Mad Macedonian

The Cycling Dude vs Westheimer Road in Houston 3

At  16.70 miles I reached State Highway 6 and the large West Oak Mall. The next 3 miles found me on a busy 3 lane road with residential on my left and nothing but what was, at the time, nothing but mystery on my right.

( Part 1 of my journey along Westheimer Road is here: http://www.madmacedonian.com/2013/05/the-cycling-dude-vs-westheimer-road-in-houston-1.html )

At 20 miles I finally reached the spot where Harris County gives way to Fort Bend County, at Barker Cypress rd.

Now, here, you could grab a snack at a nearby Kroger, or eat at the Sonic sit-in diner, but what the hell sort of celebration of your accomplishment would that be to tell your friends about?

Instead, head on out FM1093, next to the toll road, another 2 ¼ miles, just beyond Grand Mission Blvd., to a wonderful 40 yr. old (family owned  the last 7 yrs.) biker bar & grill, in Richmond, TX.

The Cycling Dude vs Westheimer Road in Houston 2

There is another time, along this stretch, where things are difficult for the cyclist; where street parking is allowed cars take up most of the lane and, to avoid being doored, the cyclist must carefully take the outside lane as needed.

As I arrived at Weslayan, the street at last widened to three lanes and a left turn lane.

( Part 1 of my journey along Westheimer Road is here: http://www.madmacedonian.com/2013/05/the-cycling-dude-vs-westheimer-road-in-houston-1.html )

After another mile you reach the 610 freeway and start pedaling through the Galleria area. Soon, at Post Oak, Westheimer becomes 4 lanes each way, with an additional turn lane, in order to better handle the crush of traffic through, possibly, the fanciest, most expensive, shopping district in town. This one mile stretch is chock full of high-rise hotels and office buildings, highly expensive boutique stores in several strip malls and the huge Galleria shopping mall with so many floors and stores that one could easily get lost before going broke (though, with all the fancy stores you COULD go broke first w/o trying.). On my two visits to the place I stuck to the great food court and Macy’s.

From here, the 6 mile mark, on out, it is strip mall heaven all the way to Highway 6. All the fast food places are here; Burger King, Chic-Fil-A,  Del Taco, Jack-in-the-Box, James Coney Island, McDonald’s, Raising Cane’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Whataburger, even Shipley’s Donuts.

Big Box stores, like Target and Walmart, pet stores like Petco and Petsmart, supermarkets like HEB, Kroger and Randalls, as well as Office Depot, Home Depot and Barnes and Nobles; In other words, all the
familiar comforts of suburban life.

At 11 miles I reach Beltway 8 and the Sam Houston Parkway feeder road beside it I am only a mile or so from home if I want to call it quits, which I don’t.

The road has long since smoothed out, leaving the lumps and cracks to the sidewalks, which is a problem just about everywhere in Houston, except those parts of town where the streets are practically one lane, leaving no room for a sidewalk, but that’s another story, for another time.

The further out I went the dingier some of the strip malls became.. I continued to pass gated apartment complexes and high end residential communities, as well.

At 13.25 miles I came to the Bike Barn, bicycle shop.

At about 15 miles some teens in a silver Nissan, kept yelling at me out their window; I just smiled and waved. At the next intersection I was behind them and they opened a passenger window, expecting me to pull up next to them as we waited for the light. I pulled up behind, smiled and wagged my finger at them. A young Hispanic stuck his head out, smiled and waved back.

At the next light a Sentra pulled beside me with a pair of well-dressed black ladies inside, they opened the passenger window and asked me about my shirt and we had a very nice, short, chat.

The Cycling Dude vs Westheimer Road in Houston 1

I have lived in Houston since September, but it was only in March that I took to the streets on my trust steed, Cleopatra, in any serious way.

A few months back I rode my bike alongside the Pasadena freeway, for 14 miles each way, to visit the San Jacinto Monument and recently explored the stretch of Westheimer from Highway 6 to a few miles beyond the Harris County line, but other than a few short rides, on not so busy streets, to run errands, I’d not begun to explore Houston proper.

I decided that, one day at the end of March, it was time to start.

What better way to begin than to introduce myself to the longest, busiest, street in town, Westheimer?

It runs from Bagby Street in downtown Houston, all the way out to Westpark Tollway on the southern edge of George Bush Park, west of Highway 6. At this point “Old Westheimer Road” soon becomes the FM 1093 feeder road for the tollway, at the county line.

The street was named after Michael Louis Westheimer, a German immigrant and flour salesman, who came here before the Civil War. The road itself was born in 1895.

The width of the road is as varied as what one can see while traveling it, but when one only views it from the windows of a crowded, moving, bus there is simply no time to stop and smell the flora and fauna, or experience anything else.

Houston Not Safe For Cyclists? Give Us a Measly 3ft., Please!

