If you look up the word “sag” in Webster’s dictionary, you will find this definition: “to hang down in the middle especially because of weight or weakness.” That definition might apply to some bicyclists, but for most, the word is an acronym for Support And Gear. Trailnet can thank Stewart Drolet for providing some of our most reliable and versatile SAG services.
His work with Trailnet is not the first time that Stewart has taken his mechanical skills on the road. After owning a bike shop in his hometown of O’Fallon, Illinois from 1994 through 2004, he started a traveling bike repair service, working out of a 16-foot step van. He describes one of his successful forays into mobile bike repair:
“I got together with a guy in St. Louis who put the word out to all of the tenants in his apartment building – I worked on the bikes all day and when people got home, their bikes were ready to go,” Stewart said. “I really liked that but eventually the truck died.”
In his current job, Stewart works on airplanes instead of bikes, but he continues to get his bike “fix” through his work as a Bicycle Fun Club SAG driver.
“I really enjoy all of the people, I like being outside and I love fixing things,” Stuart said. “I like being able to see something that’s broken work again. We get a lot of people that are doing 100 miles for the first time because they have the support. Lots of these folks just wouldn’t feel confident doing it on their own.”
Many bicyclists that participate in these rides may not realize the commitment of time and energy given by the SAG drivers. “I usually leave the house by 5 a.m. to start putting water out so it’s ready for the early riders,” Stewart said. “I bring my own tools and repair stand. Between doing repairs, moving supplies around, and picking up riders, you keep really busy all day. Even though SAG support usually ends at 3 p.m., you still have to collect everything, so you may not finish until six in the evening.”
The repairs Stewart makes range from airing up tires, to adjusting brakes and derailleurs. His most complicated fix was completely rebuilding a rider’s wheel that had become “untensioned” within a few miles of the start. His most frequent task is fixing flat tires.
“I had a group come in who had three flats on the same tire between downtown and the Chain of Rocks Bridge,” he said. “When I checked it out, I found a wire stuck in the tire. They were surprised that they kept getting flats with such a ‘small hole.’”
In addition to his mechanical expertise, Stewart uses his skills as a photographer to benefit Trailnet. He frequently volunteers his time taking photos at Trailnet events, and occasionally takes photos on the rides. Stewart also does his part to spread the word about Trailnet on the Illinois side of the river. He lets his friends and co-workers know about Trailnet events and encourages them to go on the rides.
As for himself, Stewart said he has too many work and family obligations to bike these days. But he remembers always being into bikes, and introduced his daughter to biking when she was an infant.
“When I had the bicycle shop, my daughter came to work with me,” he said. “I would pull her to work in my bike trailer and take her on any errands that I had.”
Stewart believes that encouraging more kids to bicycle should be a focus for Trailnet. He was pleased to hear that Trailnet has “Bike Weeks” planned at three area schools this fall: two in Kirkwood and one in south St. Louis. Stewart said he’s happy his daughter still rides a bicycle and hopes that Trailnet will be able to “teach more kids about bike safety and give them opportunities to ride – do outreach to more schools and maybe even provide loaner bikes. If kids got a chance to ride, maybe they would ask for a bike for Christmas instead of a video game.”
Murmuration Festival Bike Valet
Trailnet will be providing free, secure bike parking at the Murmuration Festival in the Cortex Innovation Community September 23 through 25. This three-day event, named after the patterns produced by flocks of starlings in flight, celebrates the intersection of music, art, science and technology.
Show your support for active transportation and check out this exciting event. Volunteers receive a t-shirt and a single-day music pass (good for the day of your shift). Water and snacks will be provided at the bike valet station.
Celebrate Labor Day weekend by listening to great music and making it easy for people to ride their bikes to the Big Muddy Blues Festival. This year’s festival will be even bigger and better, and we’ll be providing free bike valet for all of the cool people who will be biking to the Landing.
Sign up here to volunteer on Saturday, Sept. 3. Volunteers receive a FREE PASS to the festival (Saturday only).
Plan on riding your bike? We’ll meet at Big Daddy’s in Soulard for a “slow roll” down to Laclede’s Landing. Click here for info.
Dwayne James loves creating opportunities for people to challenge themselves and succeed at things they never thought they could accomplish. As a Ferguson City Council member, he worked closely with Trailnet’s Healthy Active and Vibrant Communities Initiative from 2008- 2013 to develop Live Well Ferguson, which organizes a variety of community events that bring people together for fun and exercise. Seven years ago, Live Well Ferguson organized the first Ferguson Twilight Run, an annual event that now draws up to two thousand participants.
“The first year we thought we might get 50 people to show up—we ended up with 900 people,” Dwayne said. “We get everyone from little kids, to seasoned runners, to those using a cane to walk the 5K. We’re telling people to show up however you are, as long as you do it. It’s not just good for the individuals or families, it’s good for the whole community because the community comes together and shines.”
