Cycling Tips & Stories-MoBikeFed

Nothing says Independence like a bicycle . . .

2009-07-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

School bicycle course ends up getting moms back on their bicycles

2009-07-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

BikeBelles has an article about an interesting program designed to get more kids active and bicycling to school--but ended up getting their mothers bicycling with them:

The groundbreaking Bike It project is usually all about helping children to get fit and healthy by teaching them the skills they need to cycle safely and responsibly. It's been hugely successful, with thousands of pupils now cycling to school every day.

However, James Scott who works as a Bike It Officer in Tower Hamlets in London, found increasingly that he was facing opposition from parents who wouldn't allow their children to cycle to school as they had concerns over road safety.

Not to be deterred, James set about addressing this issue, along with help from Sam Margolis, Active Travel Officer at Tower Hamlets council. They devised the 'Bike It U Can 2' project for parents, to complement the Bike It work in schools. The hope was that by teaching parents how to ride on the road safely, this in turn would encourage them to allow their children ride to school.

Although it wasn't intentional, all of the parents who stepped forward to take part in the project were women - 16 of them in total. Many of them were completely new to cycling or cycled as children and were returning after a break of many years.

Bikeworks, a social enterprise in Tower Hamlets, provided the training and the bikes for the ladies to use, which they were allowed to keep after they had completed the course for a small fee.

On completing the course, Shirin said, "I never thought I'd ride a bike, now things are really going forward. My children have more freedom than I did as a child - they can learn to ride a bike." Tracy, mum of two, said of the project, "It's a good idea for parents to learn to ride; now I can go out with my kids and we can do it as a family."

It's been a real success, and now three of the ladies have already said that they would like to train to be cycle instructors.

More about the Bike It project on the Sustrans website.

Fix your bike--how to do just about everything you need

2009-06-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Park Tools has an excellent online Bike Map that shows you how make make routine repairs or maintenance on any part of the bicycle you click.

More bicycling means less injuries

2009-06-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

We've covered this a few times before, but it's worth mentioning again--and this article from the University of New South Wales explains the issue in a very clear and concise way:

It seems paradoxical but the more people ride bicycles on our city streets, the less likely they are to be injured in traffic accidents, say injury experts who will speak at a forthcoming cycling safety seminar in Sydney.

Local and international research reveals that as cycling participation increases, a cyclist is far less likely to collide with a motor vehicle or suffer injury and death - and what's true for cyclists is also true for pedestrians. And it's not simply because there are fewer cars on the roads, but because motorists seem to change their behaviour and drive more safely when they see more cyclists and pedestrians around.

Studies in many countries have shown consistently that the number of motorists colliding with walkers or cyclists doesn't increase equally with the number of people walking or bicycling. For example, a community that doubles its cycling numbers can expect a one-third drop in the per-cyclist frequency of a crash with a motor vehicle.

"It's a virtuous cycle," says Dr Julie Hatfield, an injury expert from UNSW who address the seminar on September 5. "The likelihood that an individual cyclist will be struck by a motorist falls with increasing rate of bicycling in a community. And the safer cycling is perceived to be, the more people are prepared to cycle."

Experts say the effect is independent of improvements in cycling-friendly laws such as lower speed limits and better infrastructure, such as bike paths. Research has revealed the safety-in-numbers impact for cyclists in Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, 14 European countries and 68 Californian cities.

"It's a positive effect but some people are surprised that injury rates don't go up at the same rate of increases in cycling," says Sydney University's Dr Chris Rissel, who will give the seminar's keynote address. "It appears that motorists adjust their behaviour in the presence of increasing numbers of people bicycling because they expect or experience more people cycling. Also, rising cycling rates mean motorists are more likely to be cyclists, and therefore be more conscious of, and sympathetic towards, cyclists."

