Cycling Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard - Sept 2010

Bike and the Like has been organizing cycling trips on Cape Cod and the New England area for more than 17 years. They advocate a “stop and smell the roses” type of touring and we have enjoyed their tours immensely. We began our trip in Hyannis, MA, and cycled the nooks and crannies of Cape Cod, including visits to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Cape Cod is known for its miles of glorious coastlines, quaint villages, scenic byways, the Cape Cod Rail Trail, and more.

We arrived early in order to get fitted to our rental bikes and took a spin around the Hyannis area, passing the JFK Memorial and nearby Hyannisport, home of the Kennedy Compound. Our first night’s dinner is where we met and greeted the other cyclists on this trip; a total of 39 of us plus 3 tour leaders. And, of course, most of us had lobster for dinner.

The first day of riding with the group took us on a ferry to Nantucket where we cycled the island and walked the cobblestoned streets of historic downtown. Nantucket is located 30 miles off the south coast of Cape Cod and is 14 miles in length and 3 ½ miles wide. With its conservation land, beaches, lighthouses, bike trails, and history, this was a nice day of cycling.

The next couple days were spent on Martha’s Vineyard. We pedaled along the Cape Cod Canal following the Manamet River, stopped at the Aptucxet Trading Post museum, then along the Shore Rd to the Shining Sea Bikeway to Woods Hole where we caught the Steamship Authority Ferry. The ferry brought us to the town of Oak Bluffs where we stayed at the Madison Inn for two nights. Oak Bluffs flourished as a revivalist-movement camp meeting site. Over the years, the tents were replaced by small cottages in the distinctive "campground gothic" style, which makes you feel like you're walking through a neighborhood of pastel gingerbread houses. We explored the town that evening and met the group for dinner.

The next day we cycled on the bike trail to Edgartown and the lighthouse (pictured below left) on the north shore. The Edgartown Light made a brief appearance in the movie Jaws. We continued on the bike path around the airport, stopped by an Alpaca farm, lunched in Vineyard Haven, cycled the West Chop loop and lighthouse, around the harbor, on to the East Chop loop and lighthouse, then back to the hotel. As an example of history, the East Chop lighthouse was built in 1802 on Telegraph Hill. The lighthouse is on the site of the signal station that received semaphore messages from Woods Hole to indicate the arrival of homebound whaling ships. The current lighthouse was built in 1877. We took a very relaxing pace today and explored the history of the island.

We took the hi-speed ferry back to Hyannis the following morning and headed to the village of Orleans. Once on our bikes, we cycled the beach roads, stopped and toured the Judah Baker Windmill, jumped on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, passed through Nickerson State Park, took a short side trip to Nauset Beach, and finally rested at the Old Tavern Inn in Orleans for the night. Like much of the Cape, Orleans revolved around fishing, whaling, and agriculture in its early history.

Our next stop was Provincetown. We cycled up the elbow of the Cape via the national seashore. We stopped after about 5 miles at the Salt Pond Visitor Center and watched a film on how the Cape was formed through the ice age….very interesting and well worth the stop. The museum had an old bike on display that had wood spokes. Imagine riding that bike.

Back on our bikes, we cycled the Cape Cod Rail Trail, passing the Nauset Lighthouse and Marconi Station. Guglielmo Marconi had a dream to send a wireless signal across the ocean and, in 1900, he built a high-powered transmitting station to do just this. Storms blew down the aeriel towers in 1901. We stopped in Wellfleet for a short lunch and then continued on around the harbor, along the beach, more lighthouses and windmills, and finally into Provincetown.

Once in Provincetown, we had the evening on our own. We walked through town, climbed the Pilgrim Monument, stopped for a couple drinks and dinner, and made it an early evening. A couple of cyclists who made it in early enough were able to take a whale watching tour. They said they saw at least 30 whales and got some great pics.

