Notes For The New Year

Last night at City Hall, Bike Friendly West Bend held its first meeting since its proposal for a citywide bike route system died before the Common Council on December 18. BFWB suffered another setback when the route plan failed to gain inclusion on the upcoming advisory referendum on street maintenance, so Tuesday’s meeting was a somewhat downbeat affair. BFWB refuses to abandon the route plan, which it sees as the cornerstone of its advocacy efforts, but in 2018 it will focus on other goals. The group will continue its partnerships with the city, local businesses, and Moraine Park Technical College to design, fabricate, and install more bike racks around town. It also will be instrumental in the implementation of the Cycling Without Age program. And there might be a role for BFWB to play in breaking a legal deadlock that is holding up several enhancements to the southern terminus of the Eisenbahn State Trail at Rusco Drive. Stay tuned.

Ridge Run Park and Lac Lawrann Conservancy are closed to the public through Sunday, January 14, to allow bowhunters an opportunity to thin out the deer population. LLC is always off-limits to bicycles—for no good reason, if you ask me—but neighboring Royal Oaks Park is not. I’m leaving this note here to suggest you not ride in Royal Oaks right now. There’s no clear boundary line separating it from LLC, and I wouldn’t count on the hunters to know where one ends and the other begins. Better safe than sorry.

Some Washington County parks now charge admission for motor vehicles. You still can visit for free if you leave the car at home and enter the park by bicycle instead. Note that municipal parks operated by the City of West Bend, the City of Hartford, the Village of Kewaskum, and other such entities are not affected; the new fees are applicable only at certain county-run parks.

The Wisconsin Cycling Association released its 2018 road calendar this week, surprising me with a new road race in Fredonia on August 4. I’ve never done a WCA road event—almost all of them are criteriums—so the prospect of a road race in the heart of Cheesehead Roubaix territory is intriguing. It’s going to be a BELGIANWERKX production, and that could mean a couple of those gravel roads will be part of the course. Should be fun!