Over the past decades we in the U.S.--and particularly in Missouri--have been in a sort of death spiral, where less bicycling and walking made it more dangerous (for those hardy souls who still dared walk or bicycle), meaning that even fewer participated, meaning that there was less support for good walking & bicycling facilities, meaning that every fewer participated, creating less political support, greater perception of danger--and so on, year after year and decade after decade, with each year fewer and fewer people walking and bicycling and therefore fewer and fewer good facilities and a decrease in safety each year.

But now we've reached the turnaround point, with greater and greater walking and bicycling, greater support for better facilities, and improved safety each year.

Now we just have to keep that momentum going in the right direction--where the vicious cycle turns into a virtuous cycle of ever greater participation in walking and bicycling leading to greater safety, more political support, better facilities--each of which in turn leads to more bicycling and walking and a whole cycle of improvement rather than a cycle of destruction.

That is one reason two of the primary goals in MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling & Walking in Missouri are to

Double the amount of bicycling & walking in Missouri, and
Cut the injury rate in half

Those two goals are not independent--they are linked. Other places around the world and around the U.S. that have worked to improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities and encourage more people to bicycle and walk have found they can quite literally have twice the amount of bicycling & walking with exactly the same amount of injuries--meaning that the injury rate went down 50%.

Cyclists errors that cause collisions--and how to avoid them

2009-06-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

Ken Kifer's Bike Pages has a nice summary of the most common bicyclist errors--and how to avoid them.

The top errors:

1. They do not follow the traffic laws for vehicles when operating a bicycle. Instead,
a) they may use the traffic laws for pedestrians and thus ride on the sidewalks or the wrong way on the streets,
b) they may follow the traffic code for vehicles part of the time but not all of the time,
c) they may adopt a policy of hiding from motor vehicles rather than riding in the traffic lanes,
d) they may be guerilla cyclists deliberately breaking the law,
e) or they just might not think about how they are behaving.
2. They don't have lights mounted on their bikes when riding at night.
3. They ride along in the gutter or weave in and out between cars.
4. They don't pay attention to nearby vehicles.
5. They haven't learned how to control their bicycles effectively.
6. They panic when motor vehicles approach.
7. They don't keep the bike in sound mechanical condition.
8. They ride when too tired (or even drunk) to do so safely.

He explains:

Most collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles don't happen just by chance; instead, they are bought about by a misunderstanding of how traffic works. . . . On this page, I will 1) explain which cycling behaviors are unsafe, 2) provide diagrams to show various situations in which the cyclist endangers himself or herself, 3) explain what is happening in the diagram and why the behavior is unsafe, and 4) provide a safer alternative.

National Trails Day June 6th

2009-06-05T15:29:00.001-07:00

The first Saturday in June each year is National Trails Day, organized by the American Hiking Society--how about getting out to enjoy a local trail to celebrate?

Resources:

* Take a look at MoBikeFed's list of Missouri Trails

* Mid-America Regional Council has provided a map showing the location of about 15 National Trails Day events in the Kansas City area

* Columbia is celebrating National Trails Day, as is St. Louis and several other locations across Missouri

Pedal to Properties--sells homes by bicycle

2009-06-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

How about selling real estate by bicycle? A Colorado company that does just that is planning to expand to new areas of the country, according to this Business Journal article:

Pedal to Properties LLC of Boulder plans to expand into other markets, with help from a recently obtained capital infusion, the company said Wednesday.

Founded and headed by Matt Kolb, Pedal to Properties is a residential real estate firm that gives clients the option of looking at homes by bicycle. The company maintains a fleet of 50 Electra Cruiser bikes.

The Colorado company already is working to expand quickly in its hometown by adding more space and agents in downtown Boulder.

�I believe Pedal to Properties is in a perfect position to meet the evolving social and demographic changes going on in the United States with homebuyers,� Majors said in a statement.

Secy of Transportation blogs in favor of bicycling--again!

2009-06-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

I just don't know if we bicyclists are going to be able to tolerate a Secretary of Transportation who is actually in favor of bicycling. We're just not used to it!

