A look at bicycles, safety, best places to ride, La Crosse’s infrastructure and what’s next for the city with Robbie Young and Andrew Ericson.

Robbie Young, owner of Coulee Bicycle Co. in Onalaska, and Andrew Ericson both serve on the city’s Bike-Pedestrian Committee. They stopped in the WIZM studio this past week for the Rick Solem Show to discuss two public comment “open house” coming up on the city’s Bike-Ped Master Plan.

Along with that, we discussed practical advice surrounding e-bikes, where to ride, effective bike locks and why you shouldn’t buy a helmet on Temu.

In this episode:

• The Master Plan Living Document: Why the city is introducing a few minor edits to the long-term network vision, including adding the forgotten Goose Green Trail footprint back onto the map.
• The U-Lock vs. “String” Dilemma: Why cheap cable locks are basically pieces of string to a thief with bolt cutters, and how to properly secure a frame and front wheel to a robust street rack.
• Navigating the Blue Bridges: The real rules of riding the sidewalk versus taking the road shoulder when commuting between Minnesota and downtown La Crosse.
• The King Street Greenway Idea: Rick shares a near-biff on a dark, pouring night—highlighting the absolute necessity of rechargeable front and rear bike lights around modern traffic calming circles.
• No Mini Bikes on the Cycle Track: The growing issue of kids riding high-powered, pedal-less electric motorcycles that bypass standard Class 1-3 definitions, presenting a tricky enforcement issue for local police and parents.
• The 3-Class E-Bike Breakdown: A quick explainer from Robbie on Class 1 (pedal-assist), Class 2 (throttle up to 20 mph), and Class 3 (pedal-assist up to 28 mph), and why Class 1 is the ideal choice for youth mobility.

Upcoming Events:

• Thursday, July 23 (2:30- 4:30 p.m.) — Myrick Park Bike Rodeo: Hosted alongside the county’s Safe Routes to School team, this free event is packed with skill-building activities, safety checks, and an introduction to traffic laws to help youth riders build independent skills.
• Tuesday, July 28 (Noon-1 p.m. & 5-6 p.m.) — Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Amendment Open Houses: Held at the La Crosse Public Library Main Branch. Residents are invited to review updated maps and provide direct input on potential changes to the city’s connectivity network to help ensure robust implementation and flexibility moving forward.

Listen live weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Find the pod on Spotify, Apple Podcast or here. Tune in on the WIZM app or on air at 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska)