Cycling

[Slappy the Wang]

In another thread, a few of you mentioned riding bikes.  Are you road cyclists or mountain bikers?  We ought to meet up for a ride someday!

BTW, I'm a mountain bike guy for now, but will probably get a road bike soon.  Years of running, baseball, etc haven't been kind to my joints.

[staubio]

Both.  I competitively race mountain bikes, both in the regular XC series and in ultra-endurance events, but do 95% of my training on the roads, alleys, renegade trails, rail corridors, and levees of KC.  I occassionally head out for a 100 mile training ride out of town, but usually I put together all day urban exploration tours.  I feel like I know the city exceptioanlly well because of this.  Most nights, I'm just out checking something out and making my rounds, doing quick jaunts around town to get in some quick miles. 

For the most part, I'll ride anywhere, slow or fast, long distance or short.

I also ride quite a bit for transportation.

[KC_Fan]

I ride a commuter bike (Breezer Citizen) to work and around the Crossroads / Crow Center / Downtown / River Market for exercise.  I also agree - riding downtown is a great way to learn more about KC.  I see so many more areas than I ever did driving a car.

[nota]

As I've said before-I admire you guys who bike DT. It would be scary to me. You are pretty "exposed" out there on a bike. And you certainly aren't a match for the competition. Be careful out there.

[KC0KEK]

I ride a commuter bike (Breezer Citizen)

I'm just a casual biker, so forgive the naïve question, but what's a "commuter bike," and how is it different?

[nota]

http://www.breezerbikes.com/bikes.cfm

[KC0KEK]

Thanks for the link. Except for the folding bikes -- which look convenient as heck -- I don't see how the town bikes are more convenient for commuting than my mountain bike. That's what I use for going to the store, etc., and it's light enough to carry up stairs, and the front wheel easily pops off for security. Maybe I'm just overlooking some features.

[drgath]

Another casual biker here.  Just moved downtown last month (from Lawrence) and I agree... biking is a great way to learn more about KC.  I've been all over downtown so far and my impressions.... West bottoms is a rather boring ride.  A few miles east is nice, especially going through Cliff Drive.  While I've gone south, haven't made it past Crown Center yet, so one of these days (this weekend)  I'll go for a ride to midtown and maybe just keep going and take the Max back (those have bike racks right?).

[drgath]

Yup, went all the way down to the plaza & back yesterday, and gotta say the passage from crown center to midtown is definitely not too biker friendly becuase of both lack of good bike route, and the hills.  Whew...  that hill kills.  I guess the best route would be downtown to Union Station, to Liberty Memorial, over to broadway, to westport/plaza.  Glad the sidewalks are big enough because I'm not braving saturday afternoon Broadway traffic.

[KC_Fan]

I'm just a casual biker, so forgive the naïve question, but what's a "commuter bike," and how is it different?

Nothing really... companies like Breezer simply outfit them with the equipment you'll want if you're riding to work.  Chain guard, fenders with mud flaps, lighting system with built-in wheel generator, bell, cart on back, internal gear hub.

Breezer makes great bikes and includes these features for a really good price.  Some of these add-ons can get expensive.

[staubio]

Yup, went all the way down to the plaza & back yesterday, and gotta say the passage from crown center to midtown is definitely not too biker friendly becuase of both lack of good bike route, and the hills.  Whew...  that hill kills.  I guess the best route would be downtown to Union Station, to Liberty Memorial, over to broadway, to westport/plaza.  Glad the sidewalks are big enough because I'm not braving saturday afternoon Broadway traffic.

There is a good route everywhere.  You just have to think outside the car.  Whatever you do, please don't ride on sidewalks.  That solidifies the idea that bicycles belong there, makes the sidewalks more hostile for pedestrians and endangers you because cars aren't watching for people moving that fast before they turn suddenly.

There are a couple of good routes to connect Midtown with Downtown. 

-Take Summit under I-35 and then climb the hill through Penn Valley Park.  From there you can connect to Wyandotte or Pennsylvania.  Pennsylvania is the great street in the heart of Westport.
-Take Kessler up through Penn Valley Park, then take the trail around the dog park and end up on Wyandotte, which will take you all the way to Westport Rd
-To soften the hill, take Roanoke off of SW Trafficway and work your way up to 39th and Wyoming.

