Friday, August 29, 2008

one of the differences between riding in iowa city and des moines

my friend g pickle told me about the latest iowa city tuesday night ride. i asked him to write a story about it, because it's the kind of ride that folks in des moines are afraid to try, while i think we should...
This week the college green A rides switched to gravel. Tuesday was a fairly tame romp around but Thursday saw a different sort of energy. It had rained proper in the morning and things were wet. Cochran showed up with some slick skinnies on his cross bike and I laughed that he would be fine after we got through the B roads. The general consesus seemed to be that we would not be riding any B roads so he would be fine for the whole ride. 8 miles later, [read more]

hardin county today, and iowa tomorrow

"Yes, kuddos to Mark [wyatt, of the iowa bicycle coalition--kim] and all for their efforts leading to Hardin County's repeal of this ordinance."

i, along with all other bicyclists in iowa, will be QUITE interested to learn JUST HOW the announcements of thursday came to pass: who were the active parties--and what roles did they play--in securing the anticipated repeal and withdrawl by hardin county officials and by david vestal.
until then, i can say this: i greatly appreciate the massive efforts by jeff goodman and his legal eagles, the belated apparent wisdom of the hardin county board of supervisors and the ultimate recognition by david vestal of the handwriting on the wall.

on another note, I STILL PLAN TO MEET IN GARDEN CITY MONDAY MORNING AT 800 AM for our little spontaneous labor day cruise around hardin county.
it is more important than EVER to demonstrate our political, physical, and economic clout to all iowans. i would ask that anyone who plans to attend this ride request and keep all receipts for money spent going to, during, and returning home from this ride so that i can gather this information for publication and dissemination.
the very fact that this whole thing has come up should continue to serve as a chilling reminder of how the political and motoring masses feel about us, and just how far we MUST go to secure our rights to ride ANYWHERE in iowa.

DO NOT BE LULLED INTO THINKING THAT THE ACTIONS ANTICIPATED TUESDAY CONSTITUTE ANYTHING BUT A MINOR COURSE CORRECTION.

what this whole ugly chapter demonstrates to ME is that bicyclists continue to be thought of AT BEST as second class citizens, and that iowa is FAR FAR AWAY from truly being a bicycle friendly environment.

i'll see you in garden city at and before 800 am monday morning!!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

what listener's are saying about "the kim west radio cycling show"

Kim,
I found your show through a search on itunes. . . .
I really like your show because while you have the racing background, you really understand that racing is only one facet of cycling. We need the trails, and the bike lanes and we need to be able to share the road because we have riders with different levels of expertise, and reasons to ride.
You get it.
We all need to be advocates for all forms of cycling and support each other as it grows from a sport or a form of recreation, to a lifestyle.
Steve Sexton
Louisville, Kentucky

TOUR OF MISSOURI -- click and win

hey, folks--

less than two weeks until the kick-off of the 2008
Tour of Missouri.

this year's edition runs from september 8 through the 14th, and the
kim west radio cycling show, in partnership with the missouri department of tourism and drury hotels [official hotel of the tour of missouri], is doing it up right.

sunday, september 7, i'll be doing
the kim west radio cycling show LIVE from the lobby of the drury hotel in beautiful kansas city, missouri. i'll spend the entire time talking live with riders, team officials and tour folks about this exciting finale to the american professional cycling season.
and YOU can be there, too. we're giving away a whole slew of sweet prizes, including VIP passes to the finish of monday's stage one in kansas city, a bissel vacuum [remember, bissell is a team sponsor!], a felt bicycle, tour of missouri t-shirts and caps, and more!
AND THE BIGGIE IS A "MEET ME IN MISSOURI" PRIZE PACKAGE that includes accomodations for two at the kansas city drury hotel, passes to the team presentations, VIP passes and such for the finish of stage one, and more!!

"but kim, how can i win these fabulous prizes?"
i love this: all you have to do is go to
the kim west radio cycling show website, my personality pages, scroll down just a tad to the "TOUR OF MISSOURI" LINK, and see where it says "click here to win with kim west!"?
JUST
CLICK! just follow the simple directions, and you'll be in the drawing to be held and announced tuesday, september 2, 2008. you might win a felt bicycle, a bissell vacuum, tour of missouri caps or t-shirts, VIP passes to the stage one finish in kansas city, or
YOU MIGHT WIN THE GRAND PRIZE "MEET ME IN MISSOURI" PACKAGE!!

man, free stuff, and i can't even win it--i'm giving it away. how amazing is THAT?

so
click RIGHT NOW. i might see you at the finish line in kansas city.

and by the way, you KNOW you can watch the entire tour of missouri live and in-person for FREE, don't you? you don't need no stinking badges to enjoy close-up and roadside some of the finest cyclists in the world racing on beautiful, lush rolling midwestern roads.
IT'S JUST TWO HOURS AWAY!!