And U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is at it again, writing on his blog:

May is National Bike Safety Month. As this Administration works to develop environmentally-sound transportation options, making our streets more bike-friendly is high on the list. Our roads and communities must be built to allow people to get around safely outside of their cars, on bike or on foot.

Bicycle camping trip - with packing list

2009-05-31T12:04:00.000-07:00

Noah Dunker of the KC Bike Commuting blog documents his first bicycle camping trip:

My wife was heading out to see her sister this weekend, so I decided it would be the perfect excuse to go on my first S24O. More has been written about these than I could ever hope to digest, but I decided I'd treat it kind of like a backpacking trip.

His story (part 1 and part 2) includes lots of photos, a complete packing list, and lessons learned.

Racing from Canada to Mexico in support of research on a rare disease

2009-05-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

June 12, 2009 Steve Thunder McGuire will be at the starting gate with 32 other bike racing contestants.On the other side of the starting line stretches 2,745 miles of race trail that will take him across the Continental Divide seven times and up an incline rise equal to going from sea level to the top of Mt. Everest seven times. His incentive on this grueling race from Banff, Canada to the New Mexico/Mexico border is to have every mile sponsored so he can be part of finding a treatment for Dense Deposit Disease, also known as MPGN2, a rare kidney disease that affects one of his students.

You can find out more about the ride or make a donation at the DivideITT web site.

The funds raised go directly to Kidneeds, a non-profit that dedicates 100% of its donations (ie no overhead or administrative costs at all) directly to medical research towards understanding and finding a cure for this kidney disease that most often strikes children and those in their early to mid teens.

Most often DDD leads to kidney failure within 5-10 years but the research funded by donations to Kidneeds has made considerable progress towards understanding and treating the disease in just 10 years.

(On a personal note, I was diagnosed with DDD at the age of 18 but--so far--have been one of the lucky minority in whom the disease settled down to a steady state rather than progressing to kidney failure as it does in most cases.)

New York creates pedestrian zone on Broadway & Times Square

2009-05-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

According to the NY Times, New York City is creating a large pedestrian only area by transforming Broadway from a city street to a pedestrian zone.

When New York City announced a plan to shut down parts of Times Square to traffic, New Yorkers� reactions ranged from bemusement to mild hysteria.Despite reassurances from the Transportation Department that the changes would create a greener, more pedestrian-friendly city, some critics of the plan worried that it would sap the square of its chaotic energy. Others, apparently nostalgic for the seediness of the 1970s version of the square, denounced it as another step in New York�s transformation from the world�s greatest metropolis to a generic tourist trap.

Well, I�m happy to report that, a day after the stretch of Broadway between 42nd and 47th Streets was closed to cars, the soul of Times Square remains intact. The neon still sparkles. Tourists still wander around bewildered. The whiff of last night�s junk food still hangs in the air. . . .
Will it work? The transformation of Copenhagen took decades, not years. And it involved constant tinkering. Some streets were closed to cars, then partially reopened years later. Parking in the city center was reduced slowly, over many years, so the changes were barely noticed.
As Jan Gehl, who worked on the Copenhagen plan and advised Ms. Sadik-Khan in New York, explained, the strategy allowed for a period of psychological adjustment.

You can see the NYTimes before & after slideshow here and a FlickR set of before & after photos here.

Older adults bicycling more

2009-05-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

Mark Johnson of the Liberty Tribune writes:

Taking to the trails and streets.

That�s what a rising number of older Northland adults appear to be doing by foot and by bike.

"We definitely are seeing more people biking and walking more once they�ve passed middle age and their kids have left home," said Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation. "They tend to spend more time outdoors."

Larry Jones of Cycle City, 9765 N. Cedar, Kansas City, agreed.

"We have many riders who are 50-plus," he said.

Jones said weight loss, lower blood pressure and peace of mind that comes with just being able to get out and cruise for an hour or two are among the benefits that come with bike riding.

