Along The Trail: Picture Book

There is always something going on along the Arkansas River Trail, and it is often interesting, educational, comical, beautiful, or just plain perplexing. Here's a picture-book of such things from a couple of loops around town. There are enough words thrown in there for me to call it an article.

This line of cruisers stretched around the bend on Sunday.

The plaza at the foot of the Two Rivers Bridge is shaping up. I'm curious about the plan for bathrooms and water availability.

It's really not unusual to see brides engaged in photo sessions along the trail. This glowing bride was at Two Rivers Park near the bridge.

The brutal February weather continued to chill Little Rock volleyball players right out of their pants.  

Potential Conflict?

While out riding on Sunday I was reminded of a question/problem presented by frequent ride buddy Sam Ledbetter and also by a thoughtful reader. That is, how will we manage the merging traffic at the junction of the east and west ramps of the Big Dam Bridge? I'm thinking that if it becomes a point of conflict, I'll probably try going down the west and up the east. That way I can stay to the right on the bridge and go on my way to clutter up traffic between the ramps if I happen to need to go the other way. It will get worked out, but there will need to be some protocol for safety's sake.

Everybody will need to mind their manners and be alert at the coming BDB junction.

MPH

I almost hesitate to mention this, but Drew Moffitt informs me that the radar speed-indicating sign on the BDB is in operation. I hesitate for fear that some reader will get the idea to see how fast they can go, but, of course, everybody who has seen the sign has already had that idea. I've got a great deal of faith in the good sense of area riders so that I'm certain that there will be no attemps to set and then break personal speed records. I'm equally certain that there will be no sharing of personal records resulting in others attempting to top said record. Hopefully, the game won't be popular for long, but somebody will always want to take a shot at the record that won't be established, become legendary and always be spoken of in low voices on long rides. Everybody is too responsible to speed on the BDB; however, I'm going to stick to my plan of descending the west ramp when it opens in order to avoid temptation and speedsters.

Goose Wars: Truce In Force

At Victory Lake, it's geese beware! I think these bouys have strobes and noise makers to disrupt the sleep of groggy geese. Nonlethal methods, including the use of dogs, have moved most of the geese out of the parks for now.

Fort Roots Paving

The road climb up to Fort Roots from River Road and Paul Duke Drive is being repaved and was closed to traffic as of Saturday. The pavement was in bad repair and some new asphalt will be appreciated.

This descent will be sweet with fresh pavement, but the popular climb up Fort Roots is closed for now. Asphalt paving doesn't take long and it should be better than ever.

Fort Roots as an institution has had a mixed history with cyclists. A near-ban took place a few years ago, so always bring your best manners if you enter the gates.  

It's been crazy warm and that  looks to continue as the days get longer. There are a lot of riders out getting in some early season miles and there are already many, many folks out strolling around the bridges and parks, so it pays to adjust your speed to the conditions.

Cross Winds Classic Road Bike Race

On a Saturday morning at the Truck Centers of Arkansas Galloway exit location, the trucks were stacked up as usual, thanks to the number of major truck stops located here. There were big rigs lined up wherever you might look, coming and going from every direction. Just as I was about to decide that this was no place for a bike race, I pulled past a lot full of trailers to see before my eyes a veritable swarm of cyclists. Sponsored by CARVE, presented by Dr. Feelgood, the Cross Winds Classic saw perfect weather and drew impressively large fields, with CAT 5 being split into age groups when the field surpassed 50 riders.

Many races struggle to attract enough riders to fill out all of the scheduled fields. That was not a problem at the Crosswinds Classic.

I wanted to go out to see some racing and was undecided on my approach until I saw that my friend Chris Randle post that he was driving the Spokes bicycle shop team van as a wheel vehicle. I got in touch with Chris and we met at the start area to put placards on the bus and load wheels for the Master 40+ and 50+ riders. Our job was to follow the main field around four laps of the 13 mile circuit and stand ready to provide a quick wheel change or any other assistance that might be required. The riders were led out of the truck center and through a neutral zone by police officers in marked cars and on-course officials on motorcycles. The neutral zone, in which riders are paced and the racing has yet to start, got the riders past the truck zone and on to the very lightly travelled race course, where the escorts pulled off and it was "game on".

