Naples Pathways Coalition Annual Bike Brunch Two-Wheeled Wonders Healthy and green, cycling connects us to places and people. by Linda Sechrist S
ince author Ernest Hemingway first observed that the contours of a country were best observed from a bicycle seat, many things have changed. Yet, after listening to biking enthusiast Joanne Smallwood describe her fall cycling trips through New York City’s Central Park and the Czech Re- public, it’s apparent that Hemingway’s observation still holds true. An avid cyclist for only two years, the Naples resident and business owner signed up to join an adventure travel group with 24 other riders who also enjoyed the breathtaking scenery between Prague and Vienna. In April, Smallwood enjoyed a spectacular display of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths while biking through Holland’s famous Keukenhof Gardens.
Smallwood is among a burgeon- ing number of individuals, both local and nationwide, who not only enjoy recreational riding through a park or on a trail, exploring local “contours,” but also group road rides on urban streets
injury and fatality rates for pedestrians and cyclists,” says NPC Executive Di- rector Michelle Avola. She notes that injuries and fatalities should be reduced significantly with the city and county’s current and planned increase in “com- plete” streets, designed to balance safety and convenience for everyone using the road: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transportation.
and practice rides to train for more strenuous trips that require building stamina and leg muscles. Notably, this growing national trend has even led Google to partner with the Rails-to- Trails Conservancy and add biking di- rections, bike lane data, maps of 12,000 miles of bike trails and recommended biking-friendly streets for 150 cities around the country to Google Maps.
Boulder Creek Path, Boulder, Colorado 32 Collier/Lee Counties
Pedaling Towards Complete Streets While bicycling may be the fastest growing mode of transportation in the Big Apple, here on the Paradise Coast, four wheels are still the norm. Joe Du- bois, owner of Trek Bikes, with loca- tions in Naples and Estero, reports that few Southwest Floridians use a bike to commute to work. This could be due to statistics offered by the Naples Pathways Coalition (NPC), a nonprofit advocacy group working for a fully integrated transportation network of sidewalks, bike lanes and multi-use pathways. “Collier County has one of the highest
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“Users of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along and across a complete street, which includes sidewalks, bike lanes (or wide, paved shoulders), special bus lanes, comfort- able and accessible public transporta- tion stops, frequent crossing opportuni- ties, median islands, accessible pedes- trian signals and curb extensions,” says Avola, whose organization has collabo- rated with supportive city officials such as Naples Mayor Bill Barnett and City Manager A. William Moss to increase the number of bike lanes, sidewalks and pathways.
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