We decided to take advantage of a long weekend and check out Xinyang, in the south of our province of Henan. There are mountains and northern tea, rice, and even water buffalo. After so much flat around Zhoukou it was a nice change of pace. The last thing we expected was to land in the middle of the Xinyang 9th “Lottery Cup” Bicycle Open. A bicycle race! In Henan! I had no idea. It was […]

People have different motivations for getting on a bike. For some it’s a fun thing to do with friends. Others are solitary commuters, still others seem to live to race. I like all those reasons, plus one more. I enjoy touring my area to see new things. I do this around Nebraska, but here in Zhoukou everything is new. Every ride increases my understanding of the culture and region. It’s easy to live in a […]

Yes, I support Lincoln’s Complete Streets initiative. We always need to consider carefully the cost effectiveness of any projects, including Complete Streets, but I believe it is important to provide for more opportunities for walking, biking, and taking the bus in addition to providing great streets for cars. Not everybody can drive a car, but they still need to be able to get to jobs, school, doctors, and grocery stores. Plus, these alternative forms of […]

If “all politics is local” as the saying goes, certainly our rides are. For some, riding is a political statement as well as a form of transportation or avocation. From your bike you see your environment up-close. Environmental issues like trash, flooding, air pollution and infrastructure are experienced by a person on a bike in a way that someone in a car or who doesn’t get out into the community will not. Whether or not […]

No matter how many trails and quiet residential streets you incorporate into your bike route, one fact remains: You will still have to cross busy streets. Sometimes you’ll have a traffic signal to stop cross traffic. You can even trigger the signals with your bike. When it works, it’s slick. You roll up over the sensor, you wait for your green light, you wait for one or two drivers to run their red light in front of […]

Do you support the Complete Streets initiative for Lincoln? If so, to what degree do you prioritize the development of Complete Streets and the improvement of Lincoln’s bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure? The City of Lincoln’s Complete Streets Initiative is one that I support. We can see that more residents are moving away from automobiles as their primary transport, so we should be planning for/ implementing the changes necessary to facilitate all travelers in our town. […]

Do you support the Complete Streets initiative for Lincoln? If so, to what degree do you prioritize the development of Complete Streets and the improvement of Lincoln’s bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure? I think it is a great idea but should come after prioritizing Lincoln citizen services as described below. I have been advised there is not enough available funding for: StarTran to operate on Sundays or holidays Plowing residential areas when main streets are plowed Park […]

Hi Sydney, thanks for reaching out! I’m a cyclist too and while I like the idea of complete streets, the way that the city has implemented it in the past is what I have to second guess. And sometimes the way the city (and the federal funds mandates) does things makes it way more expensive to the point where we could be doing more for cyclists with the same amount of funds. I’ll give you […]

Because the Complete Streets initiative prioritizes multi-modal transportation it is generally considered an important step towards improving city infrastructure for bicycling and walking.  Consequently, on March 30, we posed a question to each of the candidates running for the three-at-large City Council positions. Do you support the Complete Streets initiative for Lincoln? If so, to what degree do you prioritize the development of Complete Streets and the improvement of Lincoln’s bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure? Candidates advancing to […]

It’s aggravating not speaking Chinese, and needing to go to the bike shop while not speaking Chinese is even worse. I can say a few phrases and get us home in a taxi, but explaining my need for a new chain and cassette and probably the bottom bracket? It’s rough. I know there must be better translation apps out there than what I’ve found but when you get into specialized vocabulary like this, it comes […]