The Cat 3's heading out to the course. Conditions could not have been better, with temperatures in the high 50's, sunny skies, and light wind.

We followed our pack out through the neutral zone, having been joined in the van by Stephen and Randi Lynn Durham. The area around the Galloway exit is pretty much one big truck stop.

The course is flat, but the area is known for punishing winds, particularly this time of year, which could have created tactical racing, big gaps, and more crashes. As it was, many of the fields stayed pretty much intact or broke into a couple of packs. There was some grumbling from experienced riders in the Cat 5's that nobody was interested in racing. I think that is largely a result of the lack of team structure among the 5's so that none of the individual riders were willing to throw down work at the front in efforts that would ultimately only benefit their rivals. A couple of strong riders reported that they attacked only to find themselves alone off the front too early in the race with no interested chasers with whom to work. Note to Cat 5's: Find some buddies at the start and agree to work together.  Our Masters class saw a group of 8-10 riders go off the front fairly early and stay away. The efforts of a few other riders failed in attempting to bridge the growing gap and the front group was soon out of sight.

The day was perfect for a bike race on the Grand Prairie

After three laps in the Spokesmobile, I asked Chris to drop me at the finish line/feed zone so that I could see some of the finishing sprints and try to get a different perspective on the race. There was a nice crowd of supporters along the road with Steve Shepherd and Ian Hope, along with promoter Fred Phillips, maintaining the organization and keeping track of status and the finishing order of the several races still on the course. This is a daunting task, but the crew was well-organized and had a lot of help, including a finish line camera operator, to track the finishing orders.

There were some large field sprints, like this bunch of Cat 4's, which made things exciting for the supporters lining the road near the finish line.

This women's finish came down to a hard fought two-up sprint.

And it doesn't get much closer than this as Tammy Bray pips her rival at the line.

Kris French celebrating the win in the Cat 1-2 sprint.

The Cross Winds Classic was a huge success by any measure. I've talked to quite a few riders who are already laying down strategy for their next road race opportunity, and the huge turnout confirms that there is a certainly an appetite for more road racing locally and around the state. The organization was good, all the fields were big enough to race, unlike some events that combine classes to have enough folks to compete, and many were really huge with 40-50 riders, the race course was well monitored and safe, and the racing was good.Throw in perfect weather for good measure. I've got to give CARVE a nod for bringing road racing back to central Arkansas. The current club leadership group is doing a great job in not only promoting race events like the Fourth of July Star Spangled Criterium  and the Cross Winds Classic, but also in promoting mountain bike and juniors cycling, holding beginner rides, raising money for causes like Teen Challenge and CARTI, and directly supporting local cyclists with the River Trail work station. CARVE has an ambitious agenda and I look for more good things from them. I'd be remiss if I failed to also give a shout-out to Dr. Feelgood himself, longtime cycling supporter Dr. Steve Tilley. Thanks, Doc.

Check here to see race results when posted by DLT.

If you'd like to read an account of fellow blogger Joe Jacobs's look at the race from the saddle, check out his post on ArkansasOutside.

I Declare This Day, February 23, To Be Spray-on Tan Day

Immediate Action Item!!

Yes, I've unilaterally declared a statewide nod of the noggin' to spray-on tanning, and here's a link to Livestrong's tips on the process. While I'm not usually a fan of such fakery, preferring to naturally slow-toast my hide through 40 weight sunscreen, today's weather forecast has caused me to fear for sensitive eyes.
Here is my cause for alarm:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78.

