October 2014 President’s Letter

Despite the rainy weather predicted for Sunday, September 21, approximately 35 riders showed up for KBC's annual Anniversary Ride and Party, administered by Social Director Kathleen Kroll, with able assistance by her soon-to-be husband, Reid Williams.

At one point, as I sat with Kathleen and Reid under the pavilion roof at the Kal Haven Trailhead parking lot on 10th Street and waited for the riders to return from their routes, rain dripped off the roof and splashed up as it hit the concrete floor around the edges of the structure. I figured everyone would be headed back soon to take shelter, eat and get out of their wet clothes.

I was wrong. Many riders reported that they had gotten only slightly wet, and simply kept going. Rain can't dampen spirits on a day like that, when friends take the opportunity to get together to ride their bikes.

After everyone was safely back at home base, Kathleen and Reid broke out the KBC-supplied Erbelli's pizza and soft drinks, and potluck food that everyone contributed. Of special note was the reappearance after an absence of many years of Tom Noverr's famous "Garden Fresh Salsa." Tom whipped it up from tomatoes picked that morning from his garden, flavored it with onion and cilantro, and just a hint of vinegar and sugar. Delicious. I was fretful that PR Director Marc Irwin and I would have to arm wrestle for the last morsels in the bowl.

At any rate, it was yet another successful social occasion - one in a string of them this summer - put on by the capable Ms. Kroll. Thanks to her and Reid for doing the organizing and work, and thank you to those who came and participated. It was a fun day. Apart from the ride, standing and sitting and eating gave us a chance to catch up on each other's lives.

Elections Looming

Hewing to the national practice of holding elections in November, KBC Executive Board positions (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) will be voted on at the November monthly meeting. Parties wishing to vie for one of those spots should be prepared to declare their intent at the upcoming October meeting so a slate can be published in the newsletter and KBC's other media outlets before the election occurs.

As per the KBC constitution, Board of Director-appointed positions are meted out at the November meeting as well.

I would like to see a good turnout at the October and November meetings. Election of club officers is an important aspect of this organization and the only way to make your preferences known is to show up and be counted.

As the cycling season winds down for another year, I leave you with an (unasked-for) haiku I made up on the sunny afternoon of September 28 as I rode down G Avenue:

Walnuts on the road

Smashed up into razor shards

Flat tires are ahead.

Zolton Cohen, KBC President

 

Next KBC Meeting on October 14th, 2014

The next KBC Monthly Meeting will take place at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at the Kalamazoo YMCA on Maple Street. All KBC members are welcome to attend.

 

Forests and Foliage in the Fall Ride

It's time to make our annual attempt at a color ride. I had thought to schedule it for Saturday, October 18, but it turns out that I will be around on the weekend of the October 11, which is exactly when the fall color is supposed to peak. So, let's cross our fingers again for reasonable weather for the Forests and Foliage in the Fall Ride on Saturday, October 11, but this year, I intend to be flexible and weather vigilant. If it's raining on the 11th, the ride will be on the 12th, and if that weather looks like crap, let's put it off another week to the 18th. However, if the weather is still bad, I am pulling the plug after October 18. If we can't get good weather for the ride by then, it's not to be.

I know that most people can't be that flexible but I can, and, as ride leader/sweeper, I will. The start will be at 9:30 A.M. I have three routes, 37, 50, and 62 miles and I'll put out the maps before the ride. The ride promises lots of color, variety of terrain, and donuts with cider at the end. It starts in the parking lot at the Gun Lake Park near Weik's grocery. From U.S. 131, take exit 59 east through Shelbyville and follow 124th Street until it dead ends at the park (Patterson Road).

Marc Irwin

 

Legislative Initiatives by the League of Michigan Bicyclists

The League of Michigan Bicyclists is the statewide bicycle advocacy organization for Michigan. The year began with the passage of Public Act 1 of 2014. This is the law that allows a cyclist to signal a right turn by just pointing to the right with an outstretched arm, like we do on a left turn.

