WABA Quick Release

Archive for June, 2012

From MNCPPC:

M-NCPPC Montgomery Parks will perform emergency maintenance on the Rock Creek Trail between Old Baltimore Street and Aspen Hill Park beginning on or about July 2, 2012.  Maintenance work will last for about two weeks, weather permitting, and will repair root protrusion and drainage issues on the trail. Park and trail users are asked to use caution when approaching the area; users are encouraged to avoid the area while maintenance is on-going if possible. Please call 301-670-8080 for more information.

WABA is thrilled to announce that we’ve been selected as the July beneficiary of the CLIF Bar 2 mile challenge!  Each month, CLIF Bar picks a different bicycling non-profit as beneficiary of its nationwide challenge to get people out of their cars for trips under 2 miles.  For every trip logged on 2milechallenge.com during the month of July, CLIF Bar will donate $1 to WABA, up to $10,000!  With thousands of WABA members and dedicated cyclists throughout the region, we are confident that we’ll hit that 10,000 trip mark!

We only need 165 cyclists to log 2 trips a day in order to reach 10000 trips by the end of July.  And since this contest is nation-wide, cyclists in other states and cities can log their trips as well to benefit WABA.  So call your sister in Chicago, your brother in law in Nashville, your nephew in Ann Arbor and ask them to register!

Create an account at 2milechallenge.com by clicking “Join the Ride” and filling out your information. Then you can easily enter your trips each day.

So please, today, go to 2milechallenge.com and register to begin logging your bike trips!  Every trip logged now will help the Los Angeles Bike Coalition reach their goal of 10,000 trips by the end of June.  And it’s good practice for July, when we’ll need every trip duly logged to raise funds to support our advocacy and outreach efforts in the Washington area.

(The GPS smartphone version is a bit more complicated, but provides a ton of additional features for those who want to map and share routes and track training statistics.  You can create an account on Bike Brain by downloading the app onto your iphone or Droid and entering your information. Then, when you start pedaling, click START TRIP.  After each trip, click FINISH TRIP, ensure “Log Miles to 2 Mile Challenge” is checked, and click SHARE.)

 

Congratulations, DC-area bicyclists, friends and merrymakers – you helped contribute to the most successful Inaugural Tour de Fat in New Belgium Brewing history!

DC’s record-breaking stats
ATTENDANCE: 2,500 bicycle and beer enthusiasts; 331 participated in the bike parade

MONEY RAISED: $20,910

PROCEEDS GOING TO: Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE), Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB), and Black Women Bike DC (BWBDC)

WABA extends a warm and emphatic Thank You to New Belgium Brewing Company, and all the New Belgium staff for bringing their grand festival through our city and supporting WABA and local bike advocacy groups across the country.

We’d also like to thank our event partners: The Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE), Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB) and Black Women Bike DC (BWBDC), as well as WABA staff and volunteers who helped run the show.

And of course the day would not have been a success without all of you folks who came costumed (or otherwise) to enjoy a day full of raucous and wholesome fun. We’ll see you and everyone you know next year!

Visit www.facebook.com/TourDeFat to learn more about Tour de Fat and www.newbelgium.com for more information on New Belgium Brewing

Now hurry and check out the event photos:

M.V. Jantsen Slideshow

WABA Slideshow

Have photos of your own? Share the love on the WABA Flickr Pool!

And thanks to Shenendoah Bicycle and BicycleSPACE we have fabulous footage: 

About New Belgium Brewing Company

New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, began operations in a tiny Fort Collins basement in 1991. Today, the third largest craft brewer in the U.S., New Belgium produces nine year-round beers; Fat Tire Amber Ale, Sunshine Wheat, Ranger IPA, Belgo IPA, Shift Pale Lager, Blue Paddle Pilsner, 1554 Black Ale, Abbey and Trippel, as well as a host of seasonal releases. In addition to producing world-class beers, New Belgium takes pride in being a responsible corporate role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management and a commitment to environmental stewardship. For more information, visit www.newbelgium.com.

Generally speaking, streets are reconstructed only once a generation. If that is the case for Minnesota Avenue, the next generation cyclists east of the Anacostia River will still have no bicycle facilities on the area’s main north-south connection.

Minnesota Ave. is a major thoroughfare and transportation corridor, connecting neighborhoods from Deanwood to Anacostia.  It connects neighborhoods to the Metrorail Station, multiple Capital Bikeshare locations, the new Benning Road Library, the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail and Marvin Gaye Trail, and the proposed bikes lanes on East Capitol St., NE.  View the area in a Google Map.

DDOT has been working since 2007 to design a new streetscape for the grand avenue as part of the Great Streets Initiatives. The current project area is bounded by A St. SE and Sheriff Rd., NE. There is no space dedicated for bikes in the plans.

Bicycling is growing among the communities along Minnesota Avenue and throughout DC’s neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River despite being comparatively underserved in on-road bicycle facilities.  The District has provided new trails that have proven popular, and people are choosing to ride.  To complete the area’s sole continuous north-south roadway connection (other than the freeway, which is of no use to bicyclists or pedestrians) without space for people on bikes would be a wasted opportunity.

DDOT has rightly encouraged cycling through many of its projects and its initiatives.  It should not undercut its success and the safety of those people who do ride bikes by leaving them out of the plans for Minnesota Ave.

Now is the time to demand better. DDOT will be hosting a meeting on Tuesday, June 19th at 6:30 pm at Friendship Edison PCS/Woodson Senior High School Cafeteria (4095 Minnesota Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20019). Come and speak out for safer streets for all: bikes included.

