california Archives • Bike SLO County

Bike Valet at Concerts in the Park

06/29/2016/in Bike Valet /by coalition2001

Ride your bike to Concerts in the Park

A few weeks ago our free Bike Valet service began setting up on the southeast side of City Park during Concerts in the Park in Paso Robles. We’re excited to offer this free service to the Paso Robles bike community, and would like to thank the generosity of our Paso Robles Concerts in the Park Bike Valet Sponsor, Rahman Law, for making it possible.

If you’ve never used Bike Valet (and are wondering what it is), Bike Valet is our secure bike parking service, designed to encourage everyone to ride bicycles to community events. It works much like the more familiar valet service for cars that some restaurants provide:

Each rider is given a numbered check tag that matches a numbered tag we attach to their bike.
The bike is carefully parked in our secure enclosure.
To retrieve a bike, the user hands in the check tag and the bike is returned.

Ready to ride? Come find us between 5:15-7:45 p.m. in City Park every Thursday from now through August 18, 2016. We’ll park your bike right in the park so you can enjoy the show instead of worrying about finding a nearby spot to lock up.

Not sure what band is playing at the next Concert in the Park? Check out the 2016 schedule right here: http://pasoroblesdowntown.org/downtown-calendar/paso-robles-event-concerts-in-the-park/

California State Bike & Ped Plan

10/29/2015/in Advocacy /by coalition2001

Triple California Bicycling by 2020?

On Tuesday, October 27th, 2015, Caltrans Director Michael Dougherty joined us at the California Bicycle Summit in San Diego. During his plenary session speech “Pedaling Toward a Low Carbon Transportation System: As Easy As Riding A Bike”, Director Dougherty announced the creation of the first ever California State Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (CSBPP), which aims to support and encourage active transportation while increasing safe bicycling and walking opportunities across the state. California has set a target to triple bicycling and double walking by 2020 by improving these options for all Californians.

The CSBPP will take two years to complete and will include the following phases:

Developing goals and objectives (Fall 2015/Winter 2016)
Assessing implementation needs (Winter 2016)
Identifying gaps in the bicycle and pedestrian networks (Winter/Spring 2016)
Creating recommendations (Summer 2016)
Reviewing the draft and final CSBPP (Fall 2016/Winter 2017)

Input from the public is needed. To get started, take the survey at cabikepedplan.org. Throughout the two year process there will be additional opportunities to help shape the CSBPP. Sign up for email updates to get the latest information about CSBPP: Email update sign up.

Meet the Winemaker

04/27/2015/in Events /by coalition2001

A Delicious Benefit for the Bike Coalition

The Central Coast is truly special in so many ways. We have great places to bicycle, an abundance of mouthwatering local wines and a fantastic variety of world-class cuisine using locally produced fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood.

However, whether you commute to work, take long distance road rides or bunny hop the trails on your mountain bike, you know that there is still a long way to go to connect our towns, to improve our roads and trails countywide, and to transform SLO County into a more bike friendly place in general.

Formed 14 years ago in 2001, the Bicycle Coalition is always looking for ways to make SLO County an even better place to bike. During Bike Month we’re joining forces with two local bike-friendly businesses, Peloton Cellars and Windows on the Water, to do just that.

Why? Because both of these locally owned businesses actively support our mission to improve the quality of life in SLO County through bicycle advocacy, education and inspiration. Aside from their year-round support for bikes, both of these businesses are taking the opportunity of May’s Meet The Winemaker evening to spread the word about the SLO County Bicycle Coalition.

We invite you to join The Bike Coalition on May 8th from 5 – 7 PM at Windows on The Water in Morro Bay for one of their dependably delicious Meet the Winemaker evenings. Bill and Trish Kesselring of Peloton Cellars will pour their award-winning wines accompanied by a special pairing of Windows on The Water appetizers. Peloton Cellars will also donate 10% of sales from their Triple Ring Pinor Noir during the entire month of May to the Bike Coalition.

SLO County Bicycle Coalition Meet the Winemaker Benefit

WHEN: May 8th, 2015 5PM to Undecided…
WHERE: Windows on The Water
699 Embarcadero, Upstairs, Suite 7
Morro Bay, CA 93442

COST: No charge for wine tasting. Appetizers are available for purchase. Reservations are recommended should you decide to stay for dinner. (Yum!)

AMGEN Volunteers Needed!

04/06/2015/in Volunteer /by coalition2001

Volunteer at America’s most prestigious cycling event!

The Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding course that traverses hundreds of miles of California’s iconic highways, byways and coastlines each spring. The teams chosen to participate have included Olympic medalists, Tour de France contenders and World Champions.

The race needs 100+ volunteers for the Avila Beach finish (Stage 4) on May 13. Sign up, show up and get some cool swag for being awesome: https://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/footer/volunteer You rock!

E-Bike Retrofit Workshop

10/07/2014/in Bike Education /by coalition2001

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

California By Bike Summit

09/24/2013/in Advocacy, Events /by coalition2001

We are at an exciting and powerful moment in the history of bicycle advocacy in our state. Governor Brown has provided more money than ever for active transportation infrastructure and he’s given us a blank slate regarding rules on how to spend it. Are we prepared to make the most of this opportunity?

Our statewide partners, the California Bicycle Coalition, are hosting an incredible summit in November to address the future of bicycles in the state. Aimed at brining bicycle culture, infrastructure and excitement to all corners of the golden state, the California by Bike Summit is guaranteed to inspire!

On November 7-10 in Oakland, CA, California by Bike will bring people together so that we can say, “Yes, we can.” This is a gathering of more than just bike advocates and the bike industry, but leading bike-minded people in transit, urban planning, health, design, technology, and tourism as we share, envision, connect and collaborate on how to best improve biking in California.

Your Bicycle Coalition will be in attendance to learn and share from others, with the central coast having many recent victories for bicycles. We are also excited to hear what other similar parts of the state are doing to make bicycle riding better in their communities. We’d love to see you there as we all continue to work together to making places better for bicycles!

When: November 7-10, 2013
Where: 685 14th St, Oakland, CA (map)

For more information, to register and receive early-bird registration (ends September 30!) visit the California by Bike Summit online here.

Advocacy Alert: 3ft Passing Bill on Governor Brown’s Desk

09/08/2013/in Advocacy, Safety /by coalition2001

Our statewide partners at the California Bicycle Coalition are one step closer to victory in their latest Give Me 3 campaign.

Give Me 3 is a Bill to get drivers to give a safe three feet of clearance when passing a bicycle rider. Assembly Bill 1371 amends the Vehicle Code to specify three feet as the safe passing distance. Twenty-one other states have enacted similar legislation.

The bill has been passed by the California State Assembly and as of August 27th, 2013 it passed the Senate on a 31-7 vote! Now it sits on the Governor’s desk awaiting final approval.

The legislation would “require a driver to pass a bicycle at a distance of at least three feet”, but when drivers cannot leave that much room due to road conditions they must slow to “a reasonable and prudent speed” and pass only if doing so would not endanger the cyclist’s safety. A violation would be punishable by fines starting at $35. It also sets a base fine of $220 (that’s $959 once court fees and other expenses are added) for injuring a bicycle rider in violation of this statute.

This current version of the bill is an attempt to address the concerns raised by the governor in vetoing previous 3-foot passing bills over the past two legislative sessions. This has given him the distinction of becoming only the second governor to do so – joining Texas’ Rick Perry.

Over 40% of fatal bicycle collisions are caused by motorists passing unsafely. And yet, Governor Brown has vetoed CalBike’s previous two “3 foot” bills. With your help today, the third time could be the charm.

AB 1371, if signed into law by the governor, could become an effective educational tool in making roads safer for all users. Please send a note urging Governor Jerry Brown to pass this important piece of legislation, and require California drivers to give a safe distance when they pass you on your bicycle.

The Future of Bicycles in CA

01/24/2013/in Safety /by coalition2001

Governor Brown’s 2013-2014 budget proposal includes a new funding mechanism of $134 million for bicycle and pedestrian projects – the new Active Transportation Program (ATP). Our partners at the California Bicycle Coalition have outlined specific requests for the ATP as part of their online petition including maintaining funding for Safe Routes to School, a wildly successful program that began in California and has since been adopted at the federal level.

Despite the growing numbers of Americans choosing a bicycle for transportation (a 43% increase in the last 10 years), the funding levels for these facilities are still at risk. Just last year, researchers at Princeton University found that 83% of Americans want to maintain or increase funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects – yet a lack of funding for these projects continues to be the norm.

Here in SLO County, we rank 9th of 58 California counties for bicycle fatalities over the age of 15. Governor Brown’s budget proposal will directly affect the local efforts to reduce these numbers and increase safety and mobility for all road users. Now is the time to tell Governor Brown that we know it is good for the future of our children, our economy, and our state.

The petition will be closed Monday January 28th at 5:00 PST – before it gets transmitted to the Administration for review before the release of the bill on February 1st.

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