Currently, the League is working on three laws that are much more critical to cycling and cycling safety. They are legislation on Vulnerable Roadway Users, Driver Education Improvements, and 5 Foot Safe Passing.

The Vulnerable Roadway User legislation would help protect bicyclist and other vulnerable roadway users, pedestrians, and wheelchair users who are injured or killed by motorists. This bill passed out of committee with bipartisan support in October 2013, but is being held up from a vote on the by the Michigan State House leadership who feel that there isn't enough support for passage.

Did you know that in Michigan, teaching about cyclists and our right to the road in our Drivers Education curriculum is optional? The League is working to change that with HB 5438 or "Nathan's Law." This piece of legislation enhances driver's education to include more "information concerning the laws pertaining to bicycles and motorcycles and ... emphasize awareness of their operation on the streets, roads, and highways of this state."

The final piece of legislation is the 5 Foot Safe Passing legislation. This will require drivers to pass a bicyclist with a minimum clearance of five feet.

Your voice is needed to help move this legislation forward. There is information on the League of Michigan Bicyclists website at www.lmb.org about what specific steps can be taken for each of these pieces of legislation. If this work to improve cycling safety is important to you please consider becoming a member of the League of Michigan Bicyclist.

David Jones, League of Michigan Bicyclists Member, Board of Directors

 

Do Cyclists Pay for Roads?

While talking about Complete Streets not long ago, someone said words to the effect, "I wouldn't mind bicyclists, if only they would pay to use the roads."

For the moment, let's not consider the huge fact that wider paved shoulders to increase bike safety makes roads safer for motorists - MDOT assigns a crash reduction factor of 20% for adding a four foot paved shoulder in their widely used payback formulas. And for the moment, let's ignore the fact that due to their sheer numbers, motorists will be the primary beneficiaries of wider paved shoulders wherever they make sense. Good shoulders make for good roads - for all users.

I'm no longer shocked to hear such statements about bicyclists "not paying their share," because I've heard it so much lately. But when I hear such comments, I try to offer some facts, hoping that reality will sink in over time. Here are three facts I've found easy to remember.

Fact #1: Property taxes pay for local roads

Property taxes pay for local roads in our area. Some communities have additional levies and millages to make sure their local roads can be maintained properly. Portage, for one, has developed a great system for funding their local roads. Bicyclists who own real estate and pay property taxes pay for their local roads.

Fact #2: Most adult bicyclists are motorists

Over 90% of funding for the rest of the remaining roads in Michigan comes from motor vehicle registration and gas taxes. But over 95% of adult bicyclists are motorists, driving many more miles in motor vehicles than they will ever ride on bikes. The statistics on www.gethealthywashoe.com/bike-to-work/bike-to-school/stats.html say that "U.S. Residents bike only 40 kilometers a year" - only about 25 miles! (My guess was that most adult motorists who own bicycles ride 250 miles or less per year - 20 or fewer miles/week in nice weather.) According to the Federal Highway Administration, the average motorist drives between 13,000 and 14,000 miles per year. So as motorists, adult bicyclists definitely pay their fare share for non-local roads.

There is another twist to that logic. Speaking for myself, I have driven close to 500,000 miles in the 45 years or so I've been driving. My guess is that I drove my cars for about 40 years before I even started riding my bicycle (again) as an adult. And I'm still driving. So if I apply a strict "pay as you go" logic to my bicycling now, does that mean I'm "owed all those years" of bicycling facilities I've been paying for but not using?

Fact #3: Bicyclists Pay Lots of Other Taxes That Benefit Michigan

Bicyclists pay sales tax on every bicycle they buy and on almost everything else that goes into bicycling. Sales taxes go into funds that support and benefit Michigan in lots of ways. I imagine that some of our income taxes are funneled into sources of road funding, as well.