The full article has some good advice for those just starting out to bicycle more.

Coincidentally, this week the AARP released a new study that put a spotlight on the need to make communities safer for bicycling and walking for older Americans:

Two-thirds of transportation planners and engineers have yet to begin addressing older people in their street planning; yet by 2025, 64 million people will be over age 65 according to census projections and by 2030 a quarter of all U.S. drivers will be 65+. This is the alarm raised by "Planning Complete Streets for the Aging of America" a major new report on roadway safety and the aging of the American population from AARP�s Public Policy Institute. . . .

[I]n a poll of adults age 50+ also conducted for the report, two in five said their neighborhood sidewalks were inadequate (although, by 2030, 20% of those age 65+ will not be drivers). Nearly half said they could not cross main roads close to their home safely, preventing many from walking, bicycling or taking the bus. But safer, more accessible streets won�t happen until federal, state and local authorities and planners wake up to the need for roads that address the challenges of the coming age wave, the report charges. . . .

[W]hile a growing number of states and localities have Complete Streets policies, too few have been built. Furthermore, an outdated bias in engineering practices competes with current local desire for user-friendly "Complete Streets" design

Bike to Work--how and why

2009-05-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Today's Springfield News-Leader has a long story on how and why to think about bicycling to work:

Bike to work, save money, get fit, help the environment. It seems like a no-brainer, yet you still drive to the office every day.

One reason for putting off your bike-to-work resolution might be all the logistics involved, such as where to store your bike and how to get your belongings to and from the office. . . .

Besides the obvious benefits, biking to work could even boost your job performance.

"On the days that I ride in, I sit down and have the energy to start. I don't need to go get a Coke or anything -- I'm already in that mode," said Jason Kiker, a 38-year-old research analyst who started biking to work last year.

One thing that stops many people from even trying bicycle commuting is they get the idea that you have to do it every day, all the time.

In fact, most bicycle commuters only ride part of the time. You still get a lot of benefits.

* How about only cycling once a week or on selected days, like Casual Fridays. Even just cycling once a week saves 20% on gas and greenhouse emissions and gives you one day's workout.

* How about cycling only part way? My wife often takes the bus into work and bicycles home. A friend of mine with a 35 mile commute drives partway and bicycles the rest--it still saves half the gas and gets his daily workout in.

* Hate the rain, cold, or heat? Then just don't bicycle on those days. There are plenty of days in the year--about half, depending on your criteria--with good weather.

Paul Dorn has a great page with bicycle commuting tips.

Bike lights become fashionable in Portland--dramatically increasing safety

2009-05-14T18:25:00.001-07:00

Bike Portland reports on a bus driver who wants to throw the whole bicycling community a party because of the huge increase in the number of people using good lights when the bicycle:

If I had my way right now I would throw a party for all the bicyclists in Portland. There would be horns and streamers and one giant bicycle shaped cake.

Why? Why would I, a bus driver be honoring the bicyclist of Portland? Have I gone crazy? Am I mad? Has some unknown agent from another planet that is hunted by the FBI possessed me? Nope.

�What is super fantastic is the almost arms race like growth in the quality of the lights.�

I am happy, now let me tell you why.

In the last 6 months I have seen a huge jump in percentage of bicyclist who are using lights at night. No joke, starting about midway through last summer the number of glowing bikes has gone way up. That has prevented many of what I like to call �OH MY GOD!!� moments. I�ve asked around for other drivers to pay attention and they also confirm my observation, a few have even given me head counts.

This is awesome.

Kansas City councilwoman blogs about Bike Week; more Bike Week roundup

2009-05-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

Kansas City Missouri Councilwoman Cindy Circo blogged about her participation in Bike Week Monday:

Bike Week organizers encourage individuals to ride their bikes or walk to their destinations this week. It was a beautiful Monday morning to ride to the press conference in the Power & Light District from City Hall. Many took a bigger challenge biking downtown from their homes (some in KC�s distant suburbs). And hats off to my colleague, Russ Johnson, who rode his bike to City Hall from his home in the Northland. Biking is a great way to celebrate your �green� side and support alternative transportation in KC. All great cities have transportation systems that offer options.

