The most recent edition of Urban Velo features Chris Thomas’ Kansas City Urban Cyclist Project, an ongoing project to photograph the city’s cyclists and their bikes. If you don’t subscribe to Urban Velo you can read it online or purchase a single issue. Congrats to Chris! Check out the Urban Cyclist Project on Facebook and all the photos on Flickr.

The suburb of Leawood, KS is looking to become more bike friendly and is planning to apply to the League of American Bicyclists for a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designation. Leawood’s goal is part of growing local movement. Lee’s Summit, MO is also working towards a BFC application.  Shawnee, KS already has a Bronze BFC designation, and KCMO has the huge goal of achieving Platinum level by 2020.

Read the story in the Johnson County Sun.

This weekend the city of Lawrence, Kansas will hold its first professional bicycle race.  The Tour of Lawrence is a three stage race July 3-5th in downtown and on the Kansas University campus.

Get all the details at www.touroflawrence.com

Ladies, mark your calendars for this very cool event planned by the awesome Michelle Davis…

Eeeeeewwww!!! Boy Cooties!

* WHAT:  All-women’s alleycat race (checkpoints staffed by dudes, guys welcome at after-party)
* WHEN:  July 11 @ 3:00 p.m.
* WHERE: 412 E. 18th St. (ACME Bicycle Company)
* WHY: Because girls rock.
* BRING: $5 in $1 bills and a lock for your bike.
* Get Cooties!
* Fabulous prizes
* Big damn party
* ANY QUESTIONS? Call Michelle @ 913-387-4802 or or e-mail michelle.davis.1977@gmail.com

A few photos from today’s Cat 1/2 crit in Downtown KC.  If you photos on flickr, be sure to tag them with tourofkc… Visit Localcycling.com for race results and news.

Friday, July 3rd, 6:00 p.m.
KC Renaissance Festival site
628 North 126th Street, Bonner Springs, Kansas 66012

The memorial will be casual. Cameras are encouraged.

The far western suburb of De Soto, KS has just lifted it’s long standing ban on bicycles on 83rd Street. The ban was instituted in the 1990s when some misguided folks on the town’s city council decided they didn’t like sharing the road with bicyclists on this particular road. I’m not sure what has changed, perhaps just the passage of time and the natural turnover of elected officials. Kudos to De Soto City Council member Mitra Templin for initiating this great change. Now that town elders have legalized bicycling, they are also talking about bringing electricity and running water to the town!

De Soto Explorer: City Council to lift 83rd Street bike ban.

(hat tip to Noah Dunker)

We have two big events.  On Sunday the Tour de Lakes ride takes in the scenic lakes and rolling hills of Eastern Jackson County. 10, 30, and 60 mile routes are available.

And then during the entire weekend pro racers will be here for the annual Tour of Kansas City.  This year the August race expands into a second series in June.  This weekend are three new events – Crit races in Longview and Downtown Lee’s Summit, and a crit and family fun ride in the Power & Light District in Downtown KC.

Longview Criterium – Friday, June 26th, 5:45 p.m.
Metro Community College-Longview

Downtown Lee’s Summit Criterium - Saturday, June 27th, 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
SE 3rd and Douglas Streets

Power & Light District Criterium and Family Fun Ride
Sunday, June 28th, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Kids races at 11:30 a.m.
14th and Wyandotte, KCMO

Event details and crit maps here (PDF)
Race schedules (PDF)

Today the City Council’s Planning and Zoning committee approved a compromise on angle parking along the 5th Street bicycle route in Columbus Park.  The developer will make 5th Street wide enough to accommodate either the safer back-in angle parking or the more hazardous head-in angle parking, but will wait for the city test it out elsewhere before committing to either design.

4th District Councilmember Beth Gottstein welcomed the test to her district.  The existing angle parking along Baltimore Street in the Crossroads District and on 62nd Terrace in front of the Brookside Market will reversed to the back-in design that has been proven to reduce crashes.  5th District Councilmember Cindy Circo also volunteered to try it in her district. 1st District Councilmembers Deb Hermann and Bill Skaggs had been adamantly opposed to the safer parking design, but ended up supporting the compromise plan.

This is great progress for making Kansas City more bicycle-friendly.  We stopped the slow chipping away of the BikeKC route network, and served notice to developers that they can’t push through new projects without making them bike friendly. Plus, the city will now take a much closer look at parking design and potentially improve the safety of diagonal parking on many streets.

Local cyclists are holding a rally and bike ride to raise money for a reward in the case of Joe Pace, who was recently harassed and hit by a motorist in North Kansas City. Money is needed for a reward for finding the perp who fled the scene.

Bike Safety Rally and Ride
Saturday, June 27th at 7:00 a.m.
Paci’s: 1825 Buchanan, North Kansas City, MO
(Map/directions.  One block south and east of Burlington and Armour/210)
Free juice, coffee, and bagels