 

Reports from Arlington state that an elderly woman has died after being struck by a cyclist this morning on the Four Mile Run Trail. We are saddened to hear of this crash and loss of life, and we offer our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

This incident is a tragic reminder of the need to share our trails and roadways for the benefit of all users. In the hope of preventing future crashes such as this one, we remind cyclists to pass pedestrians on the left and provide an audible signal with a bell or a shouted warning when passing. Reciprocally, we ask pedestrians to maintain awareness of their surroundings and the ability to hear such audible signals on trails shared with bicyclists and other trail users.

We all enjoy the benefits of our shared trails and must share the responsibility to use them safely. They are transportation routes and recreation routes and refuges–for both cyclist and pedestrian–from the more traffic-filled roadways. We appreciate and value them, and must all endeavor to share them together as a joint refuge.

Condolences. And be safe, however you travel.

NEXT SATURDAY, June 16th, The New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Tire Ale, and WABA are hosting the biggest, most fanciful, bicycle celebration of all time. And for the first time ever it’s coming to DC!

We’re going to celebrate bikes, make some new friends, and sip on a couple of cold, Rocky Mountain barley pops–all in the name of local bike advocacy!

The Tour de Fat benefits WABA, MORE (Mid-Atlantic Offroad Enthusiasts), Black Women Bike DC, and FABB (Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling).

Before the big day we want to make sure you know all the event details so that you and your friends come prepared, because a) you can’t miss this, and b) you must come prepared.

 

Vital Details

WHEN: Saturday, June 16th, 9am – 4pm
WHERE: The Yards Park
COST: FREE with $5 suggested donation
REGISTRATION: on-site

SCHEDULE:
9:00am – Parade Registration
9:00am – Free Bike Valet
10:00am – Bike Parade
11:00am –  Main Stage
12:00pm – Slide Show
12:00pm – Slow Ride
1:30pm –  Bike Trade
3:30pm – De Finale!

How to Get to the Tour de Fat

WITH OLD FRIENDS: By bicycle, of course! The Yards park is located at 10 Water St. SE, Washington, DC near the National’s Stadium. . For those traveling from far and away, it is advised that you find parking far from Yards Park. Parking in the area will be extremely limited due to the Yankees/National’s baseball game.
WITH  NEW FRIENDS:  A number of local shops and organizations are leading convoy rides down to the park. We will update this list as convoy information becomes available.
- Alexandria BPAC: One-way group ride departing at 8:30am at St. Elmo’s (2300 Mt Vernon Ave, 22301) RSVP to Bruce Dwyer, oiubike@gmail.com

What to wear

For those who’ve never participated, this is indeed a COSTUME AFFAIR. Costumes are enthusiastically encouraged!!  For some inspiration, check out this montage of photos from Tour de Fat’s of yore.

What to expect

The time of your life
PARADE:  We will show off our rides and our bike pride by taking a short and slow cruise along the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail

FREE BIKE VALET:No need to bring your heavy U-lock, the folks at MORE are providing safe and secure bike parking all day long.

MUSIC: Featuring Mucca Pazza, Ian Cooke, and Yo-Yo People

GAMES: We don’t want to giveaway all the surprises, but we heard for one of the games, New Belgium’s creative genius’ constructed life-size Jenga. Yes, life-size.

BIKE PIT: Imagine if instead of creating candy, Willy Wonka created bicycles.

PERFORMANCES: Le Tigre’s whimsical ways will woo us all day long.

How to prepare

Start mixing up your papier-mâché pulp, pull out that tutu from your college years, give your bike a quick tune-up, and invite your friends to the biggest bike festival DC has ever seen.

“Membership with Benefits“ is a blog series in which we highlight a different WABA member benefit each month. We first featured Bike and Roll, a local bike rental/tour company. This month we’re featuring RentaBikeNow.com, a national bike rental company.

Will you be traveling this summer? Do you want to explore your destination by bike without the hassle of bike boxes, car racks or over-sized luggage charges? We’ve got the perfect solution: RentaBikeNow.com. Linking you to over 250 bike rental companies in the U.S. and Canada, RentaBikeNow.com will get you on a bike saddle and rolling to the nearest coffee shop, restaurant or museum all across North America. Pretty sweet, right?

The National Park Service George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) is conducting the Gravelly Point and Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary Environmental Assessment (EA). GWMP is now seeking public comment on alternative concepts intended to enhance visitor access, safety and education for a study area that includes Gravelly Point, Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary (Roaches Run) and a segment of the Mount Vernon Trail.

NPS invites you to a public meeting on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Indigo Landing Restaurant on Daingerfield Island. The meeting is being held so interested public can ask questions, learn more about the alternative concepts for the EA and submit written comments.

This planning effort was initiated in 2008 and included a public meeting and comment period. The alternatives now presented look solely at proposed actions on NPS property including revisions based on public comments and renewed internal scoping. More details about the project, including maps and descriptions of alternative concepts, are available at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/gprr.

Public comments will be accepted from May 23, 2012 through June 22, 2012. Comments can be made electronically at the website above. Next steps in the process include further development of alternatives and environmental impacts analysis. There will be further opportunity for public comment when the EA is released which is anticipated later in 2012.

For further information or if you have special needs to be accommodated during this public open house, please contact: Thomas Sheffer at 703-289-2512 or tsheffer@nps.gov