12th & Main blogs about his Bike Week efforts (Part 1 & Part 2)--which so far haven't resulted in any actual bike riding.

The Kansas Cyclist has a roundup of Bike Month events in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, and around the region.

Bike to Work Week Wednesday roundup

2009-05-13T05:59:00.000-07:00

Bike to Work Week 2009 continues:

The St. Joseph City Council officially declared May 11-15 as Bike to Work Week (see the proclamation (PDF)).
A staffer from KSHB TV is participating in Bike to Work Week and the reporter points out some of the great things the MS Bike Ride organizers are doing to promote better bicycling, including upcoming Bike Ed classes.
Andy Cline talks about two different bicycle commuting styles in Springfield.
Dirt Dobber has covered his daily commute in the Kansas City area in some interesting detail.
Noah Dunker has many photos of his commutes and Bike Week events he has attended.
Nancy has a great take on bike commuting as therapy.

Compton Drew Middle School Bicycle Club starts annual Katy Trail Adventure

2009-05-03T17:44:00.000-07:00

Joe Torrisi (President of the Missouri Bicycle Federation and mentor of the Compton Drew Middle School Dolphins Bicycle Club) sent the following announcement:

The 7th and 8th graders of the Dolphins Bike Club at Compton Drew Middle School are pleased to announce that they are now traveling on the club's 8th annual Katy Trail Bicycle Adventure. There are 22 students and 9 adults on the tour.

On Sunday, May 3 they left St. Louis via Amtrak at 8:30 a.m. and arrived at Sedalia, Missouri at 12:00 noon, then biked 45 miles to Booneville, Missouri. On Monday they will bike 50 miles to Jefferson City. On Tuesday they will tour the capitol and take Amtrak back to St. Louis in the evening, arriving around 10:00 p.m.

Since February the kids trained by riding 12 miles a day, four days a week in very windy, rainy and cool weather. Twenty-two students qualified to go on the trip and 15 are on their first overnight bike adventure ever! The Dolphins student bike club was founded in 2001, and has introduced over 450 students to the joys of bicycling.

Many thanks to all those who have supported the club with donations and well wishes, including Will Cycle For Charity.

Pictured below are some of the kids in the club starting out on their trip to Elsah, Illinois last autumn with parents in back, and mentor Joe Torrisi kneeling.

Creating more school bicycle clubs is one of the goals in MoBikeFed's Vision of Bicycling and Walking in Missouri.

Rachel's Excellent Adventure

2009-05-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

MoBikeFed Vice-President Rachel Ruhlen is planning an 11-day, 700 mile bicycle trip to Omaha and back to present a seminar.

Over the past months, she has been planning her route, training, working out her equipment and all the rest.

Saturday morning, May 2nd, she is leaving for Omaha.

You can read all about her preparations and her adventures as the trip unfolds on her blog.

Among many nice entries there is one on how to ride 70 miles in one day and another showing her bike and all her equipment packed up and ready to go.

Just when you thought you'd seen it all . . .

2009-04-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

This bicycle-powered lawn mower is U.S. Patent # 5222348:

This is, it appears, far from the only bicycle-powered lawn-mowing contraption available.

Bicycle themed movies

2009-04-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

Doug Mink maintains an interesting list of bicycle-themed movies--from the obvious (The Bicycle Thief, Breaking Away) to the not-so-obvious (The Man With One Red Shoe).

For instance:

Bicycle Trick Riding, by Thomas Edison

2009-04-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Film taken by Thomas Edison around the year 1900--wait for the (nearly successful) full-pipe attempt at the end:

The state of the art has improved just a bit in the last 110 years:

Born to run?

