Posted by Jeff Nixa on May 30, 2009
Update: an 11 MB PDF of the map is now available for download.
The first-ever comprehensive St. Joseph/Elkhart Counties bike map is now available. A joint effort of the Bike Michiana Coalition, local government, business and university, the folding map will first be distributed to cyclists who attend the South Bend Bike to Work Week events, June 1-5. Afterwards, the map will be available throughout Michiana in local bike shops and other locations yet to be determined. A free copy of the map ($5 value) will also be provided every person signing up for an annual membership in the Bike Michiana Coalition.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Advocacy, Facilities, Infrastructure, News, Routes | 2 Comments »
Posted by Chris Clark on February 22, 2009
Visit http://www.bcycle.com/ to read about the B-cycle concept. You can watch a video, learn about the potential benefit in our area, and add your voice to the crowd. It’s a fascinating idea.
From their site: “B-cycle is the only “next”-generation bike-share program. Integrated data tracking will automatically capture information such as your distance traveled, equivalent calories burned and carbon offset after each ride. It will then upload this data to your personal user profile on Bcycle.com. B-cycle is the future of bike sharing, and it’s available to your city now.”
Maybe I’m a cynic, but I think at least five years will pass before B-cycle – or something like it – becomes feasible in our area. There are not enough safe paths between key spots in our region, and there are still too many anti-bike folks out there.
Posted in Facilities | 3 Comments »
Posted by Adam Bee on January 15, 2009
Facebook.com now has more than 150 million members who are disproportionately young, wealthy, well educated, and well connected. It has become an indispensable mode of communication for a large segment of the population, and social online network sites may soon become as ubiquitous as cell phones.
I’ve taken the liberty of starting a Group for BikeMichiana.org on Facebook, so if you have an account feel free to join. It may be mostly redundant to the existing site, but on the other hand it may add one more dimension of depth to the burgeoning cycling community we’re building.
While you’re logged in, you may also want to become a Fan of the Indiana Bicycle Coalition and the League of American Bicyclists. Earl Blumenauer and James Oberstar have Pages as well (as distinct from Groups, which are less official). There is also a new social network site at CyclistVillage.com, but its membership isn’t nearly as large as Facebook’s 150 million.
Posted in Facilities, News | 1 Comment »
Posted by Jeff Nixa on November 17, 2008
The newest Bike Coalition team is reaching a critical mass of committee members and activity. After four monthly meetings the South Bend Bike Station team has identified several key projects and volunteers to move forward on those projects.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Advocacy, Facilities, News | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Paul Taylor on October 22, 2008
Bill and Judy Lee have passed along an invitation to attend a Master Plan Forum. In a recent e-mail, they report that ”Part of the plan could & should deal with bike trails. There has been talk for many years of making the old rail bed that parallels 933 from South Bend to Niles an all-purpose trail. A section from the Toll Road entrance to Cleveland road was completed a few years ago, but then nothing happened as far as extending it further north. Lately there has been talk about finishing the section of the LaSalle Trail from Cleveland road to the new Darden road trail. This Forum will be an excellent opportunity for area bicyclist to show their support for bike trails in St. Joseph County. If the Park Department sees a lot of interest they may consider extending it even further north or start work on other trails that have been talked about for years.”
Posted in Advocacy, Facilities, Routes | Tagged: Parks, Trails | Leave a Comment »
Zigs vs. Zags
Posted by Adam Bee on April 22, 2009
Have you ever noticed that right-to-left turns are much more difficult than left-to-rights?
That is, if you’re crossing some large ugly six-lane traffic sewer to get from one lovely back road to another, it seems much easier to me if you have to go LTR instead of RTL.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Commentary, Facilities, Routes | 1 Comment »