Tulsa Tough News!

This arrived today!

Announcing New Support Programs for 2009!

Tulsa Tough has introduced three new support programs for 2009. We're sponsoring tour riders, other tour ride events, and clubs. That's right! We want to support you and we want you to help us spread the word about Tulsa Tough. Get the details here.

Ride Registration Now Open

Ride registration is now open for all distances from the 100 mile Deuce Challenge to the 8 mile Townie ride. Tulsa Tough has fun for the whole family. Details on the kids program will be announced soon - registration is not yet open for the kids bike program or races.

Speaking of races, Tulsa Tough is part of USA Cycling's National Race Calendar, meaning the top Pro teams in the US will be right here fighting it out on our high speed, spectator friendly courses. So enjoy your ride and make plans for great evening entertainment.

Why wait? Make plans and register now.

Of course, I clicked on the links. The Kid's Challenge hasn't been finalized, but there's this exciting bit of news - sponsorship - for non-racers, clubs, and events:

Tulsa Tough has introduced three innovative new programs for 2009. Our goal is simple, we want you to spread the word about Tulsa Tough and our great tour rides. So whether you are a first year local club member, RAGBRAI die harder, or event director we want your help. Of course, we'll do our part. Apply now, we'll be announcing our sponsorships on or before March 15, 2009. Application deadline is March 13th for all support programs.

Supported Events

Funding is tight for everyone but we need more great touring events! What to do? We're looking for ten great tours to support with $500 each. We'll list your event on our website and we'll probably attend. We want you to list us on your website, let us put a flyer in your registration packet and tell your participants about Tulsa Tough.

Apply here.

Supported Clubs

We're looking for a few, okay 10, cycling clubs. Here's the deal.

Tulsa Tough commits to the following:
TT makes a $250 contribution to your club (up to 10 clubs)
TT recognizes your club as a Supporting Club on our website
TT provides a link to your club on our website
TT provides t-shirts to your sag driver(s)
TT provides gas money for your sag driver(s)
TT provides lunch & snacks for your sag driver(s)

Each club commits to the following
Club provides link to TT on your website
Club provides TT with contacts for your club members and permission to e-mail them (we're not spammers)
Club provides one central contact person as coordinator for our TT Club program
Club provides one manned sag vehicle for our tours on Saturday and one on Sunday
Club's sag volunteers commit to attend TT training meeting(s)

If you're interested, apply now.

Supported Tour Riders

Do you like to travel and ride your bike with diverse groups of people? Do you talk a lot? Is the only thing keeping you from attending the next tour ride your number of vacation days? We want to help support that habit.

We are seeking 8 tour riders (get lost racers) who plan to participate in prominent cycling tour events. We'll give you a Tulsa Tough jersey and $250 for event entry fees, etc. We want you to write about your experiences so we can publish them to our website, we want you to interact with others at the event and tell them about us, we want you to be yourself take pics and have fun. We even have helmet cams if you're the video blogging type.

Sound good? Apply now

Tulsa Tough

(CycleDog Photos)

It's been an interesting weekend.

Saturday, I was to work providing mechanical support for the Tulsa Tough on the century route. Jordan and I were to be in Ochelata. First, I forgot my box of parts and supplies. Oh, I had the tools, pump, and work stand, but no spare tubes, cables, etc. A quick call to Mike Schooling remedied that, though Mike did call me a dimwit but in a nice way. As it turned out, the only business we had was inflating a pair of tires. Jordan said he needed more 'action.' I think that sometimes the best action is no action.

Then the Ford's charging system light came on. I figured my alternator wasn't charging sufficiently, but the light went out on the way home. I thought that meant it charged the battery - until the engine quit a few miles later. Apparently, when the light goes out, it means THERE ISN'T ENOUGH VOLTAGE TO RUN THE IDIOT LIGHT ANYMORE, YOU IDIOT!!! It says this in the manual but it's in very tiny print. We called my friend Wade. He came up to US75 and SH20 and picked us up. I took the battery out since I had lots of tools on hand, and brought it home to charge. Then Lyndsay and I went back up there in her SUV to install the battery and bring the car home.

I can be thankful for one thing, though, and that's the fact that the system could have shut down somewhere out west of Ochelata where cellphones and radios don't work. We'd still be out there. It's the definition of desolate.

I gave serious consideration to hiding in the closet with a pillow over my head for the rest of the evening.

Sunday morning saw better organization. I transferred my equipment to Lyndsay's Blazer, being certain to include the parts box this time, and checked the map for the third or fourth time to be sure I knew how to reach the Keystone VFD. Jordan originally wanted to go along. He was to help me with the rest stop, then after it closed, we'd go to the start of the Tulsa Townie. He wanted to ride it with the kids he'd met at the BikeEd events. But he had a going-away party for a friend last night. All that free floating teen angst kept him up very late, so he couldn't find the energy to get his eyes open this morning. I pushed off alone.