It was now time to head back. We left Provincetown cycling through the sand dunes known as the Provincelands, along the beaches, and back on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Most everyone stopped at the Chocolate Sparrow in Orleans for lunch. Here, we had a turkey pannini and an ice cream cone while others chose to have some “to-die-for” chocolate desserts.

Our last day brought us back to Hyannis where we said our ‘good-byes’ to all our new friends, caught the bus back to Boston Logan airport and flew home.

The only way to really experience Cape Cod is to cycle the “nooks and crannies”. Cape Cod’s terrain is very cycle friendly and mostly gently rolling. There are so many sights to see and places to visit that the only way to do it is on bicycle. We averaged about 45 miles a day and took our time to be sure not to miss anything. If you like mixing sightseeing with your cycling, you’ll love this trip.

To view more photos from this trip, click on "Cape Cod Cycling" under "Links to cycling pics" on the right side of this page.

Colorado 2010

We have returned to Frisco, Colorado, for the month of August. We've been having afternoon and evening showers but have still managed to get in some cycling. We've learned over the years that wherever you stay in Summit County, the bike path will take you through Frisco; whether you are riding to Breckenridge, Keystone, around Lake Dillon, or to Copper Mountain or Vail.

Our first day, we rode up to Keystone and over Swan Mountain Rd back to Frisco. We decided that was not too hard on us so the next day we ventured on and rode up to Vail Pass. Whew! That was a test for our legs in this high altitude. The photo to the right was taken from the bike trail around Lake Dillon.

The next couple days consisted of rides which we had not done before. We drove to Carbondale, 13 miles south of Glenwood Springs, and rode the Rio Grande Trail to Woody Creek Tavern and back. This bike path (pictured left) is actually 42 miles long and goes from Glenwood Springs to Aspen. It is slightly uphill on the way to Aspen which makes for a nice return trip back....downhill.

Our next ride took us to Leadville and around Turquoise Lake (pictured right). This was only about 25 miles but it consisted of several long and challenging uphills and some fast downhills. The scenery was beautiful. We finished just ahead of the heavy rain over the lake. Back in town, we lunched at the Tennessee Pass Cafe which fulfilled its reputation as being one of the best cafes in Leadville.


About an hour's drive west of Frisco is the Dotsero/Glenwood Canyon trailhead (exit 133). Hop on the recreation path which follows alongside parts of I-70 and the Colorado River and ride for about 16 miles into Glenwood Springs. Once in Glenwood Springs, explore the area or partake of the Hot Springs before heading back. Of course, you can always drive the additional miles into Glenwood Springs and start from there. This is a relatively flat trail with only a couple of short climbs near Glenwood Springs. Everytime we have ridden this route, we have seen lots of people kayaking and rafting the river. (Glenwood Canyon ride pictured left)


Other rides in the area that we enjoy include riding to Keystone and going up to the little town of Montezuma, pop. 60. It's a 5 mile climb out of Keystone and a fast downhill back. The most popular ride for tourists is probably Frisco to Breckenridge and back, followed by the ride around Lake Dillon. The new Swan Mtn Rec Path from Summit Cove takes us to the top of Sapphire Point. Once on top, however, we must take the 2-mile steep and curvy road down to the Breckenridge bike path. One of our favorite rides is Frisco to Copper Mountain and on up to Vail Pass; 10 miles slight uphill to Copper Mtn and another 5 steeper miles to Vail Pass. Here we may either ride back 15 miles downhill to Frisco or continue on to Vail Village (15 miles downhill). But beware, the ride back up from Vail Village is challenging to say the least.

