Benedictine Hall

Back in November, St. Gregory’s University’s Benedictine Hall, built in 1915, was severely damaged from an earthquake. Now the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the Shawnee Pedalers Cycling Club and Team PG-13 Cycling Club are organizing a bicycle race and tour on May 28th to raise money for its repair:

Bicycling enthusiasts can travel back in time by participating in the St. Gregory’s University Memorial Day Road Race and Bicycle Tour on May 28. Event courses follow scenic roads from SGU to historic Sacred Heart Mission in Konawa. Proceeds from the race and tour go toward restoring SGU’s Benedictine Hall, which was severely damaged as a result of an earthquake in November. The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is the presenting sponsor for the event.

via Bicycling Event to Benefit SGU’s Benedictine Hall – Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

The race will take be a 49 mile course with a hill-top finish with an optional 35 mile cool down ride back to St. Gregory’s.  The bicycle tour consists of 25 and 71 mile routes.  Lunch will be provided for riders in the race and 71 mile tour.  Registration is from $30 – $45 per rider.  Full details on the event can be found at http://www.stgregorys.edu/sguroadrace.

The senate eventually wants to see OU certified as a bicycle-friendly university by the League of American Bicyclists.

Both the Staff and Faculty Senate call for OU to be designated a bicycle-friendly university within the next five years, according to the resolutions.

via OUDaily.com | Faculty Senate calls for bicycling-friendly OU.

The university is planning to expand the limited path system on campus and installing additional bicycle racks.

Memberships will range from $75 dollars for a full year to $5 for a day.  Rentals are free for the first 30 minutes and $2 for each half-hour after that.  You can get full details at their website, http://spokiesokc.com or by following them @SpokiesOKC on twitter.

I am really excited to see this system kick off and I congratulate them on planning the system well.

Tulsa is doing a little bragging about their bicycle trail system and on paper, it seems well justified.  Unlike the OKC system, Tulsa’s seems well designed for both recreation and transportation which is a big bragging point.

It connects neighborhoods to downtown and that’s not the case in many cities.

Since 1999 the system has grown from just 25 miles to about 100, with a lot more trail work being planned.

via KTUL.com – Tulsa’s Channel 8 – News, Weather & Sports – Tulsa Is A Leading City When It Comes To Bike Trails.

I’ve never cycled much in Tulsa, what are your experiences?  What are they doing right and wrong and what could we do better here in OKC?

Art Bike Tulsa 2012 is an installation of colorful, uniquely-designed bicycles that have been transformed by local artists to raise awareness about Multiple Sclerosis and the MS society’s annual bike ride/fundraiser.

via KTUL.com – Tulsa’s Channel 8 – News, Weather & Sports – MS Society “Art Bike Tulsa” Preview.

The installation will be available to the public through May 20th (Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM).  From May 21st through September 21st at the Tulsa International Airport.

Spread the word that this Sunday at 1:00 p.m there will be a ride honoring Monty Maughan from Stars and Stripes Park. We will ride counter-clockwise on the Hefner trail to the dam where Monty passed. Stop briefly to reflect and then head out across the dam and west on Hefner. We will knock out about 30 miles or so, easy.  All riders from all teams, clubs, triathlon or anyone who just loves to ride are welcome.

via OKC Velo Racing.

Updated 5/2/2012 5:12 PM:

Many have asked me both in comments and emails about the cause of the accident to which I have had no information.  However, this was just posted to News9.com:

Police say 68-year-old Bernard Monty Maughan veered into oncoming cyclists on the dam. Maughan was an avid cyclist and ranked as one of the best in his age group in the state.

His friends tell News 9 he suffered a medical emergency moments before the crash which caused him to lose control of his bicycle.

“He died doing what he loved to do and that was riding and racing bicycles,” says Peter Erdoes, who was in Maughan’s cycling club.

“He was always willing to lend a hand to lesser experienced riders,” adds Erdoes.

via Beloved Cyclist Dies After Crashing Into Other Cyclists In OKC – News9.com – Oklahoma City, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports |.

It is a sad thing to lose such a prominent member of the cycling community and our thoughts are with his friends and family.

The Oklahoman is reporting that three cyclists were injured tonight at around 7:00 PM on Lake Hefner dam:

About 7 p.m., four bicyclists were traveling east at the Lake Hefner Dam when a 70-year-old man bicycling west collided with two of them, Emergency Medical Services Authority spokeswoman Lara O’Leary said.

via Three bicyclists hurt at Lake Hefner | NewsOK.com

The 70 year old man was taken to the hospital in critical condition while the other two cyclists suffered more minor injuries but were also taken to the hospital.

KOCO states that the accident happened on the north side of the lake on the dam, but I am having a hard time picturing how such a head on collision could happen in that spot.  I do know that most of my close calls happen on the trails so please be careful out there.