BWL Column: Gallup before you gobble?

BWL Column
The News-Press, 11/23/2017
by Ken Gooderham

Buffalo YMCA Turkey Trot, 2011

For most of you, today is a day of food and family. But, for some of you, it’s also a day to lace up those running shoes and start the morning out with a run… specifically, a turkey trot.

There are no shortage of such opportunities around Southwest Florida, with Thanksgiving runs set from north (both Englewood and Punta Gorda) to south (Naples), and from venerated (Cape Coral, at 38 years) to newcomer (Estero, on its third year).

It makes sense to balance out a day so focused on food with a little early-morning exercise – the better to work up an appetite. But the idea of a Turkey Day race goes back a long way – and can cover a lot of different distances.

Likely the first such event was the Buffalo Turkey Trot, billed as the oldest continually running public footrace (established in 1896) in the United States. Some T-Day races draw thousands of runners and walkers, with events in Dallas and Austin pulling in 20,000 to 25,000 registrants.

Distances can vary, although the local preference is your standard 5K. At the other end of the spectrum was the Atlanta Marathon which, for more than 40 years, was held on Thanksgiving. (It has since been moved to another day.)

Locally, all our Thanksgiving events are early-morning 5Ks… so if you slept in this morning you missed all the action. Most benefit a worthy cause, from Habitat for Humanity (Punta Gorda) to the Cape Coral Hospital Wellness path (Cape Coral) to St. Matthew’s House (Naples) to San Carlos Park Roller Hockey (Estero) to the Englewood Area Cancer Foundation (Englewood).

If running is not your thing, or you’d rather eat first then exercise, grab your bike and get ready for a long ride.

Caloosa Riders offers its annual Turkey Leg Century on Friday, Nov. 24, with distances of 100 miles (a full century), 62 miles (a metric century) and 20 miles. On Sunday, you can join the Iron Joe Turkey Ride, with distances of 62, 30, 20 and 5 miles included in a full slate of events.

And if that’s all too energetic, it’s Critical Mass to the rescue with a Cape Coral ride Friday night and a downtown Slow Roll Saturday morning.

Just something to keep in mind as you reach for that second helping of stuffing and turkey.

Let’s give thanks

In the spirit of the day, a few things to be thankful for (feel free to add your own, of course):

• Be thankful that, for as bad as Irma was, it could have been worse. Just ask the people in Puerto Rico or Houston. Here, the lights are on and the debris piles are (mostly) gone.
• Be thankful that we live in a place where you can ride, run or walk every day, if you’re so inclined.
• Be thankful we have such dedicated running and cycling clubs, who keep the events and enthusiasm coming.
• Be thankful that, slowly but surely, we’re seeing improvements in the bike/walk infrastructure – and, because of that, an increase in the people biking, walking and running.
• Finally, we hope, be thankful you can share this day with people who matter to you – people who give you another reason to be thankful.

 

Ready to ride or run?

Run? Looking beyond the Turkey Trots, be part of another tradition by joining the River Run 10K, celebrating 39 years in downtown Fort Myers on Saturday, Dec. 2. There’s also 5K race that day in both Cape Coral and Naples. Want to be part of a new tradition? Join the Babcock Ranch Jingle Bell 5K/10K for its first outing on Dec. 9. Find out more at ftmyerstrackclub.com, 3dracinginc.com and gcrunner.org respectively.

Ride? Besides the Turkey rides mentioned above, upcoming Critical Mass rides are Cape Coral (Friday night) Fort Myers (a Saturday morning slow roll), Fort Myers again (for a Dec. 1 night ride), NE Lee (Dec. 8 night) and Sanibel (Dec. 9 night). For night rides lights are required, helmets recommended, and details and sign-up info is online at meetup.com/Biking-SWFL/events.

Both? You’ve got time to train for the Dec. 17 Christmas Duathlon & Triathlon set for Sugden Regional Park in Naples. Otherwise, check active.com or trifind.com for statewide events.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RIDE:

Have a favorite route you like to bike, or a unique walk you’d like to share with others? Tell us about it at info@bikewalklee.org, and maybe we can feature it in an upcoming column.

# # #

Ken Gooderham writes this on behalf of BikeWalkLee, a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County — streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Information, statistics and background online at www.BikeWalkLee.org. 


