site.biowheels.com Blog

Register for Strive Not to Drive

Yuri — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:38:53 +0000

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

PARK(ing) Day- San Francisco

Yuri — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:20:11 +0000

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

Malaprop’s event with author from book on Bicycling!

Yuri — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:30:28 +0000

Thursday, April 24, 2008 7:00 p.m.
	Bicycling with Jim Joyce and others Location: Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe Description: Meet Jim Joyce and other cycling advocates! Jim is the editor of The Bicycle Book: Wit Wisdom and Wa… More info on this event: www.malaprops.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp;jsessionid=bacNwZ0WSsm2acYIc-tLr?s=storeevents

Portland Considered Most Bicycle-Friendly City in North America

Yuri — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:17:52 +0000

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

MJ — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:14:39 +0000

“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.

Advanced & Intermediate Riders- We hope that the regions advanced riders will participate, although the support emphasis is on beginning riders. In that spirirt, you may choose to ‘coach’ friends, family & co-workers at this event. Otherwise, you can ‘race it’ with your buddies.

Beginners- BioWheels will conduct pre-event beginning group rides in from our shop at 6 pm on Wednesday nights after daylight saving time ends (March 9th).

Cost: $40.00 Advance Registration at BioWheels / $55.00 Day of Event Registration

Registration includes: Premium Jersey, Souvenir Water Bottle, lunch and admission to the post-event victory celebration and a variety of other goodies.

BioWheels is the official bike shop sponsor of “Wheel Ride For Food” & will be offering a free helmet ($35 value) with complete bike purchases and 10% off service labor to registered participants! Also, training rides will leave from our downtown location on Wednesday nights.

Some information may change & will be updated here & at our website: WheelRideForFood.org

YEAR OF THE BICYCLE?

Yuri — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:47:21 +0000

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.

Cycling, nationwide, still counts for tiny portions of commuting and shopping trips. But Portland’s experience shows the potential, Blumenauer insists: since that city’s bike program began in the 1990s, the “modal split” for bikes has quadrupled and a $100 million industry of bike shops, bike sales, a start of manufacturing and bike tourism, accounting for 1,000 jobs, has emerged.

Paris’ “velib” bike rental program — the name combines “velo” (bicycle) and “liberte (freedom) — opened last July and registered an astounding 2 million trips in its first 40 days. Twenty-thousand bikes are available at 1,450 cycling stations across the city. Insert a credit card to sign up ($1.50 a day to $43 a year) and you can drop your
bike off at any other station, the first 30 minutes free.

Paris’ sturdy bikes have three gears, good hand brakes, adjustable seat levels and “sit-up” handlebars. They’re equipped with antitheft and global positioning devices. Cost of the biking operation is offset by revenues from advertising at bus shelters and other “outdoor furniture.”

Almost identical systems are sprouting up across Europe — in Lyons, Rennes, Barcelona, Oslo, Stockholm, Seville, Brussels, Vienna. Many others are soon to come including London and Rome. There’s also reported interest in Moscow and Beijing. This April the first serious U.S. fast bike-rental system is due to open in Washington, D.C., followed shortly by San Francisco. Considering the idea or in active negotiations are Houston, Tucson, San Antonio, Portland, Cambridge and Boulder.

Among possible U.S. cities is Chicago — Mayor Richard Daley tested a Velib bike in Paris last summer and came back a fan. Add Louisville: the health giant Humana has bikes for its own workers and Mayor Jerry Abramson likes the idea of a citywide system. And the U.S. Capitol complex — It’s a small city of 12,000 workers and, Blumenauer suggests, “government needs to lead by example.”

On the bike boulevard front, London sprang to world leadership with Mayor Ken Livingstone’s February announcement of a £400 million ($787 million) system of 12 two-wheeler superhighways connecting popular residential areas to city center. The roadways will have continuous, wide cycle lanes, dedicated junctions and clear signs, cutting a swath through traffic.

Planners hope the London system will attract a “critical mass” of cyclists. Even diverting 5 percent of people from their cars and the tubes and buses, it’s estimated, would result in 1.7 million cycle trips each day.

The Londoners also hope to set up special cycle networks around 15 suburban towns, connecting residences with schools, train and bus stations, parks and shops.

Portland has its own version of bike boulevards — remakes of residential streets that had been degraded by motorists using them as cut-throughs. With a minimum of traffic-calming devices such as speed bumps and traffic islands, cut-through traffic was effectively excluded.

Contentious when they were first introduced a decade ago, the Portland bike boulevards have created quality environments raising nearby home prices significantly. But perhaps most important, they’ve marked a major shift from meeting needs of expert and intermediate cyclists. The focus, instead, is on making cycling welcoming for everyone — kids, families and novice cyclists included.

And in the long run, that’s what the worldwide and U.S. bike reforms will have to achieve — a world of safe cycling for people of all ages, both sexes, all skill levels. If we get there, you can mark 2008 as a big year on the route.

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

MJ — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:43:03 +0000

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”

“To: NC D.O.T., The City Of Asheville and NC Public Officials: We, the undersigned, ask that all available city, state and federal transportation funds be attained and used for projects that will address the following issues in Asheville, NC and Western North Carolina:

We recognize that fossil-fuel related travel negatively impacts all cities in the USA.

