SIGN RAILS-TO-TRAILS CONSERVANCY’S PETITION TO AAA
AAA wants trail and bicycle/pedestrian funding cut from transportation funding. Please sign RTC’s petition today!
Our friends at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy are fighting the good fight for trails and bicycle/pedestrian programs, and they need your help! AAA is advocating for the elimination of the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program from the transportation trust fund. Trails and bike/ped get less than 2 cents of every dollar in the fund, but AAA wants that money to go to highways and roads, turning back the clock on 20 years of progress toward a balanced transportation system.
It started with AAA Mid-Atlantic in Delaware. Since then AAA National (Heathrow, FL) has indicated they support Mid-Atlantic’s position. Incidentally, other AAA locations have trails. Take a peek at this video taken last week of AAA Mid-Atlantic headquarters that shows the trail just steps from the AAA building. Go figure! Our friends at YouTube support trails too.
RTC has launched a petition to ask AAA to reconsider their position. More than 30,000 people have signed so far, and supporters-and AAA members-are flooding their regional AAA chapters asking one simple question: Will AAA support critical, established walking and bicycling programs-and the funding source that allows them to thrive-now and into the future?
So far, AAA has yet to provide a satisfactory answer.
With AAA National headquarters right here in Florida (and with the TE-funded Seminole-Wekiva Trail in their front yard), let’s add as many Florida voices as possible to the petition. Let AAA know that we value safe, accessible places to walk and bike, and that modern transportation is about more than just highways!
Traffic Skills 101 January 14 & 15, 2011
| January 14, 2011 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
| January 15, 2011 | ||
| 8:00 am | to | 3:00 pm |
Make the drivers around you behave!
Based on crash data in Fredom from Fear, by expert vehicular cyclist Mighk Wilson; for comparable time periods of activity, travel by bicycle produces 2.1 times less fatalities than travel by auto. In Orlando, only 8% of cyclist-injury crashes between cyclists and motorists involve a legally-operating roadway cyclist. The rest involve sidewalk cyclists and those violating the rules of the road. Learning to avoid virtually all of these crashes is what this course is all about!
WHEN & WHERE:Class is 1 & 1/2 days: Friday, January 14, 2011, 6:00-9:00 p.m. and Saturday, January 15, 2011, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Lakeshore Bicycles & Fitness, 2108 Blanding Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32210COST: Registration is $40.00. This includes a colorful and informative student manual.
TO REGISTER CONTACT: Jeff Hohlstein, 904-291-8664, or email Jeff at jeff@FBAfirstcoast.org for confirmation of date and a complete registration packet. Register early since class size limit is 17 students.
Bicyclist killed by motorist remembered for living life at full throttle
Harry Nickell was riding his bicycle Sunday morning on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 27 near the Lakeridge Winery when a car traveling in the same direction wandered off the road and slammed into him from behind.
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-lauren-ritchie-11242010-20101124,0,6171634.column
CyclingSavvy January Weekend Package
| January 7, 2010 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
| January 8, 2010 | ||
| 8:00 am | to | 4:00 pm |
Get it all done in one weekend for the next CyclingSavvy series in Orlando.
We will give you the tools to use a bike for transportation, without stress or fear, anywhere you choose.
Weekend Package: Friday, 1/7/11, 6-9pm and Saturday, 1/8/11, 8am-4pm (with a lunch break) – all day class includes bike handling and Tour of Orlando
To register, go HERE. For more information, go HERE.
Fee: $75 for all three sessions or $30 per session a la carte.
CyclingSavvy January Weekend Package
Get it all done in one weekend for the next CyclingSavvy series in Orlando.
We will give you the tools to use a bike for transportation, without stress or fear, anywhere you choose.
Weekend Package: Friday, 1/7/11, 6-9pm and Saturday, 1/8/11, 8am-4pm (with a lunch break) – all day class includes bike handling and Tour of Orlando
To register, go HERE. For more information, go HERE.
Fee: $75 for all three sessions or $30 per session a la carte.
Florida Bicycle Club Leadership Workshop
There’s still time to register for the Florida Bicycle Club Leadership Workshop to be held Saturday, November 20, in Clermont in conjunction with the 31st annual Horrible Hundred.
