Volume 5, Issue 7 – July 24, 2006

Our mission is to establish Pittsburgh as a city that is increasingly safe, accessible, and friendly to bicycle transportation. Our efforts make riding to work, shopping, and exercising by bike safe and fun for everyone in the Burgh.

Thanks once again to our BikeFest sponsors and supporters:
UPMC Center for Sports Medicine, Gary Fisher Bicycles
Planet Bike, Big Bang Bicycles
East End Brewing, Dirt Rag Magazine
Enrico’s Tazza D’Oro Cafe, Gatto Cycle & Fitness
Henry J. Simonds Foundation
Iron City Bikes, REI
Pfaltzgraphics, East End Food Co-op
TRM Bicycles, Trek of Pittsburgh, City Paper
Venture Outdoors, Whole Foods Market

If your business is interested in sponsoring this newsletter, which reaches almost 2,000 bicyclists in and around Pittsburgh, please contact info@bike-pgh.org

In this issue:

* BikeFest 2006 Wrap-up – Thanks for Participating!
* Order a BikeFest T-Shirt While They Last
* Action Alert #1: Comment on Important Regional Transportation Plans
* Action Alert #2: Tell County Executive Onorato to Include Bikes in His Transportation Plan
* BikeFest Part Deux – Announcing Allegheny Parks Mountain Bike Fest
* Win a Chance to Save Even More Money by Signing up to BikePool!
* Bike Events (July August)
* Spare Parts (News Links)
* Become a Member!

BIKE FEST 2006 WRAP-UP – THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING!

As you know, BikeFest 2006 has come to an end and Bike Pittsburgh wants to thank every one of you for your help and participation in making this year’s Fest so great. There were over 50 events spread over 12 days, and even though the weather was a bit fickle, we still were able to attract thousands of participants. Anywhere from 20-40 people showed up to most of the events, with hundreds of people making it out to the movie Breaking Away, the Bike Swap, and the BikeFest Party at Free Ride!

BikeFest 2006 was a tremendous success in terms of fundraising and membership generation as well. This year 50 new people joined Bike Pittsburgh as members over the course of BikeFest, which is ten times the amount we got during last year’s celebration! This year we took in almost $5,000 for Bike Pittsburgh and that doesn’t even count the generous amount of sponsor dollars we got in order to put the event on. $5,000 will buy a lot of bike advocacy, and we plan on putting it to good use.

We have already started taking notes relating to this year’s Fest in hopes of making it even better next year. Please write to us at bikefest@bike-pgh.org and give us feedback on what we did well and what we can do better in the future. We’d also just like to hear any stories you might have from this year’s Fest so we can create more of a narrative about what BikeFest is and how it impacts people. BikeFest is still very much of an experiment and we want to find ways of making it reach more people and making an even bigger impact on Pittsburgh!

We would also like to have your digital photos from this year. If you have any, please send them to bikefest@bike-pgh.org and we’ll make sure to get them on the website.

Thanks again for participating. We couldn’t have done this without you. We hope to hear from you so we can make BikeFest 2007 all it can be and more!

ORDER A BIKE FEST T-SHIRT WHILE THEY LAST

Only sizes Medium and Large left! All proceeds go to Bike Pittsburgh which means buying a T-shirt directly helps us make Pittsburgh better for biking. Please visit our website to order.

ACTION ALERT #1: COMMENT ON IMPORTANT REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANS

Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is our Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and Bike Pittsburgh wants them to hear from you! MPOs are responsible for prioritizing transportation investments in their respective regions, so if bike facilities are to be thought about and prioritized in every local transportation project, it needs to start with SPC. Why now? For a short time, SPC is soliciting public feedback on important documents that can make or break bicycling in the region. These documents are the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the Long Range Plan (LRP) – called the 2030 Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania.