At the VFD, we set up the sun tents and arranged tables. We iced down the drinks. Our amateur communications volunteer (sadly, I've forgotten her name and call sign) came over to tell us that a storm was bearing down on our location accompanied by 70mph winds and golf ball size hail. With a wary eye on the dark, ominous clouds, we hurried to finish setting up the rest stop. One of the firemen opened the truck bays and we hustled to move equipment inside. Last to go would be the tents. We collapsed the first one, but before we could get the other one down, the wind picked up and the hail arrived.

Sure enough, golf ball size hail stones slammed into the tent and the ground. A few were closer to baseball size. Big hail stones are very dangerous as they fall at one hundred miles an hour. These things can kill you.

So we were afraid to leave the dubious safety of the sun tent, at least until lightning was less than a mile away. Then the idea of standing directly under a bunch of aluminum tubing seemed just as precarious as the hail. One of the volunteer firemen put his helmet on and ran to the firehouse. Others put folding chairs over their heads. I used a clipboard.

We waited for the storm to pass. As soon as it did, we went about clearing off the twisted wreckage of the tent and began to anticipate the arrival of the first riders. It was not to be. The radio net announced the approach of another line of storms. The century riders were diverted east along the 100K route rather than west toward us. Most of the group decided to go backward along the route in order to look for stragglers and see if any assistance was needed.

The rain arrived along with high winds. Some low-lying areas were flooded and debris covered much of the road in places. I encountered a lone cyclist, Neal, who'd been separated from his group and somehow had continued west rather than east. Neal is from Enid. He was riding his first century. We loaded his bike into the Blazer and drove toward Tulsa. If Jordan had accompanied me, there wouldn't have been room for Neal and his bike. So it was a perverse sort of blessing that Jordan stayed home.

Driving was an adventure. At times, visibility was only a few feet and we crept along at a bicycle pace. Once, it was so bad we had to pull off the road and wait. I thought to put the Blazer inside a bay at a car wash, but apparently I wasn't the only one with that idea. Every bay was occupied.

And I did something very stupid. I drove through a flooded area, one that was probably too deep to cross safely. If the Blazer had stalled, we would have been in deep, um, water. I kept the engine revs up and we got through it.

Neal was on the phone with his wife. We met her in a parking lot and moved the bike to her van. They were off.

I drove home through gusty cross winds, the Blazer rolling from the wind forces. My neck and shoulder ached with tension. A cup of coffee and two ibuprofen were very welcome when I got home.

The weather caused the organizers to cancel the Tulsa Townie – the kid's event we'd been working toward since April. And most of the races were canceled except for the final three, I think. I would imagine that between the downed tree branches and other debris on the street, it would take some time to clear. Also, those police officers who were going to accompany the kids were likely re-assigned to emergency duties.

I'm looking forward to going back to work so I can get some rest!

Tulsa Tough: Law Enforcement

I've been told that due to the large number of complaints from area residents during the 2007 Tulsa Tough tours, there will be greater law enforcement presence on area roads this year.

In other words, if you run red lights and stop signs, expect to be ticketed.

Most of the tour riders have nothing to worry about, of course, but the sub-five hour pack riders will have to exercise caution.

Tulsa Tough Kid's Challenge

Skills and Drills Clinic

Sunday, 19MAY2008

This was the final skills and drills clinic for the Tulsa Tough Kids Challenge. The instructors were: Brian Potter, Ren Barger, Richard Hall, and myself. We had numerous volunteers assisting with registration, helmet and bike fitting, and even police officers from the Tulsa Police Department and the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office.

Jordan went along for this one too, and it's a good thing he did. Some of the kids in my group had ill-fitting helmets or bikes with minor mechanical problems that required immediate attention. Jordan stepped in for me and kept the drills rolling while I took care of the problems. He's easily approachable. Kids like him. He's a fine assistant to any instructor. And there's no denying he worked hard because he dehydrated badly like I did last week. Just know that I'm proud of him for helping so much on Sunday.

One mother asked if I had an operator's manual for teenage boys. It didn't dawn on me until Monday – when I began writing this – that she was commenting on my son! I had to say that if I could write something like that, I'd have a yacht or an island of my own. Apparently, Mary and I did something right as far as parenting is concerned, but for the life of me, I don't know what it was. “As the twig is bent...” A friend said that by the time they're 16 or 17, we're just along for the ride.