SO
CLICK IT TO WIN!!

and thanks for listening to
the kim west radio cycling show, bringing you only the best, free every week.

rainy day random thoughts

1--a dis-organized tour of hardin county, monday september 1. here is a map of garden city. you should be there by 800 am, and ready to roll. this is not a race, by the way. someone asked about whether to spend $$ in hardin county, and i am of two minds. the simple mind says spend what we need, collect receipts, and we'll submit the totals to the board of supervisors to let them know how much money they stand to lose from such an impromptu bike ride. we could also tell the merchants that because of their elected officials, they will not see our "green bucks" again. the more complicated, high-minded thought would be to pack and carry our own food from non-hardin county merchants and businesses. i'd rather do the simple way just this once, to prove a point. i don't really know what the point might be; it might just depend on the turnout and how the day develops. bring your still and video cameras, eh?
2--what's up with mark wyatt, anyway? suppose HE'LL show up and ride? will the IBC spokesperson ever do anything about this?
3--do you suppose we should start to worry about THIS in iowa?
4--i hope the rain ends soon.

Monday, August 25, 2008

i think i want to ride around hardin county again...

you know, it's been a while since i've ridden the lovely, quiet roads in hardin county: pine lake, the iowa river valley and cliffs, little steamboat rock, the gently rolling hills from alden into radcliffe, and the undulations going east into union along D65...
whatd'ya say? want to go for a little ride with me and maybe 20 friends on labor day? this is what i'm thinking:
meet in garden city. it's a quiet little town in southwest hardin county, about eight miles east of I-35 at the randall exit. we can roll east on D65 about 18 miles to union, and head north on S62. we take that north through the mighty burg of gifford and along some gently climbing hills into eldora [where they'll actually have some open stores for food and sustenance, and then continue north past the beautiful iowa river on the west side and pine lake on the east, and on into steamboat rock [little tree-covered town] and north nearly up to ackley, where we head west to iowa falls [more food and drink] and on into alden. we head south, more gentle rollers, past the ghost of buckeye, and the inviting little rollers that welcome you to radcliffe. just a few more wind-swept miles, and we're back to garden city.
our dream tour of hardin county is over, we've covered a little over 80 miles, and we've proven that an advertised ride of over 20 cyclists CAN travel hardin county roads with no casualties, and hopefully no one will get arrested.
any takers?
[p.s. is this the action of a patient and understanding cyclist? i hope it doesn't appear that way.]

mark wyatt

i learned about 30 minutes ago that hardin county enacted--quietly or in full public view i don't know--the exact same ordinance considered and tabled by dallas county after a lengthy and well-attended public hearing at which 30 to 40 cyclists and dallas county residents were given an opportunity to address the board and air their concerns, questions, and comments about the legality of the proposal.

among those in attendance was mark wyatt, lobbyist and paid employee of the iowa bike coalition, who spoke against the not-yet-completely-dead brain-child of attorney david vestal, who is circulating this poison-penned proposal on behalf of the iowa association of counties.
when we left that day, the feeling was one of cautious concern, not celebration, knowing that this battle might need to be waged in as many as 97 more counties in iowa, notwithstanding the fact that the same suggestion previously had been rejected by the iowa legislature, who realized the many fatal flaws in vestal's flimsy efforts to help the counties avoid liability for failing to do what counties quite simply have to do--maintain safe roadways within their county limits.

we all agreed the need for vigilance was paramount.

wyatt, as the hired gun for the IBC, seemed to be best-poised to oversee his fragile fiefdom, the highways and byways, and streets and trails of iowa; the rightful yet threatened sovereign domain of any and all bicyclists who might seek to enjoy the roads, trails, streets and more--the bounty of iowa--by bike.

so what happened? hardin county enacted the EXACT SAME ORDINANCE [requiring that any "organized" ride of ten or more riders need a permit, minimum $1,000,000.00 liability insurance policy or face a $750 fine--$1,000 for second offense] that was soundly "set aside for the time being" by the wisened or intimidated board ofsupervisors in dallas county.

yet who informed us, the iowa bike coalition's constituency, the bicyclists of iowa, of the pending action in hardin county?
who rallied the troops with a call to arms?
who covered ALL media outlets with press releases decrying the outrageous efforts by these backward-looking governmental officials?
who saw to it that the hardin county supervisors meeting room was packed to the gills and more with angry and indignant bicyclists of all stripes AND statewide media?

