Since I brought up the subject of Coal Mine Road, I might mention that there are some interesting "industrial bike touring" possibilities in the area. You can ride from Blue Parkway all the way to Winner Road along the Blue River valley, about 7-8 miles one way, along roads that generally have very little traffic. Starting at Coal Mine and Blue Parkway, go north on Coal Mine-Winchester Ave-Manchester Tfwy-17th-Winchester Ave-Independence Ave=Winner Rd.
If you go the other way from Blue Parkway and Coal Mine you can rather easily follow the Blue River valley about 10-12 miles south to the Grandview area. From Coal Mine Road, work your way west on Blue Parkway about 1/2 mile (I use the sidewalk . . . ), take the old road around the Blue River bridge to Brighton Ave, then south to 59th St, west to Elmwood, almost straight across 63rd into Swope Park, follow the road around the zoo until you come to Gregory, east on Gregory to Oldham, then Blue River Road all the way to Grandview.
Altogether there is maybe 20 miles of river valley that is pretty easily accessible for bicycling.
I've ridden the entire route (never all at once, though) and its quite a gas. North of 63rd street the area is very industrial in character (bring a tough-looking friend and go in daylight . . . although you might ride the entire distance without seeing more than a couple of other people) while south of 63rd it's park-like.
It's too bad our road designers and a few road users seem to think that even narrow, winding roads with poor sight lines in parkland need to be used as high-speed industrial expressways. Speed limits in some sections are as high as 45 MPH--why, in a recreational and beautiful area, is there any reason for them to be above 30 MPH or so?
(By the way, if you thought my ideas about Coal Mine Road were wild, you should hear them for Blue River Road--how about a 8-foot swath of the road for pedestrians, a marked 6-foot bicycle lane on each side of the roadway, and single central lane with whatever space is left, for motorists (by my calculation that leaves about 6 feet for autos--only really skinny cars will be allowed). 25 MPH max speed limit--nah, make it 20. Large signs for motorists everywhere saying, "HEY JERK! YOU'RE IN A PARK NOW! SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY THE SCENERY! GIVE WAY TO ONCOMING BICYCLES, PEDESTRIANS, PORCUPINES, AND SQUIRRELS! VIOLATORS WILL BE FINED $1,000,000 AND HAVE THEIR CAR KEYS TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM AND WE'LL NEVER GIVE THEM BACK! AND WE'LL TIE YOU TO A TREE NEAR SOME NICE ANT HILLS! SO WATCH IT! PARKS ARE FOR PEOPLE, NOT MOTOR VEHICLES, SO WHY DON'T YOU TRY GETTING OUT OF THAT $#&*#(@ CAR AND ENJOYING YOURSELF FOR A CHANGE!" and such-like. Really, there are plenty of roads for cars to roar around on. It's remarkable to have a beautiful scenic drive like Blue River Road right within the city limits, and as near as I can tell the scenic and recreational possibilities are realized about 0.01%. All we can think about is, "Ugh. Me see nice fast shortcut. Me go fast. Beat other drivers. Yes. Fast. Ugh.")
Tirades aside, the "Blue River Route" provides some very interesting, relatively low-traffic ways to make your way across I-70 and (further south) across I-435. It provides easy access to many roads passing north-south across I-435 (Sni-a-bar, Raytown Rd, Stadium Dr., 40-Hwy, 23rd Street, Truman, Winner, in the north and many others southward), so is very helpful for getting around that obstacle, too.
If you like hill climbing, ride north along Manchester to, say, Truman and then back south along neighborhood streets just east of I-435 and west of Blue Ridge. You repeatedly dive into and then have the fun of climbing out of the Blue River Valley. Or try the little unmarked road (perhaps 1/2 mile east of the freeway interchange) going north from Truman into Lincoln Cemetery--nice view if you make it to the top.
--Brent
posted by Brent Hugh at
Sunday, August 25, 2002 |
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