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Getting there by bicycle

Amy Cannata
Staff writer
July 23, 2007

Kent Peterson is cycling around Washington to help bicycle commuters. (DAN PELLE) Related link: Kent's bike trip blog Video reports Watch video: Outfitting the commuter bike

Kent Peterson would never call his sweet-heavy diet a nutritional model, but then cycling 10,000-12,000 miles a year does burn-up all the peanut M&Ms;, pastries and other junk food.

Peterson is the Bicycle Alliance of Washington’s commuting program director and an avid long-distance cyclist.

He visited Spokane last week as one stop on a two-week, cross-state tour to promote bicycle commuting and talk to cyclists about bike issues in their communities.

“We’re sending Kent off as an ambassador,” said Bicycle Alliance Executive Director Gordon Black.

Said Peterson, “Every place I’m going I’m finding people who are enthusiastic about cycling.”

The Bicycle Alliance has 3,000 members ranging from bike messengers who spend eight hours a day on their bikes in the heart of Seattle to retired cyclists who only ride on nonmotorized trails. The group is planning to open a part-time office in Spokane, he said.

Though Peterson and his wife gave up their car 20 years ago, Peterson is insistent that bicycle commuting is not an all-or-nothing prospect. Bicycle commuting doesn’t have to be intimidating.

He encourages people to do what’s comfortable for them. That might mean biking to work one day a week or only biking in good weather.

And it doesn’t take a fancy bike to do it.

“One of the things I say to people is you can’t go into a car dealership and buy the cars you see racing at NASCAR or the Indy 500, but you can go into a bike shop and buy the same bikes used in the Tour de France,” Peterson said.

But that’s not necessarily what the typical bike commuter is going to want.

“Lance Armstrong doesn’t have to carry clothes he’s going to change into at work. He doesn’t have to bring his lunch,” Peterson said.

As for Spokane, Peterson said that he’d like to see better signage and information for cyclists. A bicycle information kiosk off of Highway 2 as he came into town had “an old map from the Lewis and Clark era,” he said. Bicycle maps are unavailable at the downtown Spokane visitor information center, although a worker there did direct Peterson to a bike shop a block away that had the maps.

A lack of easily accessible information is a common issue in communities across the state where cycling knowledge is more of an oral tradition than formalized instruction like driver’s education, he said.

Spit it out on commuting

From the strange file comes a report out of Agnes College in Atlanta that declares commuting is calming based on studying saliva from a dozen drivers.

According to a press release issued about the study, cortisol levels in the saliva were lower after the commute, demonstrating less physiological stress at that time than before the commute.

Casting aside the puny size of the study pool, let’s just ask this question: Which do you think is a better measure of stress – spit or the vein bulging on your forehead?

You be the judge of whether this is a study you can trust as far as you can spit.

Idaho 95 judged a killer road

In case you missed it last week, Forbes Magazine named Idaho’s Highway 95 as one of the nine deadliest roads in America.

The dishonor was based on 2005 National Highway Traffic Safety Commission data on crash fatalities and other studies.

The worst on the list was U.S. Route 19 in Florida, which had 38 traffic fatalities along its 30-mile stretch in 2005.

Traffic fines go up

Washington state traffic fines went up $12 yesterday.

The increase means that most violations will now carry a $124 ticket.

Of the $12 increase, $10 will be allocated to pay to imprison car thieves. The other $2 will be used to help survivors of traumatic brain injuries.

It’s up to you whether or not you contribute to either cause.

Huetter Corridor open house

The Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization hosts an open house Wednesday to discuss two alternatives for north/south roads and seek public comments.

One of those routes would primarily travel north from Interstate 90 along Huetter Road, the other along Greensferry Road.

The open house is from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at Post Falls High School, 2382 E. Poleline Ave., Post Falls.

Slow going

Downtown

•I-90 has been reduced to two lanes in each direction in downtown Spokane for the viaduct repair project. Speed limits are reduced.

The downtown exits remaining open are eastbound Maple/Walnut, eastbound Division (for southbound traffic only), eastbound Hamilton, westbound Second Avenue, westbound Hamilton and westbound Division.

On-ramps remaining open are eastbound Browne, eastbound Hamilton and westbound Maple.

•Spokane Falls Boulevard is closed from 10 p.m. Monday until 5 a.m. Tuesday between Stevens Street and Howard Street. Howard Street is closed at the same time between Spokane Falls Boulevard and Main Avenue.

North Spokane

•Ash Street is closed from Francis Avenue to Northwest Boulevard.

•Highway 395/Division and Hastings Road work has created numerous lane restrictions. The speed limit has also been reduced in that area to 35 mph.

•Liberty Avenue is closed from Madelia Street to Pittsburg Street, and Pittsburg is closed from North Foothills Drive to Bridgeport Avenue for repaving.

•Mill Road is closed from about Addison Road to Arrow Court for sewer work.

South Spokane

•Northbound U.S. Highway 195 is reduced to one lane in several places between Spangle and Hatch Road, and the speed limit is reduced to 45 mph in work zones.

•Southeast Boulevard is closed from Perry Street to Third Avenue.

Spokane Valley

•The I-90 exits and on-ramps at Sullivan are closed.

•Sullivan Road is closed from Mission Avenue to Indiana Avenue.

•Eighth Avenue is closed from Thierman Road to Carnahan until July 23.

•Highway 27 is reduced to single-lane traffic near 46th Avenue from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Idaho

•Sections of I-90 may be reduced to single lanes between 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Mondays to Saturdays from the state line through Coeur d’Alene. Speeds will be reduced to 55 mph.

•Highway 95 work north of Worley will cause delays between Setters Road and Bellgrove Road as flaggers direct traffic.

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