Seriously, there is a good bike route to go anywhere -- even a lot of places in the suburbs.  I've learned by trail and error, so please feel free to drop a note if you would like some advice on choosing a route.  This city is far more bike friendly than it first seems.

[staubio]

Another casual biker here.  Just moved downtown last month (from Lawrence) and I agree... biking is a great way to learn more about KC.  I've been all over downtown so far and my impressions.... West bottoms is a rather boring ride.  A few miles east is nice, especially going through Cliff Drive.  While I've gone south, haven't made it past Crown Center yet, so one of these days (this weekend)  I'll go for a ride to midtown and maybe just keep going and take the Max back (those have bike racks right?).

The West Bottoms is hit or miss.  If you don't hit the right roads, it can be horribly boring.  If you make the right route, it is an awesome place to ride.  I like riding through the bottoms and then connecting with downtown KCK on the Riverfront Heritage Trail bridge over the Kaw, right next to James St.

Cliff Drive is a great ride and is pretty popular.  The whole NE is a pretty cool place to ride.  I also love KCK, East Side, and lots of the off-the-beaten-path Northland roads.  There are so many miles of amazing rides around here, you could ride forever and never do the same thing twice.  I can't get enough of riding in KC.

MAX does indeed have bike racks -- as do most of the Metro busses.  Riding out until you've had enough and bussing back -- or, even better, riding the bus to somewhere new and finding your way home on the bike -- is a great way to build in some miles and explore the city.

[rxlexi]

I'll have to agree, as a casual biker/MTBer nothing beats the seat of a bicycle city exploration.  I can leave home in brookside and be out and about in most of the core very quickly, over to the east, downtown, the river market.  I'm consistently surprised with the diversity of nieghborhoods and landscape this city has to offer, and often come back from long rides not only rubber legged and happy but once more in love with KC.  Good stuff. 
  As a side note, what's the best way to get north of the river right now?  I'd like to bike NKC and Parkville, but I'm not sure of the connections I'd need to make....

[staubio]

I'll have to agree, as a casual biker/MTBer nothing beats the seat of a bicycle city exploration.  I can leave home in brookside and be out and about in most of the core very quickly, over to the east, downtown, the river market.  I'm consistently surprised with the diversity of nieghborhoods and landscape this city has to offer, and often come back from long rides not only rubber legged and happy but once more in love with KC.  Good stuff. 
  As a side note, what's the best way to get north of the river right now?  I'd like to bike NKC and Parkville, but I'm not sure of the connections I'd need to make....

The best bridge for crossing the river on a bike is the Choteau, thanks to its wide bike lane and relatively low traffic count.  That puts you a little bit farther east than you may want to be, however, but gives you a chance to ride up through the Northeast to get to the Trafficway.  However, Choteau Trafficway is fairly unfriendly on the north side even for the brief stretch you need it.  I usually cut through the closed entrance on the east side of the Cerner campus and then drop down to Armour and into NKC.

The Heart of America Bridge has an adequate shoulder with bike-safe drainage grates.  That will drop you right onto Burlington for a perfect shot into NKC.

The ride to Parkville is a bit tricky because it isn't well connected to the south.  I liked to use the Fairfax Bridge before the 635 was closed.  It is pretty narrow and scary, but traffic is usually very light.  There is a little bit of room for you on the side northbound, but southbound is very narrow.  From the bridge, you can then weave around the casino and get on highway 9 and head over.  You can use the HOA to do the same, branching off on 9 where Burlington becomes 9 and North Oak.  If you want to avoid the worst part of riding on 9, you can take North Oak up to Briar Cliff and cut through there, then take the road with Red X on it to cut over further.  By that time, you've got patchy shoulder all the way in and less traffic.

There are a lot of great corridors in the Northland to ride and a lot of nasty roads too.  It is weird up there... vast, sprawling and tenuously interconnected. 

[Mr. Cranky]

When I lived up north I used to ride out to Parkville all the time either via MO 9 or 64th Street (which is better to a certain extent - there's a trail, but it's really nasty - full of paved ruts).

There's lots of good riding up north I'm going to miss - Penguin Park, the neighborhoods between North Oak and Antioch, with NKC as your goal. Now that I live in Raytown, Independence seems a good place to ride...so far anyway. Last night I rode south down Noland Road from 23rd St. to US 40. First time, last time (it was getting kinda late; had to hurry).