We can’t stress enough how important these two documents are. In order to see more bike facilities on the streets of Pittsburgh and the region including more bike trails, bike lanes, wider shoulders, more bike racks and better route signage (to name only a handful), bicycling MUST be made a priority in the TIP and LRP. Please view these documents and SUBMIT BIKE-POSITIVE FEEDBACK NO LATER THAN 4PM on JULY 27th.

If the public doesn’t say bicycles need to be a part of those planes, then bikes aren’t prioritized and we go on being ignored as we have for the last decade. Bicyclists need to band together and tell SPC that bikes aren’t merely toys for recreation, and that we want to see bicycle transportation made a priority in our region and as a necessary consideration in all transportation initiatives!

Written comments may be sent to SPC at 425 Sixth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa 15219-1852. Comments may also be sent via e-mail (comments@spcregion.org) or via fax (412-391-9160).

ACTION ALERT #2: TELL COUNTY EXECUTIVE ONORATO TO INCLUDE BIKES IN HIS TRANSPORTATION PLAN

On Thursday, July 13th, Mr. Onorato presented his impressive, county-wide, transportation plan to a packed room at the Union Project. He talked about ambitious plans for a Downtown to Oakland spine-line light rail project, as well as light rail from Downtown to the airport. He also addressed access to work issues, and how important it is to get dedicated public funding for public transit this fall – all great initiatives that would positively impact the county. However, when asked about bicycle-transportation, Mr. Onorato didn’t have much to say on the topic, instead he acknowledged former Mayor Murphy for the great trail system that everyone would like to see completed, and promising to talk to Mayor O’Connor about bicycling in Pittsburgh. Definitely a positive step, but…

We need Mr. Onorato to recognize the importance of bicycles as a viable mode of transportation and to make sure bicycles and pedestrians are thought about in every transportation infrastructure project. Please join Bike Pittsburgh in requesting bike-transportation be included in his transportation plan. Here are a handful of points you might choose to address: 1) Although the trail system should be prioritized and completed, decisionmakers must realize that the trails – being unlit, seldom maintained in the fall and winter months, and closed at dusk, are not viable commuting routes. 2) Bicycle facilities such as striping lanes, shared lane markings, bike racks, and bike signage are relatively cheap and make big impacts in encouraging more people to take trips by bicycle. 3) Bicycle and pedestrian facilities help calm traffic and thus make our streets and neighborhoods safer for everyone. 4) Bicycles are a pollution-free mode of transportation that also helps alleviate congestion, a major theme throughout Mr. Onorato’s presentation.

Please call, write email, letters, or send faxes by mid-August to:

County Executive Dan Onorato
Courthouse
436 Grant Street, Room 101
Pittsburgh PA 15219
Phone: (412) 350-6500
Fax: (412) 350-6512
executive@county.allegheny.pa.us
Email to
BIKE FEST PART DEUX: ANNOUNCING ALLEGHENY COUNTY PARKS MOUNTAIN BIKE FEST!

An Event to Highlight Allegheny County’s wonderful parks and singletrack trails, and to meet other Mountain Bikers. All Events are FREE. For these rides, we are asking that you have a knobby tired mountain bike in good working order, a helmet, water and can handle 2 hours of hills, roots, and rocks. We should cover 12-15 miles of singletrack per park. To check out the calendar go to www.bike-pgh.org and scroll down to the announcement. We hope you can join us!

You may want to bring some refreshments and snacks to share after the rides.
– For general questions about the Festival: mtbmike@bike-pgh.org
– For specific ride questions, contact the ride leader
– For directions to the general area: www.pittsburghmountainbiking.com
– For park maps: www.county.allegheny.pa.us/parks

Sponsors: PTAG, IMBA, Allegeny County Parks

WIN A CHANCE TO SAVE EVEN MORE MONEY BY SIGNING UP TO BIKEPOOL!

Want to save money on getting to work and get a chance to win a reward? CommuteInfo and The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership are offering a special, first time ever, promotion to encourage regional workers to find out more about the commuting choices available to them by offering a chance to win one of three $50 gift cards offered each month. By filling out a commuter profile at www.commuteinfo.org, workers get free information on transit and a personalized report of their commuting options: carpooling, vanpooling and bikepooling. They also are entered into that month’s drawing for one of three $50 gift cards to regional businesses/restaurants.

