Bicyclist Killed in Accident in Oklahoma City

A cyclist has been killed here in Oklahoma City tonight.  From NewsOK.com:

About 9:15 p.m., James Smith II, 60, was riding southbound on his bicycle in the outside lane of N Rockwell Avenue near the Northwest Expressway when he made a sharp left turn, Holland said. The minivan was driving behind Smith and its driver could not stop in time or avoid him, and Smith hit the windshield and was then run over.

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Categories: OKC Bicyclist  Tags: accident fatal 

Tour of the Wichitas Announced

For those who love hills, the Tour of the Wichitas has been scheduled for May 2nd.  From the website:

A beautiful ride through Ft. Sill and the Wichita Mountains. You will be leaving the Museum of the Great Plains at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and riding either 2,10, 40, 50 or 60 miles through some of the most beautiful scenery in Oklahoma. We will also have a historic route by the Ft. Sill Museum and some of the most important historical properties at Ft. Sill. The longer rides will have a water stop at the Visitors Center in the refuge. You can pause here and learn about the make up of the refuge along with what types of animals it supports. Also the location of the hiking trails and fishing lakes. From the Visitors Center you may ride back by Mt. Scott through Medicine Park, or on a breathtaking downhill that will pass the Meers Restaurant and loop around Lake Lawtonka back to Lawton. This is a smell the roses ride. Take your time, look around and enjoy!

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Categories: OKC Bicyclist  Tags: tour-of-the-wichitas tours 

Weekend Lake Trails Slush Report

So, it’s been a long and dull week without the ability for me to ride (darn skinny wheels).  After work, I decided to do an automotive run along the lake bike trails to see how the ice had cleared.  Overall it looks really good which is as I expected.  For those of you who ride out to Overholser to start their rides, I noticed quite a bit of remaining slush at the bottom of the last hill coming into the lake on 16th street.  The trail itself is in fine shape and I didn’t notice any area of standing water that might be frozen up tomorrow morning.  I can however now personally confirm that the old Route 66 bridge is very much closed.  Let’s hope that they can reopen it soon.

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2009 Freewheel Route Announced

View Larger Map

The route for Freewheel crosses the western side of the state this year.  The itinerary is as follows:

  • Saturday, June 6th -  Duncan
  • Sunday, June 7th – Anadarko
  • Monday, June 8th – Cordell
  • Tuesday, June 9th – Cheyenne
  • Wednesday, June 10th – Thomas
  • Thursday, June 11th – Fairview
  • Friday, June 12th – Alva
  • Saturday, June 13th – Kiowa, KS

Registration begins the second week of February and will be $110 for the full week.  I can’t wait for June to get here!

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Categories: OKC Bicyclist  Tags: freewheel tours 

Norman Updates Bicycle Routes

192912800_cbd0339728 Norman is improving and expanding the bicycle routes throughout the city.  Hopefully Oklahoma City will start improving the street routes as well.  I’d love to see a route going down to Norman and out to Lake Thunderbird for a great camping weekend.

Yellow “Share the Road” signs to urge motorists and bicyclists to coexist peacefully and safely will be popping up around town as the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee works to make roads safer for both.

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Categories: OKC Bicyclist  Tags: bicycle-routes commuting norman 

Schlegel Bicycles to Offer Maintenance Classes

Schlegel Bicycles will be offering both the novice and intermediate versions of their Park School bicycle maintenance classes.  The novice class will be offered on February 17th and the intermediate class will be on February 7th and 14th.  The complete description of the courses are below:

Novice Bicycle Maintenance Class

Students get an overview of many aspects of bicycles maintenance. Tires and tubes, brakes, and gear adjustments are demonstrated, discussed and worked on by the students. The class content is similar to a 90 day check-up on the bike. This is an excellent class for someone with a relatively modern or brand new bike who wishes to learn about maintenance, but can only make a limited time commitment for the class. In the novice class, the emphasis is placed on knowing when there is a problem, and on cleaning the bike. The presentations will often be descriptive. For example, showing what rear cogs are and how they work is part of the class, but demonstrating or practicing their removal are beyond the scope of this class. This is about a three-four hour class. Cost for the novice class is $40.00 per person. This class is typically offered on a monthly basis.

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Categories: OKC Bicyclist  Tags: education maintenance 

Tulsa’s Bicycle Sharing Program Going Well

The bright pink, old-fashioned Townie bicycles stationed along River Parks appear to be a hit with park visitors.

With a full year’s worth of data still being evaluated, officials believe that the free bikes were checked out by about 13,000 riders, said Tom Cooper, a member of the Tulsa Townies LLC, which provides and maintains the two-wheelers.

Read the full story: Tulsa World: Bike program on a roll

Categories: OKC Bicyclist  Tags: bicycle-sharing tulsa