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Bike The Budget on January 13

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Stand up for Bikes on January 13th

Every two years, the City of San Luis Obispo establishes the top priorities to make SLO an even better place to live, work and play. The City council then matches the resources necessary to achieve these priorities through adopting the budget in June. The adopted budget sets the City’s course of action for the next two years. The Community Budget Forum on January 13th at the Ludwick Community Center is the bike community’s opportunity to present our ideas directly to the city council on what priorities we want represented within the next two year budget cycle.

Do we really need to show up?

The City Council uses the Community Budget Forum to assess the priorities for the coming budget cycle.  If members of the bike community don’t show up to express how important bike infrastructure improvements are to the community, the City Council won’t include them in the 2015-2017 budget process. Only by gathering together can we demonstrate our strength, passion and resolve to continue making San Luis Obispo an even better place to bike.

Where and When?

We’ll meet at 5:00 PM in the Community Room of the SLO Library (995 Palm St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401) to eat pizza and discuss strategy.

At 5:45 PM we’ll bike/walk/drive over to the Ludwick Community Center, a few short blocks away at 864 Santa Rosa St (corner of Santa Rosa and Mill). The community forum lasts from 6:00-9:00 pm, with the voting (placing dots on your favorite projects) taking place at the end. Bike Coalition Board Member Lea Brooks will speak to the Council and at that point all bike supporters should stand to demonstrate our support. If you can’t make the whole thing please try and make sure you can be there for the final half hour so that your vote will be counted. The more people that show up and vote the more we’ll “bike the budget”!

You can RSVP for the event on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bike-the-budget-stand-up-to-make-bikes-a-slo-city-budget-priority-tickets-15145940917

Bike Fashion Show 2015

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Bike Fashion Show 2015: Fly. Wheels. Riding. Heels.

Breaking Away at The Fremont

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SLO International Film Festival Screening to Benefit SLO County Bicycle Coalition

We’re excited to announce two great things (Bicycles and Movies) in one great event! This coming Saturday evening (October 25th) the SLO International Film Festival presents a special screening of the film Breaking Away at The Fremont Theatre in SLO. Dennis Christopher and Paul Dooley, who starred in the film, will both be in attendance. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The SLO County Bicycle Coalition.

Dennis Christopher and Paul Dooley will do a Q&A after the movie and will also be at a meet-and-greet reception at Mama’s Meatball in San Luis Obispo, happening 5:00-6:30 pm. The reception includes classic Italian appetizers, wine courtesy of Peloton Cellars, and of course, some Cinzano!

For tickets and information about the screening and the Meet and Greet event at Mama’s Meatball go to https://slofilmfest.org/2014/09/23/dont-miss-the-35th-anniversary-of-breaking-away/ or click here.

Special thanks to Best Bike Zone, Flanders Bicycle, Paso Bike Tours, Foothill Cyclery, Mama’s Meatball and Peloton Cellars for sponsoring this event!

E-Bike Retrofit Workshop

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We’re happy to announce that Doug Snyder of California E-Bike will guest host our first ever E-Bike Retrofit Workshop, at The Bike Kitchen in SLO on Wednesday October 29th from 5:30 – 9:00 PM. Doug will be installing a Bafang 750w crank-drive power assist motor, controller and battery on the bicycle we use to haul the Bicycle Coalition’s 400-pound bike valet set-up. This will make moving the Valet bike racks and the rest of the Valet equipment around SLO a lot easier!

According to Doug, “Bosch and Shimano now make crank-drive e-bike motors but Bafang has the advantage of being a retrofit. Crank-drives are a big improvement over hub drives as they integrate the bike’s transmission into the drive train.”

This workshop will cost $5.00 and is open to the first 15 people who sign up.  We’ll open the Bike Kitchen at 5:30 PM for complimentary pizza and soft drinks, then begin the demo which runs from 6 PM – 9 PM.

Sign up right here or by going to: https://bit.ly/sloebikeworkshop

 

Advocacy Alert

3 Feet for Safety Law goes live!

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On September 16th The San Luis Obispo Bicycle Coalition held an event to inform the press and general public about California’s new bicycle-passing law, “Three Feet for Safety”. P1010551The law states that motorists must maintain a distance of at least three feet when passing a bicyclist.