 

‘Bike friendly’ includes accepting legal group rides

Florida Weekly 'Outdoors' column, 11/21/17
danMOSER
bikepedmoser@gmail.com

Being designated a Bike Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists is an honor and something any community should strive for. Potential benefits — if not already realized, at least to some degree — come in the form of quality of life, safety and economics. The extensive application process requires documentation of the many aspects of eligibility, from infrastructure to traffic crash statistics to community commitment.

Besides advocates, bike promoters and citizen visionaries who are usually the driving forces behind seeking BFC status, the local government must buy in and be an integral part of the application process, since much of the documentation and commitment that’s required comes from them.

This generally results in a unified voice but sometimes there’s disagreement between the two camps’ vision of what being “bike-friendly” really means.

Over a decade ago, Lee County completed an application that included only unincorporated Lee County, but that attempt was summarily dismissed and Lee County didn’t even make honorable mention. The county received a long list of “to dos” from LAB so it at least had a starting point. From a practical standpoint, whole counties rarely do well since there are so many disparate sub-communities, including underserved ones that have little. But now two municipalities in Lee have been granted BFC status — the city of Sanibel and the city of Cape Coral, the former being a silver-level BFC and latter bronze.

I’m writing about this is because I continue to hear of incidents on Sanibel that make me wonder about whether its silver-level status is deserved. In particular, those who choose to use the road seem to be unwelcome there.

Sanibel’s network of multi-use paths is well known and is one of the reasons the island community is such a popular tourist and day-tripper destination. Other than bike lanes on a few hundred yards of San-Cap Road near the Blind Pass Bridge to Captiva, and paved shoulders on a very short segment of Causeway Boulevard, there is nothing in place to accommodate on-road cyclists.

Group riders - courtesy lsu.edu

That’s not necessarily a problem because the top speed limit on the island is 35 mph, making road riding both safe and enjoyable for many cyclists. What does appear to be a problem, however, is that the city doesn’t seem to want cyclists anywhere but on the paths.

If that’s indeed the case, Sanibel is not alone in its lack of enthusiasm for group riders on its roads, sometimes for valid reasons. Our public roads are not race courses so anyone who operates on them is if they were — in or on any vehicle — deserves to be treated as the law dictates. And when cyclists come in large numbers and operate legally, sometimes creating delay or causing motorists to be extra careful when around them, they should be allowed to proceed on the public roads just like other legal users.

I’ve received reports of cyclists in group rides being stopped for obstructing traffic, riding two abreast, and tailgating. Interestingly, the first two of those actions are completely legal while tailgating is a common and useful cycling tactic that allows a group to travel much faster than one could alone. On Sanibel that can mean the group is oftentimes able to operate near the speed limit.

Florida law requires cyclists to ride as “far right as practicable” and may ride two abreast when not impeding traffic. Here’s where a problem seems to lie: According to the Florida Greenbook (fdot.gov/roadway/floridagreenbook), the official roadway standards guide, any travel lane less than 14 feet wide is considered “substandard” in terms of it being able to accommodate a bicycle and motor vehicle side-by-side and still allow the required three-foot buffer between the two. In such cases a person operating a bike may ride on any part of the lane and is not illegally impeding traffic; riding two abreast does not change this dynamic and in fact should be encouraged since it shortens the length of the group, whether there are 20 or two riders in that group, thus making them easier to pass if necessary. It is, by the way, legal to pass stationary objects or vehicles travelling less than the posted speed limit in a no-passing zone when safe to do so.

Being a BFC means there’s a commitment to embrace the use of bicycles. This includes those who choose to use the paths or roads. In Sanibel’s case, the usually busy pathways are not appropriate or safe for those who operate at speeds approaching the motor vehicle speed limits, nor is it safe for other pathway users. If Sanibel truly deserves its BFC designation it will deal with this fact in a different way than they sometimes have been. And cyclists — especially group riders — cannot expect the city to tolerate cyclists who treat their roads or paths as race courses or break traffic laws. I trust everyone can agree that both parties must cooperate. As always, for more about this and similar matters, visit BikeWalkLee’s blog at bikewalklee.blogspot.com. ¦


- Dan Moser is a long-time bicycle/pedestrian advocate and traffic safety professional who cycles, runs and walks regularly for transportation, recreation and fitness. Contact him at bikepedmoser@gmail.com and 334-6417. 

