Register for Strive Not to Drive

Strive Not to Drive
18 Years and counting!
This year celebrate: May 12th - 16th, 2008

- Register NOW & get your co-workers to register

- then get free breakfast

- then the employer with the largest participation will be recognized in the paper

Be green, save money & have fun! Please view this poster; SNTDPoster final 2008.pdf

Register & learn more at:
www.blueridgecommute.org    

PARK(ing) Day- San Francisco

Check this out! www.youtube.com/results?search_query=parking+day+san+fran&search_type=

Malaprop’s event with author from book on Bicycling!

Portland Considered Most Bicycle-Friendly City in North America

Check out this video & audio piece on Bike in Portland!   Gives us a set of goals in Asheville.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/15/portland_considered_most_bicycle_friendly_city

For many, Portland is a haven of green-friendly urban planning. It recently topped Popular Science‘s list of the Greenest Cities in the United States. A big part of that is bikes. Portland is widely considered the most bicycle-friendly city in North America, so much so that bikes are on display throughout the Portland airport. Worldwide, it’s seen as only second to Amsterdam. We speak with two local Portland transportation activists.

Wheel Ride For Food : Metric Century & Family Fun Ride is part of ‘08 Mountain Sports Festival

“Wheel Ride for Food” (WRFF) has 2 distinct goals; 1) Provide an event for beginning & intermediate cyclists, their familes & friends to ride the beautiful backroads of rural WNC, & 2) Raise funds for “Meals on Wheels”-Buncombe County. Each day in Buncombe County, over 550 homebound elderly depend on Meals On Wheels for a hot, nutritious meal and a friendly visit. We believe these seniors deserve our respect and the opportunity to live in their own homes among familiar surroundings and maintain their dignity while aging. By helping them, we are assisting the families who love them and the community we live in.

Here is the printable Wheel Ride For Food flier

Follow this Link to the interactive Ride Map

This exciting event is part of the 2008 Mountain Sports Festival, with the support of Asheville Parks and Recreation Department.

We will gather at Carrier Park, with registration in Festival Village at the Deltec tent, near the Track. Riders should make their way into the circle of the track, as we all ‘roll-out’ after a parade lap. We will hold a brief riders meeting at 8:45 to discuss the rules of the road & answer questions. We will begin at 9:15 am.

The Road Ride will consist of a Metric Century (65 miles) and Half-Metric (30-ish miles).
Both routes offer a challenging and scenic ride throughout the river district and various parts of Asheville and Buncombe County before returning to Festival Village and joining other WRFF riders in a finish line party. Continue reading Wheel Ride For Food : Metric Century & Family Fun Ride is part of ‘08 Mountain Sports Festival…

YEAR OF THE BICYCLE?

For Release Sunday, March 2, 2008
© 2008 Washington Post Writers Group

YEAR OF THE BICYCLE?
By Neal Peirce

Bicycling’s best year since the start of the auto age?  That’s the argument likely to be made March 4-6 as hundreds of cyclists from across the nation gather in Washington for the National Bike Summit sponsored of the League of American Bicyclists.

A crescendo of trends and developments makes the case.

First the trends: oil costs are surpassing $100 a barrel, global warming alarm calls are mounting, polluting autos and trucks increasingly clog city streets, and health concerns about a sedentary and fattening society are mounting.

And now the developments: Handy bike-for-hire stations are proving instant hits in Paris and other European cities and seem poised to invade urban America.  Moves to add painted bike lanes along city roadways are being eclipsed by proposals for entire networks of “bike boulevards” — roadways altered radically to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians. And a companion “Complete Streets” movement — making roadway space for cyclists and pedestrians, not just cars and trucks — is gaining traction
nationwide.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), founder of the Congressional Bike caucus (now 160-bipartisan members strong), claims a new pro-bike politics is forming, that it can mobilize a 1-million-plus national constituency and force clear recognition of the role of bicycles in the next (2009) federal transportation bill.  He and the Bike Summit will be pushing a sense of Congress resolution recognizing the potential of bikes to undergird a greener, healthier and more efficient national future. Continue reading YEAR OF THE BICYCLE?…

What will Asheville do with its mandate from the people?; ‘Bike Petition’ closed.

Where do we go from here? The “Bike Petition” has an ambitious goal of putting people back to the center of urban planning decisions. The recent Bike Plan speaks to many of the concerns addressed in city councils recent show of support for ‘people-centered planning’. Thanks to everybody that helped get this petition into the right hands. Here is the video of it being turned in at the City Council Meeting on 2/26/08. 

Below is the final list of signatures by zip code. These are your servers, your doctors, your painters, your accountants, your attorneys, your babysitters, your teachers, your stockbrokers, your carpenters, your nurses & your neighbors. Here is the Finalized Asheville Bike Petition representing as many as 7300 people. (Originals are on file at Asheville City Hall.)

Considering that some of our leaders may never actually see all the hand signatures, or fully grasp it’s vision, here is a reminder of our mutual realization, as set forth by the “Asheville Bike Petition” Continue reading What will Asheville do with its mandate from the people?; ‘Bike Petition’ closed….

Asheville Approved the Transportation Master Plan

Congratulations to everybody in Asheville, NC! Your city council voted to approve the ‘Bike Plan’. We also presented the Bike Petition (here’s the video). The only vote against the plan came from Carl Mumpower even though it was clear he could not argueagainst its vision of our community.

Thanks to (l-r) Brownie Newman, Bill Russell, Vice Mayor Jan Davis, Holly Jones & Robin Cape for restoring our faith in Asheville. Over 50 helmet clad citizens endured the proceedings.
Here is the Asheville Citizen Times Coverage of the historic vote.

Some of the other key players in making this happen are Mike Sule (Asheville on Bikes), Barb Mee (French Broad MPO), Claudia Nix (Bike Ped Task Force), Eric Krause (Bike Plan Steering Committee) & Yuri Koslen (UNCA Transportation Planner). There are dozens, even hundreds more people that played a part in this groundbreaking decision. Great Job everybody!

Asheville’s Action Items for Monday & Tuesday

You can Ensure Asheville’s adoption of the Comprehensive Bike Plan by doing the following 3 things right now.

1) write an email, or call any or all of the still 3 un-committed members of City Council.

Continue reading Asheville’s Action Items for Monday & Tuesday…

Help Shape the Future of Bicycle Access in Asheville

If you care about bicycle transportation in Asheville, this is the time to make your voice heard. And if you read on, I’m going to tell you how. The Bicycle Master Plan for Asheville has been drafted and is ready to go to the Asheville City Council for adoption. Here is the link to it.

Eric K. of BioWheels along with several other people working in the transportation & cycling industries were on the Steering Committee that helped to shape the Plan. About 175 Asheville area residents came to the public input sessions about the Plan. And about 830 people took the online survey about the Plan.

This Comprehensive Bicycle Plan contains bicycle network maps and recommendations for implementation. You can view the document and supporting maps here. We at BioWheels believe the Plan is solid and will eventually provide residents the infrastructure needed to safely use bicycles as transportation in Asheville. Continue reading Help Shape the Future of Bicycle Access in Asheville…