not mark wyatt.

nope.

not word one have we heard from this guy, whose JOB it is to do just that.

i have LONG been biting my tongue about mark, hoping beyond hope that mark would get off his ass and prove me wrong; to show me that he really DOES care about the interests for which he is paid to represent and for which he is expected to fight to preserve and maintain. [some might even suggest he is paid to EXPAND these rights, but christ...]

it WOULDN'T be tough to make me think i am wrong. hell, i'd love to meet him JUST ONCE out on a bike ride. but i don't even think he rides! [recall: if i don't SEE it, i'm not likely to believe it. that's why i didn't believe in flying saucers for so long, and why i tend not to believe in bigfoot.]

but mark wyatt absolutely has lost his right to speak on MY behalf about the rights and interests of bicyclists and bicycling in iowa. he has been losing it for his failure to act on behalf of the MANY dead cyclists this past year, and for his failure to follow-up on behalf of the too many dead cyclists from last year [remember all the trips i made to funerals last year? where is evidence of mark's follow-ups on all those?]

nope, by his total lack of meaningful and active leadership, mark wyatt is steering the iowa bike coaliton right off the roads, streets,paths, and trails right back into the garages and basements where--in his mind--all bikes should be stored, the patient and understanding little cyclists that we are.

this guy's GOTTA go, before all we have left are roller races.

mark: i BEG you to respond. do SOMETHING, for christ's sake. show the bicyclists of iowa that you DO REALLY REALLY care about riding bikes, not just raising money and feathering your nest. i am NOT better off than i was [how many years ago?] when you started at the IBC.
it is time for you to go. let us have a REAL spokesperson. we deserve it.

FLASH!!

HARDIN COUNTY PAVES
COUNTY ROAD TO HELL
. . . . .
hardin county passed the exact same ordinance that dallas county was considering.
it passed unanimously.
looks like another group of towns that won't be seeing
ragby roll down their roads.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

coming soon to a bike friendly community near you

fail owned pwned pictures

the two-wheeled justice

des moines just got a whole lot more bicycle friendly!

Des Moines, August 13, 2008—Governor Culver has appointed Des Moines attorney Richard H. Doyle, Des Moines, to the Iowa Court of Appeals. Doyle, 58, will fill the vacancy that will occur when Judge Van Zimmer retires September 4, 2008.
Doyle has worked in the private practice of law since 1977. Prior to working in private practice he served as Assistant Attorney General for the Iowa Department of Justice in the Criminal Appeals Division.
He earned a bachelor of arts in political science from Drake University in 1971. He received his law degree from Drake University Law School in 1976. He served as staff member of the Drake Law Review.

. . . . .

yeah, yeah, yeah; that's all fine; but press releases never tell you what REALLY matters, but today's sermonette always does!

rick and his wife, debbie, are the parents of two kids, kerry [who lives in oregon] and her brother [who lives in chicago and whose name i never can remember]. i first met the doyles when i worked at zanzibar's with kerry. debbie was a morning regular [2% iced latte to go], and she and rick would often come in evenings. debbie is a huge elvis fan, and rick has always been an enormous cycling enthusiast. we talked about bikes and racing and all subjects bicycles on a regular basis, rick and i. while kerry and i were working together, she found a mixte frame bike, i recall, and fixed it up. she rode that found bike all over [she was hooked]. when she moved to oregon, she got into the fixed gear scene, and started riding all over, including seattle to portland, as i recollect. a 200-mile ride on a fixie. truly nuts.

her folks were supportive and skeptical, but rick, i detected, was really quite thrilled and proud of her. so as she took off and started getting more and more into it, and riding bikes all over the northwest, rick spoke with me about his old blue schwinn [seen above, rick bought it new], and about buying a new road bike. i told him to go for it, but by all means to keep this bike, and think about converting it to a single speed or a fixed gear bike.

he did, and after having both new road bike and new old singlespeed to ride, like the kid he is, he confessed that he has more fun riding the old bike.

and that's how it ought to be.

since the word got out about the formation and opening of the des moines bike kollective, rick has been as enthusiastic AND actively participating supporter of the place as there can be. he has personally been responsible for bringing approaching, what, rick, maybe a couple dozen bikes to the shop? he was the first to adopt a bike shop--rassmussen's on grand--BEFORE i made the request to have folks adopt a bike shop. he regularly stops by, checking to see what bikes are there for donation, and he brings them down. he pounds the pavement and buzzes the phone lines shaking down his neighborhood association and others for their unridden bikes. additionally, rick is regularly out on the trail, under the poorly-designed and constructed bridge under grand avenue at 1st/63d street, cleaning the mud, sand, and muck away after floods. he has lobbied the city to do more on a regular basis to maintain its trail system. i would be remiss if i failed to mention that he and debbie are regular listeners of the kim west radio cycling show sunday nights on kxno AM1460.

rick not only talks the talk, but he rides the ride. rick doyle gets it. he understands the need for both bike trails AND integrated bicycle traffic on public streets. he does something about it.

