Last Wednesday I attended “Bike Night”, an evening session of the San Antonio/Bexar County Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee. This government committee is responsible for making bicycling/walking in San Antonio safe and accessible.
Here are a few highlights from the meeting:
- The 2009 edition of the San Antonio Bike Map will be available in October. Hard copies and a digital version of the map will be made available to the public. During a presentation at the meeting, it was noted that San Antonio went from having 33 miles of bicycle lanes/routes in 2003 to over 133 miles in 2009. That is a great sign of progress and a trend that I hope continues and grows.
- The City of San Antonio (CoSA) is putting the finishing touches on an interactive bicycle route planning web site designed to help cyclists plan their trips using as many bicycle friendly roads as possible.
- There are plans to provide access to the Leon Creek Greenway from Spur 53 (UTSA Blvd).
- A Walkable Community Workshop is being planned for the Loop 1604 and Bandera Road area.
- There are plans to create greenways along westside creeks like Martinez, Apache, Alazan and San Pedro Creeks with connection points to Mission Conception and near downtown San Antonio.
- The CoSA is looking into the possibility of a Bicycle Station in downtown San Antonio. This location would include showers, lockers, bicycle parking and possibly repair facilities.
How well does Valencia handle offroad (rock trails, gravel paths)?>
A stock Valencia, with its slick Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase tires is going to float rather than grip loose dirt and gravel so I would not recommend it.
There have been a few occasions where I've taken my Valencia on a dirt path and I can say that much of the stability and control is lost – this is, after all, a road/pavement bike.
That said, throw some cyclo-cross tires on the Valencia and who knows – it might be a match made in heaven.
I am aware of another Valencia owner that bikes during winter in the snow…so that's a good sign!
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