Traffic Skills 101 Special One-Day Tour de Cure Edition!
This Jacksonville class is specifically designed for endurance road cyclists that typically do the Tour de Cure and the Katie Ride for Life. It covers traffic law, bike equipment, becoming a more confident bicyclist by driving your bike like a motor vehicle and asserting your right to the road. You’ll learn injury prevention, crash avoidance through on-bike skills practice and do a group ride that includes optional pace line training. Student manual included! This is a League certified course.
COST: $35.00 general admission. Members of Tour de Cure and Katie Ride for Life teams receive a special group rate of $30.00.
WHEN: Class is one day: Saturday, March 27, 2010, from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Registration closes Thursday, March 25th.
CONTACT: Jodi Hohlstein at jodi@FBAfirstcoast.org for a registration package.
Update on the Florida Office of Greenways & Trails
Dear Friends of Florida Trails:
I wanted to share some wonderful news with you and explain what has just happened, and is expected to happen, as it relates to the Florida Office of Greenways and Trails (OGT). OGT is the reigning recipient of the National “Best Trails State” as awarded by American Trails and, as you know, is a highly valued partner. Again like last year, they were circled for elimination earlier this week by the Florida Senate despite their success in building partnerships and leveraging funding. However due to the enormous and coordinated grassroots support that was demonstrated by us last year, the threat for the most part was quickly dropped. We owe a special thank you to Senators Aronberg, Lawson and Baker of the Senate General Government Appropriations Committee! No, really…..
We still have work to do though. The OGT is no longer targeted for elimination and most of the mission and subsequent positions have been restored. All but 2 of the positions will be back another year to continue to serve and build our ever expanding statewide system of trails. Senator Aronberg supports us strongly and has sponsored an amendment to restore the remaining 2 positions at a meeting that will, most likely, occur on Friday. Please take a moment to thank and say something nice to our legislative Champions – Senators Aronberg, Lawson and Baker as well as to our important House friends – Representatives Robaina and Cannon. Without them we would be roadkill!
Their e-mail addresses are:
Senator Aronberg – aronberg.dave.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Lawson – lawson.alfred.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Baker – baker.carey.web@flsenate.gov
Representative Robaina – julio.robaina@myfloridahouse.gov
Representative Cannon – dean.cannon@myfloridahouse.gov
Thank you and stay tuned. I hope to have an important announcement concerning the Florida Department of Transportation soon!!!!
Take Care.
Ken Bryan, Florida Director
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
People for Bikes
Imagine one million people speaking out for bicycling with a united, powerful voice.
One week ago tonight, at the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC, Bikes Belong officially launched peopleforbikes.org – a brand-new initiative to put more people on bikes more often.
We’re collecting one million names in support of a better future for biking – one that’s safer, more convenient, and more appealing for everyone. And we’re giving people the tools to support pro-bike policies and spread the joy of bicycling in their own communities.
At this very early stage, the peopleforbikes.org movement will depend heavily on support from bicycle advocates, enthusiasts, and leaders like you. Please take a moment to visit our website and become one of the first to sign our pledge:
Every day, millions of Americans ride for their health, for the environment, for their communities, and for the pure joy of bicycling. But until now, only a fraction of riders have stood up to help improve bicycling in America.
Peopleforbikes.org is going to change all that. We’ll build on the expert work of existing bike advocacy groups – our partners – to develop a powerful movement with the clout and influence to get things done. That means promoting bike-riding on an individual level, but also sending a unified message to our elected leaders, the media, and the public that bicycling should have their full support.
Check out our website and learn more about this effort:
Though peopleforbikes.org is already up and running, we’re planning a broader public launch to coincide with the Bicycle Leadership Conference and Sea Otter Classic in April. Right now, your support is essential to launch and grow this effort.
After all, life is better when it’s experienced on two wheels. You and I know this – and now we can take this message to millions of people across the country.