Would it be possible to invite some kids from this year's group to attend next year's 'classroom' events? Perhaps we could solicit teachers to have a writing contest or something similar in order to select the most persuasive kids to assist with our pitch. At their age, peer pressure can work to our advantage.

To that end, we need to keep an idea file for next year. I set a reminder in MS calendar.

We need some people to perform an effective gatekeeper function. Brian said to trust the registrars, but they were perhaps too lenient in allowing some to attend. We had one family show up with their daughter who'd been registered, along with her two younger brothers who most likely were not, but I had no way to verify this. I think they were no older than six and they were a pain-in-the-ass to deal with because they simply would not listen until I bellowed at them. Next year – turn away these very young kids outside our targeted age group. We need to turn away kids who are not dressed appropriately, re-scheduling them for a later session. I had one kid wearing flip-flops. There may have been more. That may be a PITA for the gatekeeper, but it makes our job easier. No one wants to be the bad guy, the one who says 'no' to anxious parents and kids, but it's a necessary function.

I think that we should plan out the classes differently, allowing more time between sessions although that would stretch out the day. The kids need to be rested and fed before class, so maybe schedule two classes at mid-day. Give the staff an hour break over dinner, and have an evening session.

The kids seemed more anxious, hyper, and whiny this time perhaps because it was later in the day. The warehouse was hot and I had a few who wanted to take breaks for water every few minutes. “How many minutes left?” one asked repeatedly. That last group probably hadn't had dinner either and that's sure to make kids cranky. It makes me cranky!

And finally, Ren said she had a temper tantrum due to being so irritated by some of the kids. That didn't really qualify as a temper tantrum. I use Conan the Barbarian as a model. "Kill your enemies! See them run before you! Hear the lamentations of their women!" Now, that's a tantrum! I really need to wear more furs. Where can I get a battle axe?

Tulsa Tough Kids Challenge

This is from Gary Parker, one of the local LCIs and an ardent bicycling advocate. Gary taught at yesterday's Tough Kids event. He's a retired teacher, and in all honesty, he's probably forgotten more about teaching than I've ever learned. Both Gary and Ren Barger have that special touch that allows them to connect with kids. I always watch carefully when they're speaking to a group, hoping that I can learn more. My post follows Gary's.....Ed

Dear TaoBIKE Team,

Thank you for your wonderful effort on behalf of the kids participating in today's Tulsa Tough Kids Skills and Drills.

Brian Potter took the lead. The agenda arrived at earlier was very efficient. Four groups of about 20-plus kids moved through the activities quite efficiently. This was due in great part to teacher/coaches Richard Hall, Ren Barger, and Ed Wagner.

Ed's son Jordan participated providing examples of the skills assignments. Several of the Tulsa Bike Patrol were also on hand. Adam was there from the outset with some shop mechanics.

The sequence of events went very smoothly with greater skill for delivery of services being acquired with each successive group.

A special shout-out "Thank you!" to Brian joining me for my bike ride back to the River's Edge at 21st and Riverside.

From the three sessions of helmet fitting through riding in a straight line, stopping-starting and turn signaling, and a big finish with two by two riding of the entire group around the warehouse as they monitored their spacing and speed.

What a great day for Tulsa kids and Tulsa bicycling.

My appreciation to all of the folks that made today's Tulsa Tough Kids bike event such a wonderful happening.

Gary Parker

Jordan and I left early on Saturday morning for the Skills and Drills Clinic. The Tulsa Tough is giving away 300 Trek bicycles to local kids this year. We helped to assemble them and we participated in the classroom portions at several local schools. Jordan was especially valuable because as a teenager, he's closer to the elementary kids ages, and he's more approachable than an adult. I think he enjoyed the attention too.

The LCI cadre did an amalgam of Kids 1 and 2. We held the clinic in a warehouse this year, the same warehouse that we'd used for bike assembly. It offered some advantages since we didn't have to be concerned about the weather. But the floor was smooth finished concrete, so we had to adapt the drills for the reduced traction. Instant turns were out, as well as the rock dodge. That proved to be a good call because some of the kids showed poor bike handling skills on the serpentine course, and naturally, some were overly aggressive. Fortunately, no one fell and we didn't have any collisions.

The first group was a the largest with about 75 kids. It was important to stay on message and keep track of time. Brian had allotted 15 minutes for each section, along with a 5 minute break at the mid-point. It was a challenge to keep the kids focused and get all of them through each drill several times so they could develop some proficiency. I talked with one parent and described it as “trying to herd cats.” For the most part, the kids were focused and attentive.