Summit County includes the towns of Breckenridge, Frisco, Copper Mountain, Dillon, Silverthorne, and Keystone. There is always something going on in one or more of these towns every weekend and some weekdays. Our first week here, we took in the BBQ at the Summit which was a lot of fun with music, food, drinks, and roasted corn on the cob. On Fridays, we enjoy going to the Dillon Farmers Market for some shopping and, of course, lunch. Frisco has Music on Main on Thursday evenings and a weekend Art & Music Festival once a month. We've enjoyed the Dillon Summer Concert Series on occasion which is every Saturday evening at the Marina. One of our particular favorites has been the Nacho Men. Unfortunately, we will miss their performance this year. Keystone and Copper Mountain have similar events throughout the summer.

Friday evenings in Keystone, the gondola rides to the top of the mountain are FREE. We like anything that is FREE. Of course, we finish the evening with 2-for-1 appetizers (including nachos) and $3 draft beers at one of the restaurants in Keystone's River Run Village. You can also catch the chairlift in Copper Mountain for free during the day. Thursday thru Saturday evenings, the Vail Gondola is FREE.

We are starting our fourth week here and we are just now doing our first hike. The Mayflower Gulch trail begins on an old ore wagon road and may be shared with jeeps and mountain bikers. On a moderate climb through evergreen forest, you see Mayflower Creek and its adjacent wetlands on the left. Soon signs of Mayflower Gulch's beehive mining history appear. After a little over a mile and a half, we see the Boston mine camp (pictured right) which once occupied this splendid setting. Now its ruined log boardinghouse and cabins slowly sink into the meadow.

Later in the week, we hiked the McCollough Gulch trail just south of Breckenridge. This hike was an intermediate hike with lots of waterfalls near the top. A little further up the trail is a calm lake with crystal clear water. Although this hike was only a little over 3 1/2 miles in total, it took us close to 3 hours. Our legs will most likely be very sore tomorrow since we haven't been doing many hikes this year.

We love this part of the country ..... the mountain scenery, the temperatures, the biking and hiking trails, the people, everything. This is a very affordable area for a vacation and there is something for all ages here. We highly recommend it.

On the way home, we decided to take a detour and drive down to the Durango area. On the way, we stopped at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The following day we drove to Mesa Verde National Park and toured the Pueblo cliff dwellings. Both sights were well worth the extra time.

Be sure to click on our Colorado 2010 link on the right side of the page for more pics of this year's Colorado trip. And for more about cycling in Summit County and the surrounding areas, check out our Colorado Trip in 2006 in the archives.

Kentucky - Ohio River Rendezvous - June 2010

The Ohio River Rendezvous is not a sponsored ride. This ride is put together by Jack and Pat Deacon in Kentucky every year. Jack helped us with some of our routes last year and invited us to join his ride. It represents a group of cyclists enjoying the Kentucky backroads and the camaraderie of great friendships. This year, there were more people from out of state than from within Kentucky itself.

We gathered in Lexington on Wednesday night to meet the whole group and have dinner at Transylvania University. What a group! There were a few participants that were unable to make the dinner but, still, there were about 40 of us there.

Thursday morning, there was a ride out of Versailles along backroads and large horse farms. Beautiful countryside!! Unfortunately, we had to miss this ride. We had truck problems as we arrived in Lexington so we spent the morning getting the truck towed to the shop and locating a rental car for the next few days. We did, however, manage to meet some of the riders at Wallace Station for lunch.

The real ride started Friday morning out of Paris, KY. We loaded our luggage in to the SAG vehicles, readied our bicycles, and we were off. The further north we rode toward Maysville,KY, the hillier it became. Kentuckians may have called these hills 'rollers' but for us Texans they were hills. We couldn't roll the hills and didn't have enough time between hills to recover before we were climbing the next one. We were left with very tired legs by the end of the ride.

Saturday, Day 2, took us from Maysville,KY, to Portsmouth,OH. The first five miles were hilly and then we hit a long downhill and followed along the river, more commonly known as the bottom lands. We heard thunderstorms were headed our way and we could see the black clouds in our mirrors; we got a few sprinkles but no rain. The last half of the route today had some long climbs and a few really bad hills. Sixty three miles later we reached the hotel and rested our legs before dinner.

