Saturday, March 28, 2015

Saturday Coffee Shop Ride: Next! 4/25

The next Saturday Coffee Shop Ride is April 25. We'll depart at 9am from downtown's newest eatery. Pappy's: The Original! That's 101 S Phillips Ave, 1st level of DocuTap which was recently formerly known as the CNA building.



Here is a link to the general expectations of the Saturday Coffee Shop Rides. Faster riders may find the speed of this ride a bit mentally challenging. If you want to see the entirety of the Saturday Coffee Shop Rides posts follow this link.


Today's ride featured two brand new people. Welcome Casey and Gregg. Murph! greeted us at Panera with regrets about flat tires and whatnot. Gregg and Murph! were very loyal riders of yesteryear's popular Coffee and Donut Rides.



See you next month!

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Saturday Coffee Shop Ride: March 28

The next Saturday Coffee Shop Ride will be the last Saturday of March. The 28th. It will depart from Panera Bread - 5117 S Louise Ave. I like to think of the route as a tour of the Harrisburg School District in Sioux Falls.

The ride leaves at 9am. The loop this time is about 11 miles and weather adjustable. We'll enjoy coffee or full breakfast after. There are general expectations of the Saturday Coffee Shop Rides. Faster riders may find the slowish speed of this ride mentally taxing.

The route goes a little something like this:



Wednesday, March 04, 2015

HB 1030 - Yesterday's Failed Amendment...and The Future of SD Bicycling

Yesterday my Senator Omdahl attempted and failed to amend HB 1030. Because this amendment is a bit hard to find I’ve copied it from the Senate Journal and pasted it below. I think it deserves a careful read.

It begins with rendering 3' and 6' passing moot when riding outside municipalities. Then certain roads that have “sufficient lane width in the highway to provide the separation distance required” by 3’ and 6’ of passing can be designated by local governing bodies as roads that “may be used for bicycle travel.”

This amendment faced a far from unanimous voice vote. Senators who rose in favor of this very bad amendment were: Omdahl (Minnehaha County), Ewing (Lawrence) and Monroe (Hughes, Hyde, Stanley, Sully).

Think about the future:

Next year is a new legislative session and bicycles are a hot topic. Riders should prepare for yet another clothing bill – as a way to collect the pound of flesh ostensibly owed for providing increased safety for cycling road users. Also the Howie and Omdahl amendments won’t disappear. Heck – if invited to make HB 1030 “better” I’d put forth a bill that inserted “or a full lane change” after the 6’ passing requirement. This would allow easier passing of me when I’m controlling a lane on my bike.

Riders may not like politics. But acts of legislatures do not happen in a vacuum.

Whose job is it to keep a senator with an amendment and a silver tongue from banning cycling on roads throughout the state?

--

Sen. Omdahl moved that HB 1030 be further amended as follows:

On page 1, line 14, of the House Transportation Committee engrossed bill, after "bicycle." Insert:
"The provisions of this section do not apply to any highway outside the incorporated boundaries of a municipality unless the highway has been designated for bicycle travel pursuant to section 2 of this Act.".

On page 1, after line 14, insert:

"Section 2. The Transportation Commission or board of county commissioners may designate a highway that may be used for bicycle travel. The highway may only be designated for bicycle travel if there is sufficient lane width in the highway to provide the separation distance required by section 1 of this Act. The commission or board shall identify the beginning and end point of the highway designated for bicycle travel. Signs shall be posted on the highway designated for bicycle travel to notify the motoring public of the beginning and end point and at regular intervals along the designated highway.".

Tuesday, March 03, 2015

HB1030 Passes Senate - Next Stop, The Governor

There is never enough thanks to go around on days like today. For what its worth...I'm giving thanks:

Thank you Chris Parsley, Clint Kolda and Chad Pickard. Since January 20 this team has been in constant contact around this bill. Strategy, ideas, thoughts, research, sanity, insanity - day and night - our lives have been just short of consumed by this bill. It's a great experience being on such a stellar team. Thank you guys. All volunteer all the time!

The American Heart Association and Megan Myers. Without diversity of thought and presentation bills like this are tough to pass. The Heart Association brought healthy living into the conversation and was a constant presence in the capitol. Also, Megan never seems to tire of my many question about how things work. I owe her. Thanks AHA & Megan.

Finally iPhone and Facebook Messenger. Seriously. I'd love to have all that conversation rolled up into a book to read. Couldn't have done it without you two.

On to Governor Daugaard's desk.