Star City Blog

HEARING LINCOLN: Push to the Beat

By Andrew Norman
Via HearNebraska.org

You carve around hitch pins, lost keys, bottles, cans, tire debris, big rocks, deep cracks and roadkill turtles, pheasants and skunks — anything that could catch a tire and send you flying onto the hot asphalt. Gravel, tar, shallow cracks, hills and head winds aren't often avoidable — they slow you down repeatedly, frustratingly, sometimes to the point that if you stop pushing, you stop moving. 

 

Like a bully that shoves you down again every time you stand back up, it gives new meaning to Nebraska being a no-coast state.

 

Some of these highway shoulders are rumble-bar rough. Some are smooth as glass. Some are nonexistent, and some are wet slicks that spit mud up at you. After about 360 miles, much has changed since we left Scottsbluff last Sunday on a mission to ride longboards — skateboards up to 42 inches in length with larger, softer wheels — all the way from Nebraska's Panhandle to its capitol. 

 

Instead of the scenic bluffs and lush grasslands we saw the first couple days, the view has become almost exclusively whatever is on the ground about 10 feet in front of us. And while we had a boosting tailwind and comfortably sloping path through much of the Sandhills, the landscape around Lake McConaughy included some monster hills that offered little downhill reward. Rolling through central Nebraska to the east, the land is flat as a waning noon whistle, and it feels infinitely long. 

Lincoln Bicycle Repair Kitchen Receives Community Grant

By Joe Younglove

 Loose brakes? Flat tire? Rusty chain?

The Near South Community Bike Kitchen has you covered; and thanks to a $1,500 neighborhood mini-grant the organization was recently awarded by the Lincoln Department of Urban Development, their mission to provide free bicycle repairs to Lincoln residents just got that much easier.

Photo by Joe Younglove Lindsay Graef and Drew Nelson work at the Near South Community Bike Kitchen on a recent Sunday.

The kitchen, located at 1720 S.15th St., had several people milling about during a recent visit, helping each other get to the bottom of any bike issue you can imagine.

Travis Davis of Urban Development said the Neighborhood Mini-Grant Program is for low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. He said any neighborhood association can apply for a grant, as long as it’s to be used for a visible project.

“The selection committee selects proposals that seem the most viable,” Davis said. “We feel like helping the bike kitchen in any way is definitely important for the community.”

Other recent grant recipients include the South Salt Creek Community Organization’s Standing Bear Park Project, and the University Place Community Organization Farmers Market.

HEARING LINCOLN: Schooner the State

By Andrew Norman
Via HearNebraska.org

A diverse chorus of birds and frogs chirp in swamped ditches while tall grasses fan the prairie like millions of whispering children. The constant warm hum of longboard tires on asphalt means we're getting somewhere. Skating at about 10 to 15 mph along the shoulder of the highway, we're alone with the cows, deer, vulchers and coal trains, until an occasional semi- or pickup truck blows by us going 60. 

 

Leaving Scottsbluff and heading southeast down HWY 26, we passed huge bluffs and rocky plateaus. Jutting out of the fields along the plains, the Courthouse, Jail and Chimney Rocks look like man-made monuments to ancient idols. These naturally formed geographic marvels captivated pioneers along the Mormon and Oregon trials, who used them as landmarks along their journey to the West. Heading the opposite direction, we're doing the same thing, slowly passing them and realizing that this crazy odyssey might just be possible.

 

Yesterday was day one of of Skate the State, a sort of reverse Manifest Destiny — a 430-mile journey to raise $50,000 to make Lincoln's nonprofit, indoor skatepark sustainable, to provide a free, safe, healthy outlet for kids who really need that sort of escape. Mike Smith, the 28-year-old founder of that skatepark — Bay 198 — organized this trip to bring attention to the issue. 

Skate the State Project Seeks to Raise Funds, Awareness for Skateboarding Youth in Lincoln

By Dene Oglesby

After spending a month sleeping under a bridge in order to raise $10,000 for local skater youth, Mike Smith has developed a reputation for unconventional non-profit fundraising. His next fund-raising goal? $50,000. How does he plan to raise it? By skating across the state of Nebraska.

Smith intends to use the money he fundraises to “give the kids the gift of skateboarding” by eliminating the entrance fee to the state’s only indoor skate park, Bay 198, located in Westfield Mall. As Bay 198 is a non-profit run completely by volunteers, Smith also hopes to use the funds towards insurance and rent costs, as well as purchasing new equipment for skaters such as helmets and boards.

“Does the state believe in these kids enough to put their money where their mouth is?” he asked.

Smith is not alone in his endeavor. Originally, the crew just included fellow Bay 198 volunteers and skate enthusiasts Steve Andel, Phil Burcher and Nick Goodwin; in the last few days, however, HearNebraska.org directors Angie and Andy Norman decided to participate and will be joining Smith and the others on their 400+ mile trek from Scottsbluff to Lincoln. Their journey begins tonight, May 21st, and they'll spend about ten days passing through smaller Nebraskan towns, inviting local youth to skate with them and talking to residents about their project and skateboarding.

Gearing Up: Campus, City Hope for Bike Friendly Recognition

By John Wenz

 It's official: UNL's effort to become a recognized Bike Friendly Campus is underway, and they're joined by the city of Lincoln's own quest to be a Bike Friendly Community.

The award, designated by the League of American Bicyclists, recognizes those campuses and communities that go the extra mile for bike commuters by fostering a safe environment for cyclists, including infrastructure.

