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It's all about the bike

Veloise

By Veloise
in Grand Rapids Coffee House

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fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

Posted
Posted

I don't understand the double ramp either. Not sure why they even have a ramp to Chestnut :dontknow: .

BTW: I'm "working" on a route for USBR30 from Muskegon to St Johns :thumbsup:

I'm glad to hear that someone is working on that section!! But, shouldn't USBR30 go through Lansing? I mean, St. John's is in the corridor, but it seems like the route shouldn't bypass Lansing.

ProposedUSBikeRoutesMap.jpg

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Raildudes dad Hamlet

Raildudes dad

Posted
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I'm glad to hear that someone is working on that section!! But, shouldn't USBR30 go through Lansing? I mean, St. John's is in the corridor, but it seems like the route shouldn't bypass Lansing.

ProposedUSBikeRoutesMap.jpg

The Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail will get it to St John's. Someone over there will need to take it from St Johns to either Lansing or Owosso and on to Detroit. A couple of us have the west end covered :thumbsup:

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  • 4 weeks later...
fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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Have you seen the Thrifty Acres Indoor BMX, yet? No? Well, it's freakin' awesome!! A great re-use of an abandoned Meijer store up in Greenville and really a destination class facility that should draw riders from around the region.

http://taibmx.com/photo_gallery.htm

http://vimeo.com/17009132

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RegalTDP Burg

RegalTDP

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I don't know if anyone else caught this a couple days ago, but the state's moving in to buy the land needed to complete the riverside trail between downtown and Riverside Park:

http://www.mlive.com...n_state_pu.html

First Baxter and now this; pretty good week for GR parks & rec thumbsup.gif Of course, they will still have to find the funds to build the trail. But it will be great to finally link downtown to the trail network via the river.

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John E Burg

John E

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Thank you, this is great news.

~John

I don't know if anyone else caught this a couple days ago, but the state's moving in to buy the land needed to complete the riverside trail between downtown and Riverside Park:

http://www.mlive.com...n_state_pu.html

First Baxter and now this; pretty good week for GR parks & rec thumbsup.gif Of course, they will still have to find the funds to build the trail. But it will be great to finally link downtown to the trail network via the river.

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fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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Tomorrow morning at the GRCF, the WMMBA (Western chapter of the Michigan Mtn Biking Association) will announce their new "Fifty in Five" initiative to build 50 miles in new trails over the next five years. They are bringing in a couple of nationally recognized speakers to talk about the Economic Impact of Mountain Biking and how IMBA (Int'l Mtn Biking Association) works to design and build sustainable trails with minimal maintenance needs and environmental impact.

From their press release:

MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATIONS TO ANNOUNCE NEW INITIATIVE ENTITLED “FIFTY IN FIVE”

Nationally recognized Mountain Bike experts to speak on the “Economic Impact of Mountain Biking to your Community” and “Techniques for Building Sustainable Trails”

Grand Rapids, Mich., January 21, 2011 – The Michigan Mountain Bike Association and the Western Michigan Mountain Bike Association will make an announcement about their new initiative entitled “Fifty In Five” a push to build 50 miles of new trail in the next five years. The announcement will take place on Friday January 28, 2011 at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation (185 Oakes St SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503) starting at 9:30 AM.

The announcement will include speakers from the International Mountain Bike Association and RJF Insurance. Speakers / topics include:

Scott Chapin, a national recognized trail use insurance specialist with RJF Insurance and advocate for trail will be with us and will speak on the “Economic Impact of Mountain Biking to your Community” as well as hold an open discussion on trail insurance and liability coverage.

Jason Wells, International Mountain Bike Associations Trail Design Specialist. Jason is acclaimed as North America’s best trail designer and works domestically as well as abroad to assist communities and organizations in building environmentally sustainable trails. Jason will be discussing Techniques for Building Sustainable Trails.

