The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

I ventured off of my regular path Sunday (I'm pretty conservative about staying on the same path while running or biking) and headed north thru Maple Park, Tracey Park, Central Park and ended up at 4th street  near Peoria where I couldn't see any connection to go farther, but I know others have described going much farther north.

That is really a nice route btw. I took the bike around the pond at Central Park and was alone except for an optimistic fisherman. It could use some attention to trash pickup though.

Anyway, where does it pick up again?

Its not marked but if you run down 3rd you can reconnect with the river trail in Newblock park or head North down Frankfurt and connect to the Osage trail head at OSU/Langston (which goes all of the way to Skiatook).

I do wish it was marked...the end at 3rd seems so abrupt and its not clear which way to go.

http://www.incog.org/transportation/trailguide/trailsmap.pdf

Thanks. Looks like you have to ride on street thru downtown till you reconnect going either north to Skiatook or west to SS.

Time to do a little exploring.

Agree, I wish either 3rd or 4th had dedicated bike lanes from at least Denver (Houston on 3rd) to Madison that connected to the Midland Valley trail.  Bike lanes on 3rd west of Houston across the I-244 viaduct to Rosedale and connecting to the Newblock Park trail would be nice as well.  

I'm also a proponent of decreasing the width of Cincinnati and Detroit by one lane and having a one-way bike lane on each street through downtown.

When riding on streets downtown, which do you guys prefer, slower/narrower or faster/wider streets?

I prefer to stick to the narrower, slower-traffic streets (3rd, 6th, Boston, Elgin, etc).

But this seems to make many motorists irate, especially on 3rd and parts of 6th, where there's only one lane in each direction. The presence of a bicycle apparently forces motorists to gesture/speed/cross yellow lines just to get to the next red light 1/2 second sooner than the bike.

I could ride on the wide one-ways, where there's plenty of room for everybody, but those streets aren't nearly as comfortable. They can feel like expressways in places downtown (especially at the edges, where people speed up to 40mph).

Just because of where I live in proximity to downtown I almost always take Boulder going North into DT and Cheyenne South to home. Neither one of these streets is particularly busy and the street lights at every intersection seems to keep traffic under control. 

According to the map one should take 4th west to Greenwood North, and either on to the Osage trail or to Archer west to Houston North, snake north to 3rd West to Sand Springs/Charles Page trail. The streets listed have painted bike lanes...the only problem is that once you leave the midland valley trail there is no marker to direct you to these dedicated city streets.

That's the way I see it too. I was ready to turn around anyway, but surprised me that it just left you hanging there.

Note: saw a house in the neighborhood just north of 6th that was just starting to be remodeled and is being touted as in the Pearl district. About 950 sq ft two bedroom, 1 bath with no garage. $70K before remodeling. Not the nicest house on the block and not particularly well located. That is a good sign really.

Maybe they used to have painted bike lanes. Most/all of those streets have some type of gutter that may or may not be a bike lane. There's not enough paint left to tell one way or the other.

On four-lane streets there's plenty of traffic capacity for cyclists to take the lane, plus then you miss the gutter junk and cars parked in the bike lane.

Getting ahead of a bicycle allows me the luxury of not worrying if the cyclist will fall in front of me. 

It's not always about (thinking you are) saving time. Just having to follow someone slow can be irritating.  Applies to Pokie-Okie car drivers too (but not the falling off the bicycle part).

I never really thought about it.  I'll ride about anywhere I know I'm not intentionally impeding traffic.  Usually when I come through downtown it's up Cincinnati after coming in from Skiatook and Sperry after heading out there from the west.  Truth be known, I like Cincinnati much better than the trail from Skiatook even with all the hills and cars.

Cincy is kind of fun to time on a bike to hit all the greens, results in some interesting sprints ;)

Riding down a desolate Boston Ave early on a Saturday morning is a fun experience.  Something about Tulsa's version of a Canyon of Heroes. 