This means that every pasty rider in the area will rush from their jobs in the offices, salt mines, and jute mills of Central Arkansas and head out to the River Trail this evening. The result will be an overabundance of very white, very hairy legs which, in the stark light of winter, can create an unnaturally blinding distraction to riders and may pose a threat to the normal development of small children.

Use your lunch hour to rush out and get something like this:

Do it for the children!

I fully expect that today will also be an opportunity to practice your peak season crowd riding techniques on the area bridges, so spray on, saddle up, and ride friendly!

Sunday-Go-'Round

Sunday turned out to be clear and sunny, a welcome rebound from Saturday's drizzly gloom and unfulfilled threat of all day rain and a perfect afternoon for a town ride. As I rode through Argenta, I was without an agenda, so I made one up, deciding to do a tour of our bike bridges while surveying some of Little Rock's bike infrastructure challenges. Call it a field trip.
I started with the Clinton Park Bridge, which is always mellow, occupied mostly by strolling walkers whose eyes are often drawn from the scenery to the list of donors etched into the concrete at their feet. A few cyclists pass through, but one seldom encounters long-leashed dog walkers, unsupervised kids, or mad dog bikers on the CPB.

I recommend the Clinton Park Bridge for those folks who might complain about the behavior of fellow users on the BDB or Two Rivers Bridge. It's very civilized.

Upon leaving Clinton Park, finding the best way through the River Market is often a little puzzling for me due to the intersecting sidewalks and driveways, but as long as you don't ride down any stairs, you'll likely end up on the Medical Mile. Unfortunately, we soon encounter some of Little Rock's challenges.

The washed out section of trail beyond this gate is soon to be repaired, but then what?

A couple of years ago, a section of the dead-end Medical Mile trail section washed into the Arkansas River. Since it didn't really go anywhere anyway, there was no rush to repair the damage. Now, the city has plans to rebuild the trail and to build a bridge over the Union Pacific tracks, somehow connecting to Cantrell Road. From there, the picture of a route along Cantrell becomes less clear.

The Medical Mile ends just to the right of this view, and Dillard's data center is to the left. It would be handy if this structure, which I assume to have been a rail crossing, could be recycled as a bike bridge. 

Once over the tracks, planners face more obstacles.

After finding a way around mid-sidewalk utility poles, a route along Cantrell will have to co-exist with Dillard's traffic.

The closer I look, the more appreciation I have for the difficulties involved in getting a bike path or lane through this stretch, and even on this quiet Sunday afternoon, I feared riding in the Cantrell Road traffic lanes. In an effort to grasp the big picture, I resorted to the ultimate big picture resource, Google Earth.

Dillard's HQ appears at the top of this view, and Cathedral School occupies the center triangle.

It seems clear that a route paralleling the tracks around the Cathedral School property would be most practical, but I'm told that this solution is a political impossibility. School interests apparently fear the social element that a bicycle-pedestrian path could bring to the culture rich location. This is an impasse that needs to be resolved for the good of the community as a whole.

Do it for the children!

I came across this crack team of small experts as they made their way along the sidewalk at Cantrell and LaHarpe. They had attentive leadership and maintained very good ride order.Many less confident riders find this stretch to be daunting. These guys deserve some trail through here.

Among the items discussed at the Little Rock Bike Friendly Committee meeting, were a proposal to reduce traffic lanes on Riverfront Drive in order to create wider, more safe lanes for cyclists and pedestrians, and the promise of repaving Rebsamen Park Road from Riverfront to the Big Dam Bridge. 

The idea has been put forth to put the traffic lanes on Riverfront on a "road diet", resulting in wider, presumedly safer, bike lanes.

Rebsamen Park Road from the Big Dam Bridge to the new traffic circle at the interesection with Riverfront is due to get a much-needed repaving.

I hope to not be redundent as I revisit some bike advocacy issues, but part of my self-appointed role here is to help keep you informed about the progress and politics of things that will affect us over time as riders. I'll express my opinions, but hope that you form your own and express them to city leaders and to representitives of BACA and entities like the Little Rock and NLR Bike Friendly Community Committees.  I think that recreational and sport riders are underrepresented in bike advocacy circles, so speak up!

