11.01.2009
This blog's "up to you."
If you have any content you wish to post here, please email it to us. We created this blog in hopes that it would be useful to local cyclists. Our email is embedded in a photo on this page. We hope to hear from you. We ourselves will be posting comment only very seldom. So, as the title states, this blog's "up to you."
9.30.2009
18 BBB Route Maps are online
Contributor Alan C. sent 18 state-of-the-art bicycle route maps for posting and linkage to this blog. Thank You, Alan! (His note appears below.) We realized that this blog was not a suitable venue to make the maps easily accessible. Therefore, we put all of the maps on the RSVP website server. We created a very easy-to-remember and easy-to-verbalize web address:
We will soon link all of the maps to a permanent position in the left hand column here. They will be easy to find in case you forget the above address. Below is Alan's note rec'd yesterday afternoon:
"I just visited the new Bicycle Idaho Falls Blog site and thought this might be a good location for a series of bike ride maps. For many years, Barbara Brown has been organizing bike rides every Tuesday throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall for mostly retired folks. There is no organization, she just sends out an email as to where the meeting location is and a map or description or the planned route. We have anywhere from a handful to 30 riders show up depending on the route and weather."
"This year I started making maps of all the standard routes and putting in optional extensions. These maps might be useful to local bikers if they were posted on your new site. Currently we have 18 routes with more to go. I have attached a few so you can see what they are like. If you want to post the maps, let me know and I will sent you the others. The BBB stands for 'Barbara Brown Bike'."
THANK YOU, ALAN! We really appreciate your contribution of these awesome maps! For those of you who don't know Alan C., he is a virtuoso map maker whose volunteer contributions have benefited many different organizations. Many of you will recognize his work in the Greenbelt and Kelly Canyon maps. We are very grateful to be able to post the BBB Ride Maps here.
We will soon link all of the maps to a permanent position in the left hand column here. They will be easy to find in case you forget the above address. Below is Alan's note rec'd yesterday afternoon:
"I just visited the new Bicycle Idaho Falls Blog site and thought this might be a good location for a series of bike ride maps. For many years, Barbara Brown has been organizing bike rides every Tuesday throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall for mostly retired folks. There is no organization, she just sends out an email as to where the meeting location is and a map or description or the planned route. We have anywhere from a handful to 30 riders show up depending on the route and weather."
"This year I started making maps of all the standard routes and putting in optional extensions. These maps might be useful to local bikers if they were posted on your new site. Currently we have 18 routes with more to go. I have attached a few so you can see what they are like. If you want to post the maps, let me know and I will sent you the others. The BBB stands for 'Barbara Brown Bike'."
THANK YOU, ALAN! We really appreciate your contribution of these awesome maps! For those of you who don't know Alan C., he is a virtuoso map maker whose volunteer contributions have benefited many different organizations. Many of you will recognize his work in the Greenbelt and Kelly Canyon maps. We are very grateful to be able to post the BBB Ride Maps here.
9.29.2009
Cycles of Sam
(Contributed by Jeffrey F.) "Idaho Falls has something very special that no other place can claim pertaining to bicycles.....Sam Bennett. An Idaho Falls native, Sam is among the world's elite connoisseurs of the bicycle. His rare and antique bicycle collection is so amazing that the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho is currently featuring the Cycles of Sam exhibit, which runs through October 31. The exhibit features bicycles collected, designed, and built by Sam, and explores the social history of the bicycle as a work of art and a vehicle of liberation. It is a fascinating exhibit that is not to be missed. Sam is truly an Idaho Falls treasure."
Jeffrey also sent four photos he took of the exhibit. We made them into a contact sheet for this blog. We could not find a direct web link to the Museum's exhibit. The Museum has a Facebook page and the exhibit has a short paragraph there. If you know of a weblink for this exhibit, please send it to us via the email address at left. Thanks Jeffrey--keep 'em coming!
Dora's Explorers?
Check out this "once-upon-a-time" photo of kids and their bikes at the Dora Erickson Elementary School. (Thanks again, Jeffrey F. for sending it.) School bike racks were once a very busy and crowded place. Perhaps they might be getting that way again here. Contributor Stephanie R. sent along this note last night:"...I shot some (video) footage...of the Falls Valley School crossing at First and Eastview. Since instituting the walking school bus program, the number of kids walking and biking to school has skyrocketed. I got pics of multiple kids on bikes crossing at once and plan to get another bunch of photos in the AM. I can’t remember exact numbers, but the crossing guard I interviewed said he went from crossing 20-something kids to over 100 after the program. It’s an impressive sight in today’s world to see 14-15 bikes ride across the crosswalk en masse. I interviewed parents too. It was fun." Thanks, Stephanie.