For Lee County cycling and tri events visit Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club (caloosariders.org); Florida Mudcutters (mudcutters.org); and SW Florida Biking Meetup Group (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL). The Florida Bicycle Association (floridabicycle.org) is your source for statewide happenings. BikeWalkLee’s blog site has all the information you’ll need to stay abreast of advocacy efforts in Southwest Florida as well as statewide and nationally.

November 20: Upcoming running/walking/bicycling/tri events

Upcoming events

Running/walking:

• Thursday, Nov. 23: 37th annual Turkey Trot. Proceeds from the event will help construct Cape Coral Hospital’s Pathway to Discovery and benefit Fort Myers Track Club youth scholarships. 6:00 a.m. Check-in; 7:30 a.m. - Start. Wellness Center, 609 SE 13th Ct., Cape Coral (leehealth.org, ftmyerstrackclub.com)
• Thursday, Nov. 23: Thanksgiving Day 5K Run/Walk, Germain Arena, Estero (eliteevents.org)
• Thursday, Nov. 23: Gulf Coast Runner’s Thanksgiving 5K, Cambier Park, Naples (gcrunner.org) 
• Saturday, Dec. 2: 39th annual City of Palms River 10K Run and 2-mile fun run/walk. 8 a.m., Centennial Park, Fort Myers (ftmyerstrackclub.com)
• Saturday, Dec. 2: Run for Hannah 5K, 8 a.m., Rotary Park, Cape Coral (3dracinginc.com)
• Saturday, Dec. 2: Collier County Public Schools Wellness Fun Run, 5K competitive race, 5K fun run and 1 mile fun run. 8 a.m., Barron Collier High School (gcrunner.org)
• Saturday, Dec. 9: Babcock Ranch Jingle Bell 5K/10K, 7:30 a.m., Babcock Ranch (3dracinginc.com)
• Saturday, Dec. 9: QBE Shootout 5K, 7:30 a.m., Tiburon Golf Club, Naples (gcrunner.org)
• Saturday, Dec. 16: Citygate Ministries Downtown Christmas Run 5K, 6 p.m., downtown Fort Myers (3dracinginc.com)
• Saturday, Dec. 16: Christmas Santa Stroll 5K Glow Run, 5:30 p.m. (eliteevents.org)
• Saturday, Dec. 23: Marco 5 Mile Hill Run, 8 a.m., Wesley United Methodist Church, Marco Island (gcrunner.org)
• For more running events visit gcrunner.org/calendar.html; ftmyerstrackclub.com/race-calendar; and 3dracinginc.com/

Cycling:

• 
  Friday, Nov. 24: Cape Coral Critical Mass ride. Gather at 7:30 p.m. at 4706 SE 11th Place for a family-friendly ride through the Cape. Lights required, helmets recommended.  (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL/events/)
• Friday, Nov. 24: Turkey Leg Century. Welcome Ride, 20 mile distance @ 14-16 miles per hour (no drop); Metric Century, 62 miles @ 16-18 miles per hour (no drop); Full Century, 100 mile @ 18-20 miles per hour (self supported). 7 a.m., Publix @ Daniels Crossing Shopping Center
  6890 Daniels Pkwy. Details at caloosariders.org.
• Saturday, Nov. 25: Saturday Slow Roll. 8 a.m. meet-up at 2160 McGregor Blvd. Recommended for inexperienced/young riders. Distance is 6 miles, includes group ride instruction. (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL/events/)
• Sunday, Nov. 26: Iron Joe Turkey Ride, 62-, 30-, 20- and 5-mile rides, starts and ends at Fit & Fuel Bicycle Café, Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples (caloosariders.org
• Friday, Dec. 1: SW Florida Critical Mass ride. A family-friendly slow ride through Fort Myers starting at a special time: 7:15 p.m. Front and rear bike lights required. Grab your helmet, bring all your friends and meet in the open field next to Publix at First Street Village, 2160 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL/events/)
• Ongoing: Join the Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club on one of their many weekly rides for members and potential members, with an array of paces and routes to choose from. Check them out online at www.caloosariders.org.
• For more Lee County cycling and tri events, visit Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club (caloosariders.org); Florida Mudcutters (mudcutters.org); and SW Florida Biking Meetup Group (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL).

Triathlons:

• Sunday, Dec. 17: Christmas Sprint Duathlon & Triathlon, 7 a.m., Sugden Regional Park, Naples (eliteevents.org)
• Check trifind.com to find regional and state tris.