2009-04-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

Where humans born to run long distances? An article in Seed Magazine says yes (maybe . . . ):

Drawing on Harvard's extant cache of locomotion data, Lieberman began crunching numbers comparing speed, body temperature, and body weight of humans and various conceivable prey. A deer and a decently fit man, Lieberman discovered, trot at almost an identical pace, but in order to accelerate, a deer goes anaerobic, while the man remains in an oxygenated jogging zone. The same is true for horses, antelopes, and a slew of other four-legged creatures. Since animals can run anaerobically only in short bursts before they must slow down to recover, a human in pursuit may have the final advantage. And because quadrupeds can't pant while they run, they also quickly overheat. To run down dinner, Lieberman realized, might simply have been a matter of spurring the poor beast into a sprint enough times to make it collapse from hyperthermia.

"Running an animal to heatstroke is something that most humans can do, and that other animals can't," says Lieberman.

Join MoBikeFed's FaceBook page

2009-04-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

MoBikeFed has created a new FaceBook page. If you have a FaceBook account you can join the MoBikeFed FaceBook group by visiting this link.

Bicycling is faster than driving . . .

2009-04-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

Brad Morgan writes:

Most people who pass me in their cars probably think I am terribly impractical to commute on a bicycle. As they fume by, I smugly recall a calculation by Ivan Illich, the Austrian-born philospher and social critic, that the private automobile actually travels about 2.5 miles per hour (where he was living at the time, in Mexico) - if the time spent paying for and maintaining the beast is included.

Brad does the same calculation for bicycle vs. automobile in modern America--finding that the car averages 13.33 mph over its lifetime (counting in the hours spent earning money to pay for the car, insurance, repairs, etc., as well as driving time) while a similar calculation for the bicycle give 13.56 MPH.

So there you are! Faster by an amazing 0.23 MPH.

However, there is an even more important conclusion:

Furthermore, of the total time Brad has invested in his bike, ninety percent is spent doing what he usually enjoys - bicycling! Whereas Max spends two-thirds of his time working for the privilege of driving his new car the remaining one-third.

Columbia Bike, Walk and Wheel Week May 2-8, 2009

2009-04-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

Columbia Bike, Walk and Wheel Week and�8th Annual Mayor�s Challenge is back for another year of exciting events�May 2 � 8, 2009.

You can see all the events and pre-register here.

Saturday, May 2
Kick Off Celebration at Flat Branch Park 1:00 � 4:00 pm
Registration and t-shirt pick up
City Transit Bicycle loading demonstration
Commuter Bicycle Expo
Bicycle Tire and Tube Recycling
Bike Polo Exhibition Game
Float Your Boat
Bike/Truck Safety and Awareness Demonstration
KOPN, broadcasting active transportation theme music
Chalk Art Contest

Sunday, May 3
Cycle Recycle at 101 N. 7th St. 1:00 � 3:00 pm (New location!)

Monday, May 4
MKT Secret Access Trail Ride
The MKT can get you where you�re going. We�ll show you how to access many neighborhoods, shopping areas and the best way to the MU campus. Meet at the Flat Branch Park play ground at 5:45 pm. Round trip ride will be approximately 20 miles. Bring a water bottle, snack and your helmet (required).

Tuesday, May 5
Confident City Cycling Class, (Tues, Wed, Fri) 6:00 � 9:00 pm at Stephens Lake Activity Center
Want to spend more time on your bike? Confidence is key. A Confident City Cycling Class can give you the skills you need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. Class will cover bicycle safety checks, replacing a flat, on-bike skill and crash avoidance techniques. This adult course (age 14 and up) includes three 3-hour sessions and is taught by a League of American Bicyclists certified instructor. To register, call the city of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department at (573) 874-7460. For all other questions call the GetAbout Columbia office at (573) 442-7189, ext. 28. Cost: $20.00. More information at www.getaboutcolumbia.com.

Mayor�s Council on Physical Fitness & Health, 2009 Health and Fitness Forum, 5:30 � 7:30 pm, Activity and Recreation Center, 1701 W. Ash St.
Local health organizations, fitness companies and special lifestyle services will be on hand to educate, demonstrate and share health and fitness information and services with the community. Special services provided at the Expo include blood pressure readings, bone density scans, vision abnormality checks, skin cancer screenings and body mass index measurements. All services are provided free to the public.

Wednesday, May 6
Brown Bag Lunch Seminar, YouZeum, 608 Cherry St., 12:00 � 1:00
Experienced bicycle commuters will share the joys of commuting by bike. Discussion will include basics of purchasing a bike suitable for commuting, proper gear and maintenance and route planning. RSVP please to 442-7189 ext 29

Thursday, May 7
Try Transit Free Day, all day

Great Hikes in the Ozarks: Where They Are, and What You�ll Need on the Trail, Walt�s Bicycle Fitness and Wilderness Co., 1217 Rogers St., 6:30 pm
Presented by Steve Henry, author of �60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of St. Louis� and �The Best in Tent Camping; Missouri and the Ozarks.� Presentation followed by Q & A session.

Bike Skills 101, GetAbout Columbia Office, 101 N. 7th St. 6:00 � 9:00 pm
Bike Skills 101 is an introductory version of GetAbout Columbia's popular Confident City Cycling Class. In addition to learning basic bike safety skills, this Bike Skills 101 will cover: standard road positioning techniques, riding safely in traffic, basic on-bike skills. This class involves one 3-hour session. To register, call the city of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department at (573) 874-7460. For all other questions call the GetAbout Columbia office at (573) 442-7189, ext. 28. Cost: $10.00. More information at www.getaboutcolumbia.com

Friday, May 8
Walk to School Day
If your school is interested in participating please call Margy Tonnies at 239-9902

Breakfast Stations 7:00 � 9:00 am
1. MKT Trailhead at Forum Blvd, breakfast provided by Clovers and Tryathletics
2. The ARC, Clinkscales & Ash, breakfast provided by HyVee �Early Bird�
Station � open at 6:30 am
3. MKT Trail Access at Stewart & Providence, breakfast provided by Walt�s
Bicycle Fitness & Wilderness Co.
4. D & H Drugstore at Broadway & West Blvd, breakfast provided by the
Mayor�s Council on Physical Fitness and Health
5. Shiloh Bar and Grill, 402 E. Broadway, breakfast provided by Broadway Diner
�Early Bird� station � open at 6:30 am.
6. Columbia�s Kitchen, 2011 Corona Rd, Ste 101 in Cherry Hill (faces Scott Blvd)
7. Jack�s Gourmet Restaurant, 1903 Business Loop 70 East
8. Kaldi�s Coffee House, 29 9th St.,
9. Bear Creek Trail Access, 2799 North Garth Ave, breakfast provided by
Columbia Kiwanis
10. Optimus: The Health Center, 200 E. Southhampton Rd. Ste 1
11. WELLAWARE Boone Hospital Center�s Health and Wellness Services,
corner of Williams and Walnut
12. Sven�s Kafe & Gallery, 110 Orr Street, Suite 101

Saturday, May 9
Celebrate Mother�s Day Weekend Bike Ride
10:00 am, meet at Flat Branch Park Playground
All moms and kids are invited to join us for a 7-mile ride to Twin Lakes Shelter and back. No training wheel riders please. Register by calling 442-7189 ext 29. All registered riders receive a special Mother�s Day gift.

BWWW PROMOTIONS
Your Bike is Your Ticket on Transit
Individuals loading a bike on transit will ride free all week.

Bike Bright- Use a Light
Columbia Police Department and GAC are teaming up to provide bike lights to individuals in need. State law requires both a front and rear light when riding a bicycle one-half hour after sunset to one-half hours before sunrise.