Day 3 (Portsmouth,OH, to Morehead,KY) started out with a heavy fog which we figured was due to being along the Ohio River. This first section was relatively flat and fast. We rode more of the bottom lands and then had two really long, steep climbs. The first bad one was 2.4 miles long at a grade of 8-10% and the second one a little less than a mile but it reached a grade of 19% toward the top. Several people walked part of this hill. We stopped and visited with some people on the way up but we didn't walk any of it. Today we passed many photo opportunities of old barns and farm lands but didn't stop to take a single picture. Guess we were just concentrating on getting over the next hill. Going in to Morehead,KY, we stopped at Dairy Queen for fries and a blizzard before continuing to the hotel. Several other riders joined us there.

Our last day returned us to Paris,KY. Our legs were stressed and this was to be the hilliest day of the tour. We had a couple long climbs and a few hills starting out, turning in to rolling hills for the second section. We passed a lot of covered bridges today. Half way in to the ride, we rode more rolling hills and it was starting to get hot. The last leg was even more challenging...hills, hills, and more hills. We made it back to Paris, loaded our rental car, said our goodbyes, picked up the truck from the shop, returned the rental car, and headed back to Ohio.

We rode a total of 240 miles over 4 days and enjoyed every pedal stroke. This was a great way to tour a part of Kentucky we would not have otherwise seen. Jack and Pat put together a fantastic tour including great SAG support. This was a great bunch of cyclists and we look forward to cycling with them again.

Great Allegheny Passage and Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath - May 2010

The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail runs 132 miles through the heart of Pennsylvania, from McKeesport, just outside of Pittsburgh, to Cumberland, MD. The GAP trail connects to the 185 mile long Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal Towpath which runs along the Potomac River from Cumberland, MD, to Washington, DC. Together, the GAP and C&O Canal add up to over 300 miles of trails.

We were invited to join nine of the ROMEO’s (Retired Old Men Enjoying the Outdoors) to cycle the GAP and C&O Canal the end of April 2010. This was a ride for hybrids and mountain bikes; definitely not skinny tire road bikes. The trail surface was a mix of hard packed dirt, crushed limestone, rocks, gravel, and a few miles of paved path. At times, we found ourselves dodging potholes, tree limbs, and low hanging branches. We even had to maneuver over and around a few downed trees. Including the miles we cycled to and from our lodging each day, we rode a total of 342 miles over 5 days.

We awoke our first day to freezing temperatures so we held off our start until about 9:00am. Bundled up, we gathered ourselves in the van and headed to the McKeesport trailhead, 14 miles out of downtown Pittsburgh. The path was fairly smooth with a slight incline which followed alongside the Youghiogheny (Yock-uh-gay-nee) River. We stopped about every 15-20 miles with our first stop in West Newton, PA. As we cycled on, the temperature warmed and we found ourselves switching from our heavier jackets to light wind jackets. By the time we reached Ohiopyle, about 60 miles, the winds picked up and it got down right cold again. From here, we passed bridges, waterfalls, and timber footpaths on the way to Confluence and the Stepping Stone Farm B&B where we stayed the night.

Again, we awoke to freezing temperatures the next morning. Wearing our winter gear, we rode from the B&B to the trail and continued along the GAP trail. Other than freezing at the start, this was a fairly uneventful morning. We stopped in Meyersdale, PA, for lunch. Cycling the last 8 miles uphill to the high point in the trail brings us to the Eastern Continental Divide, which separates the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico watersheds. Ahhhh! Now it’s downhill the rest of the trip. The average grade of the trail never exceeds about 1% except for this next section down to Cumberland which is about 2%. As we started downhill, we passed through the Big Savage Tunnel, crossed the Mason-Dixon line from Pennsylvania into Maryland, then it was 20 miles straight in to Cumberland, MD, where we stopped for the night and the GAP trail ends.