We recognize that increased bicycle travel, as well as safe wheelchair and foot-travel, will beneficially impact the growing transportation, health, and quality of life concerns plaguing all of Asheville, Buncombe County, Western North Carolina and entirety of the United States.

We demand the creation, and continued maintenance, of a far-sighted Multimodal Transportation System that includes trails, non-motorized lanes, pedestrian malls, and light-rail projects that help connect outlying areas and ensure sustainable economic development. This mandate addresses incomplete, as well as all future urban, suburban and rural transportation planning projects.

By making bicycles part of our daily lives, and encouraging our peers to do the same, we will make Asheville an example of smart-growth & livability.

As an important contribution to our transportation history, bicycles and pedestrians preserve the soul of our community-life.

Therefore, we deem it necessary to enhance bicycle and pedestrian use and safety for all people within the city of Asheville, North Carolina. We hereby demand that our public officials, government agencies, businesses and individuals who participate in decision making on transportation projects look towards other vibrant and forward-thinking cities such as Madison, WI., Boulder, CO., Davis & Berkeley, CA., Portland & Corvallis, OR. and Chapel Hill, NC.”

Asheville Approved the Transportation Master Plan

MJ — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:29:46 +0000

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

Yuri — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:05:56 +0000

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.

Vice-Mayor Jan Davis was elected to the Asheville City Council in 2003 was appointed to serve as vice-mayor in 2007. He is the chair of the City Council Planning and Economic Development Committee and a member of the Public Safety Committee and the Boards and Commissions Committee. Councilman Davis is also a member of the Downtown Commission, and he serves as City Council’s liaison to the WNC Air Quality Agency, Historic Resources Commission, Planning and Zoning Commission, Civic Center Commission and Tree Commission. Councilman Davis owns and operates Jan Davis Tire Store in downtown Asheville.

Phone: (828) 253-5634
Fax: (828) 253-8029
E-mail: jandavis@main.nc.us
Personal Web site: www.jandavistire.com

Councilmember Carl Mumpower was elected to the Asheville City Council in 2001. He is a member of the Boards and Commissions Committee and the ADA Compliance Committee. Councilman Mumpower also serves as a member of CrimeStoppers and City Council’s liaison to the ABC Board, the Board of Electrical Examiners, the Noise Ordinance Appeals Board and the Public Art Board.
Phone: (828) 252-8390
E-mail: drmumpower@aol.com
Personal Web site: www.drmumpower.com

Councilmember Bill Russell was elected to the Asheville City Council in 2007. Councilman Russell is a member of the City Council Planning and Economic Development Committee and the Revenue and Finance Committee. He also serves as a member of the Metropolitan Sewerage Board and as the alternate member of HUB’s Community & Economic Development Alliance. Councilman Russell is City Council’s liaison to the Board of Adjustment, the Community Relations Council, the Historic Resources Commission, the River District Design Review Committee and the URTV Board of Directors.
Phone: 828-274-7388
E-mail: billrussell@charter.net & bill.russell@lcfg@statefarm.com

Remind them this spending is not for the benefit of a small number of existing cyclists, but for the health of the community as a whole. Cyclists are, children, lawyers, surgeons, public servants, dishwashers, servers, and good neighbors. Moreover, the plan encourages safe routes for schools, and improved safety for wheel-chairs & foot travel throughout the region. Combined with greenway development, we will finally re-connect to our forests & neighbors without having to get in a car!

2) Attend the most important infrastructure meeting in recent history.

Tomorrow @ 5:30pm, (Tuesday the 26th) all citizen’s of greater Asheville need to show up, preferably on a bike, to the Asheville City Council’s meeting located in the Council Chamber located on the second floor of City Hall. Imagine swollen bike racks as testament to importance of the Bike Plan.

We cannot expect our City Council to pass the Comprehensive Bike Plan without investment from us. Send a unique message to our city government. Attend the City Council meeting with your helmet on your head. Packing the chamber with helmet bearing citizens sends a powerful message to our city leaders. Simply, we want to build a more sustainable city and bicycle infrastructure is an important component.

3) Familiarize yourself with the recommendations created by To see the Comprehensive Bike Plan go to: www.ashevillenc.gov/residents/transportation/default.aspx?id=450. 830 Ashevillians contributed to it via the online survey. 175 Ashevillians attended the public meeting & commented.

4) Print & bring in more signatures on the bike petition.
WNC Bike Petition Cover Letter ; Bike Petition for Western North Carolina

We have more than 1600 verifiable signatures at this time. Matt Johnson, the petition’s creator, will present the petition as allowed at the meeting.

We are sooo close!

Help Shape the Future of Bicycle Access in Asheville

EK — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:00:52 +0000

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.

Now is the time for your support!

1) Write a quick email to Asheville City Council to tell them that you support the Comprehensive Bicycle Plan. Here is all City Council contact info.

2) Send a letter to the editor of any local publication. Here are the two major ones: Asheville Citizen-Times & Mountain Xpress.

3) Attend the Asheville City Council Meeting on Tuesday Feb. 26 @ 5:00pm to make you physical presence known in support of the Plan. The meeting is on the 2nd floor of City Hall. Please wear/bring your helmet so we have an obvious & cohesive look!

4) Sign the Bike Petition Below. We will be presenting it at the Council Meeting, so if you have any printed/signed pages please bring them to the meeting or bring/mail them to BioWheels before February 26:

BioWheels
81 Coxe Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801

5) Please spread the word to friends, family & co-workers!