There are many more facts that show that bicyclists absolutely pay their fair share for the roads. Feel free to add you own!

To top it off, bicyclists don't put much wear and tear on the roads, and, bicycling contributes to a wholesome, healthy lifestyle that helps reduce the cost of medical care and health insurance for everyone. Bicycling contributes to the public good in many ways.

But it should come as no surprise that bicyclists have been helping the general public all along. After all, bicyclists have been in favor of better roads and all the benefits they bring, ever since bicyclists started the "good roads" movement that led to paving rural roads in the first place (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Roads_Movement).

So the next time someone cracks wise that, "Bicyclists don't pay their fair share," don't be shocked - combat ignorance with education - and give them the facts.

Paul Selden

 

Guns on KBC Rides

The fact that a fellow cyclist showed up at some club rides in August with a pistol strapped to his ankle has caused more discussion within the club than anything I can remember in my nearly 30 years in KBC. Not surprisingly, pistols on club rides was the main agenda item at the September 9, KBC meeting.

Everyone agreed this cyclist has the legal right to carry a firearm, assuming it is properly registered to him or her. But other, more difficult questions remain, such as whether it's the right thing to do on a group ride, exactly how it will help on a group ride, and whether the presence of a gun amongst us might result in greater danger (not to mention liability) to KBC members.

How a handgun might prove useful on a club ride is hard to understand. Our biggest concern as cyclists is being hit by a car. If that happens and the driver keeps on going, a handgun won't help. If the driver stops (and I hope he does), I don't see how a gun is going to help either. And if it some angry guy who slams on his brakes and is itching for a fight, the best approach is to defuse the situation calmly, even meekly, rather than ratchet up the angst with a gun. (Who knows what even more deadly weapons he's got under his seat.)

This cyclist seemed unconcerned with whether other riders are offended or scared by his weapon. I found this attitude particularly disturbing. But in a group setting the wishes of the group should be paramount. And as bicyclists, we've all got one another's back. I know I'd feel much safer confronting an angry driver with 15 or 20 KBC members beside me than I would with one or two guys reaching for pistols on their ankles.

This cyclist expressed concern about riding alone if he gets dropped by the group. No one likes getting dropped, but our group rides have been covering the same roads at the same times on the same days literally for over 20 years. The people out there know when and where we ride, and actually expect to see us. I've never heard of one of us being physically threatened, much less confronted such that a firearm might be useful.

Maybe the real problem here is that people's perceptions of this world is skewed by the media, which uniformly reports bad things. A few decades ago, when people still hitchhiked and stopped to help strangers with flat tires, bad stuff happened too. It always has and always will. It just didn't get spread all over the Internet and cable TV.

Most of you know my wife Kathy and I have toured many, many thousands of miles on our bicycles, just the two of us. We've ridden in red states and blue states, in "redneck" areas like Tennessee and dirt poor areas of the Deep South, to name just a few. If some nutcase is looking to commit mayhem, or some myopic little old lady is behind the wheel, we're sitting ducks. We've never even considered carrying a weapon, and here's why: contrary to what the media tell you, people are almost without exception nice. Sure we have our occasional dangerous drivers to deal with, but in person, everyone we meet is friendly.

There are all kinds out there, no doubt about it. And no, we're not headed to the inner city after dark. But we have faith in humanity, in the humanity of the people we meet, and in the fabric of our society. Carrying a gun wherever one goes, and especially among like-minded cyclists, sends exactly the wrong message, especially to the people you want to ride with.

Doug Kirk, KBC Vice President

 

Wishing for Open Roads Tour

Thank you to everyone who came out to support Tour de Taylor and the concept of open roads in our community by riding in the Wishing for Open Roads bike tour on September 6, 2014.

It was a great day for a ride and the cycling community came together in magnificent fashion. I say that because many of you didn't just pay the $5 entry to the event; you doubled, tripled and even quadrupled your donation. That is heartfelt generosity and something that is inspiring and humbling to see.