The Tulsa Police Department sent 5 officers from their bike patrol unit. These folks were wonderful! They helped with helmet fittings, stopping drills, and even acted as pedestrians at one point. I'm not sure if the kids paid more attention to the instructors or the guys in uniform, but there's no doubt in my mind that the police officers were very effective in a bicycling education role. (We talked briefly about the IPMBA and LAB's Road1, but that's a subject for another time.)

There were some heartbreakers too. One boy was worried because his mother wasn't there. “She never comes to anything with me,” he said. I could hear the hurt in his voice. One girl had broken her arm the previous weekend and was in a hand-to-shoulder cast. She very gamely wanted to participate, but we were worried that she wouldn't be able to control her bike and she could fall, re-injuring the arm. I had to tell her she was excused from the class. She had tears welling up in her eyes. At least she has a new bike even if she can't ride it yet.

We had a few kids with learning problems. They required more one-on-one instruction, and we worked with them as we could. But we had two kids who didn't know how to ride a bike at all. The parents were told at the classroom sessions that we did not have the time or staffing to teach beginners, yet they signed up to get that free bike anyway. Some parents gamed the system too. They arrived at the warehouse, received their helmets and bikes, and then disappeared as soon as possible. Perhaps they saw little value in the instruction, but in a perverse way it benefited the kids who stayed because we could spend more time with them individually.

Finally, a word about the volunteers. The LCI group didn't do this alone. The Tulsa Tough operates with a network of volunteers, people who donated their time to unload trucks, assemble bikes, handle administrative chores, and even take out the trash. It truly is a team effort because none of us could accomplish our tasks without the others. A well deserved thank you goes to St. Francis Hospital, the Tulsa Crime Commission, Adam Vanderburg (owner of Lee's Bicycles), and the hundreds of people who worked together to bring this event to area kids.

And we get to do it again next week!

Tulsa Tough Kids Challenge: the bike build

This is only a small portion of the bikes we assembled. All three hundred were assembled in a little under four hours. I was one tired puppy when we finished!



Local cycling personality and perpetual office-seeker Paul Tay, with Chuck Davis, owner of Oklahoma Velo Sports, and Gary Parker.

Nice bike, eh?

(CycleDog photo. See Flickr for the full set.)

Ren asked for thoughts about yesterday's bike building event.

When I got home from work, I spent some frantic minutes putting my toolbox together. Right before an event like this something always goes missing. Last night, it was the Y tool. Someone who looks a lot like me manages to misplace tools with depressing frequency.

I asked Jordan to come along. He wanted to borrow the car and go to church. Since I was using it, he couldn't. But he readily agreed to help out with building bikes. As it turned out, I glad he did.

We arrived at the warehouse in a pouring rain, hustled inside, and set up the work stand. Within a few minutes, we began assembling a multi-speed Trek mountain bike. I cut away the zip ties, rubber bands, and paper wrapping while Jordan removed small parts from the box and got the front wheel ready. A spot of grease went onto the seat post and it went into the frame, then the whole assembly went up into the stand. Jordan installed the pedals with a long 15mm combination wrench. I installed the handlebar and adjusted the front brake. I checked the derailleurs and the rear brake, and then the bike went down onto the floor. We tightened the pedals firmly and inflated the tires. Jordan rode the bike over to the storage area, then returned with another unassembled one.

That was the sequence we followed during the four hours it took to assemble 300 bikes.

Jordan said we did eight bikes but I didn't keep count. These Treks arrived in good condition. That is, there's little to do other than put them together and adjust the front brake after the cable is installed. I adjusted just one rear derailleur and encountered one bike with a brake problem I couldn't fix with the tools available. It had a burr inside one of its cable ferrules that caused the brake to stick. A few passes with a needle file would have fixed it, but my needle files were safely tucked away in my tool box at work.

Richard Hall arrived and set up his work station next to mine. We shared some tools. I had to show him a couple of antiques out of my tool box – an ancient Campagnolo T wrench and an equally ancient Campy 'peanut butter' wrench. He got a kick from the sticker on the back that says, “One wrench to rule them all and in the darkness bind them.” The funny thing is – whenever I slide that 15mm box end over my finger, I become invisible. What's up with that?

There was one minor annoyance when another mechanic began working just a few feet behind me, leaving little space for Jordan and I to work without bumping into him. Now, the warehouse is roughly 100,000 square feet. There's no reason to set up in close proximity to another person, particularly when that person is using a utility knife (as Jordan was) for opening boxes. Every now and then, I threw something over my shoulder. Yeah, it was wrong, but...

Tulsa Tough Kids...

Kids1 Presentations

Monday and Tuesday evenings, the Tulsa LCI group did Kids1 presentations at Webster High School and Carver Middle School in Tulsa. Actually, we're offering an amalgam of Kids1 and Kids2 in the League of American Bicyclists curriculum because the kids who attend these events will receive new bicycles through the Tulsa Tough program. We want them to be prepared to ride safely.

