JohnW

Bicycle advocates lobby Congress with jobs pitch

By Ashley Halsey III
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 9, 2011; 10:53 PM When bicyclists arrive on Capitol Hill on Thursday to make their annual funding pitch, their message will be tailored to the tenor of the times.

For example, Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) will learn that his district is home to 51 stores that sell bikes and that those stores grossed more than $20 million in 2009. Bikes, he'll be told, are sold by small-business owners, and those sales create jobs.

And, by the way, if you're looking to develop transportation alternatives in these tight times, bike paths and bike lanes are a whole lot less expensive than new highways and commuter rail lines.

With mountains of debt being circled by budget hawks on the Hill, preaching the bike gospel of good health benefits and a green alternative to carbon-belching autos seems so 2007.

In 2011, bikes are small business and cheap transportation.

The hundreds of bike advocates encamped at the Grand Hyatt for the National Bike Summit have been armed with fact sheets for their foray to the Capitol. Just like Sarbanes, members will be told precisely how many stores sell bikes in their districts and how much their constituents spend on two-wheelers.

The cyclists want continued dedicated funding for three key federally backed programs: a $117 million program to develop safe routes that promote walking and biking to school by children; a program that builds and maintains recreation trails; and funding for bicycling and pedestrian projects.

Their first objective is to preserve those programs in the cost-cutting debate over the 2011 federal budget, and then to see them maintained in the long-term transportation funding bill that may be considered this year. They are armed with statistics that show that 1.5 percent of federal transportation dollars are spent to support biking and walking while 12 percent of all trips are on two feet or two wheels.

With 96 new members in the House and 16 in the Senate, a freshman class heavily salted with tea party conservatives, cyclists preparing to meet those people for the first time were briefed Wednesday to keep the focus on job creation.

"Their perspective seems to be that if the feds fund it, it needs to be cut," said Gary Sjoquist of the Bikes Belong coalition. "We have to meet these people where they are. Let's make sure we get the business and economic message out first. Bikes mean business."

Sjoquist talked of a town of 800 in his home state of Minnesota that profited from 200,000 bike-riding tourists after building a trail. "They promote tourism," said Tom Sauret of the International Mountain Bicycling Association. "It's important to make that point." Sauret warned that funding for recreational trails - $18.2 million in 2010 - was in danger, but the government affairs director for his group was more optimistic.

"I think that people underestimate that trails are really important back in the [congressional] districts," said Jenn Dice. "If you have the C&O Trail in your back yard, that's a boon. When the mine leaves town or the timber industry leaves town, dozens of communities have found that trails have come in to draw tourism."

Tyler Frisbee, an aide to Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), provided the cycling lobbyists with the answer to one question she said they could expect.

"Some of the new members, particularly the tea party members, will ask, 'Why does the federal government care about bicycling?' " Frisbee said. "The answer is that the federal government is charged with funding an effective transportation system, not just a federal car system. But don't worry: They are not persecuting you. They're asking, 'What's the federal role' of everybody who comes to them."

by JohnW

RIDE THE DIVIDE, AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY FILM

Ride The Divide, the award-winning feature-length documentary about the world’s toughest mountain bike race, will comes to Cedar Rapids on Thursday, March 17, at the Collins Road Theatres in Marion. The event will be a fundraiser for the Linn Area Mountain Bike Association.

The film chronicles the story of several mountain bikers who attempt the 2,711-mile race named the Tour Divide along the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. The movie was named the best adventure film at the 2010 Vail Film Festival.

This film has become an instant cycling classic, and made its television premiere in September on the Documentary Channel. But the Adventure Cycling Association said the film should be seen on the big screen: “The cinematography is stunning!” Added UpaDowna, “Ride The Divide is one of the most inspiring real cycling movies … in a long time.” Epic Riding summed the movie up as follows: “In a word? Fantastic. In more words? Moving, funny, inspiring.”

Ride The Divide embraces the inspiring stories of three of the racers who experience the immense mountain beauty and small-town culture as they attempt to pedal from Banff, Canada, to a small, dusty crossing on the Mexican border. There’s Mike, a 40-year-old family man who uses this challenge to chart a new course in life; Matthew, a leader in extreme endurance racing who’s competing for his fifth time; and Mary, the first female rider to race this route. As they set out, they will attempt to accomplish what very few have been able to. Over the course of a few weeks, they’ll attempt to climb over 200,000 vertical feet along the backbone of the Rocky Mountains.

