bicycling (Richland: neighborhood, living, law)

[j_k_k]

My wife and I recently bought bicycles for enjoyment, money-saving and fitness. We have a good time cruising around our neighborhood, and we like taking the bikes down to the park (especially on the levee east of the main boat ramps).

Does anyone else ride around here, and if so, are there any great places that are quite suitable for cycling? We'd like to go places besides Columbia Park that have limited traffic or are running/bike/walking trails.

We have no interest in playing chicken with cars, especially around here. After living here eleven years and seeing how cavalierly most cyclists treat any traffic law that isn't convenient for them (and it's not a tiny minority spoiling it for the vast numbers of law-abiders; it's the vast majority spoiling it for the very few that actually believe a STOP sign requires a halt), all the while demanding that others 'share the road,' I frankly would rather not inherit motorists' somewhat justified rage by trying to ride with traffic. We prefer to survive, and on a bicycle that means staying far from cars.

[wamamma]

There is a great walk/run/bike trail that starts around Albertson's on Leslie and Gage in Richland and follows Keene Road all the way to Queensgate. It is a popular spot and very flat. You can also go along Columbia Park Trail and follow the path of the Titanium Man Triathlon held here each year. (By the way that is on August 30th and a lot of fun to watch or enter).