The LCI group consists of Ren Barger, Gary Parker, Brian Potter, and me for these events. We followed the Crime Commission's “Safe Escape” program which teaches kids how to avoid abduction. Safe Escape is a free presentation they offer to any interested organizations in the Tulsa area, and to be blunt, it's a tough act to follow. We're bland and boring by comparison.

Watching Gary and Ren work with the kids is always enjoyable. They both have the light touch that develops almost instant rapport. Brian does the 'expert instructor' role, and I provide comedy relief. I'm lucky to have straight guys like these.

We watched 'A Child's Eye View' which is a short video on cycling safety produced by LAB. Gary asks the kids to watch for the mistakes the kids in the video make, and they're on it like hawks. He doesn't tell them what to look for – he merely asks, “What did you see?” The kids don't miss much. They tell us of a kid riding on the wrong side of the road, running stops signs, riding without a helmet, and riding out onto the street without scanning for traffic first. Honestly, they didn't miss a single mistake.

I was lucky to have Jordan along on Monday evening. On the drive to Webster, I told him to expect a question about how taking Road1 and learning the rules of the road helped him when he took his driver's license test. Brian called on him during the lecture and Jordan responded very well. Afterward, six or eight kids gathered around to ask him more questions. The LCIs are impossibly old by kids standards, but Jordan is closer to their age and easily approachable. I think he was a bit surprised by the attention.

Today (Wednesday) we get to assemble those new bikes – all 300 of them. Last year, we had an enormous group of mechanics, box haulers, pizza technicians, and other support people. The team assembled 200 bikes in about 90 minutes. I'm hoping it goes as quickly tonight.

In May, we'll do the skills and drills portion and the kids will get their new bikes and helmets. That will be intense because we'll have 3 classes each day. After that, there's a planning meeting for the tech support staff, and the two-day Tulsa Tough event itself. I've been having short nights and long days already, and I'm only peripherally involved in the Tough. Those more centrally involved must be working their butts off!

So if you participate in any of these big events, whether it's a local charity ride or a big racing weekend, take a moment to thank the volunteers. And don't be surprised if you find one of us fast asleep in a chair during a quiet moment.

Tulsa Tough Kids Events

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The first of the Tulsa Tough Kids Challenge events will kick off on Monday, April 21st.


Tulsa Tough Children’s Hospital Tough Kid’s Challenge

The Children’s Hospital at Saint Francis has once again provided the opportunity for kids to win a free bike, helmet and t-shirt through Tulsa Tough. This year 3rd, 4th and 5th grade-aged children are eligible for the program. To receive the bike children must complete a Safe-Escape class conducted by the Crime Commission along with a bicycle handling skills class conducted by the League of American Bicyclists. Kids will then pick up their bikes at the Skills and Drills class and are required to participate in a Tulsa Townie ride on Sunday June 1st at Tulsa Tough. All kids events are free. Parents are encouraged to ride with their kids by signing up for the Townie ride.


Register online at www.tulsatough.com or call the Crime Commission at (918) 585-5209.

Tulsa Tough Kid's Challenge Registration

Registration for the Tulsa Tough Kid's Challenge opens tomorrow, April 7th. Children in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade can receive a free bicycle, helmet, T-shirt, and instruction by completing the Tulsa Tough events. Please note that registration is on a first come, first served basis, and that children registered after the initial 300 will be added to a waiting list.

(From the website)
http://www.tulsatough.com/site/tulsatough/section/19


The Children’s Hospital at Saint Francis has once again provided the opportunity for kids to win a free bike, helmet and t-shirt through Tulsa Tough. This year 3rd, 4th and 5th grade-aged children are eligible for the program. To receive the bike children must complete a Safe-Escape class conducted by the Crime Commission along with a bicycle handling skills class conducted by the League of American Bicyclists. Similar to last year, kids will then pick up their bikes on Saturday and participate in a Tulsa Townie ride on Sunday June 1st at Tulsa Tough. All kids events are free. Parents are encouraged to ride with their kids by signing up for the Townie ride.

1. Register on this website.

2. Attend one of three Safe Escape/Bike Ed trainings

Join KJRH anchor Russ McCaskey, Sports Anchor Jason Shackleford and the team from the Crime Commission at one of these presentations:

April 21st 7:00-8:30pm Webster High School 1919 W. 40th St. Tulsa
April 22nd 7:00-8:30pm Carver Middle School 624 E. Oklahoma Pl. Tulsa
April 28th 7:00-8:30pm Memorial High School 5840 S. Hudson Ave Tulsa
Parents are encouraged to attend with their children.