Other annual events sponsored by Live Well Ferguson include the Twilight Ramble bicycle ride, and Sunday Parkways, an opportunity for residents to walk, bike and play on streets closed to car traffic.
Live Well Ferguson also promotes healthy food choices through Eat Well Ferguson, a program that provides nutritional information at participating local restaurants, and by offering garden plots at three community garden sites. Dwayne worked with several other residents to craft an ordinance creating the community gardens and conveyed his own excitement as a novice gardener.
“We wanted to do something positive with the empty lots that we had around town,” he said. “The great thing about community gardens is that people get out there to work and neighbors meet each other for the first time…they might live four doors apart but never knew each other. I grew my first cucumber – I was so excited! I just wanted to save it, but I had to eat it eventually.”
Another early goal of Live Well Ferguson was to craft Complete Streets legislation for Ferguson. Dwayne spearheaded this effort in 2008, making Ferguson one of the first communities in the region to pass Complete Streets.
“I am a civil engineer, so streets and infrastructure were things that I had in my back pocket,” Dwayne said. “We were already on a path to build a healthier, more active community, and I knew that designing streets that were safe for all users would be a great asset.”
Having served the maximum number of terms on the City Council, Dwayne is no longer a member, but is still an enthusiastic organizer of Live Well events and is also a Board Member of the Ferguson Youth Initiative.
FYI provides Ferguson teens with a welcoming space where they have access to activities, computers, and adult volunteers who provide tutoring. It also coordinates youth programs with other organizations, like the YMCA, Ferguson Parks and Recreation, and local schools and churches. Most importantly, FYI helped to create a Youth Advisory Board. This group of 10 teens provides a youth perspective on city issues, and gives young people a chance to participate in local government. Dwayne emphasizes the value of the Youth Board for the city as well as the teens who serve.
“It allows them to have a voice and empowers them to do things for themselves,” he said. “It also helps city officials understand what is important to our young people and ways that we can all work together to solve problems.”
Having lived in Ferguson for most of his life, Dwayne is familiar with its struggles, but positive about its future.
“We have people moving into the community, businesses that are growing, citizens stepping up to serve on the council,” Dwayne said. “Ferguson youth are doing amazing things. The schools are graduating some spectacular kids. If you don’t know the good and bad aspects of your community, then you’re not involved. I love Ferguson, I love North County, I love St. Louis. I know that there is lots of work to be done and it’s the entire community that makes things happen. There’s the person who steps up to volunteer, the person who comes out to an event and cheers the runners on, or even the resident who says ‘I’m ok with them shutting down my street to hold this event.’ I have faith in my community and know that working together we will continue to make great things happen.”
Mayor Slay Signs City Traffic Calming Ordinance
Trailnet’s work to show city officials and residents the look, feel, and benefits of traffic calming solutions has paid off! Now that Mayor Slay has signed the City of St. Louis Traffic Calming Policyinto law, there will be a growing number of slower, safer residential streets in St. Louis.
This diagram shows the process that will be followed by the City’s Aldermen, Street Department, and Board of Public Service (BPS) to request, evaluate and install traffic calming improvements to residential streets. Most traffic calming improvements involve speed humps (less abrupt than speed bumps) and narrowed streets that reduce the speed of motor-vehicle traffic and improve safety for people who walk and bike.
South County Connector Project: Truly Dead
The Post-Dispatch got it on record recently: the proposed $120 million “South County Connector” project, intended to link I-55 with I-44 and I-64, has been “permanently shelved” by St. Louis County. Over several years, Trailnet vigorously organized opposition to this project for environmental, economic, and historic preservation reasons.
We worked with many others in this battle, including elected officials like county councilman Pat Dolan, St. Louis alderman Scott Ogilvie, city leaders in Maplewood, Webster Groves, and Shrewsbury, as well as institutions like the Washington University School of Law and non-profits such as Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Sierra Club and the River DesPeres Watershed Coalition.
Although the County declared the project to be “on hold” in November 2014, we realized there was a chance it could resurface. Now, almost two years later, we can declare victory knowing that “permanently shelved” means the South County Connector is really, truly dead.
Trailnet Walk Bike Ambassadors Are Rocking It!