Changing cultural and transportation trends is like turning the proverbial supertanker. It takes time and patience. We hope the above note is a harbinger of even better things to come.
"Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving." ~Albert Einstein (Remember: You can click the small photo to see a larger one.)
SRL Pathways distances
Jeffrey F. is this blog's first Official Contributor. Not only did he send along the ordinance yesterday but then he went the extra mile - literally - and measured the Snake River Landing pathways! Way to go, Jeffrey, THANKS! Here is his data:
Snake River Landing:
* Porter Canal Path: 0.44 mi (from Pancheri to end of pavement along canal)
* SRL main path: 0.78 mi (waterfall to lake loop)
* SRL lake loop: 0.32 mi around loo
New East Greenbelt Path:
* 1.4 mi from Sunnyside to Pancheri (all paved now)
* 0.4 mi from Pancheri to Art Museum
Later today, I will try to extract a screen shot of the SRL system from Alan Crockett's fine Greenbelt Map. Stay tuned.
Snake River Landing:
* Porter Canal Path: 0.44 mi (from Pancheri to end of pavement along canal)
* SRL main path: 0.78 mi (waterfall to lake loop)
* SRL lake loop: 0.32 mi around loo
New East Greenbelt Path:
* 1.4 mi from Sunnyside to Pancheri (all paved now)
* 0.4 mi from Pancheri to Art Museum
Later today, I will try to extract a screen shot of the SRL system from Alan Crockett's fine Greenbelt Map. Stay tuned.
9.28.2009
Sidewalks are legal for bicyclists.
Let there be no doubt about it. It's 100% legal to ride on the sidewalks of the City of Idaho Falls. The City Council legalized this practice on August 28, 2008. By a unanimous vote, Council members repealed prior language that essentially outlawed riding bikes on sidewalks.
We've toyed with various ways to present this information. We think this method works "for now." We will probably come up with a different format soon. The full minutes of the Aug. 28 meeting ran to 26 pages. We deleted all but the item relating to the ordinance change. Then we coverted it to a PDF and then exported it as a JPG. Then we shrunk the JPGs and posted them to the blog which resulted in even further apparent shrinkage. Simply click on each small photo to see the larger readable version. (Thanks to Jeffrey F. of IFCP for getting the Council meeting minutes to us.)
Jeffrey also alerted us to the "Opie & The Spoiled Kid" episode of
We've toyed with various ways to present this information. We think this method works "for now." We will probably come up with a different format soon. The full minutes of the Aug. 28 meeting ran to 26 pages. We deleted all but the item relating to the ordinance change. Then we coverted it to a PDF and then exported it as a JPG. Then we shrunk the JPGs and posted them to the blog which resulted in even further apparent shrinkage. Simply click on each small photo to see the larger readable version. (Thanks to Jeffrey F. of IFCP for getting the Council meeting minutes to us.)
Jeffrey also alerted us to the "Opie & The Spoiled Kid" episode of the Andy Griffith Show.
It's about how Mayberry's
finest enforce the law:
"no riding on the sidewalk."
to see a 5 minute
YouTube version
of the episode.
The "A" St. Link - Watch Your Ash!
There are several ways to get from "points east" into downtown Idaho Falls. One of the most effective and perhaps the safest (all things considered) is the Ash Street to "A" Street connector combination. As Idaho State law clearly states, its an obligation of the bicyclist to exercise "due care." Due care is very important on the Ash Street portion of this linkage.
I took some photos out of my cracked Suzuki windshield to show Ash Street from the vehicle driver's perspective. As valuable as the Ash Street linkage is, this route also comes with some significant dangers.
It's not too bad until you pass the funeral home. Keep an eye to your right as you approach the Ash & Placer intersection. A lot of drivers on Boulevard use Placer as a shortcut to Elm to avoid the congested stop light. Generally, these types of drivers are in a big hurry and will be tempted to run that stop sign or at least crowd out into Ash in their haste.
The next intersection at Ridge isn't too bad. It has pretty good visibility all around and traffic is generally lighter and slower on Ridge. Some of the Ash-kicking dangers begin just west of the funeral home's rear parking lot. The building on the left serves the developmentally disabled. Sometimes, people coming and going to that facility aren't paying any attention to their surroundings. Also, vehicles tend to be parked on both sides there and they generally are closer to the center of the street than the curb.
