Do some shopping, any shopping, on Wednesday May 16th, and 5% of your entire purchase will go to the Bicycle Coalition! No need to print a flier, mention anything, buy certain items. 5% of EVERYTHING you buy benefits the Bicycle Coalition…
You can help us raise over $2,600 to help make SLO County even better for bicycles!
A recent report from our national partners at America Bikes found that 83% of all respondents support maintaining or increasing the federal funding streams that pay for sidewalks, bikeways, and bike paths.
We know this is true, we see it everyday, with increasing ridership both locally, and nationally. Americans want active transportation options, a way to get around their communities safely, and while being active. The threat to eliminating funding for biking and walking is real, and would roll back the options in our transportation system back into the 1950s.
More and more Americans are turning to biking for transportation on a daily basis. In 2009, Americans took 4 billion bike trips, and the number of bicycle commuters has grown 43% since 2000.
One of the most noticeable parts of the report, is that support for biking and walking funding is bi-partisan, is not related to geography, and is strong across all age groups. In a time where biking trips are rapidly increasing, it is a mistake to put the safety of road users at risk by eliminating funding.
…Many lawmakers have zeroed in on eliminating funding for biking and walking as a wishful solution to our country’s fiscal woes, though cutting these critical but small programs has virtually no impact on the federal deficit. Currently, only 1.5% of federal transportation spending funds sidewalks and bikeways.
If you want to continue to see better bikeways and bike paths locally, support our Connect SLO County initiative, aimed at completing our bike paths. We are dedicated to making sure people of all ages can get around by bicycle, and are your voice for bicycles in SLO County and beyond!
You can view the entire report from America Bikes online here.
When: Wednesday May 9th, 3:30 pm
Where: Meet at the Community Center, 5599 Traffic Way, Atascadero
We are proud to be a part of the first annual Bike To Bites event in Atascadero as part of Rideshare’s Bike Month!
We’ll be meeting at the Community Center to ride as a group, have a blast & ring our bells on our way to the Galaxy Theater… Free pizza & root beer at the theater after the ride!
We’ll have the Bike Valet set up, park your bike, and use your valet tag for a free screening of “Breaking Away” at the Galaxy!
Can’t meet us at the Community Center for the ride? Check out the flier for local bike routes to use to ride to the theater to meet us!
Come learn about the Kitchen, sign up for our next volunteer orientation Monday May 7th, 5:30 – 6:30 pm (every 1st Monday of the month!)
The Bike Kitchen is always looking for volunteers to help out in any way they can:
No mechanic experience necessary, anyone is welcome to join us! We’ll equip you with the basic information you’ll need to staff the Kitchen.
By volunteering, you also get to use the Kitchen every 2nd Monday of the month during our “volunteer only” work nights!
Sign up online for the next orientation, Monday May 7th, 5:30 pm
Practice your bike handling skills at this kid-friendly Bike Rodeo. We’ll be there teaching basic bike smarts, and having a blast riding our bikes together in Morro Bay! This is a great chance for Morro Bay kids & families to get together, ride bikes and show your support for bicycles in SLO County.
All SLO County youth can join us by the coast for the FREE bike safety rodeo on the Morro Bay High School track.
When: Saturday May 5th
Where: Morro Bay High School Track (map)
When: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Brought to you by: SLO County Health, SLO County Bicycle Coalition, Rideshare and Central Coast Montessori School
Join us for the first Kidical Mass of 2012, just in time for the beginning of Bike Month!
When: Thursday May 3rd
Where: Mitchell Park, SLO (map)
When: 6:00 pm
Theme: Rainbows
We’re excited for our third year of Kidical Mass rides, and hope you*, your friends, and your entire family will join us for the ride! We meet at 6:00 for a brief safety talk before we ride as a group through downtown to the Mission Plaza.
If you’re a kid at heart, and want to be a part of the ride, it’s a great chance to volunteer and help get the little riders excited about their bicycles. Sign up to volunteer here, it’s only a 30-minute commitment, and is a blast!
*Everyone on the ride should be on a bicycle, including parents and guardians (walking in the street alongside is not permitted).
Connect SLO County is an initiative of the Bicycle Coalition, aimed at completing the 3 main bike path projects in SLO County. The largest component of the initiative is an interactive website, which will be the main source for up-to-date information for these bike path projects.
Our residents and visitors have already to begun exploring our outstanding environment by bicycle in impressive numbers. Riding through wine country is the joyful activity of choice for healthy adventurers and training along the coast is all a racing cyclist could ever want. Meanwhile, pedaling a beach cruiser down the Bob Jones Trail is heaven for parents, kids, and leisure seekers alike.
We want more Bob Jones Trails. Connect SLO County aims to build bicycle network for everyone, from an eight-year-old child to an eighty-year-old grandmother, to provide a safe healthy access to shop, commute, and play by bicycle. San Luis Obispo County’s vibrancy is built upon our unique environment and economy of recreation, ranching, agriculture, and small city atmosphere. To develop that economy we need to Connect SLO County and complete our bike paths!
Visit the website today to see how you can get involved, show your support, share your story, and spread the word!
The Bike Valet will be parking bikes as a part of the inagural SLO Marathon. Come cheer on the runners and view part of the happenings at the Madonna Expo Center where the Bike Valet is going to be set up!
When: Sunday April 22, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Where: Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo (map)