California joins 24 other states with similar laws. According to Dan Rivoire, Executive Director of The SLO County Bicycle Coalition, “Bicyclists have a legal right to be on the road in California, even on streets that don’t have bike lanes. More and more people of all ages are discovering that bicycles are an easy, healthy, economical and fun way to get around, especially for short trips. Bike riders are vulnerable when motorists pass too closely. This new law is a reminder that sometimes motorists will need to slow down and wait to pass a bicyclist until it is safe to do so.”

Helping Rivoire spread the word were members of the San Luis Obispo Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. After officers discussed the law with local media, a SLOPD patrol car demonstrated the correct distance to give to bikes by driving past Vanessa Amerson,  3ft2pass_300the Bicycle Coalition’s Interim Education Director, as she rode her bike down Pacific Street in front of Bicycle Coalition headquarters in San Luis Obispo.

Some things to remember:

  • To help estimate what three feet is, motorists can think of how much room they give when parking in order to fully open their door without hitting another parked car or a wall.
  • The law applies on all roads: those with bike lanes as well as those with no bike lane.

If you would like more information or have questions about the new law, please contact the Bicycle Coalition at 805-547-2055.

 

Bike of The Week

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This week’s featured bike is the GIANT Sedona DX.

This bicycle will fit someone range of 5′ 1″ to about 5′ 6″ tall. The Sedona DX includes an aluminum-alloy frame, 26 inch wheels and has front suspension for your riding comfort.  It’s built with the familiar, stable stance of a mountain bike, including the fat tires and upright position, but is equally comfortable just cruising the street. 

The V-brakes will provide you with great stopping power and and an excellent range of braking power (modulation).

The Bike of The Week is tuned up, ready to ride and can be yours for only $150.00!

BOTW_Giant_script

We’re open Friday, Saturday, Sunday from Noon – 5 PM. Come in to The Bike Kitchen at 860 Pacific St in SLO (Corner of Morro and Pacific) and take it or any of our other bikes for a test ride!

 

Bike of The Week

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Today marks the start of a new feature on the SLO County Bicycle Coalition Blog: The Bike of The Week, highlighting some of the cool bikes we have available for purchase at The Bike Kitchen. 

Our very first bike of the week is the Raleigh Sports, produced in Nottingham, England in May of 1978. This coffee-colored vintage classic includes a Brooks saddle, fenders, 19″ (50cm) Mixte frame for easy on/off, 26″ wheels and a sweet Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub. For $150 this two-wheeled beauty comes tuned up and ready to ride.
BOTW_Raleigh_teal
We’re open Friday, Saturday, Sunday from Noon – 5 PM. Come in to The Bike Kitchen at 860 Pacific St in SLO (Corner of Morro and Pacific) and take it or any of our other bikes for a test ride!
Advocacy Alert

Safety Wins: Wider Bike Lanes on Hwy 1

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Today we’re excited to report a victory for the people of the Central Coast.

Nearly three miles of Highway 1 north of Piedras Blancas Lighthouse are due to be moved inland next year in response to coastal erosion. California Coastal Commission staff only recommended five foot wide paved shoulders for the new road, failing to fully utilize the opportunity to make this section of Highway 1 safe for riders of all abilities.

Screen Shot 2014-07-14 at 5.10.55 PM.pngThe Bicycle Coalition and our allies (including the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club, The Slabtown Rollers and even Caltrans) got involved, writing letters and testifying before the Commission about the many benefits of a wider paved shoulder:

  • increased safety for bicyclists
  • increased protection from distracted drivers
  • building an infrastructure that supports the local economy, attracting visitors who tour our county by bike
  • encouraging healthy lifestyle choices for local residents

In response to our efforts, the Commissioners voted against staff recommendation, approving a wider, safer, eight foot paved shoulder. We’re very excited about this result and will continue to keep an eye on this project which breaks ground in May 2015 and is expected to take three years to complete.