From the files of ‘Who Knew?’ and ‘Better Late Than Never’…
I just found out that March 2009 is the Florida Department of Transportation’s South Florida Commuter Services Regional Bicycle Month. I don’t don’t what that means exactly, but I like the sound of it.
Regional Bicycling Month Proclamation Ride: February 28
What: Regional Bicycling Month Proclamation Ride
When: Sat Feb 28 8:30am – Sat Feb 28 4pm
Where: Oleta River State Park, North Miami
By: Palm Beach County Bicyle Month
Description:
The kick off for the 2009 Southeast Regional Bicycle Month is a tri-county regional bicycle ride. The month will include bicycling-related events and activities. The ride begins at Oleta River State Park in North Miami at 8:30 a.m., and ends at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound at 4 p.m. There are four planned stops on the ride, where riders can either drop off from the group or join the ride. These stops include Pompano Beach Amphitheatre, Boca Raton Spanish River Park and Jack’s Bicycle Shop in West Palm Beach. Each stop is expected to last 15 minutes. The speed for the ride will be approximately 16-18 mph. Join other bicycle enthusiasts for the tri-county ride. You can ride from start to finish or join the ride along the way. For those riders who are interested in transportation to and from specified stops, Tri-Rail transportation will be available. To obtain Tri-Rail schedule times and Tri-Rail bicycle policies, visit www.tri-rail.com. Please contact Bret Baronak, Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) at 561-681-4163 or BBaronak@pbcgov.org for more details.
North Miami to Hobe Sound by Bike
The first week of January, I rode from Palm Beach Gardens to Miami. It was a very nice ride with little traffic. This ride basically does the same thing in reverse. For those of you who have never ridden Tri-Rail, it might be fun. Take Tri-Rail south to Miami then ride home. Pretty nifty.
Are You Doing This Ride?
If you’re going to do this ride, please let me know and I’ll look for you.
Finally, thanks to Scott and his Tri Team newsletter for tipping me off to this event.
—Matt
Ahah. Something to rant about and promote my unfinished site http://www.slowbikes.org.
This isn’t a ride. It is a semi-pro race. Florida DOT should be promoting something normal people can participate in – like a 10 mile ride where tee-shirts are required and spandex is not allowed.
Taxpayers money should be spent to get the potatoes off the couch. Elite cyclists have other ways to present their coolness.
And, yeah, I expect to get hammered over this post. But isn’t that why the code gods invented the comment field?
Normal people or slow people?
Here’s a hint: just because you want to ride above 12 miles an hour doesn’t mean your abnormal. The posted rate, 16-18 mph, is hardly a whirlwind. Those semi-pro racers wouldn’t be caught dead going that slow.
This isn’t class warfare. If you have a bike, it’s cool. If you ride a bike, you’re cool. Why be all fussy because the DOT wants to put a lot of bikes on the road this weekend?
—Matt
I came out for exercise, gentle exercise, and to notice the scenery and to botanise. And no sooner do I get on that accursed machine than off I go hammer and tongs; I never look to right or left, never notice a flower, never see a view – get hot, juicy, red – like a grilled chop. Get me on that machine and I have to go. I go scorching along the road, and cursing aloud at myself for doing it. ~H.G. Wells, The Wheels of Chance