The theme of the column this month is going to be “bicycling and…” Bicycling and haiku. Bicycling and Frank Zappa. Bicycling and geocaching. And for added measure, an 1895 article giving advice to women riders! click here for the rest of this article

Before writing these monthly columns I usually review what I wrote about during the same time last year or the year before. In December 2010 I wrote: “Maybe you've heard the rumor...a new bike shop will be opening in downtown Ferguson soon!” Well, the Ferguson Bicycle Shop is a reality now. Stop in and visit, and for those of you who use Facebook, “like” the bike shop’s page to keep up with rides, news, and specials. click here for the rest of this article

If you are going to explore large cemeteries, let me give you a tip: one of the best ways to explore large cemeteries is by bicycle. By way of example, in late October Trailnet sponsored a bicycle tour of one of the largest cemeteries in our area, Bellefontaine Cemetery. The tour was called "Ghosts of the Past". A large group of bicyclists followed Harold Karabell around the cemetery as he told story after story about the people buried there.. click here for the rest of this article

North Elizabeth can be a challenge for motorists when a bicyclist is sharing the road. The slower speed of the bicyclist often causes motorists to wait for an opportunity to pass. However, most motorists know how to pass a slow-moving vehicle. click here for the rest of this article

A few of us were in the bike shop one afternoon last June when a young man with an Irish accent burst in, said that he was with a RAAM team, and needed to know how to get onto Lindbergh Ave. We immediately knew what was going on. The Race Across America (RAAM) takes place every June. Bicycle riders start in California and race to the finish in Annapolis, MD, a distance of 2,989 miles. And, yes, this is a race…the winner this year completed the race across the entire U.S. on his bicycle in 8 days, 8 hours!click here for the rest of this article

A few columns back I told about a couple from Australia, Ian and Linda, who were touring across the U.S. and stopped in Ferguson in mid-June. Two things that fascinated them were the large green lawns many homes here have and the lack of concern we all have with water use. click here for the rest of this article

A strange thing happened in Ferguson a few Tuesdays ago. A bicycle trail between my home and the Ferguson Bicycle Shop mysteriously appeared! It was over two miles long. In all my years in Ferguson I had never seen this trail before. And before the day was over it had disappeared! I’m hoping it shows up again… click here for the rest of this article

In the very first Ferguson Cyclist column (November 2007) I wrote: “This is the first of what I hope will be regular columns about bicycle riding in our town, in North County, in the metro area, and maybe beyond.” Since then regular columns have been written about riding in Ferguson, North County, and the metro area. The scope of “beyond” has also grown over the years to include writing about rides across Missouri and up into Pennsylvania. And now the scope is going international! click here for the rest of this article

Now that the Ferguson Bicycle Shop is open (yes, I’m the proud owner!) some of my stories will come out of things that happen in the shop along with the usual stories about things that happen while riding. Here’s my first shop story... click here for the rest of this article

Bicycle riding is a great pastime for a lot of reasons. One thing it has in common with most pastimes is that it gives you time to relax and think. I’ve thought about and solved virtually all the world’s problems multiple times during my bike rides!

Some of my thoughts are not as noble as the thoughts that solved the world’s problems. Read on for a few of these “ignoble” bike-riding thoughts… click here for the rest of this article

This month’s column will be unusual for two reasons. First, I will be sharing excerpts from an interview I conducted (interviews are new to me). And, second, I am going to comment on the Ferguson mayoral race (political commentary is also new to me).

And, no surprise, both of these topics will be related to bicycling. But before we start down that path… click here for the rest of this article

Life is change. How it differs from the rocks…” Jefferson Airplane sung those words back in the 60s. Some change we think is good; some change we think is bad. But change occurs no matter what we think. Read on to learn of some recent changes that life has brought our way here in Ferguson and in the local cycling community... click here for the rest of this article

Cold, cold, cold. Those aren't inviting words to cyclists. After a very mild fall season the weather turned to steady cold in early December and has stayed there now well into January. For me, riding at 40 degrees is fine. As it gets into the 30s I get less motivated. And the 20s? Only when testing my "true grit".

