Florida Bicycle Association

2010 ProBike/ProWalk Florida Conference

Come to Lakeland for the fifth ProBike/ProWalk Florida Conference “The Dollars and Sense of Bicycling and Walking” brought to you by the Florida Bicycle Association.  The conference will be held May 11-13, 2010 at the Lakeland Center.  Pre-conference activities will be held May 11. The conference begins May 12. The official host hotel is the Hyatt Place at Lakeland Center. Highlights include:

National, state and local dignitaries

Florida Bicycle Association Annual Meeting and Awards presentation

Educational and advocacy breakout sessions

Mobile Workshops

Continued education credits

Speakers will provide information and data to begin making the case that routinely accommodating pedestrians and cyclists makes total economic sense.

For more information and to register, go HERE!

Jacksonville Traffic Skills 101 Class

Lakeshore Bicycles & Fitness, 2106 Blanding Blvd, Jacksonville, FL

Cost: $35 general admission; $30 for members of Tour de Cure and Katie Ride for Life teams

To register contact: Jodi Hohlstein, 904-291-8664, or email jodi@floridabicycle.org for confirmation of date and a complete registration packet. Register early since class size is limited to 17 students.

Florida Bike Summit 2010

Get Ready to Make a Difference!

Come to Tallahassee for the 2nd Annual Florida Bike Summit at the State Capitol April 8, 2010, 10:00 am-2:00 pm, and help protect the rights of bicyclists to ride safely and freely.

Learn what Florida is doing for bicyclists

Meet with legislators throughout the day

Connect with other bicycle advocates

Secured bicycle parking

Summit gathering spot: Tallahassee/East KOA Campground

Summit legislative training: 4/7/10; 7:00 pm

Summit celebration reception: 4/8/10; 5:00-6:30 pm

The 2010 Florida Bike Summit is FREE – register today

Press event at 10:30 am

A POWERFUL TOOL FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

I sat in on the LEBA (Law Enforcement Bicycle Association) course last week. While the classroom segment on laws was short, instructor Bill Edgar gave them all Florida Bicycle/Pedestrian Law Enforcement Guides. He also reinforced a number of key things throughout the course and encouraged the students to educate their fellow officers about the laws and cyclists’ rights as vehicle drivers.

For a full recap of the class, go HERE.

FBA continues the development of our Bicycle Law Enforcement Program. Visit our dedicated website often for updates and to “Ask Geo” questions about the law.

Keri Caffrey

FBA Winter Board Meeting in Lakeland

Join us this weekend, January 8-9, for the FBA Winter Board meeting in Lakeland at the Hyatt Place Lakeland Center, 525 West Orange Street, Lakeland, FL 33815, (863) 4153-1122. When making reservations, use corporate ID #46575 to receive the $89 rate. The fun begins Friday evening from 6:00-8:00 pm for a Meet & Greet at Texas Cattle Company, 735 East Main Street, Lakeland, FL 33801-5038, (863) 686-1434. A Saturday morning bike ride from 7:30-9:00 am originating from the hotel precedes the meeting which begins at 10:00 am.  The meeting adjourns at 5:00 pm.

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

FBA Winter Board Meeting

Join us this weekend, January 8-9, for the FBA Winter Board meeting in Lakeland at the Hyatt Place Lakeland Center, 525 West Orange Street, Lakeland, FL 33815, (863) 4153-1122. When making reservations, use corporate ID #46575 to receive the $89 rate. The fun begins Friday evening from 6:00-8:00 pm for a Meet & Greet at Texas Cattle Company, 735 East Main Street, Lakeland, FL 33801-5038, (863) 686-1434. A Saturday morning bike ride from 7:30-9:00 am originating from the hotel precedes the meeting which begins at 10:00 am.  The meeting adjourns at 5:00 pm.

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

Miami Traffic Skills for Bicyclists Class

Sunday, November 15, 9:00 am-5:00 pm

Tropical Park Community Center, 7900 SW 40th Street, Miami, FL 33155

Cost: $35

To register contact: David Henderson, 305-375-1647, or email davidh@miamidade.gov. Class size is limited so you MUST register in advance.

Calling all Florida Bike Club Presidents

The Florida Freewheelers Bicycle Club will host a meeting of all Florida Bicycle Club Presidents (road, touring, off-road, racing, you name it) in conjunction with the 30^th Annual Horrible Hundred two-day event November 14-15 in Clermont.  The purpose of the meeting is to share ideas and discuss ways we can all learn from one another on topics ranging from ride management, charity rides, SCOR (Specialized Cardiac Outpatient Rehabilitation) Chapters, bike education workshops and legislative strategies for 2010. Other agenda items are also welcomed.

The meeting will be held Saturday, November 14, at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 1750 Hunt Trace, Clermont, 352-394-6585, from 3:30-5:30 pm. Other activities on Saturday include packet pick-up and registration, and a sponsor/vendor expo at Waterfront Park. The Horrible Hundred Main Event occurs Sunday, November 15, at Waterfront Park with a Century, 70-mile and 35-mile route options beginning at 8:00 am.

In support of the Florida Bicycle Club Presidents meeting, the Florida Freewheelers and the Horrible Hundred will provide one (1) complimentary ride registration to each club for their president or designee if they choose to attend the meeting. Interested individuals should register HERE and indicate you’re attending the Florida Bicycle Club Presidents meeting in the “My story” portion of the registration form. Hit submit, but do not proceed to Google check out since your registration fee is complimentary.  Additionally, please RSVP to Laura Hallam if you can join us at laura@floridabicycle.org.

FBA Board of Director members and staff will facilitate the meeting since FFW President Art Ackerman and Horrible Hundred Director Tom Bargnesi will have their hands full with final preparations for the HH.  They have pledged their support and hope this meeting is the beginning of an annual event.

Call for Papers: PROBIKE/PROWALK FLORIDA 2010 “The Dollars and Sense of Bicycling and Walking”

FBA needs your expertise for the ProBike/ProWalk Florida 2010 conference to be held May 11-13 in Lakeland.

At our inaugural Florida Bike Summit at Florida’s state capitol last April, it became very clear that for significant headway to be made at this level – or any level, for that matter – it’s necessary to put dollar values on the benefits of creating communities that are bike/ped-friendly.  Likewise, costs associated with not having that kind of environment are just as important. Beyond money spent on bike-related tourism and accompanying tax revenue collected by the state, cycling and walking impacts many aspects of our economy.  Some examples include individual and government savings or costs related to health, environmental impacts, and the one with arguably the biggest impact – transportation.

To assist FBA begin what we know will be the complex process of collecting and analyzing credible data, we’ve decided to make bike/ped economics the theme of ProBike/ProWalk Florida 2010.  If you think you have something to offer in terms of a conference session topic, please consider submitting a paper that summarizes what you’d like to present by December 1, 2009.  We’d also like to get sessions that are appropriate for professional development credits certified for planners, landscape architects, transportation engineers, and other professionals, so please keep that in mind when developing your topic.

Please direct your questions and submit session summaries with the following information to Dan Moser, FBA Program Manager, at dan@floridabicycle.org:

Contact Information, Session Topic, Topic Significance to Conference, Outline of Presentation/Session, Other Proposed Speakers to Compliment Topic, and Date Submitted.

Your input is vital to the overall success of the 5th edition of our conference.

Calling all Florida Bicycle Club Presidents

The Florida Freewheelers Bicycle Club has generously offered to host a meeting  of all Florida Bicycle Club Presidents in conjunction with the 30th Anniversary Horrible Hundred two-day event November 14-15 in Clermont.  The purpose of the meeting is to share ideas and discuss ways we can all learn from one another on topics ranging from ride management, charity rides, SCOR (Specialized Cardiac Outpatient Rehabilitation) Chapters, bike education workshops and legislative strategies for 2010. Other agenda items are also welcomed.

The meeting will be held Saturday, November 14, at the Fairfield Inn & Suites from 3:30-5:30 pm. Other activities on Saturday include packet pick-up and registration, and a sponsor/vendor expo at Waterfront Park.  The Horrible Hundred Main Event occurs Sunday, November 15, at Waterfront Park with a Century, 70-mile and 35-mile route options beginning at 8:00 am.

In support of the Florida Bicycle Club Presidents’ meeting, the Florida Freewheelers and the Horrible Hundred will provide one (1) complimentary ride registration to each club for their president or designee if they choose to attend the meeting. Interested individuals should contact Scot Hartle, FFW Executive Director at FFWmail@aol.com, to register for the bike ride, as well as Laura Hallam to RSVP for the meeting at laura@floridabicycle.org.

FBA Board of Director members and staff will facilitate the meeting since FFW President Art Ackerman and Horrible Hundred Director Tom Bargnesi will have their hands full with final preparations for the HH.  They have pledged their support and hope this meeting is the beginning of an annual event.

Please share this information with your club so all clubs are represented at the Florida Bicycle Club Presidents’ meeting. For more information, contact Laura Hallam.