(http://www.nwacg.net/gallery3/var/resizes/2011-Tulsa-Blizzard/DSC_8754.JPG?m=1296586163)

I'm not a cyclist,  I'm a runner and I find myself running the same darn RiverSide trail section all the time. I don't have time to find another trail and also find a place to park my heap. The Trail along Charles Page Blvd is pretty nice it surprised me, but there are street crossings, even at that it's not bad- the problem is there is no place to park to use that trail. The only place I found to park is at the SandSprings May Warehouse drug store where they allow 11 spaces in the east lot for trail users. I have noticed a trail around highway 75 (north bound) SW of downtown, the trail looks nice but I have no clue where it goes to or how long it is and where you can park to use it. The big problem I find is parking to use the trails in Tulsa.

"This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?"

I'm no fan of bike lanes many cyclists get hit by cars in those or get beer cans tossed at them, I don't run in streets or on any roadways- I will only run on the trails plus the enviroment is more friendly on the trails, no drivers throwing things at you, no car exaust fumes and no  risk getting hit by a car,  plus on the trails you meet other fellow  runners. The city of Omaha has a huge network of trails totally free of any street crossings it's like a interstate highway system for cyclists & joggers. The city  also has parking at the main trail heads. Funny thing to, when I'm in Omaha with all those trails I find myself using the same darn trail all the time the 6-mile Wehrspann Lake loop trail.. People are creatures of habit I guess. Check out the link and click around.. www.omahatrails.com  

You should try running or biking to the trail.

I don't like running on the streets, and there is no trail that I know of near my home (Memorial & Admiral). Running or cycling on the streets is not safe and you don't offten get a second chance with cars. Cars and people don't mix. I think the bike lanes are no safer than just cycling on the streets.

Really?  Have you tried Boeing Park?  Right by where I live?

"Cycling on the street is not safe" is a common misconception, pretty much along the same lines as 'everyone knows the earth is flat.'

The Liberty Trail out toward Broken Arrow has three parking lots: Across from the NSU campus on east 71st at the trailhead in Broken Arrow, 129th E. Ave (I think- could be 145th), and on Garnett between 91st & 101st)

Why not park at new block park or in downtown to run on the trail out to sand springs?

You know, he's right. Lots of parking at the Newblock area. Really easy for you to find. Take 244 from Amiral and Memorial west to the Gilcrease exit. Turn left and travel down to Charles Page and turn left again at the light. Can't miss it.

I've been biting my tongue; thank you for stepping in...

Actually, even driving a car on the street is not safe. 

There's a huge gap between perception and reality when we think about personal safety. We lose about 40,000 people in auto crashes each year, and maybe another 8-10 thousand pedestrians are killed (I think that's right, but I could be off a bit.) And the number of cycling deaths are about 800, with a third of them children.  Yet cycling is perceived as dangerous rather than that intrepid act of stepping off the curb into a crosswalk.  We lose 20 thousand per year due to falls around the home, but no one sternly warns of the outrageous hazards posed by stairways, bathtubs, and Fluffy the Wonder Cat, though I'll admit that when my son was little, I gave some consideration to the idea of making him wear a helmet at all times.  We had a reserved parking space at the emergency room.

Actually much safer than riding on fire roads, jeep trails, and steep, rocky single track...or so I'm told.  ;D

My brother always got hurt on Wednesdays, our family doctor's day off.  We had to take him to the standby doc.

Trying to promote child bicycle safety was the main reason the town I grew up in required bicycle licenses.  I don't have any statistics on whether it helped.

  I have noticed they have updated the trails along 169 near TCC and the Cancer Treatment Centers and they look quite nice.  I suppose that connects onto the trails by the Creek Turnpike. 

I am hoping that once I44 is done they go ahead and connect the nice trails by my house at 41st and Yale all the way down to the river. 

