With less than three weeks until the Cycle 20ten group departure, I have tried to properly balance my time between getting in somewhat decent shape before the nearly 4,000 mile trip and conducting proper preliminary research.
One of the main components of my in-field research will center around various elements of the bike route through all dozen states. For example, does the route have a bike lane and if so, how large. Additional things of interest may include shoulder presence, debris in route, speed limit for motor vehicles, comfort of riders, etc. The idea behind these actions is to gauge various details regarding the route in various states and then attempt to see if state/municipality policy may have some connection to what is observed. Thus, I’ve been collecting various data for the states we'll be traveling through including bike riding levels, bicyclist fatality rates, various state policies (e.g. helmet law), transportation funding distribution, etc. I look forward to completing this document and posting it during the next couple days. An interesting preview of some startling information: bicyclists and pedestrians are typically those left out in regards to federal transportation dollars with only 1.2% of total dollars going to projects dealing with biking or walking (Bicycling and Walking in the United States 2010)
As far as the physical preparation, I was forced to bike indoors on this beautiful day. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the new bikes at the Ramshead Gymnasium on campus that have an interactive video component. It was beneficial to get in some hill training as well. Unfortunately, the 30 miles I biked pales in comparison to the 70 we'll be averaging when we get rolling.
Will post again soon,
Charles
No comments:
Post a Comment