As the weather warms here in Missouri, I notice more tree blooms, short skirts, food trucks and bikes on the road.
More bicycles on the road is always a good thing. My years in Columbia give me a perspective on the total numbers of bicyclists. With time there are certainly more people choosing to ride. Sure there are plumb more people in Columbia as time marches on but along with that a larger percentage of people are riding.
There are many kinds of bicyclists in the world and they occasionally talk the same bike language, sometimes not. I see commuters like myself on the road. We are out there every day making our way to work, social engagements, the store and other destinations. As a bike commuter the bike is my choice of mode. When someone asks incredulously on an especially rainy, snowy, hot or cold day "Did you ride your BICYCLE today?" I relish asking them right back "How else would I have gotten here?" I am not trying to be an asshole rather trying to make it clear that bicycle riding for me is not a fair-weather thang.
Along with commuters, I see bike racers and recreational trail riders. What consistnetly surprises me is how rarely these riders choose to ride their bikes to a destination. Yeah, these folks are riders, too, but I mainly don't get where they are coming from or going to. I run for fun as readers of this blog will know but I ride for my commute. Riding for the sake of riding is fun, too. Last weekend I took a recreational bike ride down to see the flooding Missouri River, enjoyed the trail, a soda at Coopers Landing and the trail ride home. I get it. I am not a hater.
There are also seasonal bicyclists and bicycle-by-default riders. Seasonal bicyclists hang up their ride from October until April choosing to drive during winter weather. Bicyclists-by-default are those riders who because of funds can't afford a car. This group is made up of international students, the poor and almost everyone who bikes in Zambia. They might rather drive a car but funds don't allow that. So they ride.
Mnay of my fellow bicyclists follow common bike rules. Many do not.
Signal a turn.
Stop at intersections that require cars to stop.
Don't ride two abreast in traffic.
Wear a helmet for gawd's sake.
These are common sense and legal rules that I follow because it is important to be predictable for the drivers out there. We bicyclists manage to engender a heap of hate from drivers and most of it comes from being unpredictable.
Much of the anger from drivers has nothing to do with bicycles rather is attributable to general anxiety and fear growing in American culture these days. Alarm system anyone? Gotta Glock?
There is a quote out there about there being no joy greater than seeing an adult on a bicycle. I get that.
I feel joy when I see other Columbians pedaling around town. Be they clad in spandex, thrift scores or business casual attire these bicyclists represent a cultural shift that is significant. Bicycles work for fun or for commuting. Just please don't hang them on the wall of your non-bicycle shop.
28 April 2013
18 April 2013
Full up Flat Branch
After a couple inches of rain Columbia's Flat Branch Creek is swollen and moving fast. This morning I snapped a few pictures of the creek as it moved fast and full through the MKT underpasses just below the MU Power Plant.
Yesterday my friend Andy and I took a walk along the trail in search of morel mushrooms and wildflowers. Alas, we found no morels but did witness several species of ephemeral, spring wildflowers including wild ginger and possibly bluebells. Thanks to that hour of exploration we saw cardinals and several deer hanging out in this small, urban riparian zone.
Update: I found my first ever morel mushroom last weekend just outside Columbia! Where do I get an application for membership in this club?
12 April 2013
Columbia Train Service
How I wouldn't love to hop on a train in Columbia and ride the rails to far-flung destinations. A Columbia connection with St. Louis and Kansas City would bring so many visitors to Our Fair City as well as provide an exiting mass transit option to travel from Columbia. I am not going to hold my breath awaiting a new train line from Columbia, Missouri.
One the one hand state funding for our cross-state Amtrak line seems only tentatively funded. Every year there is talk of defunding the line but then somehow miraculously the State Legislature makes the needed allocation. Money will always be an issue for expanding rail in Missouri and anywhere. People love their cars, they use then and they don't want to be limited by the inherently limited train schedule.
On the other hand, Amtrak just reported its most successful month ever in March 2013. Does demand drive service increases? Doubtful we'll see anything new coming to Missouri's rail lines anytime soon.
For now the existing options for rail travel from Columbia involve a car drive to Jefferson City or LaPlata where one can catch a train to St. Louis, Kansas City or Chicago. Another option is to ride on Friday or Saturday the Columbia Star Dinner Train to Centralia and back. Once you get to Centralia there's no connecting passenger train so, well, you may as well come back to Columbia. A round trip ride on the Columbia Star Dinner Train is all they sell so far as I can tell.