Our third day starts directly outside our hotel on the C&O Canal Towpath. Temperatures were cool but warmed up quickly. The trail follows the Potomac River all the way to Washington, DC. The C&O trail was rougher than the GAP trail. In fact, full-suspension mountain bikes might have been better than our hybrid bikes. We started dodging potholes, tree roots, and large rocks on this section as we passed numerous aqueducts and locks. At times, the towpath surface devolved into a two-track with a grass strip lining its middle. Twenty eight miles later, we reached the famous Paw-Paw Tunnel, a 3,118 ft long canal tunnel which was built to bypass the paw-paw bends, a six mile stretch of the Potomac River. Construction on the tunnel began in 1836 and completed in 1850. Once in the tunnel, we could barely see the light at the other end so be sure to take a good headlight. With the canal wall on one side and a wooden rail on the other (with a big drop off to the canal), it was a little scary riding the bumpy trail in the dark. After clearing the tunnel, we stopped for lots of photos. Then, we cycled on to Bill’s Tavern in Little Orleans for lunch, then headed to our hotel in Hancock, MD, at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains.

Paul had a cut tire from the rocks on the trail so we started the next day at the C&O Bicycle Shop getting a new tire. We then headed out on a very smooth, paved path for the next 12 miles to Fort Frederick State Park where we regrouped and toured the fort and grounds. Fort Frederick was erected in 1756 during the French and Indian War. Back on the towpath we began dodging rocks, potholes and tree roots again, in fact, we wondered why anyone would take a nice packed dirt road and dump truck loads of rocks on it. But, we continued on. We passed more aqueducts and locks, saw families of geese, turtles, rabbits, and a variety of birds. The geese were very protective of their babies and hissed at us as we cycled by. This was our hottest day….temperatures reached a record setting 93 degrees. We finally made it to Harpers Ferry, WV, where Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia all come together. There was no place for the van to pick us up so we had to carry our bikes up a spiral staircase to cross the pedestrian/railroad bridge in to town and then it was uphill to the hotel.

Our last day of cycling took us from Harpers Ferry all the way to Alexandria, VA. Our first stop today was at White’s Ferry. The General Jubal A. Early Ferry transports eight cars at a time across the Potomac and is the only remaining ferry on the river. The next 20 mile section to Great Falls, VA, was the roughest and slowest section of the trail. Rocks, rocks, and more rocks on the trail. Great Falls had magnificent views of the Falls of the Potomac, Mather Gorge, and Patowmack Canal locks. After a BBQ sandwich lunch and viewing the falls, we continued to Georgetown, the end of the C&O Towpath. We climbed some more stairs carrying our bikes, crossed the Key bridge, and cycled the paved bicycle path about 8 miles to Alexandria where our van picked us up and took us to our hotel. This section of bike path was very picturesque with views of the Capitol, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial in the distance. We had a nice dinner at Gadsby’s Tavern in town and I think we all slept like babies that night.

We awoke to light rain the next morning so we cancelled our ride we had planned to Mount Vernon and, instead, took the metro to the mall area of D.C. where we visited a couple of the Smithsonian Museums and walked to all the monuments; Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. Well, we didn’t cycle any miles on the bike this day but we covered miles and miles on our feet.

This was a great trip. We had a couple of extremely cold mornings, warm to hot afternoons, and no rain until the last day. Overall, we couldn't have asked for better weather for this trip. We cycled between 62 and 75 miles each day which took us anywhere from 5 ½ - 6 ½ hours pedaling time. Including our rest breaks and numerous stops to take photos, we had a full day of cycling every day. We burned a lot of calories and ate a lot of really good food.