 I'll now get back to the Sunday tour aspect of this article! I'm finding it interesting how the three bridges and their surroundings seem to be taking on individual personalities. I have already mentioned the Clinton Park Bridge, where you're more likely to see thoughtful types attired in casual slacks and looking pensive than a pack of club cyclists. Two Rivers Bridge has definitely become the place for casual exercise walkers, big family gaggles, long-leashed dogs, multi-child strollers, sky gazing bird-watching wanderers, training wheels, skates, scooters, and just plain stopped and standers. For cyclists, patience, disregard for average speed, and a "just passing through" attitude make up the best plan at Two Rivers.

Two Rivers Bridge and Park make a great passage to get to the open roads west of town, but it's no place for speedsters.

The Big Dam Bridge and the trail sections reaching from it seem to remain the center of activity for more serious riders, runners and other active recreational users. There will still be a large mixed crowd on the approaching spring days, but the shorter Two Rivers Bridge will help draw the gridlock crowds from the BDB.

When I saw this rider's jersey, I was unsure whether I was witnessing a jail break or a piece of performance art as he became a part of the geometry of rail and shadows. Perhaps he just liked the jersey, but I found that to be unlikely and much less fun.

That just about brings the story of the Sunday tour to a close. It was mostly a recreational field trip, but I wanted to throw in a little information gathering on current bike advocacy issues along the way. It was a lot of fun and I learned some things. That's the nature of a field trip.

Get Out: Small Town Trails Development

Before we started riding several years ago, I had spent virtually every weekend at the cabin I'd had built in 1990 on the Little Red River near Heber Springs. Other than weekends spent boating in the Ozarks or traveling on vacation to whitewater destinations in the East or West, my Friday commute included a drive to Heber. Then came my accidental addiction to road bikes and suddenly my priorities had changed. Diane also got the bug, but my compulsions seem to run a bit deeper and I was always looking for the next ride. Saturday morning group rides became more important than chasing trout, building fences, or tending a distant garden, so our weekend routine became sporadic and bike driven. When I built the Heber place, one of my goals was to make it easy to maintain, as I had observed neighbors who seemed to have lost sight of the pleasures of a place on the river and only showed up to do what work needed to be done. While we always have projects, they are seldom so pressing as to require  a trip for the purpose, and we still reap plenty of enjoyment from our getaway. Since Heber Springs is a small town surrounded by rural two-lane roads, as my appetite for the fast pack experience waned, I had expected it to be easy to plot out some great road rides in the area, so we started scouting. With help from a friend experienced in riding in Cleburne County, we rode one loop that was 70% remote roads and great scenery, 30% no-shoulder Highway 25, shared with towed party barges, Wal-Mart semis, and retirees pulling outsized travel trailers behind vehicles with giant extended rear-view mirrors. After braving the gauntlet a few times to get to the pleasure of Dry Mountain Road, we gave it up and I went back to the maps in search of better opportunities. I found it in the form of a 35 to 50 mile loop to the town of Pangburn, with the 50-mile option including a side loop to the metropolises of Dewey and Clay. The roads were good, the climbs moderate, and there are a couple of really nice, long descents along the way as the road drops to the river valley from the surrounding hills. Nice. That is, until the natural gas drilling boom hit the county and suddenly even the most remote roads seemed to be crawling with trucks piloted by drivers getting paid by the load and in a hurry. I'm not saying that we won't ride at Heber any more; my point is that many rural areas are not conducive to great riding. I find it ironic that I can more easily strike out from home in North Little Rock to enjoy the open road than I can from our place 8 miles outside of Heber Springs. Even more ironic is that I'm unaware of any place at all to get on a suitable trail for mountain bikes around Heber. We can brave the roads, but we can't ride trails that don't exist. With Greers Ferry Lake being a Mecca for outdoor recreation, I'm a little taken aback that most of the recreation opportunities in the area seem to require a motor in order to enjoy the natural beauty. That situation is not unique to Heber Springs, as many riders who live outside of the Little Rock area regularly drive to central Arkansas to ride the River Trail system, the surrounding roads, or to get on some of the first-rate single track available to us here. There are glimmers of hope on the horizon for some rural riders, though, in the form of a couple of projects that are either proposed or ready to go in the Heber Springs and Cabot areas.