You would be correct. Someone could ride from downtown to TCC SE, and if you were enrolled at both places, NSU Broken Arrow and TCC SE.  It's a pretty nice path.  For those of you who have not been out that way in awhile, they finally have removed the bumps caused by tree roots to the west of Memorial.  Those things were wrist breakers.

That's good to know. They made me not like riding on 80 psi. They also once made my cell phone go sliding along the asphalt for a good 50 feet. The good ol' Nokia only had surface scratches, but it still wasn't fun to watch my phone jump out of its case, bounce off my front tire, hit the ground, flip end over end several times and then slide on its screen for a while.

OK Thanks I'll check out some of those other places. -I know where NewBlock Park is at. It's getting harder & harder to drive to RiverSide Trails from where I live- they now closed down the Riverside Exit from I-44... I have been taking I-244 west from my home and going south on highway 75 to I-44 east and then north on Riverside Drive to the trail parking lot at 41st. For my return trip I'd get back on I-44 westbound at the Peoria ramp but on Thursday they closed that down.. I hope they are not going to close the Peoria I-44 westbound on-ramp for the full two years... I'm hoping it was just a temp closure Thursday as they re-set the roadway lanes. All the city freeways are a mess with const. work. They should do one project and finish that before starting another on the major interstate roads.

Gotta' spend the money before OKC and the feds change their minds!

Outch! It's darn lucky your wheel didn't run over the phone, I never take anything along when I use the trails, except my car keys and a stop watch-  I thought bike tires are supposed to have only 60 PSI anyhow. Back in the 1980's Sears sold soild inner tubes for bike tires, A True Non-flat  Non air tire, it was made of a hard gray rubberish substance that went inside the wheel as a inner tube would,  and it used the regular bike tire. It seems great but a huge drawback is rolling resistance increased, you'd have to pedal twice as hard as before to hold any speed- but  on the postive side you never got any more flats and never had to pump up the tires. I don't see those things advertised anyplace, it would be great for a childs bike no more flats.

There are still run flat tires. They have that green goo inside them that seals a puncture. Probably a bit heavy though.

I discovered that inconvenience yesterday as I was returning from lunch on Brookside.  Wound up having to drive all the way back to 21st St. then back to 41st on the west side to my office.  Added about 20 minutes to lunch.

The Timex of cell phones.  It takes a lickin' and keeps on ticking.

Anyone else remember those ads?  (You gotta be an old guy.)

Thanks a lot.  I remember the ads...

You're welcome.

You're older than you thought.
 ;D

Some days I feel older than I thought.

Yes I do.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_fKppH8B0g[/youtube]

And on the lighter side.......

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NHq3Yze6s0&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clI3Oc1vnaM&feature=related[/youtube]

They have real old vintage commericals of Timex watchs tied to the prop of a  outboard engine in a tank of water, they would rev up the engine and then shut it down and show ya the watch is still ticking. In one blooper of that commerical the Timex watch fell off of the prop and they show ya the engine and the watch was gone. No doubt it can be found on youtube. It was a real hoot. :D

Do you see the videos above your post?

As for the trails I have been getting alot of running time in due to the good weather and I'm ready for a 5K  race I just want to beat my old 5K PR time of 25:33 that I set in a 2008 race. In my last 5K in June I pulled a slower 27:33,  I think that was because I started  too far back in the pack and wasted time passing others, lost many valueable seconds. I'm older today but I feel I can do better than my 25:33 time.  I'd hate to bust my rump in a 5K race and pull up a few seconds short of my goal. The I-44 westbound on ramp from Peoria has been moved to just west of Peoria and the other on-ramp farther west has been closed. Traffic is always choked there now. Anyhow,  They finally opened up the NEW trail & parking lots south of I-44 on RiverSide Drive (56th Street & RiverSide) it's darn nice and it a double trail so cyclists & runners don't mix. It was busy Sunday Morn. Lot's of cyclists were out to.

That wasn't Bob Barker was it?