We will give you the tools to use a bike for transportation, without stress or fear, anywhere you choose.

Truth & Techniques of Traffic Cycling (classroom session) will be offered at Metroplan Orlando from 6-9PM on Friday, March 11.

Train Your Bike (bike handling session) will be held at the old Orlando Arena from 8-11 AM on Saturday, March 12.

Tour of Orlando session will begin in Colonialtown (12:30-4PM) Saturday, March 12. (completion of other two sessions is required to take this one).

All day students will ride as a group from the Arena to lunch (Baja Burrito in Colonial Plaza). All group riding is done at a speed that is comfortable for the slowest rider (this is typically about 9-10mph). The Tour class begins at Colonial Plaza and ends back at the Arena. The all day course is a lot of fun for the camaraderie, but it is physically and mentally demanding.

For those wanting single sessions, or to take the course in 3-hour increments, you can sign up for Truth & Techniques or Train Your Bike. Individual sessions are $30 each. A package (all 3 sessions) can be purchased for $75. Package price is valid even if you take the courses on different dates.

To learn more about the course, click here.

Please use this form to register.

Fee: $75 for all three sessions or $30 per session a la carte.

Twenty-five Floridians are visiting Washington, DC, the week of March 7-11 as part of the National Bike Summit.

Members of the delegation will be visiting most if not all Florida congressional offices on Thursday, March 10, 2011, making the case for better, safer bicycling and walking in Florida.

You can help since your message of support to your own members of Congress really multiplies the impact of the delegation’s visit.  It only takes about three minutes.

Click here to look up your members and find their contact information.

Sample message:

Dear Congressman/woman X,

The National Bike Summit is taking place today in Washington and a delegation from Florida will be visiting your office. I hope you’ll take the time to meet with them because bicycling and walking is very important to Florida and to me.

Federal funding for bicycling and walking is a very, very small amount–just 0.03% of the federal budget–but it is very, very important:
- Federally funded roads and highways are among the biggest impediments to bicycling and walking
- Destinations that people want to bicycle and walk to cluster along federally funded roads and highways
- Federally funded roads and highways cut right through every city and town in Florida, and when they are not built to allow people to bicycle or walk along or across them, the result is that entire neighborhoods become unwalkable and unbicycleable.
[Add a sentence or two about why bicycling and/or walking is important to you.]

Sincerely yours,

THANK YOU! When you contact your elected representatives, it really does make a difference!

Thanks also to Kathryn Moore who is leading the Florida Delegation.  Follow her updates HERE.

The month of May is promoted nationally as National Bike Month by the League of American Bicyclists, however, many cities/areas throughout Florida choose to observe Bike Month earlier due to Florida’s warm weather.

For starts, check out the first ever Bike Month celebration in Hernando County. Not quite as big an event that Orlando or Tampa put on, but a start for us.

Steve Diez, FBA Board Treasurer
Hernando County MPO Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator

Bill Richards, Paddle Florida

The Florida Bicycle Association invites you to Tallahassee for the 3rd annual Florida Bike Summit on Thursday, March 24, 2011.  Our press conference in the Capitol Courtyard will start at 11:30AM.  Registration is free. Your time and presence will help in getting the attention of our legislators that their constituents demand the rights of bicyclists to be taken seriously.  They won’t know unless you tell them.

You don’t have to be ultra articulate, and you don’t have to have multiple talking points in bullet form. All you have to do is say, “I am a citizen of your district, and I support enhanced penalties for moving vehicle violations that cause serious injury or death.”  Done.  Have a few more minutes?  Here’s your next sentence: “I also support distracted driver legislation that makes violations a primary offense.”  Wow, not only easy, but now you’re feeling pretty good to have spoken out.

Register TODAY for the Florida Bicycle Summit.  Sign in, show up and speak up for cycling!

The 2011 FBA Annual Awards presentation will take place in conjunction with the Summit during the press event.  The nomination deadline is March 1, 2011 so don’t delay in nominating worthy individuals or organizations. A list of categories and previous winners is available on the website, as well as a nomination form. Nominations go to Interim Executive Director Dan Moser by email, fax or mail:

dan@floridabicycle.org; ph/fax 239-334-6417
1449 Linhart Ave., Fort Myers FL 33901

A complete list can be found here.