Greers Ferry Lake Trails Council
While my dreams of riding along quiet country roads free of roaring tank trucks full of toxic drilling fluids may go unfulfilled for a while, there is an ongoing effort by the Greers Ferry Trails Council to develop a multiuse trail system in the Heber Springs area.

Currently being driven by Frank Wimberley, the council has obtained some grant money and has developed a concept plan to include an old narrow gauge rail right-of-way and some property already under city control. Much of the rail bed has apparently reverted to private ownership and the council is working to obtain  rights-of-way in some areas, while work is underway on others.

Take a look at the maps and plans and, especially if you spend any time around Heber Springs, take the trail use survey.
I've got slightly selfish motives for touting this project, as I'd really like to feel that I could cruise around town and run my errands on my bike. More importantly, I've got a 12-year-old nephew living out on the river and I'd love for him to be able to safely ride his bike to school, the lake, and wherever else a capable young guy would care to ride.

Cabot Mountain Bike Trail
I initially came across information on this development compliments of the Arkansas Cycling and Fitness website. When Danny Hackworth noticed that Cabot was building "yet another skate park", he contacted Larry Tarrant of Cabot Parks and Recreation and asked about the possibility of developing mountain bike trails and suggested an area that he was familiar with near the Cabot BMX track. Tarrant gave Danny a go-ahead to go to work on a trail system on the city property, so Travis, who had no trail building experience, contacted the folks at ACF.
 "I hit up the guys at ACF and they jumped in head first and started spreading the word. Travis and Efren have been spending half of their only weekend day off and marking out the trials. ( http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/68873680
 I know it looks crazy but there is a method to the madness)"

Danny is planning a work day soon and I'll post the date here. The initial trail layout involves a couple of miles, which may be expanded to 8-10 miles over time, depending on use and other plans for the property that may arise. If you're interested in helping in the future, contact Danny at sleeperagent2@gmail.com.

I'm obviously delighted to see both of these projects moving forward. While there is a lot of discussion and some action on alternative transportation and outdoor recreation opportunities in our cities, small towns and rural areas are largely ignored in the conversation. The result is that residents are totally motor vehicle dependent for transportation and self-powered recreational areas are nonexistent. Few kids walk or ride anywhere and the result can be seen with a simple trip to any small town Wal-Mart. There are more morbidly obese than fit children and few adults are leading by example. Busy highways and streets with no sidewalks serve to trap many kids at home, where they can usually find a Game Station and a bag of chips to entertain them. hese projects usually involve cooperation between government and motivated volunteers. The politicians on the right often call these efforts a waste of taxpayer dollars, but I'd much rather pay for bike trails now than for diabetes and cardiac care for a generation of fat kids. Thanks to folks like Frank and Danny for their efforts.

Spam Patrol

Over the last few weeks, I've noticed some spam appearing among the comments to JBarCycling blog posts. I do not moderate or edit comments and these seem to pop up in posts that are a few weeks old. If you should notice a comment with a link to an ad or that otherwise smells of spam, please drop me a note at jbarcycling@comcast.net so that I can delete it. I have no intention of limiting opinion or cleaning up your language and don't object to somebody giving a call-out for a local event, but I will try to keep my readers from getting sucked into the purchase of knock-off Rolexes or chinchilla lined bib shorts from a third-world country.