I generally hit the north sidewalk here as a pro-active precaution. The entire sidewalk was redone in May 2008 so there are no cracks and it's in tip top shape.
If somebody was in a real hurry on Ash and you happened to be in front of that treatment center when both sides were crowded with parked vehicles, you could be in for a world of hurt!
From Water to Eastern isn't too bad but beware the Bennett's Glass parking lot. I've seen some people blow out of that parking lot without even a cursory glance left or right.
The worst offender on this stretch is the intersection of Eastern & Ash. This is a potential Killer Intersection. I have had four extraordinarily close calls here-two on a bike and two in my vehicle. It's a miracle I survived at least two of those close calls. For some reason, people do not see the stop signs on Eastern. Who knows why? But they don't. I've seen numerous drivers not even slow down on Eastern and just blow right through the intersection with even thinking about stopping for the stop sign.
I've adopted the attitude that both east and westbound Ash here has an imaginary Yield sign. So, I either stop or slow to an almost stop prior to entering that intersection. I would strongly urge riders using Ash to get to "A" to pay extra special attention to this intersection. It's a classic "due care" spot!
Once you're off Ash, you're pretty much home free again. Now, let's turn the tables and reverse this route. When the city repealed the prohibition on riding on sidewalks, I was overjoyed. Why? Because it meant that I could legally ride the wrong way on Ash without endangering myself. The north sidewalk on Ash is, by and large, a clean route. There's a few dangerous sidewalk cracks, but really very few. Most of the sidewalk is in great shape and the curb cuts are pretty good as well. (You can click on any small photo to see a larger version.)
When you get out to Boulevard, there's a nice vinyl fence to grab and hang out while waiting for the Boulevard traffic to clear.
I took some photos out of my cracked Suzuki windshield to show Ash Street from the vehicle driver's perspective. As valuable as the Ash Street linkage is, this route also comes with some significant dangers.
It's not too bad until you pass the funeral home. Keep an eye to your right as you approach the Ash & Placer intersection. A lot of drivers on Boulevard use Placer as a shortcut to Elm to avoid the congested stop light. Generally, these types of drivers are in a big hurry and will be tempted to run that stop sign or at least crowd out into Ash in their haste.
The next intersection at Ridge isn't too bad. It has pretty good visibility all around and traffic is generally lighter and slower on Ridge. Some of the Ash-kicking dangers begin just west of the funeral home's rear parking lot. The building on the left serves the developmentally disabled. Sometimes, people coming and going to that facility aren't paying any attention to their surroundings. Also, vehicles tend to be parked on both sides there and they generally are closer to the center of the street than the curb.
I generally hit the north sidewalk here as a pro-active precaution. The entire sidewalk was redone in May 2008 so there are no cracks and it's in tip top shape.
If somebody was in a real hurry on Ash and you happened to be in front of that treatment center when both sides were crowded with parked vehicles, you could be in for a world of hurt!
From Water to Eastern isn't too bad but beware the Bennett's Glass parking lot. I've seen some people blow out of that parking lot without even a cursory glance left or right.The worst offender on this stretch is the intersection of Eastern & Ash. This is a potential Killer Intersection. I have had four extraordinarily close calls here-two on a bike and two in my vehicle. It's a miracle I survived at least two of those close calls. For some reason, people do not see the stop signs on Eastern. Who knows why? But they don't. I've seen numerous drivers not even slow down on Eastern and just blow right through the intersection with even thinking about stopping for the stop sign.
I've adopted the attitude that both east and westbound Ash here has an imaginary Yield sign. So, I either stop or slow to an almost stop prior to entering that intersection. I would strongly urge riders using Ash to get to "A" to pay extra special attention to this intersection. It's a classic "due care" spot!
Once you're off Ash, you're pretty much home free again. Now, let's turn the tables and reverse this route. When the city repealed the prohibition on riding on sidewalks, I was overjoyed. Why? Because it meant that I could legally ride the wrong way on Ash without endangering myself. The north sidewalk on Ash is, by and large, a clean route. There's a few dangerous sidewalk cracks, but really very few. Most of the sidewalk is in great shape and the curb cuts are pretty good as well. (You can click on any small photo to see a larger version.)When you get out to Boulevard, there's a nice vinyl fence to grab and hang out while waiting for the Boulevard traffic to clear.
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