Looking ahead at the 50-year or 100-year plan (is there such a thing?) there are a few scenarios that are exciting to visualize. Since tearing rebuilding train lines on the bed of our former MKT line out of town would be politically unpopular I'd like to see service on the COLT line expanded to include a line running to Centralia. At that point a new cross-state line through Moberly could get train commuters to Kansas City and St. Louis. This line could replace the line that currently operates through Washington, Hermann, Jefferson City, Sedalia and Lee's Summit. I'd venture to guess more people live near the rail line that parallels Interstate 70 than do the existing line that hugs the Missouri River valley. Occasionally in the debate over how to fund widening of I-70 some sane voice proposes a train line down the center of the highway only to be silenced under the voices of the fiscally conservative legislators and transportation planners at MoDOT.
In the meantime we'll keep driving to Jefferson City, LaPlata, Kansas City or St. Louis to occasionally hop the train to Chicago, New York, Albuquerque or any other number of captivating destinations.
One the one hand state funding for our cross-state Amtrak line seems only tentatively funded. Every year there is talk of defunding the line but then somehow miraculously the State Legislature makes the needed allocation. Money will always be an issue for expanding rail in Missouri and anywhere. People love their cars, they use then and they don't want to be limited by the inherently limited train schedule.
On the other hand, Amtrak just reported its most successful month ever in March 2013. Does demand drive service increases? Doubtful we'll see anything new coming to Missouri's rail lines anytime soon.
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| Columbia's Katy Station back in the train era. The structure now serves as Shiloh, a college kid watering hole. |
For now the existing options for rail travel from Columbia involve a car drive to Jefferson City or LaPlata where one can catch a train to St. Louis, Kansas City or Chicago. Another option is to ride on Friday or Saturday the Columbia Star Dinner Train to Centralia and back. Once you get to Centralia there's no connecting passenger train so, well, you may as well come back to Columbia. A round trip ride on the Columbia Star Dinner Train is all they sell so far as I can tell.
Looking ahead at the 50-year or 100-year plan (is there such a thing?) there are a few scenarios that are exciting to visualize. Since tearing rebuilding train lines on the bed of our former MKT line out of town would be politically unpopular I'd like to see service on the COLT line expanded to include a line running to Centralia. At that point a new cross-state line through Moberly could get train commuters to Kansas City and St. Louis. This line could replace the line that currently operates through Washington, Hermann, Jefferson City, Sedalia and Lee's Summit. I'd venture to guess more people live near the rail line that parallels Interstate 70 than do the existing line that hugs the Missouri River valley. Occasionally in the debate over how to fund widening of I-70 some sane voice proposes a train line down the center of the highway only to be silenced under the voices of the fiscally conservative legislators and transportation planners at MoDOT.
In the meantime we'll keep driving to Jefferson City, LaPlata, Kansas City or St. Louis to occasionally hop the train to Chicago, New York, Albuquerque or any other number of captivating destinations.
04 April 2013
Gone
Brick House
Each day on my bicycle commute to work I feel the air temperature, I listen to birds, I see the Flat Branch Creek trickling under Stewart Road.
For years now I eyed a small brick building facing Stewart Road. It rested just behind and south of the Columbia Cemetery. I assumed the structure served some function in past years as a shelter covering a municipal water pump. I never looked too deep into it but appreciated the arched door and window and the flat clay tile roof. It was a vestigal structure that marked my and many others' commutes as we went to our work places, our educations and varied recreation.
Progress as Promised
A month or two ago I read how the owner of some adjacent property had a rezoning request before the city. Inevitably construction began this week. First a crew of tree trimmers picked every tree and stick off the quarter-acre site on which the tiny brick building sat. A day later the building was gone. I assumed it had been there maybe 75 years. That's a guess based on its look.
I am glad I got a few pictures before it disappeared for, you guessed it, more student apartments and their parking concrete.
Each day on my bicycle commute to work I feel the air temperature, I listen to birds, I see the Flat Branch Creek trickling under Stewart Road.
For years now I eyed a small brick building facing Stewart Road. It rested just behind and south of the Columbia Cemetery. I assumed the structure served some function in past years as a shelter covering a municipal water pump. I never looked too deep into it but appreciated the arched door and window and the flat clay tile roof. It was a vestigal structure that marked my and many others' commutes as we went to our work places, our educations and varied recreation.
Progress as Promised
A month or two ago I read how the owner of some adjacent property had a rezoning request before the city. Inevitably construction began this week. First a crew of tree trimmers picked every tree and stick off the quarter-acre site on which the tiny brick building sat. A day later the building was gone. I assumed it had been there maybe 75 years. That's a guess based on its look.