3. Attend one of the Skills and Drills Classes!

Certified instructors will be on hand to teach children bicycle riding skills. Classes are available as follows:

Saturday, May 10th at the Space Center III,
8:30AM Helmet Fitting, Bike Fit/Check, 9:00-11:00AM Skills and Drills Class 1
10:45AM Helmet Fitting, Bike Fit/Check, 11:15-1:15PM Skills and Drills Class 2
1:00PM Registration, Helmet Fitting, Bike Fit/Check, 1:30-3:30PM Skills and Drills Class 3

Sunday May 18 at the Space Center III,
12:00PM Helmet Fitting, Bike Fit/Check, 12:30-2:30PM Skills and Drills Class 4
2:15PM Helmet Fitting, Bike Fit/Check, 2:45-4:45PM Skills and Drills Class 5
4:30PM Helmet Fitting, Bike Fit/Check, 5:00-7:00PM Skills and Drills Class 6

4. Participate in the 8-mile Tulsa Tough Tulsa Townie ride on Sunday June 1 at 1PM!

The Tough Kids Challenge, presented by The Children’s Hospital at Saint Francis, is designed to encourage physical fitness and introduce youth to lifelong health activities.

Registration is on a first come, first served basis. Children registering after the initial 300 will be added to a waiting list. The actual bike each child receives will be based on their height and availability, bikes will be available at the Skills and Drills class.

Registration opens Monday, April 7th.

Braze and Bracket at the Tulsa Bicycle Club

The Tulsa Bicycle Club graciously hosted Brian and me as “Braze and Bracket” with Mike Schooling as the ringmaster of our improvised circus. We talked about a program called “Go by Bike” designed to encourage people to use their bicycles for utility and commuting, rather than just recreation. This was all loosely based on the ideas in the Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge.

In all seriousness (seriosity?) we know that speaking to a bike club is preaching to the choir. They're already experienced and knowledgeable cyclists, but we want them to be a resource for others who are less knowledgeable. Rising fuel costs always put more people onto their bikes in an effort to save money. We want those knowledgeable club cyclists to be informed enough to answer simple questions, yet aware of other resources like the LCI group where they can find information in depth.

All in all, it was an interesting hour that went by too quickly. We used a who-what-when-where format that encouraged questions. Ringmaster Mike kept us on track, because otherwise we would have rambled on far longer.

We also talked about the Tulsa Tough and the kids BikeEd events associated with it, and upcoming Road1 classes on April 26^th and June 6^th.

There was some discussion of the construction at the Haikey Creek bridge (the locally infamous 'FEMA' bridge) and I used that as a springboard to solicit information for the INCOG bicycling advisory group. It's simply not possible for the committee members to be aware of details on every trail and roadway cyclists use throughout the INCOG service area, so we rely on individual cyclists and clubs to provide us with that information.

Tulsa Tough Bikes and Kids

(Forwarded from Adam with his permission to use contact information)

The Crime Commission and Tulsa Tough has secured a location at the Space Center at 38th/Memorial. The facility is a large 10,000 + square foot warehouse with plenty of room, electricity, and restrooms. It will provide enough room for bicycle storage, an assembly party, and skills and drills class. The warehouse location is a secured and safe environment for many young kids that will be eager to learn about bicycle safety and proper riding! The skills & drills Kids 1 is scheduled for Saturday Mary 10th and Sunday May 18th. We will need all the help we can recruit from LCI's and any experienced volunteers that would like to assist. I anticipate we will need around 25 adults.
Please contact me ASAP.

Adam Vanderburg

NIMO61(at)SBCGLOBAL.NET

Tulsa Tough: a paradigm shift

Let me say at the outset, I have a very small role in this. The meeting I'm about to describe is just one small part of a larger effort to bring the Tulsa Tough to area cyclists. My part in that is to assist with the BikeEd program that provides bicycles and education to local kids. I'll very likely help to assemble those bicycles and I'll be out on the road somewhere providing mechanical help along the tour routes. But there's more to the Tulsa Tough, especially the racing portion of the event, and I know very little about that.

So, with those caveats in place, I'll forge ahead.

I experienced a paradigm shift at this meeting. It's always a little bit disconcerting when it happens, but this was a revelation. The sponsors and supporters for the Tulsa Tough are Saint Francis Hospital and the Sports Commission, as well as the area hotel and restaurant association, and many others. That's hardly a revelation. But the idea that hit me, 'gobsmacked' as the Brits would say, is that the Tulsa area has arrived as a cycling city. There's a tsunami of cycling consciousness that joins government, businesses, and individuals, highlighting this city as a cycling mecca. You may think that's an overstatement, yet it's undoubtedly true. We are no longer struggling toward a goal. We've attained it. Sure, there's much more to do, but this was an enormous hurdle to overcome.

