Category: Interesting (Page 13 of 16)

UPDATED! Douglas County Bicycle Events and Rides

February 23, 2011 /

Jessica Mortinger from the Douglas County Planning & Development Service got us a list of events for the 2011 Douglas County Bicycle Events and Rides. Please let us know if there are additional events and opportunities that we don’t have listed here so we can get them in the calendar!

They will also be added to the calendar soon but we wanted to post this ASAP.

April 2, 2011             Baldwin City Bike Fair

April 16, 2011            2011 Earth Day Celebration (BAC Table 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)

April 30, 2011           Eudora Bicycle Rodeo – 10:00am-1:00pm

(TBD)                         Lawrence Bike Fair

June 18, 2011           Border Raiders – A eight-day, four-state bicycle ride (500 mile loop) that visits historic places in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri where the border wars ignited the Civil War long before the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter. www.borderraiders.com/

June 18, 2011           Historic Gravel Road Ride – A gravel road ride taking place in Baldwin City, Kansas with 12 and 25 mile options, and connecting famous historical sites in the area. www.kansascyclist.com/events/HistoricGravelRoadRide.html

July 1-3, 2011           Tour of Lawrence – A three-day cycling race taking place over the Fourth of July holiday, featuring three events with professional, amateur, and youth divisions racing on the streets of Lawrence. www.touroflawrence.com

July 16, 2011            Lawrence Community Bike Ride 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Lawrence Central Rotary Sponsored event incorporating a ride, bike safety station, training wheel take off and merchandise tent.

July (TBD)               Lizard Under the Skillet – What better way to beat the heat than to come out to Lawrence, Kansas, and ride the Lizard Under the Skillet. There will be 30, 40 and 65 mile options available to ride.  www.lbc-cycling.com/rides/lizard.html

June 17, 2011           Lawrence Mountain Bicycle Club Solstice Ride – 6:30 p.m. This is an annual LMBC tradition to help celebrate the start of summer. The ride will start with the usual Friday night ride at the River Trail followed by dinner and drinks. www.lawrencemountainbikeclub.org/rides.shtml#summit

June 25, 2011          Lawrence Mountain Bicycle Club Summit- Ride starts at 10:00 a.m., Food & Games around Noon. This is an annual LMBC tradition. It is an annual membership drive and celebration for the current members. There will be a ride at Clinton Lake. Lunch, courtesy of LMBC, as well as some good old fashioned games will follow.  www.lawrencemountainbikeclub.org/rides.shtml#summit

October (TBD)        Lawrence Bicycle Club Octoginta www.lbc-cycling.com/rides/octoginta.html

Nov 25, 2011           Lawrence Mountain Bicycle Club Thanksgiving Day Ride – 9:00 a.m. Break away from the in-laws and warm up your appetite on the singletrack at Clinton Lake. This is a 2-3 hour ride depending on the weather and conditions. Clinton is rocky and technical. Be prepared to fix a few flats. No fee, just fun mountain biking on Turkey Day!  www.lawrencemountainbikeclub.org/rides.shtml#summit

US-40/K-10 Public Meeting March 3rd in Lawrence

February 19, 2011 /

This is a re-post from Kansas Bike/ Walk — Thanks!

US-40/K-10 Public Meeting March 3rd in Lawrence

The Kansas Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting on March 3, 2011 in Lawrence, Kansas to gather input on future development of the US-40 Highway/K-10 interchange in west Lawrence:

Citing the potential for large-scale future development in the area, KDOT officials want to make citizens aware of current plans for improving the interchange and gather ideas for improvements in future years.

The open house is scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center at Free State High School, 4706 Overland Drive. KDOT staff and planning team members will be available to answer questions and talk with property owners and other interested parties.

Provisional plans for US 40, which is West 6th Street as it passes through Lawrence, call for improvements on a 1.5-mile stretch beginning at George Williams Way and proceeding west to East 800 Road. Proposals under consideration include installing left turn lanes and traffic signals at the ramps to K-10.

Long-term improvements may include widening the US 40 bridge over K-10 to accommodate additional left-turn lanes and possible pedestrian walkways. [read more]

The plan will recommend potential improvements to US-40 (West 6th Street), the K-10 interchange, nearby local roads, bicycle/pedestrian facilities, and public transit.


