ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996 TAG: 9605010014
SECTION: TOUR DUPONT PAGE: 9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
AMERICA'S PREMIER cycling event has helped spur the sport's growth in recent years, though.
If the Tour DuPont never had come through Roanoke, there still would have been reason to build bike paths and bike trails and undertake other related ``greenway'' projects.
``I think the Tour DuPont has only increased and heightened the increase in cycling,'' said Joe Yates, director of planning for the City of Salem.
A master plan was completed this year for a series of bicycle paths that would connect neighborhoods in the Roanoke Valley.
``What they're trying to do now is move from the planning into the implementation,'' said Tim Gubala, director of economic development for Roanoke County. ``How do they do it? Who's going to build it? Who's going to fund it? Those are some of the issues that need to be resolved.''
Work has begun on the Hanging Rock Trail, a 1.6-mile hard-cinders path for cyclists, hikers and walkers over an abandoned rail corridor. Phase 1 began with a rails-to-trails conversion and restoration of the Hanging Rock battlefield.
The route, which begins on Kessler Mill Road in Salem and crosses into Roanoke County at Virginia 311, is a joint project that was funded with a $539,000 grant from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act (ISTEA).
An application was made in January for grant money for Phase 2, which includes a foot-and-bike bridge over Mason's Creek. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has offered a suspension bridge built in the mid-1850s that no longer is suitable for automobile traffic in Bath County.
Randy Smith, Salem's city manager, is an avid cyclist and Salem is a bike-friendly community. There has been a bike route through Salem - complete with signs and a printed map - since 1971, and the East Main Street project will include a 3-foot strip with bicycle access.
``I don't know if it's wide enough to be classified a bike `lane,''' Smith said. ``Instead of going into a gutter pan, you have three more feet of pavement away from the traffic. If there's room enough, VDOT offers it as an option.''
Wayne Strickland, executive director of the Fifth District Planning Commission, said there is a regional bicycle plan in the works that would include not only greenways - in which paths are separated from the roads - but ``blackways'' that would be adjacent to the highways.
``I think the interest in biking - and that's one of the good things about the Tour DuPont - has made people realize that bicycling is not just a good way to exercise,'' Strickland said. ``It's a good way to get around. I've seen more people on bikes the last three years than I'd ever seen before.''
Salem also plans to introduce its new two-man bicycle police patrol May 6 when it serves as starting point for Stage 6 of the Tour DuPont, which goes from Salem to Blacksburg that day.
``I think it all meshes together,'' Smith said. ``I'm not sure how much of it you can trace to the Tour DuPont. I think the bike shops see an increase in sales and service during this period of time. I think the Tour DuPont reminds people that it is spring, the weather's getting nicer and cycling is good exercise.''
Brent Miller, manager of the bike department at CMT sporting goods, said he almost couldn't give away a road bike before the Tour DuPont came to the Roanoke Valley in 1994. Mountain bikes, which have a wider tread and can be used on a variety of surfaces, were in much greater demand.
``The mountain-bike sales are still there,'' Miller said, ``but the interest is picking back up in the road bikes. I think the Tour DuPont has been a positive influence not only on road-bike sales, but on recreational cycling.
``Most of the bikes [used in the Tour DuPont] are made to order. But, to give you an example, the Australian rider [Brett Dennis] who was hurt in a fall [during the 1994 Tour] rode a giant Cadex. Their entire team rode Cadex and we stock them.
``That particular model you would probably have to order, but they're accessible right here in Roanoke. In this area, mountain bikes are the way to go because of the topography. You can get into a nice mountain bike for as low as $200.''
The models ridden by the Australian team would cost almost $1,600 today, but CMT could have one on hand with a phone call.
David Kling, who has worked at the Peddler Bicycle Shop in Southwest Plaza since 1983, said he read recently in a trade journal that sales of road bikes now represent 8 percent of imports - up from a low of 2 or 3 percent.
``And what that doesn't count is when somebody is buying a frame from some frame-builder and paying $1,300 or $1,400, then putting another $1,600 in components on it,'' Kling said. ``We're seeing a lot more of that - people upgrading good road bikes that they had.''
Miller's experience at CMT is that, before the Tour DuPont, he generally sees hard-core cycling fans who want to purchase maps and guides. After the race is when sales generally pick up.
``That's when we'll get more new buyers,'' he said. ``This year will be more exciting because we have a finish [to Stage 6]. Last year [a time trial] was a little boring, to be honest with you.''
Kling said traffic through his shop picks up around the time of the Tour DuPont, although he doesn't always see knowledgeable cycling fans.
``I've had people ask me, `How do you get in the race?''' Kling said. ``I say, `Just about the same way you could play for the Washington Redskins. Just jump on the field.' They have no concept of what's going on. And these are adults.''
Kling thinks the main benefit of the Tour DuPont is in the national exposure the Roanoke Valley receives internationally in the media and on television for three or four days.
``The more people that come, the more people eat at your restaurants or buy gas for their cars,'' said Smith, the Salem city manager, ``but we're just a sports-minded community. We like the diversity the Tour DuPont brings us.''
LENGTH: Long : 106 linesby CNB