The proposed budget in the House can be viewed by going to http://www.myfloridahouse.gov, click on Committees, click on Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, then click on the Meeting Packets link on the right, then download the .pdf for the January 26, 2011 meeting. Items 50 and 52 on page 40 give the details.

A similar bill is in committee in the Senate.

Call your legislators NOW!!

Email the chairs of the committees. The chair of the House Committee is Trudi Williams and the chair of the Senate Committee is Alan Hays.  Representative Williams email address is: trudi.williams@myfloridahouse.gov  Senator Hays’ email address is: hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov

The rest of the members of the House committee are as follows:
Trudi.Williams@myfloridahouse.gov
Steve.Crisafulli@myfloridahouse.gov
Leonard.Bembry@myflioridahouse.gov
Ben.Albritton@myfloridahouse.com
Frank.Artiles@myfloridahouse.gov
Jim.Boyd@myfloridahouse.gov
Luis.Garcia@myfloridahouse.gov
Tom.Goodson@myfloridahouse.gov
Clay.Ingram@myfloridahouse.gov
George.Moraitis@myfloridahouse.gov
Steven.Perman@myfloridahouse.gov
Elizabeth.Porter@myfloridahouse.gov
Vasilinda.Rehwinkel@myfloridahouse.gov
Patrick.Rooney@myfloridahouse.gov
Franklin.Sands@myfloridahouse.gov
Stephanie.Massengale@myflorida.gov

Senate General Government Appropriations Committee member information is as follows:
Chair: Senator D. Alan Hays hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov
Vice Chair: Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto benacquisto.lizbeth.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Larcenia J. Bullard bullard.larcenia.web@flseante.gov
Senator Miguel Diaz de la Portilla portilla.miguel.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Anthony C. “Tony” Hill, Sr. hill.tony.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Dennis L. Jones, D.C. jones.dennis.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Jack Latvala latvala.jack.web@flsenate.gov

Please email or call the Chairs first, then move on to the other committee members as you have time.

Below are some important statistics you can use in your correspondence.

With an estimated $3.5Billion budget shortfall this fiscal year, now more than ever, we need our voices heard! The new Governor has stressed that economic development and tourism are two of his top priorities, and visitors to State Parks and Greenways are great examples of tourists spending money!

Do your part to help preserve some of the best trails in the State of Florida!

Contributed by: Hal Downing and Rob Ern

Tim will hit the ground running (or flying) since on March 8 he’ll travel to Washington DC to represent FBA at the National Bike Summit along with Dan Moser, interim ED and program director. Today is the last day to qualify for the early bird discount so don’t delay if you plan to attend the Summit.

Thanks to all the outstanding candidates who applied for the position.  The Search Committee had a difficult task, but ultimately, chose the best person for the job.  Laura Hallam’s last official day was 1/31/11, but will assist with the transition and stay involved as a volunteer.

from left to right:  Michael Schwaid, Henry Lawrence, Robert Seidler, Jim and Diane Murray, Mighk Wilson, Laura Hallam, Ted Wendler, City of Oldsmar Council member Linda Norris and photographer Becky Afonso’s Schwinn.

I hope you can join us. Please RSVP if you plan to attend by contacting Laura Hallam at laura@floridabicycle.org.

“If you expect America to succeed, to increase wealth, we have to get
the cost of living down, so that we don’t have to have such high wages
in order for people to live a good life… Cycling is a key part of it.
You want to reduce the cost of education? Get kids back riding bikes
back to school. Because the number two budget item in the school
budget is busing. Everyone is being bused, not for racial integration,
but because the roads are too dangerous to walk or to cycle. If you
fix the problem of the roads and safety for cyclists, you’ve now cut
down the budget for schools. By the way, you’ve also cut down the
budget for roads.”

“If you really want to reduce the things that are driving up the cost
of government, it’s really going to happen by improving the
infrastructure for cycling, and for pedestrian activities, and mass
transit, and things like that.”

Richard Schwinn is a co-founder of Waterford Precision Cycles and the
grandson (I think, maybe a nephew) of the founder of Schwinn Bicycles.

The quotes are taken from a podcast – http://www.wjcu.org/2010/12/18/the-outspoken-cyclist-12182010

Bill Edmonds
btedmond@fsu.edu

All the best for a happy, healthy 2011. Be safe.