I am glad I got a few pictures before it disappeared for, you guessed it, more student apartments and their parking concrete.
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| This 12x12 foot brick building sat on East Stewart Road in Columbia for many years. |
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| Now it is gone, sacrificed likely for a surface parking lot to serve forthcoming student housing. |
12th place
A few weeks ago was the annual running of the Sedalia (Missouri) Half Marathon. I was well aware that I would be running in this race for several months. I plunked down my $30 (a most reasonable fee considering what big city races cost.) And I trained intelligently.
Most road running races in the past few years have found me stepping up to the starting line feeling woefully underprepared. Despite my best intentions I trained when I could for these half- and full marathons. It was however never quite enough miles or speed-work. I found myself never quite training as fast or as far as I knew I should be for the distance. Sure, I am now 42 and there are limits to how fast a human can run as s/he ages. I get that. At the same time I know that I am tapped into what it takes to run faster than I have before because I am smarter than I was before. In preparation for the March 23 Sedalia race I put in adequate miles, stayed healthy, ate nutritious food and lifted weights regularly.
Come race day the weather was cool, but comfortable with no precipitation. The pool of other runners was around 150 as I had expected. A major psychological factor for me in this race was that there were so few runners. After several big city races (~20,000 runners) I now know that ain't for me. Give me a small race with 150 fellow racers anyday.
From the start I ran my race. I didn't attempt to keep up with anyone or beat anyone else. I set a pace that worked for me (as it turns out it was 7:38 per mile) and stuck to it. In the end I crossed the line in 12th place at 1:40:43 slicing two minutes off my personal best in the half marathon, which I ran at this race two years before. What told me I had run smartly was that I recovered fast. I was well enough to run-commute to work the next day in a snow storm and bike around town the following day.
Most road running races in the past few years have found me stepping up to the starting line feeling woefully underprepared. Despite my best intentions I trained when I could for these half- and full marathons. It was however never quite enough miles or speed-work. I found myself never quite training as fast or as far as I knew I should be for the distance. Sure, I am now 42 and there are limits to how fast a human can run as s/he ages. I get that. At the same time I know that I am tapped into what it takes to run faster than I have before because I am smarter than I was before. In preparation for the March 23 Sedalia race I put in adequate miles, stayed healthy, ate nutritious food and lifted weights regularly.
Come race day the weather was cool, but comfortable with no precipitation. The pool of other runners was around 150 as I had expected. A major psychological factor for me in this race was that there were so few runners. After several big city races (~20,000 runners) I now know that ain't for me. Give me a small race with 150 fellow racers anyday.
From the start I ran my race. I didn't attempt to keep up with anyone or beat anyone else. I set a pace that worked for me (as it turns out it was 7:38 per mile) and stuck to it. In the end I crossed the line in 12th place at 1:40:43 slicing two minutes off my personal best in the half marathon, which I ran at this race two years before. What told me I had run smartly was that I recovered fast. I was well enough to run-commute to work the next day in a snow storm and bike around town the following day.
17 March 2013
Almost a half
Today's run
Distance: 12 miles
Time: Somewhere near 1 hour, 35 minutes
Weather: Cool. 35 degrees with occasional snow and sleet
Next Saturday I'll run the Sedalia Half Marathon. Lisa and I did it two years ago. For my last long run before the race the weather did a repeat performance of that of race day 2011. Wind, light snow and some sleet today was minor compared to the blowing ice of our earlier race in Sedalia.
I felt good on today's route with only occasional tightness in my left Achilles tendon. I ran alone and had plenty of time to think about what I expect to do next weekend. I don't have a goal time rather I want to run fast and even and have as much fun as possible.
Big news: The new Greenbriar Trail neighborhood connection is open for business! This is definitely one for fans of hills!
Distance: 12 miles
Time: Somewhere near 1 hour, 35 minutes
Weather: Cool. 35 degrees with occasional snow and sleet
Next Saturday I'll run the Sedalia Half Marathon. Lisa and I did it two years ago. For my last long run before the race the weather did a repeat performance of that of race day 2011. Wind, light snow and some sleet today was minor compared to the blowing ice of our earlier race in Sedalia.
I felt good on today's route with only occasional tightness in my left Achilles tendon. I ran alone and had plenty of time to think about what I expect to do next weekend. I don't have a goal time rather I want to run fast and even and have as much fun as possible.
Big news: The new Greenbriar Trail neighborhood connection is open for business! This is definitely one for fans of hills!
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