Our Rhode Island Cycling Adventure

Think of quiet New England coastlines dotted with beaches, quaint villages, and picturesque countryside, Mystic Seaport, Block Island, and historic Newport and you have Fall cycling in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
We began our cycling tour on a Sunday in late September 2009 with a group called Bike and the Like. Our tour hosts, Suzie and Roger Knable, welcomed us along with about 30 other cyclists. We had rain showers all day on Sunday so everyone took the day off as this was more of a "meet and greet" day anyway. Weather the remainder of the week couldn't have been better. We had cool starts with it warming up every afternoon.

Our first day of riding took us into Connecticut. We followed along the beaches and waterfront of the Block Island sound, making a few sightseeing stops along the way. BF Clydes Cider Mill offers some of the best cider around... whether you like it hot, cold, or even spiked. From there we headed into Mystic and Mystic Seaport. Settled in the 1650's, Mystic is known for its maritime heritage and, of course, Mystic Pizza (famous from the Julia Roberts movie "Mystic Pizza"). Cyclists could spend the day sightseeing around Mystic or add a few extra miles and ride down to Noank and Groton Long Point. We opted for the extra miles.

On Tuesday, we caught the ferry to Block Island. Once there, we explored the island on bicycle riding along the coastline to the lighthouse on the south end of the island, the Mohegan Bluffs, a stop for lunch at the island airport, more cycling, a tour of the Block Island historical museum, and ice cream to finish off the afternoon.

Heading to Newport on Wednesday, we first take the ferry back to the mainland. We cycle along the ocean road, passing beautiful Narragansett and crossing over the bridge to the small island of Jamestown. Once in historic downtown Jamestown, we cycled to the south end of the island to Beavertail Lighthouse, the third oldest lighthouse in the U.S. We lunched at the Ferry Deli and took a bus over the toll bridge to Newport.

With Newport's miles of scenic coastlines, mansions, museums, walking history tours, local vineyards, quaint wharfs, and cobblestone streets, there is plenty to do and see. Of course, we chose to cycle. We cycled the Scenic Coast Road along the coastline making short stops at Fort Adams and the old Newport harbor, passing a few of the "summer cottages" (early 1900's mansions), the Cliffwalk, and numerous beaches along the way to the wildlife conservatory in Middletown.

Our last day of cycling was fairly uneventful as we headed back to where we started in Westerly, RI. We shuttled back across both the Newport and Jamestown bridges, then started cycling through rolling and wooded Rhode Island countryside back to Misquamicut Beach. Once back, we collected our luggage and headed toward Cincinnati to visit family.

This has been one of our favorite trips. We saw a few leaves changing color but we were probably just a couple weeks early for the real "fall foliage". The terrain was flat to gently rolling. We had a couple good hills but, otherwise, just some long gradual climbs. The wind blows in Rhode Island just as it does here in Texas. We highly recommend this trip to anyone wanting to ride about 40 miles a day and also take in some great sightseeing along the way.

Cycling the Kentucky Bluegrass

The Bluegrass Region ..... The heart of Kentucky.

The Kentucky Bluegrass region is a beautiful place with great country roads and low traffic to cycle. You can ride short or long distances, rolling terrain to challenging hills, horse farms and open farm land. It's all beautiful and just waiting to be enjoyed.

We think of large horse farms with miles of plank fencing when thinking of the Kentucky Bluegrass. The horse farms are magnificent but the bluegrass region is more than that. It's miles of country roads with smooth pavement, low traffic, and some of the best scenery in the country. Throw in a country market or deli here and there and it becomes a cyclists dream.

Our small group met in Lexington for lunch on Monday before taking a short ride around the horse farms surrounding Keeneland Race Track, including Calumet Farms which claims over 700 acres and more derby winners than any other farm.

We had planned to ride from Lexington to Berea but due to heavy rains and flooding the ferry was shutdown. We drove to Berea instead and did a nice valley ride which took us along the south side of the Bluegrass Army Depot and into Irvine where we lunched. The return ride meandered around Haystack Mountain and back to Berea.