But bicycling is like baseball in some ways. In the cold of winter you can look back on the previous year and warm your heart by thinking about next year...click here for the rest of this article

My wife doesn't bicycle much but she regularly emails me articles about bicycling. A recent one from the online NY Times had some mind-boggling statistics. The article was titled There Oughta Be a Law. Well There Is. Check out this one sentence: "New York City has about 483 miles of bike paths, some going back to the 1800s, and is adding 50 miles of bike lanes a year." click here for the rest of this article

My bicycling journey has been marked by lots of “firsts”. Some I can’t even remember: the first time I rode my bike without my Dad helping me to balance and the first time I crashed (I suspect that was the same day that I first rode without my Dad’s support!). If you have ridden a bicycle, and I think most people have at some time in their lives, then you probably share those “firsts” also. But other “firsts” are more unique to the type of riding we each do… click here for the rest of this article

It was tough to meet the publishing deadline for this month's column. Preparations for Sunday Parkways consumed the end of September. Then came Sunday Parkways itself in early October followed by a lengthy vacation out of town. Before I knew it the middle of October had rolled around and the column needed to be written. Fortunately there was no shortage of things to write about. click here for the rest of this article

It's always best to ride a bike with friends. When we were kids, did we ride our bikes by ourselves? No. We always had friends around. Even today if you watch how kids ride their bikes most of the time they will be with friends. And when you ride together with friends the experiences begin to weave together into shared stories... click here for the rest of this article

If you missed seeing Dave Allen in Ferguson last month, or have never seen anyone riding a high wheeler, or are just curious about what the heck a high wheeler is, check out the video included in this article: click here for the rest of this article

The AARP Bulletin arrived today just as I was preparing to write this month’s column. It didn’t take long for my eyes to fasten on the title of one of the articles listed on the cover page: Biketopia – One Town Pedals Its Way to Bliss. How could I not put off writing my column in order to read this article? I’m glad I did. click here for the rest of this article

Many of you know that I work for Emerson here in Ferguson. The email below came from a friend at work after we had discussed bicycling one morning. It will give you an inkling of how we spend our time at the office of a Fortune 500 company… click here for the rest of this article

Away we go on our wheels, boys, as free as the roving breeze..." These are the opening verses of a poem I shared with you a couple of months ago in this column. The poem is called On the Road by Ninon Neckar and it was published in Outing magazine in 1883. Also published in Outing magazine in 1883 were songs that were sung by a group known as the Saint Louis Wheelmen. click here for the rest of this article

I often bicycle into intersections with four-way stops and have people wave me through even when it is not my turn. I used to think it was a nice gesture towards bicyclists. And in some cases I'm sure it is. But there's something else at play here. click here for the rest of this article

Recently I stumbled on a series of songs and poems about bicycling. The amazing thing about these writings is they were written before most of the oldest homes in Ferguson were even built! Ferguson has its century homes. Cyclists have their "century poems". click here for the rest of this article

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Manila in the Philippines for one full month. While there my wife regularly fed me reports about the weather back in Ferguson. Cold, snow, etc. My reports to her on the Manila weather were monotonous...85-90 degrees, sunny, not very humid, cooling off into the 70s at night. As a cyclist that means good weather for riding! click here for the rest of this article

How steep are the hills in Ferguson? I think I know the answer now! One of my Christmas gifts was an "inclinometer" from Adventure Cycling. click here for the rest of this article

My thought this month as I prepared to write was to review the year. Everyone writes "Year in Review" columns I thought so I might as well also. But I realized that there are stories from 2009 that I didn't yet have the opportunity to tell. Instead of a review let me tell you some new stories… click here for the rest of this article

The weather over the last two months seems to have flip-flopped. November-type weather seems to have come in October and October type weather in November. But that's o.k. The early cold and rain in October gave me several opportunities to expand my bike-riding horizon. click here for the rest of this article

Sunday Parkways in Ferguson has come and gone! I hope you took the opportunity to participate in one of the three Sundays (August 23, September 27, and October 18) when it was held. This month's column will review why we planned the Sunday Parkways events, what we hoped to accomplish and some of what was accomplished, and maybe a sneak preview of what may happen with Sunday Parkways next year. click here for the rest of this article

Whew! My long-distance cycling trip through the Ozarks and back to Ferguson is finished! It was a great trip but physically exhausting. I'll probably take some time off the bike now to recuperate and recharge. When a friend asked me if I'd do it again, I couldn't honestly say, "I'd do it again in a minute." More like, "I'd do it again next year!" click here for the rest of this article

Training, dogs, hills, cicadas, Sunday Parkways. What do they all have in common? Probably nothing, but they will all be included in this month's column! click here for the rest of this article

