Bike Michiana

resources, news, observations and ideas about bicycling in the Michiana area

Author Archive

« Previous Entries

MWCCC Road Championship: April 21-22

Posted by Henry Scott on March 30, 2012

Based on the success of last year’s ND Cycling Classic, The University of Notre Dame has been selected to host the 2012 Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference Championships.

The race series will again include Team Time Trial (TTT), Road Race (RR) and Criterium (crit) events, but it will be even bigger this year with over 300 collegiate cyclists from about forty schools.

As was the case last year, many volunteers will be needed. If you’re free that weekend and can lend a hand, please see below for details on how to get involved.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Events, News, Racing | 1 Comment »

NIMBA Workday at Bendix Woods: Sunday, March 25

Posted by Henry Scott on March 20, 2012

The Northern Indiana Mountain Bike Association (NIMBA) will be having a Trail Build day at Bendix Woods, this Sunday, 3/25, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and they are looking for helping hands.

If you’d like to participate, enter the park through the gate off of SR2. The gate is just west of the Bosch facility. They will meet at the Otahnagon Shelter area.

They have all the tools needed to build the trail, and volunteers just need to bring a pair of gloves to help out. They will have water and lunch for everyone. Spring time is the best time to build trail so come out an give them a hand!

If you want to get a better understanding of what they are doing when building the trail, check out the following video:

For any additional information, please contact NIMBA president, John Marquardt at the following email address: NIMB.BIKE@GMAIL.COM

Posted in Advocacy, Events, Infrastructure | Leave a Comment »

Another Tragic Loss and A Personal Plea for Safer Michiana Cycling

Posted by Henry Scott on February 23, 2012

Michiana has lost another avid local cyclist due to a collision with a motor vehicle: Steven Carey was struck and killed by a motorist on Sunday, February 19. Few details are available as of this writing, other than the identity of the driver, that the collision occurred during daylight hours, and that Steven was an experienced cyclist riding, with traffic, northbound on SR 23 near the I80/90 overpass.

Although Michiana continues to make progress toward safer cycling, our community has suffered numerous such car vs bicycle tragedies, and it is clear that much work is still needed.

We offer our deepest condolences to Steven’s friends and family, and we also reflect upon previous Michiana fatalities.

In 2008 we lost cyclist Patrick Sawyer to a drunk driver. His widow, Nancy, recently created a video tribute to her late husband. With the video, she highlights the severe personal toll of drunk driving, and she makes a personal plea for safer cycling in Michiana.

Posted in Advocacy, Commentary, News | 2 Comments »

Fulton County Habitat Half-Century Bike Ride: Sat., April 28

Posted by Henry Scott on January 18, 2012

NAME: Habitat Half Century Bike Ride

SPONSOR: Fulton County Habitat for Humanity
DATE: April 28, 2012
TIME: 8:00 AM
LOCATION: Rochester City Park on Park Rd
LENGTH: 20 & 50 mile rides.

See below for a map to the starting location and additional details, including contact information.
Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Group Rides: Special | Leave a Comment »

RPM: Latest Issue Now Available

Posted by Henry Scott on November 30, 2011

The December 2011 – January 2012 issue of Race Play Michiana (RPM) is now available for download. Here’s a direct link to a downloadable PDF from the RPM website: LINK.

Issue highlights from RPM Editor Jan Spalding: This issue includes a Fit for the Fit gift guide featuring stories from RPM retail advertisers and gift ideas from local stores, gyms and services. Also, Ann Amico Moran contributed a great story on Michiana’s Dynamic Duos — five area couples who workout and work for the community. Winter runs, cross-country skiing, a report from the PanAm Games, water intake and plenty more fill the issue.

Check it out!

Posted in News | Leave a Comment »

The Fenders Will Stay!

Posted by Henry Scott on November 13, 2011

Despite being a fan of fenders, I’ve recently contemplated removing them from my Dahon Boardwalk S1 folding bicycle. Normally I don’t worry about weight for utility bikes, but to take the “monkey bike” on the South Shore not only must I fold it up, but usually I have to place it in the overhead luggage racks as well. At 31.5 pounds, however, this can be an unpleasant task on a moving train. Accordingly, I’ve been motivated to lighten the monkey bike, and I’ve been thinking about ditching the fenders.

