Urbana-Champaign Bicycle Commute

... here's the rest of the interrupted post, with a few gaps filled in, I hope.

Recently the news announced that a Meijer's (big box store I think I have darkened twice in my life because it's on North PRospect) will be built at the corner of Windsor and Philo Roads in Urbana.

While some folks were simply rolling eyes and saying "all we need is anotehr big box store!" and mourning the apparent "progress" of the "blighted Philo Road business district" to a "Philo Road Strip Mall," it occurred to some of us that perhaps we should take the bull by the horns and see if we could at least budge things in our direction. To wit: encourage the Meijer's folks to make their store bicyclist-friendly.

We start many rides out at Meadowbrook Park. This is going to increase traffic dramatically, and of course bicycles have not really been included in the road planning. I am told that this is largely because the planning happened before things like the Bicycling and Pedestrian Advisory Commission happened; I will believe this, rejoicing, when (if) I actually **see** something actually, physically DONE that makes way for active transportation... but yes, it can happen; I know it has.

If the store had a sheltered, secure place to park bikes and a way to get to the store without wandering, invisibly across parking lots and dodging distracted drivers, it could be a veritable *hub* for cycling and end up being a more desirable starting point instead of less. Imagine being able to drop in for munchies after the ride! I've already heard from one rider that Meijer's has more kinds of Clif bars than Wal-Mart. If they stocked tubes and CO2 cartridges they'd have our loyalty forever :-) (Okay, Miss JOnes does not indulge in Clif bars, as they give her gas, but perhaps they have PowerBars, too?)

So! I am going to compose a Publisher document, since I just went to a little workshop on using it, explaining that many citizens of Urbana are Greenthinkers who would enthusiastically swarm to Meijer's on their respective skates, cycles, and shoes, buying useless plastic items and superfluous regalia en masse. Or something like that.

Have yet to put 'puter on Gazelle. Rode Xtra today 'cause I'm going to the inside ride tonight and that enclosed chain isn't going to go on a trainer, methinks! Longing for a Tray Bien so I can carry the blue bike on the red bike.

Only the blue spoke light worked most of the time, so I ddin't look too much like a wannabee constabulary. On bumpy spots, the red and red/blue ones did their thing. It was also much later and rainier quieter than usual. We'll see how things go when campus is more active :)

The Gazelle's sizes of everything are Dutch, so it took research to determine what tube & tire size will work, even though the current ones are fine.

The forum on bikejournal is livened up with a "tourtoise/hair" contest between this turtle and HRLaughed, who has decided he wants to catch up to me in mileage (which has something to do with me daring him to do it) by the end of the month and reach 8000 for the year. I've got 350 miles on him but he's going to try to do 70 today... but that's for bikejournal :)

Now, for that publisher file...