Ride the Drive draws Soglin and 20,000; more notes from UPAF
Cyclists in Milwaukee had their day on the Hoan Bridge, and 20,000 in Madison had six miles of city streets in the third year of Ride the Drive.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Mayor Paul Soglin drew a mixed reaction while he participated in the event, days after he sparked a debate by canceling a second Ride the Drive scheduled for September.
Soglin said business owners complained that closing the city streets to motor vehicles lightened their cash flow and he would consider moving the ride to another part of the city, away from the Capitol and downtown.
The mayor wants to have a discussion this week about alternatives, but he is concerned that there won’t be enough time between now and September.
Several riders who took part in Sunday’s ride said they were open to a different route.
“It would be nice to put the ride in the neighborhoods,” Cheri Swenson, of Madison’s West Side, told the State Journal as she and her husband, Bill, took a break on a shaded bench on the Pinckney Street side of the Square. “All those people who don’t get from one side of the Isthmus to the other could see another part of the city.”
UPAF success: Other than a frustrating delay at the start, the reviews of the first-ever ride over the Hoan Bridge on the Ride for the Arts were generally positive.
Both the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department and Milwaukee Police Department reported no significant incidents or injuries, after thousands of bicyclists traversed the Hoan in a long U-turn.
Peter Sell, a veteran cyclist and advocate for a permanent bike lane on the bridge, provided these photos from the event.
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2 Comments for "Ride the Drive draws Soglin and 20,000; more notes from UPAF"
experieced, including myself and my entire group. As 75 mile riders,
we were eager to get on the road as early as possible, and we were not
allowed to start the ride on the Hoan for over an hour, after 8am. The
planning for this route over the Hoan was truly horrible...crossing bike
traffic and a rediculously tiny bottleneck for the start made the
experience pretty awful. One rider fell in front of me as the organizers
and police awkwardly shuffled so few riders at a time onto the bridge.
The delays and splitting up of groups made this ride one we do not want
to experience again. A HUGE thumbs down to any involved in the
planning of this route over the Hoan.
cyclist5000 Jun 07, 2011 12:46 AM
experieced, including myself and my entire group. As 75 mile riders,
we were eager to get on the road as early as possible, and we were not
allowed to start the ride on the Hoan for over an hour, after 8am. The
planning for this route over the Hoan was truly horrible...crossing bike
traffic and a rediculously tiny bottleneck for the start made the
experience pretty awful. One rider fell in front of me as the organizers
and police awkwardly shuffled so few riders at a time onto the bridge.
The delays and splitting up of groups made this ride one we do not want
to experience again. A HUGE thumbs down to any involved in the
planning of this route over the Hoan.
cyclist5000 Jun 07, 2011 12:46 AM