Seasonal Doldrums

dol·drums noun pl \ˈdōl-drəmz


1: a spell of listlessness or despondency
2: often capitalized : a part of the ocean near the equator abounding in calms, squalls, and light shifting winds
3: a state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or slump


My Productivity
Most of my posts are driven by my experiences in riding the River Trail system, the open roads around Central Arkansas, or some of the wealth of locally available single-track in the area. As a result, at this time of year, with its limited ride opportunities and relatively few riders about, my subject matter can get a little scarce.

I maintain a fairly consistent, if sparse, ride schedule over the winter, but it can be lonely out there! A single runner approaches in the distance on the BDB this past Saturday. The sunshine belied the fact that it was 31 degrees with a 20 MPH NW wind.

On Saturday, I spent much of the morning eying the thermometer and pondering a ride plan. As the temperature finally nudged 30-degrees around noon, I decided to head down to the River Trail with my mountain bike to ride some single-track and see who was out and about. The single-track was there, but the crowds were thin, to say the least. I did encounter one road cyclist, a few hardy runners, and a half-dozen or so mountain bikers between Pfieffer Loop and the trails at Burns Park.

This group of fully loaded backpackers looked way too clean and fresh to have been out overnight, so I assumed their Burns Park trek was in preparation for a bigger adventure. 

Our Season
The subject of weather is usually front-and-center with riders this time of year, mostly bitching about the cold and the short days; however, we've experienced a historically mild winter in much of the country. In looking over my 2011 ride log, I noted that by this time last year I had six days marked as "NR (no ride)-snow" , and several more days in which I rode but noted the presence of snow. In fact, last year on February 9, we got snow that precluded riding for several days. It looks like we are about to be treated to what columnist Richard Allin referred to as the annual "Snow Tire and Daffodil Festival", but the feeling of spring has already crept in and a few days of seasonable February weather shouldn't hurt us a bit. Frankly, I'll admit to a little bit of disappointment that I never felt compelled to get out all of my "can't believe we're riding in this" winter kit. There are usually at least a few days each year on which my neighbor Darwin and I shame each other out in some crazy-ass 17 degree, howling wind weather conditions that require cut-out wool socks under my shoe covers, ski gloves, a hat not meant for under-helmet wear, and several layers of warm-everything-else. Those events usually come after a few totally shut in days of snow and ice or miserably cold rain, but we just haven't seen those conditions this winter. On the few truly cold days of this winter, a glance at the forecast would always offer more pleasant days on the horizon, and so it is this week; a promise of snow on Monday, but a return to the 60's by Thursday.

World News

You know that when cycling makes the front page of the Dem Gaz sports section, complete with photo, it's seldom good news. By now, of course, everyone with even the slightest interest in cycling or who keeps up with general sporting news has heard the word on Alberto Contador. After a year and a half of maneuvering and delays by all parties, the three time Tour de France winner was handed a two-year suspension and was stripped of his results since and including the 2010 Tour d France. With the retroactive punishment, he can race again on August 5. Congratulations to Andy Schleck, the now winner of the 2010 Tour de France. For Andy, that's a plate served very cold, as he saw the same race that we did; and he came in second. That's really too bad, because he'll have his name* in the record books, but he missed out on the glory and the joy and the asterisk will be there. What I think is a damned shame is that in cases of this type, there are really no grey areas, and yet it took a year and a half to resolve. If the rider has a substance in his body, he's responsible for it and will be banned. That cold, hard action ultimately was taken, but in the meantime, Contador raced, and now will be able to resume racing in time for the Vuelta. He officially hasn't existed, but he was still able to saddle up and maintain his brand awareness, being very much in the public eye. In that regard, Contador got an easy ride on the punishment. The folks who got screwed in the deal are the rest of the peloton. The record books can be rewritten, but that has little to do with the reality of the race season. The ban always seemed inevitable, so they should have just done it.
All of the debate over tainted meat (not a credible story in Spain, a real possibility if he had been training in China or Mexico), the incredibly small amount of clenbuterol and allegations of plasticizers from blood bags indicating an illegal transfusion (no accepted testing; couldn't really be considered) are moot in the face of hard and fast rules currently governing doping in cycling. Perhaps the rules should be changed to allow for accidental ingestion, tainted meats, and mislabeled supplements, but it was too late for that when Contador's results came back in 2010. The rules were in place and the clenbuterol was in Contador. It should have been "game over" eighteen months ago.

