Ten for Tuesday - Bike Month

1. It's Bike Month. Did you remember to get your spouse a gift? Perhaps a nice bottle of Chamois Butt'r? The offcial Bike Month website is kind of a dud (There's also Bike-to-Work Week from May 15-19 and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 19) listing only one event for the whole region - Bike to Work Day - and it's only listed under DC. Maryland and Virginia got nothing. Come on suburbs, get with it.

2. Speaking of BTWD, Prince George's County has completed a rather cool mid-county bike map and will be giving it out free at all rest stops that day.

The map will convey the" Kelly Code Color Standards" of Green Roads for "On-Road-Biking", Brown "Off-Road-Biking", Yellow  "Caution-On-Road Routes" and Red "No Go-Bike Routes".

I do love standards, and it'll be interesting to see if this will take off. I remember when DC made their bike map they decided not to use the Kelly system because they thought it was counter-intuitive. Of course I have a bike map too, but it's still a work in progress.

3. The March to Rebuild Route 1 was held in College Park, seeking support for a project that

features a design that calls for an expansion of Route 1 that would add bike lanes, the construction of a tree-lined median and pedestrian crossings.

Tammy Hnarakis, who is leader of the North College Park Business Association, said in an interview that the association supports funding for pedestrian crossings, but opposes the project because of the impact caused by the addition of bike lanes next to businesses near the Capital Beltway.

Hnarakis displayed stacks of letters — an estimated 2,700, she said — signed by patrons and residents five years ago voicing opposition to the bike lanes. Additionally, Hnarakis said deliveries to some businesses would be impossible if medians were constructed.

“You don’t need to put people out of business and waste taxpayer money to increase pedestrian safety and bike safety,” Hnarakis said.

4. Not official bike month ride #1 - Ride for Rockville, May 28, Rockville, 240-314-8620

http://www.rockvillemd.gov

Take a 10- or 25-mile bike ride through the neighborhoods and parks of Rockville and support bicycle and pedestrian safety programs. 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Fee charged.

5. Not official bike month ride #2 - Bike around Lake Elkhorn, Columbia, 410-715-3103

columbia.archives.@columbiaassociation.com

http://www.columbiaassociation.com

The self-guided, individually paced 15-mile bike tour highlights Columbia's network of paths, beginning at Lake Elkhorn. Sponsored by the Columbia Association, the tour is held every spring. This year's event is May 6. Free.

6. Hyattsville received $50,000 that will be used towards public safety improvements to Hamilton Street and add bike lanes, bus shelters and increase lighting to make the street much safer.

‘‘It’s wonderful,” said Councilwoman Ruth Ann Frazier (Ward 5.)

‘‘Hamilton Street for so many years has just been a mess. It always had big potholes and needed re-paving and lights. In other words, it needed all the things we’ll be getting.”

The improvements will also mean the end of double parking, which had become a major problem along the street, Frazier said.

7. WABA has free Confident Cycling Classes, so that you can get off the sidewalk.

Confident City Cycling Classes FREE!

Want to use your bike to go where you need to go? Learn to safely share the
road with cars, other bikes, and pedestrians.

Washington Area Bicyclist Association, with the support of the DC
Departments of Transportation and Recreation, presents a choice of six free
classes in 2006 for cyclists 16 and over. Each class will be held for three
hours on a Saturday morning. Topics include:

Rules of the Road: Knowing is half the battle! Did you know that you have to
adhere to the same rules of the road as a car or truck does? Did you know
that you have the same rights that the operator of a car or truck does? Well
its true- you do! Our course offers some great tips and tricks for safely
and legally using our roadways.
Avoiding the Common Causes of Crashes: Believe it or not, most crashes are
avoidable. Learn what to do if a car turns suddenly in front of you, if you
have to stop suddenly, what to do to avoid the dreaded car door and much
more!
Lane Positioning: Do you ever feel like cars are passing you too closely or
running you into the gutter? Learn proper lane positioning to encourage
drivers to pass you at a safe distance. Also learn how to safely cross lanes
of traffic in order to made turns or avoid obstacles in the road.
Improving Pedaling Efficiency: Bicycling shouldn't be backbreaking work! The
bicycle is one of the most efficient inventions of all time- make the most
of it! Learn how to shift gears in anticipation of a hill, achieve a good
cadence, and minimize the wear and tear on your knees.
Useful Accessory Equipment: We all know you need a helmet, but learn some
other helpful and handy equipment to make your ride more enjoyable.
Basic Bike Maintenance and Repair: Everyone who rides a bike should know
some basic repair and maintenance skills. Learn how to change a flat tire
and other emergency repair tips.

WABA asks that cyclists who plan to join the on-road sessions afterwards
bring a bike, helmet, water, and a lock.

REGISTER NOW!  Please provide safetyed@waba.org with your name, email, and
phone number for last-minute contact or call the WABA office at
202-628-2500.

Sat, 5/13, 10am-1pm Sherwood Recreation Center, DC
  10th and G St., NE, DC 20002
Sat, 5/20, 10am-1pm Arlington Central Library, VA
  1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington, VA 22201
Sat, 6/17, 10am-1pm Watts Branch Recreation Center
  6201 Banks St., NE, DC 20019
Sat, 7/15, 10am-1pm Turkey Thicket Recreation Center
  1100 Michigan Ave., NE, DC 20017
Sat, 9/30, 1pm-4pm Chevy Chase Recreation Center
  5601 Connecticut Ave., NW, DC 20015
Sat, 10/14, 10am-1pm Fort Stevens Recreation Center
  1327 Van Buren St., NW, DC 20011

8. Bikes are a great way to deal with rising fuel costs.

9. National Trails Day, which is not part of Bike Month (where would it find room?) is June 3rd and you can ride with

MDOT Secretary of Transportation Robert Flanagan and Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson. State, county and city officials will celebrate the benefits of trails in a program that starts at 9:30 am at the Bladensburg Waterfront Park. After a few speeches, trail users can go on one of several planned bike rides on the Anacostia Trails.

10. George Bush never has to send his bike UPS (see photo).

Bikes - The solution to, and cause of, all of life's problems

Solving DC Problems, a project of DC Appleseed, is offering real prize money ($5000 for first) for the best ideas to solve problems in DC. Entries are due by May 5th so if you have a million dollar idea, well you should keep that to yourself, but if you a five thousand dollar idea, enter it. If your idea involves hitting box blockers with eggs, it's taken. Several ideas involve cycling which I've listed here, some go too far and others are just crazy (though I do like the idea of High School Cycling teams).

1. Funding bike lanes and racks with red light cameras 
2. Transform DC's car culture with bikes
3. Zipbike and again and bike trailers- readers of this site know it's already being worked on
4. Rush Hour Bike License for metro - I don't understand what the license is for, just let bikes on
5. More policing of cyclist - though they want to "get rid of people" I don't think they actually want to deport them
6. Bike thoroughfares and again
7. Bikechecks - my favorite of the bike ideas
8. Highline walkway/bikeway - would be great, if DC had abandoned highlines (NYC broke ground on theirs - pictured - April 10th BTW).
9. Bike Routes - I'm going to disagree with this one, biking in DC is fun.

There are a lot of other good ideas, and, IMO, some terrible ones (parking garage under the mall or a highway under rock creek). If nothing else it gives one a good idea of what their neighbors think is a good idea.