Life is better on a bike!
As you might imagine during the Time of Covid, KBC will be Zooming for our monthly meeting on December 8th at 7:00 pm. Invitations were sent via MailChimp to all KBC members. We hope you will join us.
Stay safe…be well…as we enter the winter months. And, best wishes for the holidays.
Click on the title of this post (above in red) to discover where KBC members ride in the Kalamazoo area. Then, continue reading what follows…
On what roads and streets do members of KBC frequently ride in the Kalamazoo area? With encouragement from the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County (RCKC) and mapping assistance from the Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study (KATS), a few members of KBC mapped roads/streets they and other club members frequently ride on when navigating across Kalamazoo County. The map created – the Popular Bike Routes (PBR) map (yes, that’s a link to the map) – can be viewed on any smart phone (or laptop, etc) to find many, but not all, roads/streets conducive to riding in Kalamazoo County and a bit beyond. Roads/streets frequently followed are shown as purple lines; dashed green lines mark roads with sufficient bike routes signs to guide cyclists when riding. You can magnify the map to reveal street/road names or zoom out for an overview of the route network.
Note: this map is a work in progress. Field-testing the map, while out riding on the road, was done using an iPhone. When the map is opened in Google (and only Google, for some reason), the location icon can be toggled to reveal your current location anywhere on the map. The device you’re using to view the map must have GPS capability for the location feature to function. Constructive criticism, including suggestions for additional routes (or removal of routes), is welcome. Please submit comments/suggestions to Paul Sotherland, who, along with Doug Kirk, thanks you for taking the map out for a spin.
And…if you’re looking for maps of specific routes that you can download, click on one of the links below.
Ride Route Maps (using Ride with GPS) – available on the KBC website: https://www.kalamazoobicycleclub.org/rides/routemaps/
Southwest Michigan Bikeway: RwGPS Route List – available on the Bike Friendly Kalamazoo website: https://bikefriendlykalamazoo.org/trails-routes/
The League of Michigan Bicyclists (LMB) has developed a wonderful new video outlining bicycling laws in Michigan. Topics covered include bicyclists’ right to the road, dooring, safe passing, riding side by side, the right hook and left cross, weaving, sidewalks, hand signals, lights, wrong-way riding, crash investigations, and distracted driving. We can all benefit from this brief, 10-minutes video. Enjoy!
The Legal Rights and Responsibilities of Michigan Bicyclists
Helpful Guidelines for Group Rides During the COVID Hiatus
As the hiatus in KBC’s official club rides continues during this Summer of The COVID, having on hand a few guidelines for riding, alone or in small groups, can help us all feel more comfortable about riding safely, wisely, and respectfully. A June 24th article, by Selene Yeager, in Bicycling, provides two sets of very helpful guidelines. Here’s a link to the article. Ride on…be well!
The Kalamazoo Bicycle Club announces The Lucky 13 KBC Solo Rides for your cycling pleasure. These rides all have long histories as favorite, regular KBC Monday night, Wednesday night, and weekend rides. Some are easier, some harder and hillier. Some are paved, some have gravel mixed in.
Many of these rides would have been group rides occurring during Kalamazoo Bike Week, May 9-16, so we were inspired to create an alternate way to encourage everyone to get outside and ride, stay active stay healthy, and stay sane! Please go to kalamazoobikeweek.org to see all the other great activities available.
If you find a route that you like, send us your story and pictures of your ride. Tell about the route, wind and rain, flora and fauna, and dogs. We might even pick some of the stories to put in the Pedal Press, and give out some surprise prizes for the best ones! Email your story and pictures of your ride to Paul at educationchair@kalamazoobicycleclub.org.
May is National Bike Month, so we will have these routes available to anyone for the month. The Ride With GPS app is needed to navigate on a mobile device, using the free version of the app is fine.
Click on the desired ride link below to access the Lucky 13 ride route. Now get out there and ride solo, ride with your honey, or whoever you are cooped up with.
KBC’s Lucky Thirteen KBC Solo Rides
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32505522
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32505370
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32504095
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32504224
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32505538
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32504048
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32505442
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32505504
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32500170
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32504275
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32505394
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32505454