BIKE EVENTS: JULY AUGUST

Here is a listing of upcoming cycling events in the Pittsburgh Region. For complete details and updates, visit Bike Pittsburgh often and click on the “Events & Activities” section.

July 28th – Critical Mass
August 6th – PTAG Trail Maintenance – Boyce Park
August 23-27 – Allegheny County Parks Mountain Bike Fest

If you’re looking for some fun and easy rides in the city, be sure to check out Team Decaf (every Tuesday evening) or Team Caffeine for some more intense riding (every Thursday evening). Both rides leave from Enrico’s Tazza D’Oro Cafe at 1125 N. Highland Avenue in Highland Park at 6:15pm sharp. For more information please contact John Strait.

More biking events and rides can be found at WPW, P.O.R.C., and Venture Outdoors

SPARE PARTS: NEWS LINKS

Bike Pittsburgh in the news:
City Paper: Positively Transported
Post Gazette: Festival atmosphere should pump up cyclists
Tribune Review: BikeFest expands

Bike Industry News:
1) Felt mountain bikes recalled for brake failure
2) Shimano recalls specific models of quick-release skewers

Racing News:
Floyd Landis (originally from Lancaster, PA) wins the Tour de France

Links:
Bike Pittsburgh’s Blog: http://bikepittsburgh.blogspot.com
MapHub: www.maphub.org
ByCycle: www.bycycle.org
Sign up to BikePool: www.commuteinfo.org
Free Ride: www.bike-pgh.org
Western Pennsylvania Wheelmen: www.wpwbikeclub.org
P.O.R.C.: www.porcmtbclub.org
Friends of the Riverfront: www.friendsoftheriverfront.org
Sustainable Pittsburgh: www.sustainablepittsburgh.org

BECOME A MEMBER!

Join Bike Pittsburgh and make a difference! Membership directly helps us transform Pittsburgh into a more bike-friendly city. Every great biking city such as Portland, Madison, San Francisco and Chicago have bike advocacy organizations working to make their cities more bike-friendly just like Bike Pittsburgh is doing here. We can’t do this without your support. Some of the projects we are working on include a commuter-oriented bike map of Pittsburgh, a new and improved website to better communicate with the public, educational brochures on commuting and shopping by bike, expanding the public bike rack project, BikeFest, Bike to Work Week, working with the city to stripe bike lanes, and more!

With your tax-deductible donation you will receive a Membership Card good for discounts with participating businesses, invitations and discounts to special Bike Pittsburgh-sponsored parties and events, and the satisfaction that you are making a difference for all of us who ride in Pittsburgh. For details, go to www.bike-pgh.org and click on BECOME A MEMBER. Join us today!

Bike Pittsburgh gratefully acknowledges the Richard King Mellon Foundation for their generous support

The eMessenger is an electronic newsletter published once a month. Previous issues of the eMessenger can be found in the Newsletters section of our website. Bike Pittsburgh, Inc. does not rent, sell, or make available any personal information, including email addresses. If you would like to be removed from the distribution list, simply email remove@bike-pgh.org 3g4free lg ringtone ax4270stewart ringtone amiiford marmon 1942 herringtonamii nextel ringtone stewartfurniture pickerington amishamirillo ringtone23 ri barrington rosedale ave10025 kyocera kx1 ringtones free Mapcredit 9 car bad loanhard 9 loan moneywithout a credit college loan checkdebt company consolidation a loanprocessor loan aa secured loan uscash loan payday link advance 8cash advance nm loan Maphome aegis loansloan 1hour paydayloan acorn homeservice loan college acsamortization for loansloans investor aegis100k school loan5000 loan student Mapchristine star young pornporn and christopher cockrenchristy canon porncanyon christy pornescort christy pornstar canyonstar morgon porn christychristy young porngirls porn chubby Map