. . . . .

the city of des moines is struggling to have itself declared as a "bike friendly community." it has been told repeatedly that while building bike trails and painting bike lanes is laudible, until there is descernible and lasting institutional change, it will not be truly bike friendly. we need role models in high and public places who not only lavish praise and support upon bicycle riders, but who TRULY EMBRACE bicycles and bicycle riding as a significant and respectible lifestyle, who see bicycles as a viable and NECESSARY component of a vibrant urban environment, AND who are sufficiently committed to that end to influence OTHERS to do likewise.

for example, suppose des moines chief of police judy bradshaw issued a directive that "ALL city of des moines police officers shall recognize bicyclists as rightful users of city streets, and shall enforce reckless driving laws against motorists who use their motor vehicles in such a way to intimidate or harass a bicyclist."

wouldn't THAT be grand? THAT would be a big step toward des moines becoming a bike friendly community.

. . . . .

i have no idea what kind of justice rick doyle will be on the iowa court of appeals; we have not, in our many hours of conversation talked about the hot-button legal topics of the day. but i DO know this: for the first time EVER, the state of iowa will have a high court member who knows how to convert an old ten-speed to a singlespeed bike, and knows how to enjoy riding it. we are likely for the first time ever to have a court of appeals justice to commutes to work on a regular basis on an old single speed schwinn--even in winter!

and THAT is what will help make des moines a bike friendly community. i could not be more proud of, and happy for, rick and debbie doyle, and delighted for the state of iowa.

we will have one of us sitting up there in a black robe.

congratulations, rick!

Monday, August 18, 2008

snowdog has moved to los angeles?


this shocking video demonstrates the importance of police reports and persistence.

Friday, August 15, 2008

WIN FREE PRIZES JUST FOR LISTENING TO THE RADIO

OVER THE NEXT THREE WEEKS, in cooperation with the tour of missouri,
the kim west radio cycling show will be GIVING AWAY
absolutely free
24 TRULY VALUABLE PRIZES, including:
one FELT cruiser bicycle,
one yakima bicycle car rack,
one bissell healthy home vacuum,
five VIP passes to the stage one finish in kansas city,
five tour of missouri t-shirts,
five tour of missouri caps, and
five jelly belly gift packs.

AND SOME LUCKY DOG WILL WIN THIS GRAND PRIZE!!
A "MEET IN MISSOURI PACKAGE, with hotels, meals,
and VIP hospitality at the tour's stage one finish in kansas city.

all you have to do to win is this:
1--go to the kim west radio cycling show website
and do the KIM WEST TOUR OF MISSOURI CROSSWORD PUZZLE; and then
2--listen LIVE to the kim west radio cycling show sunday nights from 600 pm to 700 pm for your chance to call in
[515.284.5966 or 866.333.5966]
and win.
it really IS that easy. i'll ask from time to time during the show for listeners to call in and give me the answer to such and such a clue from the crossword puzzle.
you call in, and you win a prize.
we'll do it again NEXT sunday, august 24th,
and again august 31.
on the august 31st show, will draw from all the winners to award the grand prize of the MEET IN MISSOURI PACKAGE.

i'm telling you, i can't believe we're doing this! these are actually pretty cool prizes.
BUT YOU MUST LISTEN LIVE, either
on the radio at 1460 AM, kxno,
or stream it live at kxno.com.

podcasters won't stand a chance. sorry.

so go to the website now
,
download the crossword puzzle now and do it,
and then keep it handy as you listen over the next three weeks.
somebodies are gonna win a whole bunch of cool, free stuff, JUST FOR LISTENING and CALLING THE SHOW.