Trailnet’s 12 Walk Bike Ambassadors are located throughout the St. Louis region. They assist with Trailnet advocacy campaigns and events, and help address walking and biking issues in their own communities. For example, Don Orf, our Ambassador in the City’s St. Louis Hills neighborhood, has been working with Alderwoman Donna Baringer, the Streets Department, and the St. Louis Hills Neighborhood Association on Complete Streets improvements. These improvements involve street re-design, repaving, and restriping to reduce traffic lanes from four to two, add bike lanes, and create angle parking along beautiful Francis Park. Other improvements around Francis Park will provide easier pedestrian crossings and generally contribute to slower, safer traffic. Don has recently become the chair of the streets committee for his neighborhood association. He has also informed his neighbors about street improvements, his role as a Walk Bike Ambassador, and upcoming Trailnet activities through his neighborhood newsletter and the social media site for neighborhoods, NextDoor. (Don also took a few days in April to ride 210 miles of the Katy Trail – wow!)
Margie Oliver of Hazelwood is working with Trailnet and public officials in her community to bring a Complete Streets presentation before the City Council. Her goal is to see Hazelwood adopt a Complete Streets policy and become the 10th jurisdiction in the St. Louis region to do so. Margie also investigated an upcoming county road project in her area to determine how bicycle and pedestrian traffic would be accommodated. And for a bit of fun and Trailnet outreach before summer turns to fall, Margie has arranged for Trailnet to have a booth at the September 10th Harvest Festival in Hazelwood. She and her fellow Walk Bike Ambassadors will be there to tell festival-goers all the good things Trailnet is doing for better walking and biking, and encourage them to join us!
Dean Wette enjoys challenging himself by setting personal goals. When he got into bicycling three years ago, he wanted to maximize the number of miles he put in the saddle. Averaging 150 to 200 miles per week, he has bicycled more than 6,000 miles each year. He rode 15 centuries in 2015, some of them on Trailnet BFC and nonprofit partner rides, qualifying Dean as a Trailnet Century Club member.
Riding 15 centuries in a year is an accomplishment he shares with several of his friends, demonstrating the physical challenge involved as well as the camaraderie he enjoys in cycling. Although he loves the social aspects of bicycling, Dean found himself riding solo a couple of years ago, noting, “I wanted to see if I could ride a hundred miles in all sub-freezing temperatures. I got 70 miles in at 24 degrees, but then the roads got so slick from snow that I had to stop.”
So what could be so great about being on a bike that Dean braves frigid temperatures and spends so many hours rolling on two wheels?
Climbing in Augusta during Big Shark’s 2016 Vino Fondo Mondo ride. Photo: Kim Morris, kimmorris.com
“It’s just fun!” he said. “You never really know where you live until you get on a bike. You can explore the entire metropolitan area. There’s just no way to really experience things if you’re in a car, and if you are a runner or walker, you just can’t cover the miles that you can on a bike.”
Most of the miles Dean rides are for recreation, although he did participate in Bike to Work Day this year, completing a 40-mile round trip commute. He and his wife do almost all of the Trailnet BFC rides every year.
“They bring cyclists of all capabilities together,” Dean said of Trailnet’s events, adding, “It shows them that there is a real community that they can belong to.”
In addition to his participation in the BFC rides, Dean is a strong supporter of Trailnet’s Advocacy work.
“Trailnet has done a lot to make St. Louis safer for bicyclists,” he said.
Going forward, Dean believes Trailnet’s most important contributions will be to educate drivers and bicyclists about safely sharing the road. Although he appreciates efforts to increase the number of bike lanes in the region, he believes these infrastructure changes should be met with education and maintenance.
“If a bike lane has bad pavement or a lot of debris, I won’t use it,” he said. “So the drivers get confused when they see a bike lane and I’m not in it. And ‘sharrows’ are even worse – drivers don’t know what they mean. All of this should be covered in driver’s ed and questions should be included on the driver’s test.”
Because issues sometimes come up with drivers and even with law enforcement, Dean carries Trailnet’s “Missouri Bicycle Law” cards with him when he rides.
“Sometimes drivers will tell me that I should be on the sidewalk, so I have the card to show them that that is not only unsafe, but also illegal,” he said.
Dean also sees bicyclists doing things that compromise safety:
“I still see cyclists riding in the wrong direction, on sidewalks, or desperately hugging the white line on streets when there isn’t enough room for cars to pass safely—in which case the cyclist should be taking the full lane,” Dean said. “I see a lot of bicycle commuters riding as if they’re just unwelcome guests on the road. I see it differently: I’m not blocking traffic, I am traffic!”
For this year, Dean will be seeking out routes with lots of hills. His current goal is to become a better climber. His abilities will be put to the test at the end of July, when he and his wife travel to Colorado to ride in the mountains with Dean’s brother. Dean credits bicycling for greatly improving his own health and is also amazed at the benefits of cycling for his brother, who has Parkinson’s disease.
“When I got back into riding three years ago, I had a diagnosis of pre-diabetes and pre-hypertension,” Dean said. “I wanted to get healthy without medication. It worked. I now have great blood pressure and my blood sugar dropped down to ideal levels. Cycling also nearly eliminated my chronic lower back pain, got me off medication for high cholesterol and helped get my allergies under control, not to mention reducing stress in my life. For my brother, bicycling has really helped to control his symptoms, and has allowed him to live a more normal life.”
