm planning to ride the rest of the Ohio River Valley this week, but will be avoiding the KY side - and spending my money in Ohio.  I'm also composing an article for my blog that shreds Kentucky, highlights the 49th League ranking, and recommends skipping the state entirely when considering vacations or cross country bicycle tours.

Thanks for your consideration of this note.

Tony Cherolis

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Louisville Gets the Boot

This bulging tire needs a boot!

Not really.  So far Louisville is fine by me.  On my first day of the return ride from Santa Claus, IN to Hartford, CT I noticed a hop in my back tire.  Early in the tour I picked up a nail while riding through Native American land in upstate New York.  The nail had come in sideways through the tread and damaged the casing over about a half inch, rather than just a small puncture hole.  At first the reinforcement of the patch behind the weak spot was enough, but the tire degraded at the damaged location.  ~ 600 miles later - the back tire is hopping and the tube is trying to exit the casing.  Time for a tire boot.  I wrapped the tube with a dollar bill (great solution, right?) and tucked it back into the tire.  Good enough for now, but I need a new rear tire soon.  Aside from the blazing heat, it was a great day of riding with surprisingly low traffic and beautiful scenery.

Not a bad view from lunch.  Overlooking the Ohio River.

Crossing a rail bridge where the trail ended.  Shhh.  Don't tell.

Fortuitously, I was stealth camped just across the Ohio River from Louisville, KY and it's several bike shops.  The camp was quiet, appropriate for a camp fire, and boasted a river view of Falls of the Ohio.  Stealth camping doesn't get much better.  A short ride down the bike path, through a junk yard with a hole in the fence (trail ended), and then along some more dike-top bike paths brought me to a converted rail bridge between Jeffersonville and Louisville arching over the Ohio River Falls and dam.  The bridge was spectacular and lured one to linger with classical music and benches (really!).

This bridge plays you music.  Because awesome!?

Fingers crossed that the bike shop in Louisville that opens at 10am carries 700x40 tour capable tires.  I need the fatties for my GAP and C&O tour leg, not to mention my random trail jaunts for camping.  The minor detour will also give me a chance to peruse the bike friendliness of this  Bronze Bicycle Friendly community.

Falls of the Ohio, looking toward Louisville

Falls of the Ohio, looking downstream

Plug of the day - Night Fall.  There is a key Night Fall fundraiser on Sunday (9/13) at the Pond House in Elizabeth Park.  Support this surreal and ephemeral art and performance event, coming yearly to Hartford's parks.   Be a part of the community that loves and furthers this Hartford gem.  And save the date for the Night Fall performance on October 10th in Keney Park. Read more!