Nighttime and rain are parts of the natural environment that we bicycle through. We have no control over them. They happen when they happen. But we also bicycle through a man-made environment that we do have control over. It doesn't just happen; we make decisions that bring about that environment. Some parts of the man-made environment are enjoyable to bicycle through and some parts are not so enjoyable. click here for the rest of this article

I enjoy riding at night in the summertime. It's a little-known bike riding pleasure. The air is cooler and the traffic volumes are lower, especially on side streets. But the best part is that the streets can be mysterious and enchanting. Many homes seem to sparkle in the dark when their lights are on. Blemishes are hidden. Everything is much prettier, much quieter. And as long as I have lights on and am cautious it is safe. click here for the rest of this article

Cycling is a great way to get fit and stay fit. Most of us learn to ride a bike when we are young and use it for transportation and recreation. It's a great way to go over to a friend's house or to ride with a bunch of friends to the ball field. In my case I also used my bike to deliver the daily paper. click here for the rest of this article

It seems like we're all conditioned to dislike being wet except for those times when we have no clothes on (in the shower or bath) or very few clothes on (swimming). For that reason most of us would not consider going for a bike ride if it was raining. I'm the same way. The thought of riding my bike in the rain and getting wet usually spooks me. Even though I've learned to enjoy riding in cold weather, rain is still a challenge. click here for the rest of this article

I'm fairly conservative and my behavior is not normally very shocking. But in one instance last year my behavior on a bike left a driver virtually speechless. His condition was so contagious that I became speechless too! click here for the rest of this article

Woe is me! Like a lot of us I followed the debate on President Obama's stimulus package with skepticism. (Don't lose me now, this will be a column on cycling!) click here for the rest of this article

I thought I'd try to push my personal envelope about nighttime riding by going to the Saint Louis County Library on Florissant Road one evening at 7pm. The weather was pleasant this particular evening and I needed to return some books and pick up a few more. It seemed like a perfect way to accomplish multiple goals: get some exercise, make a trip I needed to make anyway, and extend my comfort zone about riding in the dark. click here for the rest of this article

In cold weather I can always count on my friend Dick Bowes, from Calverton Park, to be ready to ride. He and I bundled up and rode off from the Market to find the Velocity Café and Cyclery. It sounded like just the place to go on a cold bike ride…hot chocolate, hot coffee, pastries, mmmmm. It made for a perfect pit stop. click here for the rest of this article

Lots of decisions have to be made when planning a multi-day bike tour. One obvious decision is where to ride and for how long. That decision became easier for me in mid-summer when a couple of Ferguson friends, Craig and Blue Scheffer, shared with me their plans to ride the Katy Trail over the course of a week. click here for the rest of this article

This last month I had a unique opportunity. Along with three other students I took a Bike Right class taught by Ferguson resident Martin Pion. Martin is a certified instructor with the League of American Bicyclists and his class is modeled after the League's foundation course, Road 1. The purpose of the course is to teach the bicycle handling and safety skills needed to ride confidently on the road. click here for the rest of this article

Whenever my wife reads anything related to cycling I can be sure that she will point it out to me. An article she cut out for me in the July 21 issue of Newsweek was entitled "Want to See The U.S.? Try Two Wheels." The article started off by stating, "Bicycle touring, a European obsession, is growing in popularity in the United States as more vacationers look for healthier getaways." click here for the rest of this article

In a previous column I mentioned that bikes are ridden for many different reasons: for recreation, for fitness, for transportation and commuting, etc. There is another common reason for riding that wasn't mentioned in that column: touring. click here for the rest of this article

If you keep your eyes open, you will see all sorts of interesting cycling activities going on... click here for the rest of this article

The Ferguson Farmers Market is now open every Saturday from 8am - noon at the Victorian Plaza. There will be a bike ride up and back the Ted Jones Trail leaving at 10am from the Market every 2nd and 4th Saturday. Please join us for some fun and exercise! click here for the rest of this article

As I sit here writing this month's column in mid-April, it's like the past month has been completely lost to cold rainy weather. Ah, if only we were British or Irish we would feel right at home. click here for the rest of this article

Time to get ready. Warmer weather is coming in slow waves, building up to the heat of summer. Spring has got to be the best time for bike riding. click here for the rest of this article

One down, three to go. During January and February I accomplished one cycling goal (not a resolution, a goal): to learn how to ride in cold weather. With one down, three cycling goals for the year remain. click here for the rest of this article