We met at Malcolm McCollum's law offices on Friday. Malcolm is one of the Tulsa Tough organizers, a 'big wheel' in the organization. Brian Potter, Gary Parker, and I are League Cycling Instructors. Ren Barger is an LCI too, and she's the coordinator for the Community Cycling Project. Adam Vanderburg, owner of Lee's Bicycles, is the driving force behind the Little 100 race for area schoolchildren. Adam agreed to be the contact person for this group, effectively our committee head. And Carol Bush is the executive director of the Crime Commission.

Having the Crime Commission on-board with the Tulsa Tough and BikeEd may require some explanation. We're working in conjunction with the Carol and the Crime Commission (and as Dave Barry would say, that sounds like a good name for a rock band!) by offering both bicycling education and Safe Escape. The latter is a national program that teaches children how to avoid abduction, empowering both kids and adults. It's a natural fit with BikeEd The program takes 1 hour and is aimed at both parents and children in grades 3, 4, and 5. Three weeknight presentations will be offered at Webster, Carver, and Memorial schools.

The classroom portion of the BikeEd presentation will be offered the same night as Safe Kids. We'll do helmet fitting, watch the LAB video, and get started with the introductory material. Parental participation is strongly encouraged because we can educate both kids and parents.

The 'skills and drills' portion of BikeEd will be offered on 2 weekends, May 10^th and May 18^th. The venue will be announced at a later time.

Jim Beach is organizing the Tulsa Townie, a short ride through Tulsa for the non-lycra crowd and the 'graduation' exercise for the kids. The Townie and all other tours will leave from the West Bank festival area this year.

We will have 300 Trek bicycles for the kid's giveaway. In order to receive a bike, they must attend the Safe Kids program, both elements of the BikeEd program, and ride in the Tulsa Townie. Just like last year, the bikes will be available for pickup the day before the Townie. Since these bikes are more complicated than the Schwinns we had last year, the assemblers will need to receive some training. Time and place for that will be announced.

Tulsa People will put out a guide to Tulsa Tough venues for spectators.

We discussed the probability of scheduling conflicts between these events and various other cycling-related events in May. The month is packed full of tours, meetings, seminars, and two holidays. While we attempted to minimize conflicts, it's simply not possible to eliminate all of them. This is a big concern, partly because we don't want to draw people away from their plans, but also because we depend on volunteers to help. As I'm fond of saying, trying to keep a big group of kids focused is like trying to herd cats. It can be stressful and exhausting, but the bottom line is that it's still a whole lot of fun!

Tuesday Musette, 11MAR2008

The last couple of days have been very busy. I'm excited to share this information will all of you because these 'happy accidents', when all the good stuff seems to converge at once, happen very rarely.

Patrick Fox/info re Google Maps

Patrick Fox, Multimodal Transportation Planner at INCOG, caught this one I'd missed.  It's from the National Bike Summit that concluded last week.  Patrick said:

hey Ed...

Check this out...

http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/06/bike-network-20/

From Streetsblog:

One of the more intriguing stories at yesterday's National Bike Summit in Washington D.C. came from Nicole Freedman, who was appointed Boston's first bike czar last September. A planner and one-time professional cyclist, Freedman was charged with building a bike network out of nothing, in a city routinely ranked among the nation's worst for bicycling, on a shoestring budget.

Well, you know what they say about necessity. Freedman invented a rather ingenious method of planning a bike network. Her team created a modified Google Map that enables cyclists to log on and trace the routes they ride every day. Watch the data pile up, and voila -- sensible bike routes. "We found out where the actual desire lines are," she said. "Using existing technology was great."

In addition to figuring out where to stripe lanes, Freedman is using Google Maps to rate streets on bike-friendliness. "Anyone can go onto Google and rate a road," she said. "Is it good for beginners or just for experts?" The results will be reflected in Boston's first official bike map, which Freedman touted as an example of the city's strategy to personalize bike education and training. (Did I mention they're starting from scratch?)

Total cost? Next to nothing. "Basically the public is creating the map, and the sponsor will print," she said.

Update: While trying to track down the Google Map, which reader Eric Fischer links to in the comments, I found this explanation of how riders use it from Boston blogger Velo Fellow.

Let's be clear – this is a free resource that we can use to determine routes used by real cyclists, rather than lines on a map drawn up in a planning office somewhere. A tool like this is very beneficial to area cyclists, INCOG, and our bureaucrats and politicians. It supplies genuine data, not assumptions or conjecture, and that's precisely the kind of information necessary to serve area cyclists.