SPREAD THE WORD, FOLKS:
FREE STUFF FROM
THE KIM WEST RADIO CYCLING SHOW

WOWIE ZOWIE!!

biking with dbax


it's not bicycling, but . . .

they ARE on wheels!

is the olympic cycling team selection process fair?

chris horner recently suggested that the process by which the u.s. olympic cycling team was selected is not fair, and failed to produce the best possible team. what do you think?
please leave your thoughts in the comments section, and stayed tuned for an upcoming episode of the kim west radio cycling show devoted to this very topic, which we hope will feature chris horner, members of the selection committee, and others with knowledge of the process.
thanks!

lance does leadville

hey, brendon, someone asked me, "having viewed the now ubiquitous video of lance and dave wiens doing leadville, if it was obvious that lance--not in tip-top shape, but still able to do what no one had done before, that is, leadville in sub-seven hours--had not doped during his tour wins."
any thoughts on that one, my southern man?
and can i quote you on that?

Kim,
You can quote me on this:
I do not believe that Lance's performance at the Leadville 100 is in any way indicative of evidence for or against any doping committed by Lance Armstrong during his professional racing career. His performance in the most recent Leadville 100 is impressive as this is a very grueling one-day racing event contested by a group of unique cyclists. While many excellent cyclists participated, it is difficult to compare the start list at the Leadville 100 with any of the start lists at the multi-day Tour De France during his tenure at the top of the cycling world. Additionally, it is important to consider there is no formal UCI drug testing protocol (at least I could not find any indication of it) at this event. I would never falsely or otherwise imply a cyclist had doped at this event without a positive A sample followed up by a confirmation of the positive B sample. In the event a positive B sample was indicated then a discussion of the rider and their actions would be appropriate.
Brendon S. Hale, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Kinesiology
Mississippi State University
* * * * *
how about you, dear readers and listeners: what do YOU think about lance's performance at leadville? do you think this is vindication for him? do you think this puts to rest any question about whether or not lance juiced his way to seven tour titles? i pose this question as it was put to me by a regular listener of the radio show.
leave your thoughts here in the comments, and save them for discussion on an upcoming leadville episode.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

NOTE NEW DATE!!coming august 31: meet the man behind yehuda moon and the kickstand cyclery

i've told you before to read this comic strip, found at yehudamoon.com.
if you read it once, you're likely to become a regular reader.
i am. i love the comments that are left by its fans.
they can be as insane as some of the action in the strip itself.
cartoonist rick smith has created a great core of characters in this four-panel daily, and we'll be talking live, sunday august 31, from 600 pm to 700 pm, central daylight time, on the kim west radio cycling show.
you're NOT going to want to miss THIS show. plan to call in and chat with rick.
sunday, august 31, on the kim west radio cycling show.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

coming on the august 10 kim west radio cycling show

an hour with five-time olympian
francie larrieu smith

Friday, August 1, 2008

madison county set to join bike-hater club

SHARED ROADWAY SIGNS MAY GO
County officials cite condition of roadways after flooding,
insurance liability concerns

The shared roadway signs denoting the various bicycle routes around Madison County may have to come down, at least temporarily, according to county officials. Reasons are two-fold. One is because of the recent flooding. Another is that of the county's insurance liability. About 70 shared roadway signs were purchased by the Madison County Cycle Club — the group that sponsors the annual BRAMCO (Bike Ride Around Madison County) — and installed by county officials. Four designated routes: There are basically four routes marked around the county. One is in northwest Madison County on the Earlham and Pitzer pavement areas; one is in northeast Madison County on county road G4R — known locally as the Cumming Road — while two are in southern Madison County. One of the southern routes covers the circuit from Winterset to St. Charles via the St. Charles Road and then south to Truro and back to Winterset through East Peru to old U.S. Highway 169 and north. The other shared roadway area is the Winterset to Macksburg area. Flooding damaged roads, shoulders County officials say the early June flooding caused a tremendous amount of damage to not only the roadways, but also the shoulders of the roads. And according to county engineer Todd Hagan, the roads aren't really safe until they can be fixed. He says keeping the signs in place may encourage cyclists to ride "because our roads are in perfect shape, and they're not." "Do we need to take the shared Roadway signs down? I think we do," Hagan told county supervisors last week. While Hagan's recommendation to perhaps temporarily remove — and the definition of the word "temporary" is highly subject to interpretation — the signs is "because of current condition of the roads" there's also the nagging issue of liability. When the signs were put up at the behest of the cycle club, some officials were adamant that perhaps the signs shouldn't be erected, because it would expose the county to certain liability issues if a cyclist is injured, or worse, traveling the county roads. "They probably need to come down," supervisor Steve Raymond reluctantly said. "I want to encourage them to ride," supervisor Bob Weeks said. "So do I," echoed supervisor Joan Acela.

[yeah, and i want money to come out of my ass. i'm telling ya, this stupid nonsense is worse than the creeping charlie in my front yard, and it's not going away on its own, either.--the mostly reverend]