Jordan Messerer, coordinator for Outdoor Adventure at Campus Recreation, said that UNL's partnership between the student government, Campus Recreation, the Chancellor's Wellness Iniative and the City of Lincoln, is coming up with a master plan for projects short- and long- term. 

This isn't just designated bike lanes for cross campus cycling. It's also building shower facilities, safe roads into campus, placing proper signage, studying traffic patterns to determine areas of potential pedestrian/cyclist conflict, and establishing preferred cycling routes. The goal is to get even more students riding in on two wheels instead of four.

"Once you build that infrastructure, cyclists will fill [it]," Messerer said. 

Chipping Away the Thrill: Seal on Nebraska's Highways Poses Burdens for Cyclists

By John Wenz

 Highway 77 used to be a destination for cyclists looking to get out of Lincoln.

The road runs both north and south of the city - so if one wanted to, say, day trip to Cortland's breweries, 77 was the road there.

Ian Robertson, a Lincoln resident and avid cyclist, has been troubled by the chip seal.

"Because the surface is rougher, dirt and debris tends to accumulate more, and stay longer on the side of the roads," he said. "There is a marked increase in the amount of glass and metal that sticks around - especially on the Hwy 77 shoulder, and the further away from the road you get (where it is the safest place to ride), the worse it gets, because it gets so little vehicular traffic blowing and scattering it with tires.

"I have had flats more often on chip seal surfaces then on other surfaces - especially when the surface is wet, the water makes every piece of debris that much more likely to slice through a tire."

Chip seal is often placed on rural roads as a cost-saving measure; as revenue from gas taxes has gone down, many states and municipalities are straining for more money for roads. To put down a chip seal, a heated asphalt application is sprayed on a roadway, upon which a layer of gravel like material is placed. Then, excess material is typically swept away.

However, debris material can often be left behind - unnoticed by cars, but affecting the quality of a cyclist's ride. 

"Scoot to Thrill" Scooter Club To Host Swap and Sale on Saturday

By Hilary Stohs-Krause

The thought of a scooter often evokes images of tan, short-clad Italians zipping around in the Milan sunshine. So when the temperature routinely dips below freezing, riding around on a scooter is probably the last thing on most people’s minds.

But not for members of Scoot to Thrill.

 “We’re just a collection of scooter enthusiasts,” said defacto club president Molly Nance. “Anytime you have a hobby, to share that with others who have that hobby, it just multiplies the fun.”

In the warmer months, the club hosts group rides about every month, as well as Scootstock — a two-day scooter rally — in August.

But Nance said she typically won’t ride if the temperature drops below 40 degrees, and “certainly not in snow or ice,” which means the group doesn’t get together much in the winter.

This Saturday, however, the club is hosting a scooter sale and swap at The Cup, 643 S. 25th St. from 2 to 4 p.m.

Tuba and Accordion Duo Prepare for Last Day of Husker Musical Revelry

By Andrew Lamberson

David Socha and Brian Brazier aren’t trying to get kicked out of the bars they play; they’re only trying to lighten the atmosphere.

But some bartenders and managers don’t take kindly to two guys showing up with an accordion and tuba, even if they’re playing the Husker fight song.

After losing members of their band, The Boltz ‘n’ Beer Band, Socha and Brazier decided to dress in red and travel from tailgate to tailgate, bar to bar, during every Husker home game this season.

Near South Community Bike Kitchen Looks to Teach Bikers, Repair Their Rides and Take the Exclusivity out of Lincoln's Bike Culture

By Hilary Stohs-Krause

When Pepe Fierro first moved to Lincoln, he was living in his car. To save money on gas, he used a bike for transportation -- a bike he built himself from pieces he found in the alleys and on the streets.

Flash forward several years, and Fierro is the owner of the popular Pepe's Veggie Mex Bistro, 6220 Havelock Avenue -- but even after he started his own business, he kept building bikes from spare parts.

After a while, he started running out of room for all the tires, tubes, pedals and frames he'd collected. He needed more storage space.

Seven miles away in the Near South neighborhood, green activists and avid bikers Bob and Carol Smith had a two-bedroom house sitting empty.

"They stepped in and said, 'Use it as long as you want for whatever you want,'" Fierro recalled.

Located at 1720 S. 15th St. in a white house with a bike wheel sculpture out front, the Near South Community Bike Kitchen trades repairs for volunteer work. Brakes need tightening? Handlebars are crooked? Stop on in.

 Staffed by volunteers, the six-week-old kitchen is open from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays, though they're looking to extend their hours to Mondays, as well.

New All-Women Cycling Club Launches Tonight with Alleycat Race

By Hilary Stohs-Krause

The blustery wind raced alongside the riders at Flatwater Cycling Team's cyclo-cross practice Wednesday at Van Dorn Park. Among the riders were members of the newly formed women's cycling club Sheclismo, founded by a group of women aged 22 to 68.

Sheclismo is launching tonight with an urban scavenger hunt Alleycat race, starting at 7:30 p.m. at Robber's Cave, S. 10th and Robber's Cave Road, and ending at Buzzard Billy's, 247 N. 8th St. Registration costs $5, and includes a raffle ticket for a commuter bike. Participants will be required to sign a waiver. Helmets and lights are emphatically recommended. 

Proceeds will go to Sheclismo.

"We're looking for ways to encourage people to have fun on bikes," said Elisabeth Reinkordt, one of Sheclismo's founders. "We want women to see them as transportation, toys, art ..."