US-40/K-10 Planning Area Map

KDOT is developing the plan during the first half of this year, and the final report is anticipated to be completed by late summer 2011. To find out more about the study, visit the plan study page on KTOC. A planning map and Frequently Asked Questions are available for download from KDOT.

It is important for bicyclists and pedestrians to be involved in the planning process. If you live, work, or ride in the area, please attend the public meeting and voice your concerns about safe biking and walking conditions.

It Keeps Snowing – There’s a bike for that!

February 9, 2011 /

I know it’s been insane and although I saw group of hard-core riders on Mass Street out for a Pugsley bikeride on Sunday, today would be a lot harder without the streets plowed.  That’s where the Pugsley comes in.  It’s an all terrain bike that has pretty sweet floatation and traction afforded by large-volume, low-pressure tires can get you over and through otherwise unrideable terrain, such as sand, mud, wet rocks and roots, ice, and many kinds of snow like we’ve had here in Lawrence the this winter. Wide, low-pressure tires are easier than standard tires on whatever terrain you pass over because they don’t dig in as easily. The bonus: We think it’s named after a member of the Addams family.  See it it on the web at Surly Bikes Website.

DIY Bike Snowplow

January 24, 2011 /

Reprint from:

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/11/firefly_workshops_pedal-powered_sno.html

Firefly Workshop’s pedal-powered snow plow

plowing1.jpg
plowing2.jpg

We featured the meticulously-organized workshop that Milwaukeean Cindy Smith shares with her husband, Craig, back in March. Craig saw our recent human-powered lifting devices post and wrote in to share with us the custom snow-plow-tricycle he built for removing light snowfall from his driveway:

The custom 3-wheel bike with sidecar was made years ago, a replica of a bike my childhood friend had. Last winter I added a snow plow accessory. Up to 1 inch of snow doesn’t make it worthwhile to fire up my big 8HP snowthrower. And shoveling my 90′ long driveway by hand can be too much. So my bike plow makes it easy to make a few runs up and down the driveway to make 2 or 3 piles that can then be easily hand shoveled off to the side. A lever pulls up or lets down the plow with a rope and pulley. Pulling the lever all the way back cantilevers the rope and pivot point so it locks in place. The plow blade is hinged with a bungee cord, so hitting a discrepancy in the road allows the blade to flop and give like a real plow. The bike can turn on a dime so raising the plow and returning up the adjacent path is quick and easy. I can do ‘reverse’ by pushing down on the front wheel with my foot to roll it backwards.Totally useless with larger snow falls, but the light ones make snow removal fun. (yes, my neighbors do think I’m odd)

Troubling Statitstic of the Day: Survey finds kids better at using computers than riding bikes

January 24, 2011 /

Five year olds picking up technology skillsKids with his bike

By Tim Greene | Network World US | Published: 09:50 GMT, 21 January 11

Children five years old and younger are acquiring at least some computer skills at rates higher than they pick up more traditional childhood activities like swimming and bike riding, a survey says.According to a survey of 2,200 mothers in 10 countries, 69% of children ages two to five can operate a computer mouse, 58% can play some form of computer game and 28% can make a mobile phone call.

The survey by security firm AVG says 25% can open a web browser and 19% can use a web app of some sort. Among the same kids, 77% complete jigsaw puzzles, 52% ride bikes, 20% swim and 11% tie their shoes, AVG says.

AVG’s CEO JR Smith says the results indicate parents should pay attention to their children’s use of computers and the Internet with an eye toward making sure the kids are protected from harm. “As our research shows, parents need to start educating kids about navigating the online world safely at an earlier age than they might otherwise have thought,” he says.

Tech skill rates varied with the complexity of the task. For instance, 63% could turn a computer on and off, but only 16% could navigate between websites.

37% of the children could write their own names while 15% knew at least one web address and 5% knew at least one email address.

The survey queried mothers in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and found that results varied by country.

For example, 30% of the kids in the US and Australia could operate at least one smartphone or tablet application. That percentage for kids in Japan was 11%. In France and the UK, 70% of the children could play a computer game, while only 40% could in Germany.

http://news.techworld.com/personal-tech/3257593/kids-better-at-using-computers-than-riding-bikes-finds-survey/

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Ride Lawrence

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Follow Me
Tweet