I am a pretty casual rider but I used to ride from NKC down to Brookside all the time. The Trolley Trail is a great way to go, not to mention all those neighborhood streets directly south of Loose Park.

Whole different perspective. You are a target, but common sense will get you through.

Can't stand the climb from, say, Crown Center to 31st Street. You've got to keep thinking, "This will be better on the way back." And it always is.

The Heart of America is a pretty good bridge for bike riders as far as I'm concerned. Not a lot of traffic on weekends.

[swampranger]

Hey do any of y'all have a recommendation for a good locally owned bike shop? I would rather  support the smaller businesses when I can.

Also, I have a friend who wants to try out some urban biking with me, but she's not ready to buy one yet. Does anybody know of any places that rent?

[shinatoo]

Hey do any of y'all have a recommendation for a good locally owned bike shop? I would rather  support the smaller businesses when I can.

Also, I have a friend who wants to try out some urban biking with me, but she's not ready to buy one yet. Does anybody know of any places that rent?

What part of town are you in?

I tried ACME downtown but thier prices seam high. I still like going to the Bike Stop at Sterling and 40hyway in Independence. The bike Source in Lee's Summit is OK but the sales guy is pretty pushy.

[shinatoo]

When I lived up north I used to ride out to Parkville all the time either via MO 9 or 64th Street (which is better to a certain extent - there's a trail, but it's really nasty - full of paved ruts).

There's lots of good riding up north I'm going to miss - Penguin Park, the neighborhoods between North Oak and Antioch, with NKC as your goal. Now that I live in Raytown, Independence seems a good place to ride...so far anyway. Last night I rode south down Noland Road from 23rd St. to US 40. First time, last time (it was getting kinda late; had to hurry).

I am a pretty casual rider but I used to ride from NKC down to Brookside all the time. The Trolley Trail is a great way to go, not to mention all those neighborhood streets directly south of Loose Park.

Whole different perspective. You are a target, but common sense will get you through.

Can't stand the climb from, say, Crown Center to 31st Street. You've got to keep thinking, "This will be better on the way back." And it always is.

The Heart of America is a pretty good bridge for bike riders as far as I'm concerned. Not a lot of traffic on weekends.

Welcome to Raytown, good thing about Raytown is that the main streets are wide and not very busy. Lots of people ride out at Longview Lake.

Two projects that will geratly enhance Raytowns biking experiance are the extention og he Katy Trail through Raytown on the old Rock Island line, and the compleation of the Little Blue Trace Trail from 39th and Selsa down to Longview Lake.

Maybe someday when I fanaly get in shape we can get together for a ride.

Oh there is a ride that happens every Sunday afternoon at 3pm that starts fromt the parking lot in front of the old Schnicks store at Gregory and 350hyway.

[staubio]

Hey do any of y'all have a recommendation for a good locally owned bike shop? I would rather  support the smaller businesses when I can.

Also, I have a friend who wants to try out some urban biking with me, but she's not ready to buy one yet. Does anybody know of any places that rent?

River Market Cyclery on 3rd St just east of Grand is pretty good.  The owner is very friendly and service is good.  Selection is a bit lacking as it is a small space, but they should have what you need.  They also have a few rentals.

Midwest Cyclery is a nice shop right in the middle of the city on Broadway near Westport Rd, but I've had more than one occassion of a disgruntled owner that left a bad taste in my mouth.  If Bob could deal with his attitude, it would be an awesome shop.

There are several other urban core shops I know less about, including one in the Northeast and one in Waldo.

The best larger format suburban store, in my opinion, is the Trek Store of Kansas City on Shawnee Mission Parkway.  As a bike racer, I know a lot of these guys to be amazing mechanics and cyclists.  They have a great variety of bikes and they are pretty helpful.  Bummer is that they are a branded shop, so they have a limited variety of product as far as accessories go.

Bike Source has become the K-Mart of Bike Shops.  They are out at 135th now, in a huge store with fewer and fewer experienced employees.  It reminds me of a volume operation the more I go out there.  There are two guys I really respect out there as well as one excellent mechanic, but the rest has gone downhill.

[swampranger]

hey thanks guys, i appreciate the input. I'm up near gladstone, so i think the river market, and the shop in independence will be my best bets.