Time: 3:00-6:00 pm
Location: ROOM: Valencia at the Citrus Tower, 141 N. Hwy. 27, Clermont
Fee: FREE, however registration is required. Go HERE to register.
Plus: VIP Hour at The Cycling Hub in Clermont from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm on Saturday, November 20th. There will be beverages and hors d’oeuvres. This VIP Hour is sponsored by The Cycling Hub located at 1200 Oakley Seaver Drive.
As a co-sponsor of the workshop, the Florida Freewheelers will once again provide one complimentary Horrible Hundred registration per club for individuals attending the workshop. The Horrible Hundred is Sunday, 11/21/10.
Is your club listed below? If not, forward this information to one of your club leaders ASAP.
Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club
Capital City Cyclists
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Daytona Beach Bicycle Club
Eastside Cycle Club
Everglades Bicycle Club
Florida Bicycle Association
Florida Freewheelers
Gainesville Cycling Club
Highlands Pedalers
Lake County PAL (Police Activities League)
North Florida Bicycle Club
Polk Area Bicycle Association
Seminole Heights Bicycle Club
St. Petersburg Bicycle Club
South Lake Bicycles.Com Team
Terrell Hogan Law Firm
Treasure Coast Cycling Association
zMotion
DecoBike brings bike sharing to Miami Beach
At the last Sunday Bike Miami Days event, DecoBike was offering free rides for people to test the bikes that will become part of the Miami Beach Bike Sharing Program.
DecoBike booth at Bike Miami Days event
DecoBike is planning on kicking off the program next month. Miami Beach will be the first City in Florida with a program of this kind similar to some European countries.
Miami and the Downtown Development Authority are also working on setting up something alike.
Alexander J. Labora, MBA JD
alexander.labora.wg83@wharton.upenn.edu
Urban bicycling safety class in Tampa
| November 13, 2010 | ||
| 10:00 am |
An Urban Bicycling Safety Class is offered by City Bike Tampa in conjunction with the streetcar fest in downtown Tampa.
Free commuter bicycle safety classes offered by Tampa BayCycle at USF
| November 17, 2010 | ||
| 11:30 am | to | 1:00 pm |
| December 1, 2010 | ||
| 11:30 am | to | 1:00 pm |
| Tampa BayCycle is offering free commuter bicycle safety courses at USF on November 17 and December 1.
Complete details are available on the Tampa BayCycle website. Walk Safe/Bike Safe. Seating is limited so please RSVP as soon as possible. |
Tell Governor-elect Scott: Florida needs more bicycling!
Campaign season is over, which means we must turn our attention to communicating our needs to Governor-elect Rick Scott. He has set up a website to do exactly that, soliciting ideas to advance Florida and, at the same time, save money.
Pedestrian and bicycle facilities are among the least expensive transportation infrastructure to build and maintain. We also know that shifting short trips to walking and bicycling saves fuel, lessens our dependency on foreign oil, keeps more money in the local economy, makes us healthier and gets people out of their automobiles and into their communities.
Let’s show Governor-elect Scott that there is great demand in Florida for safe, convenient places to walk and bicycle. Please leave a thoughtful message on his website that helps build our case for more walking and bicycling opportunities.
Below are some talking points you can use, but we encourage you to be creative. Personal responses make a better impact than canned comments. Keep your responses positive and forward-looking. As Governor-elect Scott’s campaign ads suggested, “let’s get to work” by communicating our needs to him.
Ken Bryan
Florida Field Office Director
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Dotted rule
Talking points:
* The most cost-effective way to improve Florida’s transportation systems in urban areas is to better accommodate walkers and bicyclists with active transportation infrastructure.
* Nearly half of all trips in the United States are within a 20-minute bicycle ride, and a quarter are within a 20-minute walk.
* Every trip made by a pedestrian or bicyclist increases the existing roadway capacity, improves the user’s health, and reduces his or her carbon footprint—all of which can save Florida millions of dollars, according to the Florida Department of Transportation’s Conserve By Bicycle Study.
* Better active transportation infrastructure saves lives. Florida consistently has one of the worst safety and fatality records per capita in the entire country for pedestrians and bicyclists. Trails and other biking and walking facilities can keep more Floridians safe.