And speaking of doubling things, I just about had a panic attack when I saw rider after rider arriving at the KVCC parking lot for the start. I had only planned the food and water for 35 to50 riders and there were almost 100 individuals there.

In addition to raising money to help Tour de Taylor make back some of what they paid their insurance company to satisfy the Van Buren County Road Commission's demand for a permit and insurance coverage, the other purpose of the ride was to conduct an organized bike tour that went into Van Buren County - without first obtaining a permit. That all went well, and we saw no opposition or restraint to our activities, the way it should be on public roadways.

We took in $527 in donations. I spent $83.60 on food and ice, leaving us with $443.40 that will go to Tour de Taylor.

Thank you to those who helped put this ride together, most notably Vice President Doug Kirk, and to those who rode for two worthy causes. We're able to accomplish a lot when we come together like this.

Kalamazoo Bicycle Club President Zolton Cohen (in cap) greeting Gordy Voder, one of the first to arrive, at KVCC's Main Campus parking lot.

A large group of riders assembles before 8:30A.M. start on Saturday September 6, 2014. The weather was hard to beat: temperatures in the low 60s under partly sunny skies.

KBC Vice President Doug Kirk (center, pointing toward Lawrence) explaining the purpose of the ride.

Paul Selden and Dale Krueger reaching the ride's primary destination in Lawrence, the Van Buren County Road Commission Headquarters

Zolton Cohen, Photos and Captions by Paul Selden

 

DALMAC Ride Celebrities

The following picture appeared on page D1 of the Lansing State Journal newspaper on August 28, 2014, covering half of the page. We'll be available for autographs at a bike ride near you.

From Left to Right: Flint Wiles, Rick Whaley, John Olbrot, Carl Clatterbuck, John Idema, Mike Vandeveer's Left Arm, Tim Stewart (The Elder), Steve Stapleton, and an Unidentified Photobomber

Rick Whaley

 

Kudos

Kudos go to the Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study committee members and staff for developing and ultimately adopting our first metropolitan planning organization-wide Complete Streets Policy. This policy looks to incorporate the needs of all legal users in the planning process for roadway, transit, and non-motorized projects when allocating federal transportation funds. We appreciate the hard work and thought that went into the policy by many community-minded individuals.

Paul Selden

Monthly Meeting Minutes

The August 12, 2014 meeting of the KBC was called to order by President Zolton Cohen at 7:00 P.M. Those in attendance were: Zolton Cohen, Doug Kirk, Paul Selden, Michael Krischer, Mike Boersma, Tom Keizer, Dale Krueger, Rick Whaley, Marc Irwin, Ken Schneider, Bob Allwardt, Kathy Kirk, John Olbrot, Mary Gerger, and Bill Price.

John Olbrot gave the treasurer's report:

Income$247.20
Expenses$293.69
Checking Account$10,507.13
Certificate of Deposit $11,139.31

John mentioned one of this month's expenses was the KBC's membership to Adventure Cycling. The $150 two year renewal will allow all KBC members access to Adventure Cycling's website and services, including discounts on purchases of ride maps. Kathy Kirk praised the quality of Adventure Cycling's maps, stating she has used them with great success.

John read a letter he had received from Tomme Maile related to the ongoing topic of the Van Buren County Road Commission's decision to require permits for fee-paid biking events that pass through Van Buren County. The KBC had been copied on this letter sent by Mr. Maile to the Paw Paw Chamber of Commerce. It was a very positively written letter, expressing the thoughts of many area cyclists, and our thanks go out to Mr. Maile for writing the Chamber of Commerce and sending the KBC a copy of his letter.

Director of Road Safety Paul Selden stated he would be updating KBC members on the status of the KATS Complete Streets Policy through our YahooGroup.

