Bicycling

The Regions Bike Brigade in downtown Birmingham in 2007

Bicycling is the use of a bicycle for recreation or transportation. Birmingham is routinely ranked at the bottom of lists of cities which support cycling. This is an index to articles about bicycle-related history, personalities, facilities, infrastructure and plans in the Birmingham District.

Competitions

• Bump N' Grind, a mountain bike race at Oak Mountain State Park
• Dead Dog, a mountain bike race at the Trussville Sports Complex
• Pepper Place Criterium, a road race at Pepper Place
• Tour de Iron Butt, a long-stage race planned by the Birmingham Bicycle Club

Organizations

• The Alabama Bicycle Coalition (AlaBike) promotes cycling access, education and safety
• Bici Cooperative is a community bicycle repair workshop at 1211 28th Street South.
• The Birmingham Bicycle Club sponsors cycling events
• Birmingham-Southern College has a bike-share program on its campus.
• The Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers works to develop mountain-biking trails in the region.
• The Freshwater Land Trust plans cycling and walking trails as part of its mission to preserve a greenspace network.
• The City of Hoover maintains a cycling page on its official website
• Magicity Pedicabs, a proposed bicycle rickshaw operator
• Regions Bank sponsored a Bike Brigade in a 2007 ad campaign and continues to use green-painted bicycles in its advertising and public relations.
• Team Magic promoted multi-sport events
• Tria Cycling (formerly Birmingham Velo), a bicycle racing team

Rides

• Tuesday: 6 PM from Homewood Cycle and Fitness, competitive training
• Saturday: 8 AM from Homewood Cycle and Fitness, intermediate

Media

• Alabama Cycling News
• BikeSkirt, a weblog aimed at female cyclists
• The Spokesman, newsletter of the Birmingham Bicycle Club

Suppliers

• Bike Link is a bicycle retailer with two locations
• Bob's Bikes, a bicycle retailer with two locations
• Cahaba Cycles is a bicycle retailer and outfitter with four locations
• Homewood Cycle and Fitness, a bicycle shop at 2834 18th Street South Homewood
• Horton & Biddle Cycle Company, a former bicycle shop at 1920 4th Avenue North
• Tandems, Limited, a supplier of tandem and recumbent bikes

Trails

• Chief Ladiga Trail between Anniston and Georgia's Silver Comet Trail, 33-mile "rails to trails" route.
• The Railroad Park features a perimeter multi-use path connecting to bike lanes and "sharrows" on city streets, and three concrete bowls shared by BMXers and skaters
• Red Mountain Park, under development, is expected to have 18 miles of recreational bike trails, both paved and unpaved.
• Robert Jemison Park in Mountain Brook has a rather narrow multi-use paved path
• The Ross Bridge Resort has a multi-use trail
• Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve has a new 4-mile mountain bike trail
• Shades Creek Greenway, a 3-mile paved trail along Shades Creek in Homewood
• Oak Mountain State Park features a 21-mile red trail for mountain bikers and bike lanes on its paved roads
• Tannehill Historical State Park has 9+ miles of hiking and biking trails, including a 1.4-mile single-track mountain biking trail
• The Trussville Sports Complex has a 5 mile of mountain bike loop trail
• Vulcan Trail is a paved 1-mile multi-use path starting below Vulcan Park

Individuals

• Doug Daughhetee, cycling columnist for The Birmingham News
• Omar Fraser, competitive mountain biker and triathlete
• Loren Mooney, editor in chief of Bicycling magazine
• SI Reasoning, tricyclist and pedaling activist

Laws and agencies

• Alabama State Code, relevant sections at alabike.org
• Draft Bicycle Pedestrian Plan at dot.state.al.us
• The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham considers transportation alternatives in regional planning
• Birmingham's City Center Master Plan calls for adding bike lanes in the downtown area

References

• "Biking in Birmingham" (October 28, 2010) Black & White