The following day we rode along the Trans-America trail from Berea to Harrodsburg. As we started a long climb a couple miles out of town, we ran into some sprinkling of rain. The rain was forecasted for late afternoon. A couple miles further and couple more long climbs and the rain got heavier and heavier. We stopped at a small grocery about 20 miles out, soaked to the skin. The rain stopped after a short while and the afternoon turned out to be beautiful. There was a lot of open farmland on this route as well as tobacco barns. But don't let the open farmland fool you; this was a very hilly ride.

With 80% chance of rain predicted for the following day, we took the day off from cycling and did some sightseeing. First, we toured the Perryville Battlefield and later Shaker Village. Both sights were very interesting and we highly recommend anyone visiting the area to take advantage of the history.

Back on our bikes the next day, we rode from Harrodsburg to our B&B in Loretto, just south of Bardstown. This day took us through all three subregions of the bluegrass ... the smooth Inner Bluegrass, the Shale Belt region of ridges and v-shaped valleys, and the open farmlands of the Outer Bluegrass.

We experience the Bourbon Trail on Saturday, stopping at several distilleries, as we made our way back to Lexington. Gotta' have a taste of that real Kentucky Bourbon.

Our last ride was Sunday morning, the Jot 'em Down ride, named after the Grocery Store on the corner. We skirted some of the most famous horse farms in the Bluegrass and wandered along some of the most beautiful farmland in the country. We saw new foals on all the farms. I think this was my favorite ride because of the beauty of it.

We hope you'll take some time and experience Kentucky as we did. There's nothing better than cycling beautiful countryside with your friends. We promise you'll love it.

"Cyclists in Suits" Day at the Capital - Austin, TX

It's time once again to head to Austin, while the legislature is in session, to lobby our Representatives and Senators to pass the Safe Passing Law. Basically, the Safe Passing Bill will require motorists to allow at least 3-feet of distance before overtaking and passing a cyclist as well as other vulnerable road users, ie. wheelchairs, pedestrians, tractors, etc. Thirty one of us boarded the BikeDFW bus early Monday morning, April 20th, for the trip to the capital. We arrived in Austin about 8:00am and met with a delegation from BikeTexas as well as other cycling clubs in Texas.

First, we were welcomed and briefed by Robin Stallings, Exec Dir of BikeTexas. Next, a lobbyist discussed tips for visiting elected officials and their staff. We broke into our assigned groups, each which had a team leader that had participated in this event in previous years. Each was assigned particular representatives and senators to visit.

We headed to the capital and the House Chamber where they were meeting in session. Representative Linda Harper-Brown, co-author of the Safe Passing Bill, recognized our group and, boy, we were an impressive group. Next, we are off to the Senate Chamber where Senator Rodney Ellis, co-author of the Safe Passing Bill, recognized our group. Again, we were quite the impressive group of cyclists.

Most of the Representatives were in conference or on the House Floor but we did talk to two Representatives and many of their staffers. The staff are who review the legislation and make recommendations to their bosses on what to support. Everyone was extremely friendly and seemed to be receptive to the Safe Passing Bill. Some had little knowledge of the bill while others were very familiar with it due to the number of emails and phone calls they had received from cyclists.

After completing our lobby efforts, everyone met at the north entrance of the capital where BikeTexas had arranged for photographs of the group. Our day is now complete at the capital and we head to the BikeTexas offices. On the way, Robin Stallings announces that the bill will go to the Senate Floor for a vote tomorrow.

The event, once again, was very educational and we felt we did some good in making our position known on bicycle safety and the Safe Passing Law.

The RESULT is good news, bad news. The bill passed both the Senate and the House and was ready for approval by Governor Perry. Thinking that Gov. Perry was not signing the bill but going to let it pass without his signature, we were all very disappointed when, on the last day, our governor VETOED the bill. He vetoed 31 other bills that all passed both the House and Senate.

The cities of Austin and San Antonio have since implemented "the safe passing law" for their cities. We expect more Texas cities to do the same in the near future.