 

Dear Houston:

My name is the Cycling Dude. I also fancy myself  The Mad Houstonian. I have bicycled all my life and, up until last September, that was all in southern California. In 2003 I began one of the earliest bike blogs in America and while that blog ended in 2010, I still write about my cycling adventures. I am a poet, storyteller, commentator, photographer and safe cycling advocate and, now, I look forward to exploring my new home on 2 wheels.

Houston, you are a huge ol’ place, you cover a lot of ground. You started small, but now you have grown so big that motor vehicles compete to make the loudest sound.  It’s said you give bicyclists lots of space to ride around alongside bayous, large and small.

Multi-use trails do abound but I ask, is that all? Is that the only option for me to saddle up and pedal toward? Can I also safely share the road with motorists and trust my precious life on your many, varied, city streets?

Lance Armstrong: Once an Inspiration…No More

 

Everyone knows that Lance Armstrong plans to come clean about doping in the confessional that is the Oprah Show on Thursday and Friday.
Though I will read the newspaper reactions to his appearance, I won't watch the 2-parter online. His exploits once inspired me, on my Cycling Dude blog, to a bit of creative writing, and so I figure the best response I could make would be to share those pieces once again, alongside links to some essays I read in the paper this morning.

The Cycling Dude and Santiago Creek Bike Trail

I first, briefly, wrote about the Santiago Creek Bike Trail, in Santa Ana, and Orange, Ca., in March 2009, on my bike blog, then more extensively in the spring of 2010, on this blog, as part of a month long challenge I learned about from my friend, Randy Eady, who sent me a heads up about a fascinating exercise being encouraged by the Kamana Naturalist Training Program, and the Wilderness Awareness School.

It is called the 30-Day Sit Spot Challenge, and was from April 10 to May 10, that year.

  

I spent all month in the only section of the Creek trail that existed, between Main St. on the west, and Tustin Ave. on the east, and took many photos that accompanied the daily, thought provoking, and personal, essays I wrote, related to the writing prompts for each day.

That adventure had an unexpected ending as, a few days before it ended I had a seizure at work, and it was a few days before I was able to finish the challenge.

The beginning = Can You Sit in the Same Spot for 20 min., for 30 Days Straight?

Recently I discovered that, in the year since I broke my ankle, the city of Orange had, at last extended the trail eastward,  along the creek, into Villa Park, connecting with the dirt trail into Santiago Oaks Regional Park. (Map of the full 8 miles of paved trail, and unpaved section, available here)

I sallied forth to check it out, camera in tow. :-D

The trail begins west of this spot, on the other side of Main St., where Broadway dead ends at the Main Place Mall.

This section is also used by cars to reach a parking area near a small playground & picnic area that is overrun with squirrels.

The trail then heads east to Hart Park, and once past the park eventually reaches Tustin Ave.

 

 

From Tustin Ave. you ride past the varied natural environment of the trail ecosystem, and Yorba Park, go over a bridge to the other side, and  reach another bridge to change sides again, at Grijalva Park.

Depending on the season the creek can get flooded with water.

The varied Duck population, as well as a surprising variety of other water fowl, is a year round part of the scene.

 

Eventually you reach the Santiago Creek Recharge Basin, and the trail takes you along Prospect, and Bond St.....

With the basin hidden along the Bond St. stretch....

 

 

Before viewing it again along Hewes St.

The Hewes section dead ends at Villa Park Ave., where the trail picks up across the street, heading east along Santiago Canyon Rd.

 

Slate Reports on Balance Bikes Almost 5 1/2 yrs. After Cycling Dude's 1st Story

In the Fall of 2006 I received an e-mail

from a man with a company that makes a very unusual bicycle.

He submitted a series of e-mails that led me to write about him, and his product on my bike blog, The Cycling Dude.

It was the beginning of a friendship that has changed my life, in many positive ways, and I've even had the opportunity to meet him a couple of times over the years on his trips to Ca.

Randy Eady introduced me to the "Balance Bike", and not just the idea of such a bike for pre-schoolers, but models made for adults, specifically seniors.

Dec. 2006 = Raising A Cyclist In 21st Century America

Nov. 2007 = Raising A Cyclist In 21st Century America Part 2

Sept. 2009 = So Easy A 3 year Old Can Do It!

In Oct. 2009 mainstream journalism, in the form of the NY  Times,  finally did a major story on the subject. :-D

New York Times Reports on Balance Bikes 3 Yrs. After Cycling Dude's 1st Story

Now, in 2012, Nicholas Day, writing for Slate Online,  posts a lengthy, fascinating, and entertaining, essay proclaiming "Down With Training Wheels!"

In this essay he shares the more than 150 yr. old history, and science, behind such a concept as a "Pedaless Bicycle", and the practical, and healthful, benefits behind them, especially for the youngster just learning to ride.

 

There Once was a Mad Macedonian on a Bicycle: 2012 Debut

Sort of Chaplinesque, wouldn't U agree? :-D

That picture was taken in August 2010, when I decided to retire The Cycling Dude Blog...