Trail updates and Green Traveler

(This is part of an e-mail Patrick Fox sent out regarding trail connectivity with the AA Maintenance Base. Used with permission.)

As far as completing the Mingo Valley Trail, that trail is either constructed or funded to be constructed from 91^st Street South to I-244. The un-constructed portions of the trail, which are generally between 81^st St. South and 41^st Street South, and between Admiral and 244, are being managed by the City of Tulsa Public Works department. I believe that they are currently in the final design phase with anticipated construction to begin in 2009.

North of I-244 the trail is planned to follow Mingo Creek past the Airport to connect with Mohawk Park, with a potential for a spur west towards the American Airlines facility. That extension North of 244, however, is not funded. We generally rely on either Federal Transportation Enhancement Funding and/or private charitable funding to pay for these amenities. The Enhancement Funds have paid for the Mingo Valley Trail to this point, with the matching funds (20%) coming from the city capital improvements fund.

Another project underway is the construction of the Mohawk-Owasso Trail which originates on 76^th Street North in Owasso, travels south on Mingo to 66^th Street North, then follows 66^th St west to Memorial, where it again turns south until the Trail intersects with Mohawk Park. From that point trail users can access the park and its facilities, or travel through the park to the North side of the Airport boundary, near American. What has been completed to date is all of the survey work and some preliminary design work for the project. Construction of the project should move quickly now that the field work is complete.

I also want to let you know about Tulsa’s “Bike To Work” Program. This is an annual event, which roughly coincides with our Ozone Alert Season. The kickoff is in May, during National Bike To Work Month. Our event extends through the Ozone Alert Season and ends in mid-September. The event is designed to encourage people to ride to work when they can. The incentive, other than personal satisfaction and exercise, is that we provide an online miles ‘Tracker”, in which participants can log the number of miles they commute each week. We have two to three Bike to Work “get-togethers” in which we reward the participants who have ridden the most miles throughout the season with prizes, gift certificates, etc. Plus, we usually spring for coffee and bagels. It’s a good opportunity for cyclists around the region to get together and talk about cycling and cycling issues. The Bike to Work info can be found at: http://www.incog.org/transportation/trails.htm

Another ‘green’ alternative to biking is sharing rides with other American Airlines employees. INCOG sponsors a website named Green Traveler, www.green-traveler.org, which provides instant online access to locating potential carpooling partners.

Anyone who has computer access can fill in their commuting schedule in just a couple of minutes. They can limit matches only to fellow workers who work the same shifts they do. In a few seconds they can get e-mail contact information on other American employees near them who would like to carpool. Phone numbers and specific addresses are kept private until participants decide to give those details to potential ride partners. Sharing rides saves money, expands commute options, and is good for the environment. Not only is less fuel consumed, but cutting down on the number of vehicles on the highway reduces auto emissions that contribute to air pollution. Using www.green-traveler.org is a great way to go green!

Tulsa Tough update

(From Adam Vanderberg, owner of Lee's Bicycles.)

I received a call today from Malcolm McCollam about the Tulsa Tough Kids Challenge this year. They have partnered with the Crime Commission on their Safe Escape program. Safe Escape is a very successful community program to teach kids on how to protect themselves from predators. The program is very well attended! Tulsa Tough wants to give away bikes to these kids (3rd through 5th graders.) but we need a bicycle (education) element to the program. I'm thinking a Kids 1 course might be the perfect curriculum for this age group but we need LCI's to teach and was hoping for some support from our local professionals.

I'm told that there will be 300 Trek multi-speed bicycles equipped with hand brakes this year. Assemblers will have to receive some training. Of course, I've already volunteered to provide mechanical support on the tour route and I'll undoubtedly be there assembling kid's bikes when the time comes.

Go Green and Get Lean

Our internal newsletter, Crib Notes, is devoted to green issues in the March 11^th edition. There's a long article with, ahem, me of all people promoting transportation cycling. I didn't include it here in the musette because of it's length. I'll post it separately sometime tomorrow.

TAOBIKE Blog

The Tulsa advocacy group now has a page for news and information directed at area cyclists. (LINK) http://www.taobike.blogspot.com For the near future, I'll be posting news both there and in CycleDog, but CycleDog will remain the sole site for comedy, satire, rants, and other personal observations.

Wednesday night ride Owasso

I think this makes a lot of sense. Our regular Tulsa area Wednesday night ride leaves from the West Bank parking lot near downtown. With the high cost of gas, it's sensible to initiate other local rides that don't require participants to drive to the starting point. So there's a new Wednesday ride leaving from the south lot of the Bailey Medical Center in Owasso starting at 5:30.