Vice President Doug Kirk gave a wrap-up report on the recent KBC's Wishing for Open Roads Tour. According to Doug, there were approximately 100 participants, and it was a big success. The Tour raised awareness of open roads issues for bicyclists who pass through Van Buren County. Proceeds from the tour, minus expenses, helped to cover the 2014 Tour de Taylor's unforeseen expense for insurance coverage that Van Buren County Road Commission demanded. Doug expressed thanks to David Jones for submitting the idea of including the Tour de Taylor group during the planning stages of the Tour. "Thank You" to all who helped plan, execute, and participate in this event.

Zolton led a discussion on the topic of people carrying firearms while on KBC rides and at Club activities. KBC members spoke up on both sides of this issue and the topic will be addressed again during the October 14, 2014 meeting.

Zolton announced the upcoming KBC election, to be held during the November 11, 2014 meeting. Those KBC members interested in running for office (President, Vice President, Treasurer, or Secretary) should be prepared to announce their intentions at the October 14, 2014 meeting.

A brief reminder and description of the September 21, 2014 KBC Anniversary Ride was given by Zolton.

Zolton updated the ongoing discussion of optimizing KBC communication within the club. Per an e-mail from David Jones, there are now 125 members using the YahooGroup to communicate with other members. Per Mike Boersma, there are 296 members using Facebook. The decision was made to continue using both the YahooGroup and Facebook for the time being.

The topic of ride leader sanctioning was briefly revisited. Zolton mentioned that he had been contacted by member Joe Kucharski regarding the possibility of being sworn in as a 2015 KBC Sanctioned Ride Leader as soon as possible after January 1, 2015. Joe stated that he leads KBC rides throughout the winter. Due to the ongoing discussion concerned with creating more comprehensive sanctioned ride leader training, further discussion on this topic was postponed.

Marc Irwin gave an update on the upcoming "Forests and Foliage in the Fall Ride." The ride is tentatively scheduled for October 18, 2014, with a starting location of Gun Lake Park in Shelbyville. More information, as well as maps, will be forthcoming. (Editor's Note: See the article about this ride elsewhere in this issue. It is now scheduled for October 11, 2014.)

Paul reminded all KBC members that as our club profile has become more prominent in the community, it has become increasingly important to ride responsibly as positive representatives of the KBC.

Zolton adjourned the meeting at 8:09 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mary Gerger, KBC Secretary

 

Masthead

The electronically-distributed KBC Pedal Press comes out on or around the first of each month.

If you have an article or a notice that you want to go into the PedalPress, please e-mail it to the newsletter editor, editor@kalamazoobicycleclub.org by the 20th of the month before its intended publication.

For example, if you'd like an article to be published in the November edition (distributed during the first week of November), have it to the newsletter editor by the 20th of October.

Statistics

Active Subscriptions:
279

New members:

Henry Apotheker · Ken Schnider

Expiring memberships:

Lee Anderson · Roger Behnke · Mike Birmann Family · Paul & Linda Bruneau · Derek Dalzell · Rob Grainger Family · Elaine Jason · Larry Kissinger · Joe Kucharski Family · Rob Schell · John Shubnell Family · Mike St. Clair · Steve Stapleton · Joe Walter

Renewed memberships:

Bill Price · Robert Allwardt · Gordon Voder

David Jones, KBC Database Manager

Editor's Letter - Bike Clothes on My Mind

My mind lives on the corner of Luddite Lane and Cheapskate Court. I don't own a flat screen TV and a high definition TV is one that I watch with new eyeglasses. My stereo system has some 40 year old components, and I still will play record albums, although I do use a stylus instead of a sharp stick as I play them. iPhone? When I phone someone, it's either on my landline phone or on my pay-as-you-go cell phone. I'm typing this on a desktop computer that uses Windows XP, risking doom from nasty computer viruses that are out there just waiting to eat my Editor's Lett (or, perhaps, just to nibble at it). And I've never even been at the cutting edge of cutting edges, as evidenced by the fact that I used my first razor for over 30 years.