Nate Phelps, President of the Michigan Mountain Bike Association, and Martin Hall, President of the Western Michigan Mountain Biking Association, will announce the new “Fifty In Five” initiative.

There will also be a more public event at the Hideout Brewery tomorrow evening, 7pm. Scott Chapin will do a similar talk on the economic impact of mountain biking.

WHAT: This Friday night (Jan 28th) @7pm the Western MMBA will be sponsoring pizza and beer at the Hideout Brewery in Grand Rapids to hear Scott Chapin's talk about the "Economic Impact of MTB Trails. We will buy the first 5 pizzas and 5 pitchers of brew for the event. Many of our trail building projects here in West Michigan (and the rest of the State for that matter) rely on our ability to get municipal approval and showing that our trails create a positive economic impact is something they're always interested in seeing.

Scott Chapin has worked for RJF Insurance for 15 years, specializing in risk mangement for the bicycle industry. In his spare time Scott fundraises for the Camba trail system and the American Birkebeiner.

So come out, have some pizza and beer on us, and meet a few new people. Hope to see you there!

WHEN: Friday January 28th @ 7pm

WHERE: Hideout Brewery, 3113 Plaza Drive NE, Grand Rapids, MI, (616) 361-9658

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crinzema Whistle-Stop

crinzema

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GRCC has this innovation challenge where the top 3 ideas for reducing energy consumption and promoting a Green campus, will get implemented on campus. I have joined a team that has now gotten past the first stage of competition. There are now only 10 teams. The idea that we have is a bike rental program for students and faculty. Students will be able to borrow a bike to ride between the DeVos campus, Tassel MTEC, and the main campus. We are still in the initial stages of planning. We are planning to present this idea again in the final stage in a couple months. But if you have any ideas or any ways in which you could helps us, I'm all ears. I'll try to get some more information out for you guys.

We have a poll on grcc's webpage. It's only open to students, but currently over 450 students have polled that they would be interested in this program. The percentage is 40%, but I was expecting that. Even if 5% of the student base uses this program, it would be a success. I'm expecting that by the time the poll ends, over 1,500 students will have polled that they would be interested in using this program.

And an idea that I had for this program that might get you guys a little excited, I was thinking that having a bike rental program for GRCC downtown is useful, but could also be useful at events like...well...you know... Just saying is all I'm saying. Don't quote my vague suggestion though.

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fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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They're gone. Leaves just Green Machines and Grand Rapids Pedicab. The bikes are going for almost $4000. If I had the budget for it, I'd grab one, but alas I don't even come close.

Do you have a link? I couldn't find them on Craigslist when I went looking.

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Ted Whistle-Stop

Ted

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Posted

Having just returned from Vancouver, BC all I can say is decorum prohibits me from repeating what bus drivers think about the new bike lanes, and this is in a city very dependent on buses.

Well if Canadian bus drivers don't like bike lanes...

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fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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Having just returned from Vancouver, BC all I can say is decorum prohibits me from repeating what bus drivers think about the new bike lanes, and this is in a city very dependent on buses.

Lots of Americans (and probably Canadians) would have similar complaints about the buses they get stopped behind. It's just a part of traffic.

I get stuck behind buses all the time on Fulton St on my bike ride into work. It's pretty much guaranteed on at least 2 of my 5 commutes each week that I'll get stopped behind a #4 or a #14 or a couple of other routes I can't even remember right now. Mostly near the library or the Secretary of State's office.

It's a huge inconvenience and usually delays me for at least 30-60 seconds as I wait for all the people to depart or try to get around the bus. <note sarcasm>

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arcturus Burg

arcturus

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Let me clarify ... in Vancouver the bike lanes are now separated by rather high cement dividers. This has made it virtually impossible for buses to take corners without first dangerously pulling into the middle of the street before making the turn. In other cases the turn is just impossible, forcing buses to take different routes to avoid these tight turns, no small feat considering many of the streets are one way plus some buses are powered by overhead power lines. The net effect is (a) more danger and (b) greater fuel consumption.

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