How is AC's case different from Lance Armstrong? Completely. The feds had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lance or the team defrauded the government. They apparently couldn't do that. Armstrong never tested positive, unless one believes the claims of failed tests and payoffs. Other than a distant brush with Operacion Puerto before his US Postal days, Contador has generally been considered, if not beyond suspicion, a clean rider. Armstrong was hounded, accused, investigated, tested, harassed and vilified for years, and yet has never been busted. That really pisses a lot of people off, for some reason. After all of the leaks from the "secret" federal Grand Jury and the very public statements of Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis, Lance's image is bent but not broken. That could yet change if the WADA can gain access to the grand jury testimony and other evidence gathered at the expense of us taxpayers. I guess if they find truly damning evidence then they can decide that Armstrong didn't win 7 Tours and they could suspend him from .....retirement? And so the hunt goes on.
I could be convinced that Lance was the smartest doper ever or that Contador was completely clean. I could also be convinced that some of the rules need changing and that there should be some point in time at which the witch hunts should cease. The WADA statute of limitations is 8 years, but WADA president John Fahey says, "Circumstances may exist that allow the rule to be set aside."
As a bike racing fan, I'm ready to move on.

I know I'm not really adding anything fresh to this topic, but I just had to say something!

Lance Off The Hook??

The status of the ongoing federal investigation of Lance Armstrong crossed my mind today for some reason.  I have long believed that Lance likely doped, as did most of his peers, for a period of time, but I also felt that dragging up 8-10 year-old rumors and literally making a federal case out of it served no purpose; not justice, not cleaning up the sport. No purpose other than giving some satisfaction to all the Lance haters out there and pumping up the reputation of the federal prosecuter who got Barry Bonds that awesome hand slap. By coincidence, as I sifted through online newpapers seeking to maintain some balance in my news sources (shocking note for some: Fox News isn't really fair and balanced. Add variety.), I caught this fresh item in the New York Times:

Lance Armstrong Avoids Charges as Inquiry Ends

By IAN AUSTEN

Published: February 3, 2012   

Federal prosecutors announced Friday that they had closed their investigation of Lance Armstrong without charging him, nearly two years after they began looking into possible crimes related to allegations that he and his cycling teammates participated in illegal doping.

The possible crimes being investigated included the defrauding of the government, drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy involving Armstrong and other top cyclists. In particular, the authorities were exploring whether money from the United States Postal Service, the main sponsor of Armstrong’s team from 1996 to 2004, was used to buy performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong, a seven-time winner of the Tour de France, has always emphatically denied any accusations that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs. He has long fought off suspicions that his Tour titles were tainted by performance-enhancers, and he has never officially tested positive for an illegal substances. (At the 1999 Tour, he failed a test for a corticosteroid but produced a doctor’s note for it.)

A grand jury in Los Angeles was convened for the investigation. On Friday, without citing a reason, United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. said in a statement that prosecutors and special agents had ended the investigation into “allegations of federal criminal conduct by members and associates of a professional bicycle racing team owned in part by Lance Armstrong.”       

In May 2010, Floyd Landis, a former teammate on the United States Postal Service team whose 2006 Tour title was annulled because he failed a drug test, reversed his years of denials and said publicly that he and Armstrong were active participants in systematic drug use and blood doping on the team.

It's time to move on, though I'm sure that Floyd Landis will be disappointed that he won't be in line for a reward as a rat...uh.... "Whistle blower."

I've never been a Lance-worshipper,  but he was among the best athletes we've ever seen. I think the biggest disappointment I've personally had from Lance has been his  endorsement of Michelob Ultra as "beer".

