Archive for March, 2009
Author: Ed Smith
8th Annual Bike Month Schedule of Events
(www.fresnobike.org for more details)
Thursday, May 7th. 8:30 am. Fresno City Council
Fresno City Hall, downtown Fresno
Come to hear the Fresno City Council proclaim May as Bike Month in the City of Fresno.
Monday, May 11th. 7:00 pm. Clovis City Council
Council room, Clovis City Hall, 1033 5th Street, just east of Clovis Ave.
Come to hear the Clovis City Council proclaim May as Bike Month in the City of Clovis.
Tuesday, May 12th. 9:00 am. Fresno County Board of Supervisors
1133 Tulare Street, Room 301, Hall of Records, Fresno
Come hear the Board proclaim May as Bike Month in the County of Fresno. The FCBC will accept the proclamation on behalf of all cyclists in the county.
Wednesday, May 13th. 8th Annual Bike Week Downtown Ride
Meet at Manchester Center near the Fresno Area Express (FAX) site on Blackstone at 7:45 for an 8:30 group ride to downtown Fresno. Clovis riders, meet at the rest stop on the Old Town Clovis trail (near Ashlan Avenue and Clovis Avenue) at 7:00 am for a group ride to Manchester Center to meet other cyclists. From Manchester Center we will be escorted by the Fresno PD Bike Cops. Free refreshments will be provided on the Fulton Mall. Then head off to work. Tell your friends.
Thursday, May 14th. 4th Annual FCBC Corporate Challenge.
BIKE TO WORK!
Get a team, ride to work, win prizes. See the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition’s web site for more information on how to participate, contest rules and how to win! See the Coalition Web site for details. Enlist your coworkers… there’s time to map out routes and train. There’ll be Energy Stations in Fresno and Clovis. If you need help with best routes, contact the Bicycle Coalition at: info@fresnobike.org
Thursday, May 14th. Fresno Area Express (FAX) and Clovis Transit
Posted in 
Author: Ed Smith
The good people of the City of Fresno's Bicycle and Pedestrian
Advisory Committee will be meeting again next week. As usual, it is
one Thursday after the regular FCBC meeting. Here is the agenda from
Nick Paladino:
The next meeting of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee will be
Thursday, 26 March 2009, at 5:30pm in room 4017 of Fresno City Hall.
The agenda will be as follows:
1. Call to order and self-introductions
2. Approval of the minutes of the 26 February 2009 meeting
3. Report from the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition on its
planned activities for Bike to Work Week in May
4. Discussion of Roundabouts
Roundabouts are beginning to appear in the Fresno/Clovis area. There
are a few in the Copper River Ranch development, two on Chestnut
Avenue on the CSUF campus, and one planned at the Fancher Creek and
Fowler intersection. We would like to know why they are becoming so
popular–why do many transportation engineers seem to prefer them?
They do have a considerable impact upon road cyclists as we must use
them also. How can they be designed safely for bicycles and how
should cyclists travel through them?
5. Work on the Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Trails Master Plan (BMP)
On 17 March 2009, the City Council took three actions regarding the
BMP. It approved a contract with Fehr & Peers in the amount of
$475,000 to prepare the BMP and reallocated funds for the preparation
of the plan. The Council also approved the appointment of the BPAC to
serve as the Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Trails Advisory Committee (BAG)
for the Plan. Thus work on developing the plan can now commence. At
this meeting I would like to review the work schedule and discuss what
is involved in each of the 29 separate elements listed on the
schedule.
Hope you can make it!
Author: Ed Smith
The March 19th meeting of the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition will be held at 6 PM at the Kauffman Library, Alliant International University, 5130 E Clinton Way (near the airport).
Discussion will range over a variety of outstanding topics. We expect to hear reports from:
–The Bike Month 2009/Corporate Challenge subcommittee
–The membership/outreach subcommittee
–The Web site/technology subcommittee
–The policy/advocacy subcommittee
–The education subcommittee
RSVP if you'd like to contribute to the pizza so we can order early.
The library:
It's directly across from the entrance to the airport, next to the Piccadilly Inn, which is on the corner of McKinley and Clinton Way.
Alliant International University
Kauffman Library
5130 East Clinton Way
Fresno, CA 93727
Lots of car parking in the back where the main entrance is. Library is on the first floor to the right of the lobby. Often there is a security guard there who can point the way. Bikes should be brought in and put in Louise's office.
Cold water available, and we'll order pizzas, and we can all chip in a few dollars. Maybe someone can bring a salad. There are plates, cups, napkins at the library.
Author: Ed Smith
Road and Traffic Skills Class
You may know how to RIDE your bike, but do you know how to DRIVE it? Bicycles are vehicles! Knowing the vehicle laws for bicycles and practicing your road skills are great ways to learn to ride cooperatively with other vehicles and pedestrians.
Are you or someone you know interested in taking a League of American Bicyclists’ bicycle safety course? If you don’t know about the League, see their web site at: www.bikeleague.org. You don’t have to be a member to take the class. The League is a national bicycle advocacy and education non-profit whose mission is to promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation and work through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America.
The League is the organization that awards the Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designation to US cities. For example, Davis is a Platinum awardee.
A Traffic Skills 101* course will be held in Clovis, CA on Friday – Sunday, April 4-6. The course will entail both classroom, parking lot and road riding components and will be held:
Friday: 6pm to 9pm (with pizza)
Saturday: 2-5 pm
Sunday: 2-5 pm
The cost of the class is 15.00 which covers materials.
(*From the League’s website: Traffic Skills 101 gives cyclists the confidence they need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. The course covers bicycle safety checks, fixing a flat, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques and includes a student manual. Recommended for adults and children above age fourteen, this fast-paced, nine-hour course prepares cyclists for a full understanding of vehicular cycling.)
You may also be interested in becoming a League Cycling Instructor (LCI). The Traffic Skills 101 course is the prerequisite course for the League Cycling Instructor (LCI) Seminar. Currently, I am one of a couple LCIs in the Central Valley and the only one in the Fresno area, but I would like to see the Fresno/Clovis area become a cycling center (given the response to the Amgen TofC, it’s a real possibility) and have more cyclists trained as LCIs. I am planning to facilitate an LCI seminar in Clovis/Fresno on the first weekend of May, which graduates of the Traffic Skills course would be eligible to take.
If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Louise Colbert-Mar, LCI #1805. Details for this class are also available on the League’s web site. (Note that most of the League’s classes are given in the larger cities and on the coast, but here’s one in your own backyard!)
Author: Ed Smith
Join us tonight for a planning meeting. We are setting up for Bike Month 2009, and especially the 2009 Corporate Challenge. 7 PM at Don Pepe near Fresno State. Click on the red A on the map for directions.