When Asked, The Reader of The North American Bicycle Atlas Shrugged, and Replied, "Who is The Cycling Dude?"

There was only one more post, after that, and it was done for a very special reason that made all the years of writing that blog well worth the effort.

Why The Cycling Dude Mattered, and Why I Am Damn Well PROUD OF IT!

Well, I didn't stop bike riding and, when Cleopatra got fixed, after her accident, I returned to blogging, but on THIS blog, including moving all my links over here, and putting a link to the old blog in the sidebar.

There are 7 previous entries in my current cycling home's category archive, which is called

There Once Was a Mad Macedonian on a Bicycle.....

The most recent pair of posts:

February 2010 =  Kids and Nature: Getting the Munchins Outdoors, on Foot, or on a Bike

March 2010 = 3 Feet Please Cycling Campaign Expands Effort & Remodels Website (Includes a bunch of photos from my last long bike ride before I broke my ankle the following May. :-D )

Yesterday marked a major step in my ankle recovery.

 

 

Yesterday evening I hopped on Cleopatra, and rode 8 miles along the Santa Ana Rive Trail, and nearby side streets around Angel Stadium.

It was the first time I've been on the bike since a few days before the injury in late May.

I set the camera on a boulder, set the timer, and took the photos for posterity. :-D

It was great to be on the trail again. :-D

 

 

3 Feet Please Cycling Campaign Expands Effort & Remodels Website

On December 4th, 2008, on my old Bike Blog, The Cycling Dude, I first wrote about a new Safe Cycling Advocacy effort...one that was in support of a growing campaign, across the nation, that had led to new laws in 14 states.

3 Measely Feet! Is That to Much to Ask For From Motorists?

On June 3rd, 2009, I did a follow-up...The 3 Feet Please Campaign and Road Guardian.

I get e-mails, and today I received an update from Joe Mizereck, of Tallahassee, Florida, with news about the latest direction of his efforts.

I want to share that e-mail, alongside with some photos I took, at the end of January, when I wore my 3 Feet Please jersey on a bike ride up Santiago Canyon Rd. from Irvine, to Trabuco Canyon, & Cook's Corner.

This part of the OC is mostly open spaces, passing Irvine Lake, some Horse corrals, and a street that reminds me of the famously steep Fargo St., in LA, but longer. ;-D

So, here is Joes letter:

Hello.  I hope you are having a good day and might find a few minutes to help us out.

 

We are rebuilding the "3 Feet Please" website for several reasons, but most importantly, to reflect our expansion into Canada, New Zealand, Australia and other metric nations with the addition of our "1 METRE PLEASE" jersey.

 

Secondly, we are expanding the advocacy tools and resources to those cities, states, provinces and nations that are trying to adopt "3 Foot" or "1 Metre" laws, to enable them to get the job done.

 One of these tools is identifying who the advocates are in the respective states and being able to connect with them. 

I am going to make that information available on the new site, but need to know who you see as your state's top advocate(s). 

 If you could, please send me the name and contact information for that person(s) in your state, I would be most grateful.
(send to joe @ 3feetplease dot com).

Second, I need some testimonials to include on the new website from cyclists who are wearing the "3 Feet Please" jerseys. 

How does it feel?  Do you like it?  Do you think more motorists are giving you more space more often (is it working)?  Was the experience of purchasing the jersey a positive one?  If you love the jersey, let me know...so I can share that enthusiasm with others.

 

Kids and Nature: Getting the Munchins Outdoors, on Foot, or on a Bike

 Ever since I was 2 years old, in 1962, I've been an outdoors person, riding my bike, or walking, everywhere, as well as using Mass Transit.

My parents never drove cars, what can I say? ;-D

Recently, my friend Randy Eady, of Kosharey Rhythms Therapeutics, and Glider Rider Bikes, joined an interesting website called the Children & Nature Network.

The purpose of the site is described this way:

The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working nationally and internationally to reconnect children with nature. The network provides a critical link between researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being.

He has begun to contribute blog posts on his member page, and has written one, with cool pictures of his kids, on the Glider Rider Pedal-less bikes, that I found interesting.

The point of his piece is how to use nature as a "Great Equilizer".

He points out something very interesting about where he lives:

"We're fortunate to live within 5 miles of our elementary school and bike (4x a week) hike (once a week) right past the car lines everyday.  Astonishingly, though many children live around us that attend the same school, we are one of the few families that ventures to school this way."

 

 He goes on to describe 3 reasons why such exercise is important.

Randy is also an intergenerational rehabilitation specialist, and member of the International Council on Active Aging, and some of his blog posts deal with the young, and the young at heart, doing outdoor activities together.

 

 So, what does this have to do with Croquet?

Read on: Over The Lawn, Through The Wicket, Across The Generational Gap…

 

His Blog is here.

 

The Children & Nature Network Website, with lots interesting articles, resources, and other bloggers, is here.