Little Rock Bike Friendly Committee Meeting

On Wednesday, I attended the regular meeting of the Little Rock Bike Friendly Community Committee at the River Market, which is chaired by Ed Levy. I have participated in the NLRBFCC and was curious as to how the two groups compared and I wanted to hear what was being done to "close the loop" on the Little Rock portion of the trail near the Dillard's HQ. I think that by their very nature, the machinations of this kind of volunteer committee is that they can be excruciating for folks accustomed to making decisions and carrying them out. Items are proposed, discussed, tabled, modified, revisited, mulled over, and then eventually dropped or agreed upon, then someone agrees to form a committee or look into T-shirt design or.......whatever. The item is then brought up as old business in the next months business. Almost surprisingly, the process does eventually accomplish things and Ed did a good job of moving through the agenda items. I have no standing with the LRBFCC, so I was there to observe and learn what I could about developments of import to those of us in the cycling community as a whole.

Closing The Loop: Dillard's Trail Section.
Bryan Day, Assistant City Manager, reported on the continuing efforts to complete this section of trail. Though Little Rock's application for a federal Tiger III grant to complete the  River Bluff section was rejected, the City still hopes to eventually construct the ambitious project, which would run behind the Dillard's property and be cantilevered over the Arkansas River. Applications for a Tiger IV grant may be presented in March, but federal funds are scant and success in gaining money for this project is a long shot. Funding from other sources will likely be required. That said, the City is moving forward with completion of the plans and will advance with the project as funding allows. The first stage will be to repair washed out section of the Medical Mile trail section and bridge the Union Pacific RR tracks to reach Cantrell Road. This arrangement will, for now, still put cyclists on the sidewalk in front of Dillard's, and the transition back to the trail near the Cantrell viaduct was a little vague.
Automobile traffic connecting to eastbound Cantrell from under the viaduct  will be curtailed and the road/trail and bridge over the creek at that location will be improved.

Rebsamen Park Road, 12th Street

Rebsamen Park Road from Overlook to the new roundabout at Riverfront Road is scheduled for repaving this year, with attention to the design and markings of the bike lanes being given close consideration. The road has not been paved in over 20 years and the shoulder "bike lanes" were not constructed for the purpose. The result is a dangerous, difficult to maintain arrangement that often forces riders intent on using bike lanes to instead take to the road to avoid the many hazards. Hopefully, repaving will allow for more viable bike lanes that are better isolated from traffic. Properly done, a revamped Rebsamen Park Road will provide a safer situation for bike commuters and recreational cyclists, reduce bike traffic on the adjacent trail, and reduce conflict with motorists.
There was also a discussion on re-marking a stretch of 12th Street to accommodate bike lanes. I did not get a lot of detail on the endeavor, but it apparently has been on the table for some time and is slated to happen. This may help create an important east-west corridor for bike commuters.

Busted!
Terry Hastings, speaking for the Little Rock Police Department, reported that a couple of sorry, thieving assholes (my description) had been observed breaking into cars at the Two Rivers Bridge and arrested.

New Route To The River Trail?
Among the agenda items was a proposed path from the Foxcroft area to the River Trail on a route that roughly follows Jimmerson Creek. There has already been a good deal of effort on this project and I'll get some details from the folks directly involved at some point. There are right-of-way concerns and I'm not very familiar with the area, so I'm unsure how this will progress.

How It Happens
It appears to me that Little Rock is gaining some momentum toward becoming more "bike friendly", but that is not just happening by some great inertial force. It is happening because there are folks working on our behalf. That is a very good thing and to be appreciated; however, there are many varied interests within the cycling community and it is important that the conversation is not dominated by one faction or another. The LRBF committee seemed to have a fairly disparate group of riders and a good representation from city government to allow for some balanced discussions and practical problem solving. As slow as progress is with committees, these folks seem to be making some progress.