Special Hub Grub Ride Guest Bicyclists

Update on Saturday's Hub Grub Bicycle Ride in Seminole Heights: I'm informed we'll have some special guest bicyclists. Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor and Tampa City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena said they plan to bike with the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club's Hub Grub Ride.

We will gather at 2:45 PM in front of the Garden Center at 5800 Central Ave. Ride starts promptly at 3 PM.

Bicycle Stories Surface During National Bike Month

If you think the tensions and conflicts between bicyclists and car drivers in the hilly San Antonio area outside Tampa and the equally roller-coaster terrain of the Clermont area outside Orlando are isolated, think again.

Across the country, conflicts are playing out in urban settings, suburbal sprawl and on rural roads.

This being National Bike Month, newspapers and radio are taking at look at what happens when more bicyclists take to the road and more car drivers take to the road (some in vehicles the size of Rhode Island). It's a sometimes combustible and dangerous mix.

My bicycle pal Laura Sarantis of Rockville, MD sends a Washington Post story about the increased bicyclists on the roads and the conflicts that can arise with motorized vehicle drivers.

Washington, D.C. bicyclists were upset recently when a local radio sports guy by the name of Tony Kornheiser criticized the city's decision to put bike lanes down the center of Pennsylvania Avenue and suggested hitting cyclists.

Close to home here in Tampa, my bike friend Nico sends me an NPR piece that features a Q and A between NPR host Neil Conan and Bicycling Magazine Editor Loren Mooney about bicyclists and car drivers trying to co-exist.

Mooney talks about bicycling in New York City and coping with everything from cabs to hot dog carts. As a former bike commuter in Manhattan, I was doored twice and received brused collarbones both times.

Here's an interesting story about the first time I was doored in New York. It happened when a woman getting out of a cab swung her door right into me while I was biking in a bike lane next to her parked cab. I went sprawling to the pavement and the woman walked away without even checking on me. But several New Yorkers on the nearby sidewalk came to me aid, including one kind woman who took my wallet that had fallen from my pocket and placed it back in the pocket of my jacket.

Speaking of bike lanes, the Florida Bicycle Association and other bicycle leaders in Florida are asking Gov. Crist to veto House Bill 971, which includes a part that would require bicyclists to use bike lanes in nearly every circumstance.

The Sarasota Herald Tribune ran a story about Sarasota resident and FBA lobbyist Mike Lasche mentioning that there are times when the best and safest thing to do is leave a bike lane.

And some bike lanes are next to parallel parked cars, where drivers could suddenly open doors in front of cyclists, Lasche noted in the Herald Tribune story.

I learned all about that while bicycling in New York City when I got doored.

And lastly, Randy Wynne, program director of listener-supported WMNF radio, sent me this gem from the Onion magazine about bicycle helmets. Remember folks, The Onion is just goofing on ya.

FBA Recognizes Local Tampa Bay Bicyclist Work

The Florida Bicycle Association gave out awards last week to some local bicycle advocates who have worked hard to improve the profile of bicycling in the Tampa Bay area:

-- Program Award: Karen Kress of the Tampa Downtown Partnership and Julie Bond of the Center for Urban Transportation Research at USF were recognized for their bike program, Tampa BayCycle, which works to get people on bikes to work, school and play.

-- Volunteer Award: Jim Shirk of Tampa is Mr. Bicycle Volunteer in the Tampa Bay area. I can personally tell you that Jim works selflessly and tirelessly on so many bicycle events. He helped me put on the Bicycle Bash and created a bike route for the Seminole Heights Home Tour -- and that's a small slice of his volunteering. He also serves on the Hillsborough Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

-- BPAC Award (speaking of BPACs): Congrats to the Pinellas County Bicycle Advisory Committee, led by chairman Tom Ferraro, who does a terrific job leading that panel. Kudos to support staffers Brian Smith and Sue Miller.

-- Special Recognition of the Year Award: Rebecca Afonso, of Oldsmar, whose bicycle help included doing terrific work for the 2010 Florida Bike Summit in Tallahassee.