I'm also not the first person to adorn himself in the latest cycling clothing that technology has to offer, nor will I buy any sort of cycling clothing unless I'm convinced that I absolutely, positively need it. I rode a bicycle as an adult for over 10 years before I bought my first pair of cycling shorts in the late 1980s. After all, what is a bicycle seat? It's just a weird looking sort of backless chair and a person doesn't need a special pair of pants to sit in a chair. I bought my first cycling jersey in the early 1990s, which was my only cycling jersey for several more years. After all, t-shirts have the appropriate appendage holes, too. First pair of cycling shoes? Early 1990s again. An old pair of running shoes worked perfectly well with my toe clip pedals for years, at least until the serrated edges of the pedals started to dig through the soles of these shoes and into my feet. Even that built character, my all-purpose rationale for putting up with something that is uncomfortable when it doesn't have to be.

This may have been why I got some strange looks during a ride almost 30 years ago when I found myself inexplicably with a group of bicycle racers. My memory of how I got there is hazy, but there I was, clad in a white t-shirt, cut-off corduroy jeans, and running shoes; surrounded by polyester blends and lycra. I was able to keep up with the racers for a few miles, but then my chain fell off during a gear shift change, they didn't wait up for me, and that was that. I never saw these riders again and maybe that was just as well. I was like the guy who crashes a fancy dinner party dressed in scuffed shoes, sweatpants, and a shirt with a couple of missing buttons.

For a while, I used running clothing for base layers, tights, and jackets. Eventually, I gave up wearing my hooded running jacket for actual cycling jackets; one jacket that had the additional advantage of being "reflective," at least until it had been washed a couple of times. I also bought a cycling vest with the same property then lack of property. I got around to buying tights that were actually made for cycling instead of running, and added to my base layer collection, one layer per year at a time, thanks to an end of winter sale at one of the local bike shops.

I also decided that even more esoteric cycling clothing, such as arm and leg warmers, could come in handy for riding. They could also come in handy for walking around the house, preferably without any other clothes on, not that I would ever do that sort of thing, ha, ha, and why are there beads of sweat dripping on my keyboard?

However, I remained resistant to the charms, such as they were, to one of the more basic cycling clothing items; cycling socks. A pair of low cut cotton socks were my cycling hosiery of choice for years, coming in at approximately one-quarter of the price of a typical pair of cycling socks. And then, thanks to four trips to Japan in 2000, I accumulated 8 pairs of gray airplane lounging socks, for lack of a better description, that I used as cycling socks for several years after that. It wasn't until about 10 years ago that I finally decided to start opening my wallet wide in order to buy actual cycling socks.

So, when I began this year's DALMAC ride, I was well equipped with cycling clothing. Except, perhaps, for a rain jacket. The problem with rain jackets is that there appears to be only two varieties of them. 1) The $30 plastic rain jacket that works well while raining, but when it stops is more useful for reheating cold pizza slices that you happen to have stuffed into your jersey pocket. 2) The $200+ exotic material rain jacket that breathes, but for that amount of money, I'd expect it to talk, as well, which could be distracting. So, I didn't own a rain jacket and the forecast was for two days of rain later in the week.

On the first day, we ride through Alma and past a bike shop that always has a DALMAC rider's sale. We stop there to look for fabulous bargains, but I'd always found that no bargain was fabulous enough for me. Until this year. I found a jacket that spoke to me, figuratively speaking because it cost less than $200. It wasn't water repellant, but it was water resistant, and, since both of these words begin with the letters "r-e," that was good enough for me. And I could turn the jacket into a vest by removing portions of the jacket that were held together, not by Velcro, but by magnets. Let that sink in. By magnets! Just how cool is that? And if copper infused clothing actually works, I was sure that by a similar process that these magnets would also be able to draw away impurities from my system, whatever that actually means.

