Michiana Bike to Work Week 2012, on the heels of Bike the Bend, kicks off Monday, May 21st and continues into the Memorial Day weekend through Sunday, May 27th throughout the Michiana area. Events for the week include activities for commuting adults, competitive teams, school children, a ride-in luncheon, and an organic blueberry pancake breakfast.
Anyone can join the fun and compete on mileage individually or as teams for recognition and sponsor discounts by registering with friends and co-workers at michianabiketowork.org
About 70 cyclists, along with over a dozen walkers/runners, and motor vehicles joined in the procession meant to draw attention to the need for all users to share the roadway and crosswalks. The procession concluded at the County-City building in downtown South Bend where there was a press conference, and short speeches by local dignitaries. The gathered crowd seemed especially inspired by the words of Yatish Yoshi, the chairman of the event. I am re-printing his speech below, and it is well worth reading.
A few years back (2005 if my memory serves me correctly), area cyclists joined the National Bike to Work week with a local event centered at the College Football Hall of Fame. Organizers provided coffee, Danish pastry, and a selection of healthful fruits as bikers stopped off on their way to work. Since then…wow. The activities during Bike Month have exploded. Below, I am listing the Michiana events that come to mind, and I’m asking readers to add those I was not aware of, or have overlooked.
The St. Joseph County Parks Foundation and the Friends of the Pumpkinvine have each received $1,000 from the BMC to support development of their trails.
The Parks Foundation will use the funds for development of the IN-MI Trail, to help fill in the gap between Niles, Mich. and Roseland, Ind. The Park’s segment of this trail, the LaSalle Trail, has not yet started construction, and the BMC donation will be added to their trust fund earmarked for the trail.
The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail meanders between Goshen, Middlebury and Shipshewana in Elkhart County: they will use the funds to help close gaps in the trail. Currently under construction is a 1.2 mile section near Middlebury.
Call for Riders, Walkers, Drivers and Wheelchair Users in South Bend, Indiana
A coalition of local citizens seeking to promote road-sharing awareness and enhance area transportation safety announces its inaugural Share the Road….Every Life Counts procession, Wednesday, May 2. This event is the first of its kind featuring a positive, proactive approach to urge road-sharing awareness. All citizens are encouraged to join the Share the Road….Every Life Counts procession.
The procession can be joined by bicyclists, motorcyclists and motorists at the Medical Plaza parking lot immediately north of the Indiana 23 Toll Road overpass at 5:30 p.m. Citizens wishing to walk, parents with strollers and wheelchair users will meet at Howard Park at 6:15. Read the rest of this entry »
A special press conference will be held, and the center of the news will be bicycles! The announcement will take place at Noon, April 24th at Jon Hunt Plaza (in front of the Morris Performing Arts Center). Please save the date and bring your bike. If this press conference is like the ones held in the past, the TV stations will want footage of people on bikes, and the more bikes, the better.
The purpose of the announcement is to: proclaim May 2012 as bike month in South Bend, announce upcoming events in May, including Bike the Bend (May 20) and Bike to Work Week (May 21-25), and note other recent City of South Bend bicycling related accomplishments.
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
New Wayfinding signs have been recently installed, joining the Bicycle Friendly Community signs which were erected earlier this spring.
A South Bend Bicycle Wayfinding Committee looked at several sign formats used in United States and European cities before selecting the final design. Chris Dressel, South Bend Bicycle Coordinator stated that the installed signs represent just the first phase of the project, and cover two bike routes: 1) University of Notre Dame to Downtown South Bend (via Colfax Avenue and Notre Dame Avenue), and 2) Riverside Trail from Darden Road to Angela Blvd. A total of twenty-four signs have been installed in Phase I, which consists of 16 decision signs and 8 confirmation signs. Mike Divita, a South Bend Planner who worked closely with the Wayfinding Committee compares the sign system to other U.S. cities and believes it is second to none.
Dressel thanked the Bike Michiana Coalition, Bike the Bend, and Grass Roots Media for providing support for the first phase and making planning for the next phase possible. The Bike Michiana Coalition and Bike the Bend, each contributed $2,500 to subsidize the signs.
Judy Lee, BMC President’s reaction was immediate. She said it is “like a dream. The hard work of so many is becoming reality.” Betsy Kwiatkowski exclaimed in an e-mail “I’ve already seen one sign and it looked awesome!” Glenda Lamont, of Bike the Bend agrees that it is “very good news indeed”, and already is looking forward to Phase II.
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.
As a bicyclist, you know how difficult it can be to transport your bicycle. The League of Michigan Bicyclists is currently circulating a petition to allow bicycles on Amtrak trains without taking them apart.
The petition says “Seamless multi-modal connections are essential to a sustainable 21st century transportation system. It should be easy for travelers to make connections from one mode of transportation to another”.
Michiana cyclists are encouraged to learn more about the issue and sign the petition. You don’t need to be a Michigan resident to sign. Click here to take the next step.
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Henry Scott
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Jeff Nixa
memooney
Adam Bee
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Paul Taylor
Danny Graber
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Phil G-E
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Jim Moffitt
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Share the Road…Every Life Counts procession was a success
Posted by Paul Taylor on May 5, 2012
About 70 cyclists, along with over a dozen walkers/runners, and motor vehicles joined in the procession meant to draw attention to the need for all users to share the roadway and crosswalks. The procession concluded at the County-City building in downtown South Bend where there was a press conference, and short speeches by local dignitaries. The gathered crowd seemed especially inspired by the words of Yatish Yoshi, the chairman of the event. I am re-printing his speech below, and it is well worth reading.
Read the rest of this entry »
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