Yesterday, however, convinced me to seek other solutions.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Commentary, Gear | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

3rd Annual Bike Michiana for Hospice: Sunday, 9/11/2011

Posted by Henry Scott on July 23, 2011

Bike Michiana for Hospice will be held Sunday, September 11th at St. Patrick’s County Park, South Bend, IN. Participants can register online at bikemichianaforhospice.org. The cost for riders who register before August 31 is $30; beginning September 1, the registration fee is $40. Riders 12 and under ride free.

The ride features scenic routes through country roads, live entertainment at each support and guidance (SAG) stop as well as a post-ride party at St. Patrick’s County Park with pulled pork, live music and a beer tent.

Courses include a 3.5 to 11.5 mile family ride (riders can choose the distance) as well as longer rides from 25 miles to 200 K (124 miles). Helmets are required for all riders. SAG stops will feature some of the area’s leading restaurants including Fiddler’s Hearth, LaSalle Grill, Indulgence Pastry Shop & Cafe, Yesterday’s and Grande Mere Inn.

Registration proceeds benefit The Hospice Foundation and Bike Michiana Coalition. Riders may also use an online donation form to raise funds for The Hospice Foundation. One hundred percent of those funds will go to support the Center for Hospice Care’s mission to provide quality, compassionate care for anyone in need of hospice or palliative care services, regardless of their ability to pay.

The information and text for this post were provided by Debra Mayfield, and she can be contacted at 800-413-9083 for more information regarding the event or registration.

Posted in Advocacy, Events, Group Rides: Special | Leave a Comment »

YWCA Bike Ride for Women: Sunday, 8/21

Posted by Henry Scott on July 12, 2011

The 2011 YWCA run, jane, run Bike for Women is scheduled for Sunday, August 21st. There will be two rides, one twenty and the other forty miles. All rides start at St. Patrick’s County Park between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.

Please visit the YWCA event page to register and for the latest information.

Posted in Group Rides: Special | Leave a Comment »

Safe Cycling Course in June

Posted by Henry Scott on May 29, 2011

The South Bend Parks and Recreation Department is partnering up with Paul Taylor of the Bike Michiana Coalition to offer a safe bicycling course this June.

“Traffic Skills 101” is created and endorsed by the League of American Bicyclists. It is a nine-hour course (three evening classes of three hours each) and covers bicycle safety checks, fixing flats, on-bike skills, rules of the road for cyclists and crash avoidance techniques.

This will be a pilot program run as a zero-profit service. The cost to the participant will only cover the expenses of the manual, required testing materials and park resources.

If all goes well and there is interest for continuing instruction, we will consider soliciting grants or sponsorships to help defray this cost and possibly look at more locations and times throughout the year.

More information, including cost, specific dates and times and location can be found at the parks’ website (http://sbpark.org); on-line registration will be available.

Special thanks to Matthew Moyers, the Special Project Coordinator for South Bend Parks and Recreation for his efforts in arranging the course and for preparing this announcement.

Posted in Advocacy, education, Events, Maintenance | Leave a Comment »

South Bend Mayoral Candidates Respond to Michiana Cycling Questionnaire

Posted by Henry Scott on April 27, 2011

Ahead of South Bend’s May 3rd mayoral primary, the Bike Michiana Coalition presented an online questionnaire to all South Bend mayoral candidates. The questionnaire was designed to gauge how their administration would approach cycling issues.

The questionnaire was not completed by any of the Republican candidates, but responses from Democratic candidates Mike Hamann, Ryan Dvorak, Pete Buttigieg and Barrett Berry are listed below.

The first six questions were closed-ended for ease of completion by the candidates, but the last three were open-ended to give the candidates room to elaborate on their views regarding Michiana cycling. The responses are presented in the order in which they were received.

The BMC also attempted to contact the candidates for the Mishawaka mayoral race (Republican incumbent David Wood and Democratic challenger Craig Fry), but we have not yet received a response from either.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Advocacy, News | 4 Comments »

« Previous Entries
 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.