So, in an atypical act of impulse, I bought the jacket for half price at $60. And when it did rain on the third and fourth day of the ride, I donned this jacket, and it worked well. So, this turned out to be money well spent. And I haven't even tried wearing this as a vest, and then I'm really looking forward to putting it back together again, particularly if the magnets have a mind of their own (albeit unlikely, since the jacket did cost less than $200). And if they do, I can put on the jacket and turn into a Picasso painting.

So, yes, I've never been on the cutting edge when it comes to cycling clothing, either. But I think that that this might be changing, ironically enough, with the article of clothing that I was most reluctant to change. Thanks to the deep vein thrombosis for which I'm being treated, I've spent the last few weeks wearing a knee high compression sock on my left leg and a cycling sock on my right leg while riding. I like to think that I'm really rockin' this look. And sooner or later, I'm going to show up at a ride and there will be other riders stylin' just like me. Models will strut up and down the catwalk showing the latest in one compression sock fashion. And, then, Kate Upton will appear on the cover of next year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue clad in a bikini and one compression sock. It will be a leopard print (the sock). Asymmetry is chic. And my mind will move to a swingin' little townhouse on Trendsetter Terrace.

Rick Whaley, KBC Newsletter Editor

Some Upcoming Rides of Interest

Noooooooo .... There's nothing to report.

Classified Ads

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Less than 100 hours on this trike. Like new condition. Stored in a heated basement. Toe clips, integrated Vetta odometer, and several other upgrades. Pictures available at www.recumbentriders.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14356. Also included is a 2011 Kenetic trainer for this trike with the optional flywheel. $1500. NO SHIPPING. Contact Terry Horwath (616) 855-6211 or terry.horwath@live.com.

Shop Notes

Alfred E Bike

320 East Michigan, Kalamazoo, (269) 349-9423
www.aebike.com

Billy's Bike Shop

63 East Battle Creek Street, Galesburg, (269) 665–5202
www.billysbikeshop.com

Breakaway Bicycles

185 Romence at Westnedge, Portage, (269) 324–5555,
www.breakawaybicycles.com

Custer Cyclery

104 North Augusta, Augusta, (269) 731–3492
www.custercyclery.com

Gazelle Sports

214 South Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo, (269) 342–5996,
www.Gazellesports.com
Visit Gazelle Sports soon to check out ALL the latest fall apparel. We're not just a "running store," you know. We have super duper casual clothes and shoes for men and women. Wonderful stuff. Fashion with function! Check it out today downtown on the Kalamazoo Mall.

Johnson Cycle Works

5309 Gull Road, Kalamazoo, (269) 226-0001.
www.JohnsonCycleWorks.com

Pedal

611 W Michigan Avenue, Kalamazo, (269) 56–PEDAL
info@pedalbicycle.com and www.pedalbicycle.com
"You can indulge your righteous rage but the things it comes out of are pretty cheap. The trick is to make yourself an instrument of your own policy. Whether you like it or not, that's the highest effectiveness man has achieved." - Norman Mailer - The Naked and the Dead

Team Active

22 W Michigan, Battle Creek, 1–800–841–9494
www.teamactive.com

Village Cyclery

US 131 in Schoolcraft, 679–4242
www.villagecyclery.com

Zoo City Cycle & Sports

4328 South Westnedge, Kalamazoo (269) 552–3000
www.zoocitycycle.com

 

Bicycling Safety Disclaimer

Important: Riding a bicycle is an inherently dangerous activity. There are risks of injury or death. You could ride over something and fall, or get hit by an automobile or strike or be struck by another bicyclist. There are many other dangers to bicycling as well.

While nothing can eliminate all risks associating with bicycle riding, to minimize the danger, make sure you and your bicycle are in good riding condition. Know the rules of the road and also of the group you're riding with, and ride in a manner consistent with the protocols of that group. Always wear a bike helmet, use bike lights if riding in the dawn, dusk or dark, and consider purchasing and riding with additional safety equipment such as reflectors and rear view mirrors.