Congrats to all!

Landis Admits Using PEDs, Says Lance Was Involved in Doping, Too

Disgraced Floyd Landis, stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for using performance-enhancing drugs, admits he used PEDs.

Citing a Wall Street Journal report Thursday, the AP said Landis, "accused seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong of involvement in doping."

Florida Ranked 12th in the U.S. in Bicycle Friendly State Ratings

The League of American Bicyclists comes out with annual state rankings for bicycle-friendliness every year. This year, Florida was 12th in the country, which is rather remarkable when you consider how many bicyclists are killed and injured by cars in the state and how many people complain that they don't feel safe biking on roads around the state.

Also, right here in Tampa, we had a local DOT district office that failed to put bike lanes on recent resurfacing projects on Gandy and Busch. And we have a city mayor who just killed a city staff plan to stripe bike lanes on Euclid Avenue.

The good news is that we have an active Florida Bicycle Association, which I'm proud to say I am a member of, that pushes pro-bicycle policies throughout the state and that has a voice that is getting louder each year.

Florida's ranking has gone up and down the past few years, from 21st in 2008 to 32nd in 2009 and to 12th in 2010. Keep in mind this is the same League of American Bicyclists that gave the city of Tampa an "honorable mention" a few years ago even though the city has no bicycle plan or bicycle coordinator.

For the record, the 2010 top five are:
1. Washington
2. Wisconsin
3. Maine
4. Minnesota
5. Oregon

The 2010 lowest five are:
46. New Mexico
47. West Virginia
48. Montana
49. North Dakota
50. Alabama

Silver winners were: Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin
Bronze: New Jersey, Delaware, Minnesota, Arizona
Honorable mention: Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland

Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Wisconsin have been in the Top 5 each of the past three years.

The rankings "are based on a 95-item questionnaire that evaluates a state's commitment to bicycling and covers six key areas: legislation, policies and programs, infrastructure, education and encouragement, evaluation and planning, and enforcement," according to the League of American Bicyclists.

The League represents the interests of America's 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates.

Hub Grub Bike Ride Route

The Hub Grub Bicycle Ride, put on by the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club, is ready to roll on Saturday.

THE HG2 Route

Start: Garden Center, 5800 Central Avenue.

South to Osborne, left to Nebraska. Stop at Reservations, southeast corner of Nebraska/Osborne.

Cross Nebraska Ave., west on Osborne, right on Central Ave. Cross Hillsborough Avenue to Starbucks, northeast corner of Hillsborough/Central.

Make right out of Starbucks parking lot on Central and go north on Central. Cross Hanna Avenue, left on Knollwood to Florida Avenue. Stop at Viitals bakery/Stephanno's Pizza at Florida/Knollwood.

East on Knollwood, right on Central Ave., right on Hanna, stop at Smokin' A's BBQ at Hanna/Florida.

West on Hanna, cross Florida Avenue., left on N. Tampa St; left on W. Idlewild, right into parking lot of Front Porch.

Leave parking lot and make left on W. Idlewild, right on Tampa Street, right on Hanna and cross Florida Avenue to Central Avenue. Right on Central, cross Hillsborough Ave. and left on Osborne, then left on Nebraska Avenue. Go 1/4 mile north to Ella's.

Walk or ride bike across Nebraska Ave., go south one block and turn right on Conover, left on Taliaferro, go south to Osborne, make right, and then right on Central Avenue. Go north to Frierson, make a left turn and follow to Florida Avenue to The Refinery, at Frierson/Florida.

Walk or ride bicycle across Florida and go south two blocks to The Independent on Florida Avenue.

Total mileage: 7.3 miles.

To return to Garden Center, walk or ride bicycle across Florida, go north 1 block to East Wilder Avenue and turn right to Central Avenue. Turn left on Central Avenue and go north, cross Hillsborough Avenue and Garden Center is on left.

Early Morning on Park Circle, off the Hillsborough River