Walk Bike Ambassador success in Chesterfield
Trailnet’s 12 Walk Bike Ambassadors are located throughout the St. Louis region. Their activities include assisting with Trailnet advocacy campaigns and addressing walking and biking issues in their own communities. These advocates have already won infrastructure changes for their communities and are working for safer streets in the region.
Our Chesterfield Walk Bike Ambassador, Patty Szymkowicz, read in her local paper about an upcoming re-paving project on a county road she knew well. The project description mentioned nothing about bike lanes, which concerned Patty because she knew of important connections from this county road for people on bikes, including the Monarch Levee Trail. Patty also knew that the County has a Complete Streets policy and, therefore, the Transportation Department should have considered accommodating all road users on this road project. Patty located the county project manager and asked about whether bike lanes would be included in the planned road design, emphasizing the important connections for bikes. The good news is that, shortly after Patty began asking questions, the county did a traffic study and decided to install bike lanes on the road. Due to an alert Walk Bike Ambassador we can score one for people who bike in Chesterfield!
A Win for Controlling Traffic Speed in Neighborhoods
We’re excited to tell you about a major advocacy win as the St. Louis Board of Aldermen recently passed a traffic calming policy. We’re proud to have played a significant role in propelling this policy forward by training local leaders and members of the community on best-practice street design. Now those inspired folks are taking action!
For years, stop signs have been virtually the only tool used for slowing or calming traffic on neighborhood streets in St. Louis. In many areas of the City, it seems there’s a stop sign on every corner, and many people – bicyclists and motorists alike – grumble about that. With the passage of Board bill 88 by the Board of Aldermen on July 8, far more preferable traffic calming tools will be added to the City’s toolbox. The policy will ensure a process for addressing: 1) excessive speeding through neighborhood streets; 2) cut-through vehicular traffic; and 3) overall safety concerns for those who walk and bike. Mayor Slay should soon sign the bill into law.
From left to right: Alderman Shane Cohn, Community Liaison Wendy Campbell, City of St. Louis Traffic Commissioner Deanna Venker, community partner Matthew Green of Park Central Development, and Alderman Scott Ogilvie get ready for bike tour of Portland, Oregon calm streets.
We encouraged our local leaders to pursue such a policy by showcasing the benefits of calmer streets. In August 2015, we took City of St. Louis staff, elected officials, and partners to Portland, Oregon on a study trip. The trip was part of Trailnet’s Calm Streets project and was highly successful in giving City staff and elected officials a sense of what is possible in engineered traffic calming solutions on neighborhood streets. We also took key City of St. Louis staff and advocates to see examples of best practice street design in Kansas City. The trip built relationships among the group and inspired traffic calming demonstrations. The demonstrations showed residents, officials, and city staff how streets can be redesigned to reduce speeding and increase safety.
We recognize and thank City staff, Deanna Venker and John Kohler, for their significant contributions to Board Bill 88 and the development of the traffic calming policy and process. Thanks also to the Board of Aldermen for an overwhelming vote in support of Board Bill 88.
If you look up the word “sag” in Webster’s dictionary, you will find this definition: “to hang down in the middle especially because of weight or weakness.” That definition might apply to some bicyclists, but for most, the word is an acronym for Support And Gear. Trailnet can thank Stewart Drolet for providing some of our most reliable and versatile SAG services.
“I really enjoy all of the people, I like being outside and I love fixing things,” Stuart said. “I like being able to see something that’s broken work again. We get a lot of people that are doing 100 miles for the first time because they have the support. Lots of these folks just wouldn’t feel confident doing it on their own.”
Another early goal of Live Well Ferguson was to craft 
Trailnet’s 12 Walk Bike Ambassadors are located throughout the St. Louis region. They assist with Trailnet advocacy campaigns and events, and help address walking and biking issues in their own communities. For example, 
Our Chesterfield Walk Bike Ambassador, Patty Szymkowicz, read in her local paper about an upcoming re-paving project on a county road she knew well. The project description mentioned nothing about bike lanes, which concerned Patty because she knew of important connections from this county road for people on bikes, including the Monarch Levee Trail. Patty also knew that the County has a Complete Streets policy and, therefore, the Transportation Department should have considered accommodating all road users on this road project. Patty located the county project manager and asked about whether bike lanes would be included in the planned road design, emphasizing the important connections for bikes. The good news is that, shortly after Patty began asking questions, the county did a traffic study and decided to install bike lanes on the road. Due to an alert Walk Bike Ambassador we can score one for people who bike in Chesterfield!