They’ll experience mental breakdowns, treacherous snow, hellacious blisters, and total fatigue. Above all, they’ll race with no support – at times in total isolation. The tests of endurance and the accomplished moments throughout Ride the Divide prompt us to reflect on our inner desires to live life to the fullest.

Ride The Divide made its debut at the Vail Film Festival and was named the best adventure film at the event. Outside Magazine proclaimed that “(t)he toughest bike race in the world is not in France,” after reviewing the film.

Ride The Divide will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Collins Road Theatres, located at 1462 Twixt Town Road in Marion. Tickets are $15 at the door, and $10 in advance at www.IMAthlete.com/Events/RideTheDividemovie. This event is sponsored by Hall Bicycle Co. of Cedar Rapids.

Media contact: Garry Harrington 603-209-5010 [email protected]

by JohnW

Cycling advocates head to National Bike Summit

By Ashley Halsey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 7, 2011; 6:56 PM

Bicycling advocates will arrive en masse in Washington on Tuesday for the annual National Bike Summit, three days of planning and lobbying that made news last year when Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood climbed onto a table to address the group.

LaHood, 65, an avid bicyclist, will return to speak at the summit but promised no gymnastic repeat.

"You only do that once," he said recently. "I'll find some other way to get their attention."

Proponents of urban bike lanes and expansion of bike networks that would encourage recreational and commuter cycling feel particularly vulnerable as Congress and the Obama administration propose billions in budget cuts.

The administration, with LaHood taking the lead, has promoted cycling and other programs - including mass transit and high-speed rail - that provide alternatives to automotive travel.

Congress this month extended a stopgap transportation funding bill to the end of the current fiscal year, but whether it will find the will to approve a long-term transportation bill this year is clouded in the debate over how to pay for it.

Bike advocates fear their programs may not receive adequate funding or that federal mandates requiring states to include bike lanes in construction projects will be dropped.

The bike summit, convened annually by the League of American Bicyclists, will begin with a series of meetings and seminars at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday before members head to lobby Capitol Hill on Thursday.

by JohnW

BAC Newsletter

MARION DESIGNATED AS AN IOWA GREAT PLACE
Marion was selected by the State of Iowa as an Iowa Great Place. The Great Places designation creates a partnership between the State of Iowa and the Place, with benefits: technical assistance for project implementation, additional consideration for grant applications, state historic tax credits, publicity and Iowa Great Places grant funds. Marion was awarded a $25,000 Iowa Great Places grant for trail construction along an abandoned railroad line to allow pedestrian and bicycle usage between Marion and Cedar Rapids. Marion matched the grant with local option sales tax funds. The City of Marion citizens’ committee, All Trails Lead to Marion, helps raise funds, build awareness and advise the Marion Parks Department and Linn County Trails Association in designing and routing trails and green space along the central corridor in Marion. It also works toward improving, connecting and expanding existing trails to adjacent trail networks and communities. www.iowagreatplaces.gov

IOWA GOES BY BICYCLE PROGRAM
Iowa Goes By Bicycle is a campaign to get more Iowans riding their bicycles for transportation and recreation. The Iowa Bicycle Coalition is sponsoring the Iowa Goes By Bicycle Challenge  www.iowagoesbybicycle.com. Sign up, bicycle more often, and log your minutes to win bike gear. The Iowa Goes By Bicycle Guide is a how-to-anything bicycle manual and travel/trail guide available in April.

To see the full newsletter click here

by JohnW

City of Cedar Rapids FY12 Trails CIP Budget

The City of Cedar Rapids has published the FY12 Capital Improvement Program funds for trails.  Check it out:

Grant Funding Supported:
Dry Creek Connection - $641,000
Kirkwood Connection Phase 2 - $1,506,700

City Funding Supported:
Cedar River Trail at CRANDIC RR - $30,000
MISC. Improvements - $60,000

Total FY12 Funding for Trails: $2,237,700

by JohnW