Trail Ramblings: E-Bikes In The News.

Everyone seems to have an opinion about e-bikes on the trails. Increasing active transportation and and leisure activities on the trails means more people riding them. In Sunday’s Lincoln Journal-Star an article by Livia Ziskey titled Reckless Riding Raises Concerns leads the front page. Read what Susan Rodenburg and Edie Matteson have to say about what they see happening. Replacing cars with bikes and getting more exercise is what we want, but some don’t know the rules and responsibilities involved. Read about some of the categories and speed limits, and the signs popping up along the trails to remind us how to be better trail users. I too see obviously illegal dirt bikes and other too-powerful bikes on the trails. Read it at https://journalstar.com/eedition/page_d8f05b3a-a4d1-5cc1-a0c6-e519a8568a3a.html#fe=1&eh=7021b8c738098676019e30768e24c544

Just this past Friday night we hosted a touring cyclist riding from Chicago to Santa Monica, where he’ll fly back home from. He readily stated that he wasn’t someone who had ridden bikes a lot, but after graduating from college he decided to see more of the country before returning to his native Columbia. He bought an e-bike, a dog trailer to haul the belongings he didn’t want to part with, and an extra battery. It will be getting late in the year to cross the Rockies at Durango by the time he gets there if he decides to go that way, and he may learn more about weather and elevation than he bargained for, but I wish him well. He’s having a great adventure.

And this from a family member recently traveling in Europe “Bike and Scooter commuting is strong in Lyon, but we just saw a couple of them getting stopped for violations. 90 euros for a ticket!” That would certainly make someone think twice about speeding!

The Sunday Journal-Star focus on cycling didn’t stop with the front page, it also had an article from the Seattle Times about a Seattle club getting kids, especially Latino kids, on bikes and teaching them skills. From there they go on to BMX and mountain biking activities. https://journalstar.com/eedition/page_0c2f30e5-7be3-5c7f-821a-7eac5f11e141.html

It almost sounds like Lincoln DEVO.

Also, here’s an update on the MoPac East Trail expansion. It sounds like the NRD-owned 2.25 miles of rail bed east from Wabash will be developed into trail, and options for links to state parks explored while still trying to move ahead with a link to the Platte River Bridge.