Sincerely,
Tim Blumenthal
Executive Director, Bikes Belong Coalition
ACTION ALERT: SAVE THE OFFICE OF GREENWAYS & TRAILS
oelrich.steve.web@flsenate.gov
lawson.alfred.web@flsenate.gov
baker.carey.web@flsenate.gov
dean.charles.web@flsenate.gov
I am writing to urge you to reject a proposal to eliminate the Office of Greenways and Trails and merge its functions with the state park system. The elimination of the 16 positions that run the Greenways and Trails program would essentially kill one of the shining stars of Florida’s recreation and tourism businesses, all to save $1 million. The Greenways and Trails system receives 4 million visitors a year in Florida and has an economic impact of $95 million a year. This program cannot run without a staff and this small investment is yielding strong returns on our investment.
Just as the country is focused on alternative forms of transportation and on more healthy lifestyles to fight obesity, Florida would be eliminating one of its most successful programs to make progress on both those fronts. The residents and visitors of Florida consider the greenways and trails important to the quality of life here and what brings visitors back each year. I urge you to make smart economic decisions when you make budget cuts, and this proposal is not one of them. This office actually brings in revenues to the state.
Not only would this proposal shoot Florida in the foot economically but it would make Florida’s bicycle and pedestrian safety situation even worse. From 2001 to 2008, the last year recorded, Florida has either been #1 or in the top 3 in the nation, in both bicycle and pedestrian fatalities. 1 out of 10 pedestrian fatalities occurs in Florida. 1 out of 6 bicycle fatalities occurs in Florida.
Florida needs safe places to walk and ride a bicycle.
Not your typical Critical Mass Ride – Orlando
| March 26, 2010 | ||
| 5:00 pm |
Cricital Mass ride from Loch Haven Park (at the corner of Princeton St and Eglin Rd) to the Enzian Theatre in Winter Park. Depart at 5:30/6pm for a ride of about 12 miles. The ride is for all types of riders and the Enzian will be playing Breakin Away at 8:15. The movie is free and is appropriate for all ages. Other activities include refreshments, mini sprints in the parking lot and trick comp for the single speed kids.
Nicolas Mandino
Got Bikes?… Ride’em Events
| April 13, 2010 | ||
| 4:00 pm | to | 5:00 pm |
Callahan Neighborhood Center, 101 N. Parramore Ave., Orlando
Got Bikes?…Ride’em Events
| March 24, 2010 | ||
| 2:30 pm | to | 3:30 pm |
Colonialtown Neighborhood Center, 1517 Lake Highland Dr., Orlando
Got Bikes?…Ride’em Events
| March 17, 2010 | ||
| 2:30 pm | to | 3:30 pm |
College Park Center, 2393 Elizabeth Ave., Orlando
Governor Crist proclaims March as Florida Bicycle Month
Download a copy of the 2010 Proclamation from Governor Crist HERE to promote March as Florida Bicycle Month.
USA Today: Fla. deadliest state for walkers, cyclists
Monday, March 1, 2010
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
MIAMI, Florida — Florida is the deadliest state in the U.S. for pedestrians — and bicyclists don’t fare any better.
In 2008, the most recent year for which federal statistics are available, 11.1% of pedestrians and 17.4% of bicyclists killed in the U.S. died in the Sunshine State, which has 6% of the nation’s population.
The top four of the 10 most dangerous metropolitan areas for walking are in Florida, according to a study last fall by two Washington, D.C.-based non-profit groups. The state has been in the top three in bicycle and pedestrian fatalities every year since 2001, federal data show.
The statistics perplex state officials. “There are so many factors involved and most of them are random,” says Marianne Trussell, chief safety officer for Florida’s Department of Transportation. “We’re trying to figure out root causes and how we can fix it.”
There’s a debate over those causes: Is Florida so deadly for walkers and cyclists because of the behavior of drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists? Or because of inherent flaws in the way roads are designed and built?
………………..Underlying these factors, transportation safety officials say, is behavior: “Somebody is doing something they shouldn’t be doing,” Trussell explains. “Drivers are making a right turn and not yielding to pedestrians, or making a right turn on red. Pedestrians are not paying attention to traffic, or they’re crossing the street midblock instead of going to the intersection.”
She takes issue with the November study by Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership that spotlighted dangers to pedestrians in Florida. The study found pedestrians in Florida — and around the U.S. — are endangered by the nation’s shift from development clustered around traditional streets to wide, high-speed roads designed to move thousands of vehicles.
“The roadways aren’t as dangerous as the (study) would have made it seem,” she says. “It’s not the roads. The roads are just sitting there by themselves.”…..
To read the full article, click here: