Fresno County Bicycle Coalition

On Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 a delegation from the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition will be attending A Region of Abundant Communities in Clovis. We are excited about forging links to the wider community in a workshop led by Peter Block and John McKnight, authors of The Abundant Community, Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.

The delegation is comprised of the following ten individuals, listed in alphabetical order: Louise Colbert-Mar, Tracy Lane, Peter Nicholas, Nick D. Paladino, Larry Paredes, Larry Peer, Gwen Racca, Edward Smith, Glenn Tozier, Byron Watkins.

In order to contact any of us, send an email to info@ibikefresno.org, and we’ll put you in touch. Also check us out on Facebook. Plus we’ll be live-tweeting as @fresnobike with hashtag #abundantfresno (I hope you’ll do the same).

Are you as excited as me?

Halloween Ride Poster

Bryan Jones has left the City of Fresno for Carlsbad, CA. Scott Tyler, P.E., who was Assistant Traffic Engineering Manager, has been appointed City Traffic Engineer.

This means that Scott will be attending all Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee meetings. BPAC meets on the fourth Thursday of every month at Fresno City Hall. Thursday June 23rd will be his first meeting. If you don’t make it to these meetings regularly, you might want to consider attending this meeting. You’ll get to meet Scott and the committee will be discussing their plans and goals for helping along the implementation of the city’s Bicycle Master Plan.

I hope you can make it!

It might be raining right now and maybe that makes it hard for you to imagine, but we’re about to get started on the best May is Bike Month Fresno County has ever seen. Do you remember when I told you that last year? I wasn’t kidding, and I wasn’t wrong. This year’s going to be even bigger. Our close friends and allies, the folks at iBikeFresno.org, are hitting their stride. They do such a good job of communicating the simple message and the simple pleasure of bicycling. They’re also good at organizing the loosely-knit community of cyclists in this area. This year we’re already far into lining up events for the Spring. Wether your bicycle needs servicing because you’ve been riding it every day in the rain like I have, or if it needs a tune up because you haven’t ridden in a while, this is your head’s-up to get on that. It’s time to get out and ride!
Upcoming events:

• Bicycle Valet Parking kicks off at Big Hat Days in Clovis on April 2nd. Folks are already organizing a ride from downtown Fresno to Clovis on that date to enjoy the festival and the free valet parking.
• Fresno Earth Day is on April 30th and FCBC will be there. Free Bike Valet Parking will also be there. A group of us is planning to meet in the Tower and ride to the event, at the Unitarian Church on Alluvial between Chestnut and Willow. There will be tons of great stuff at this event, including bike rides on the trail, and bicycle safety and maintenance information.
• Revive Your Bike 2011 is the next day on May 1st. Kick off Bike Month in style. Come out and help us get bikes ready to roll, or bring your bike if it needs a little light TLC. FCBC is planning safety training and group rides on the trail. iBikeFresno is working with the local business community and bike shops to bring good things to this event, to Bike Month, and to FCBC members all year round. Stay tuned.
• Mall to Mall Ride, the classic signature FCBC ride that gets the media and elected leaders out on bicycles for a police-escorted group ride from Manchester Mall to the Fulton Mall is on May 12th this year. Plan to be there, it’s going to be a lot of fun. If you’re riding from Clovis, and group of us will be meeting to ride to Manchester together.
• Bike to Work Day is May 19th. We’ll be organizing energy stations and media coverage. Encourage your non bike-riding friends to join you this year.
• iBikeFresno has big plans for Million Mile Challenge this year.

So much more too! Better get out there and start training.

FCBC meets monthly on the third Wednesday in the Mariposa Room at the University of California Center on Shaw Avenue.

UC Center
Mariposa Room
550 E Shaw Ave
Fresno, CA 93710

Summer is drawing to a close and cycling in Fresno is more popular than ever. Would you like to take a class that will increase your skills and confidence as you make your way to work, the grocery store, or the park? Join us at the end of September for a 3-day Traffic Skills 101 course taught by Ed Smith and Louise Colbert-Mar, League Cycling Instructors. For more information and signup instructions, check the class description page at the League of American Bicyclists.

How to Sign Up

Class is $50. If you sign up ahead of time we can mail you your copy of the Smart Cycling book, which is the “textbook” that we use in class. This will give you an opportunity to read it ahead of time so that you can come to class prepared to engage in the discussion. There are three ways to sign up.

1. Come to the next meeting, which will be at the Fig Garden Regional Library on 9/16. Louise and I will be there and can take your cash or check.
2. Mail a check payable to  Fresno County Bicycle Coalition, P.O. Box 883, Clovis, CA 93613. Please mark the memo line with TS101 so we know what the money is for.
3. Pay with Paypal if you’d like to pay online or use a credit card. Click the button below.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us and we’ll do what we can to work it out with you.

The coalition helped the organizers of the 2009 Tour de Fresno create and run a fun ride in downtown Fresno last year. We had a lot of fun. The organizers are planning a much bigger and more ambitious event this year. We here at the coalition are excited that events like this might become more common in Fresno County, and we wish them the best of luck and success. However, the FCBC is not associated with the 2010 Tour de Fresno. If you came here looking for more information about this event, please go to the 2010 Tour de Fresno Web site.

Bicycle Portraits – Staying Alive from Bicycle Portraits on Vimeo.

I like the bicycle to go to school. I like the bicycle to check my friends. I like the bicycle to go the shop and I can use it for racing. –Given Mabuza

Join elected officials, the media, and the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition tomorrow morning, Wednesday May the 5th, for a fun, easy, and social bicycle ride. We will be meeting at Manchester Transit Center (Sears parking lot at the Manchester Mall) beginning at 7:30 am. The Air District will be raffling an electric lawn mower again this year!

At 8 we will leave, with a Fresno Police Bicycle Unit escort, to ride down Blackstone, through downtown, and along the Fulton Mall before ending at the Iron Bird Cafe. At the end we’ll have coffee and breakfast goodies from the Iron Bird Cafe, free massages from the Iron Bird Massage Studio (opening soon), and representatives from iBikeFresno.org, the FCBC, and the City of Fresno to talk about May is Bike Month events like Million Mile May and Bike to Work Day. Come on out and enjoy the festivities! Everyone is welcome and it’s free.

If you’re bicycling in from Clovis, please join us at the north east corner of Clovis Ave and Ashlan Ave, on the trail. We’ll be leaving at 0645 sharp to join the fun at Manchester, so plan to be there at 0640.

We attended the Spring Into Health block party today. This event was child-focused and family-centered. It addressed the needs of children and their families by providing free health screenings, health education, information on various community resources, and entertainment.

We shared information about bicycling and the joy of bicycling. It’s May is Bike Month, so we thought the message was most appropriate.