For Immediate Release: January 31, 2004

To: NYS Bicycling Clubs and Organizations

From: Jesse Day, NY Bicycling Coalition

Re: Update for Club Newsletters (1) National Bike Summit, (2) Events Calendar, (3) NYBC Jan. 10^th Annual Meeting, (4) State Bike Route Anniversary and Inventory

National Bike Summit

The New York Bicycling Coalition staff and others from around New York State will be heading to the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC March 3^rd-5^th.  The summit is sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists www.bikeleague.org and you can register at their website.   Don’t miss your chance to meet your congressperson and the Washington staff to talk about bicycling.  If you have questions or concerns about registering or transportation to the summit, don’t hesitate to ask the NYBC office at nybc@nybc.net or 518.436.0889.

The summit is an excellent opportunity to learn the skills of articulating advocacy, better bicycling education and collecting knowledge of the best practices.  Get the pulse of the bicycling movement in 2004.  It is also a great way to meet the leaders in the bicycling manufacturing and advocacy arena.  For more details on advocacy efforts at the national level and best practices in facility design you should visit the New York Bicycling Coalition’s website at www.nybc.net.

The League of American Bicyclists, America Bikes and the NYBC have been working towards a bicycle-friendly TEA -3 for a long while and now's the time to make the final big push!

Events Calendar

The New York Bicycling Coalition, your statewide advocacy organization supporting bicycling interests is excited to announce the publication of the 2004 NY Bikes! Events Calendar. 

All forms of bicycling events, Racing, Touring, Mountain Biking, from all regions of New York State will have their Spring to Fall bicycling event listed.

We are gathering the ride information as fast as possible; organizing it by geographical region and type of event; and publishing it in an easy to understand format!

Use the form at www.nybc.net/calendar to submit your event, the web based calendar can be found there as well. 

Bicycling clubs and bike shops that join NYBC (memberships start at $50) will have their support acknowledged on the back page of the printed calendar.  Joining at the $250 level earns a free advertisement before March 1.  See www.nybc.net or call 518.436.0889 for more details.

We encourage you to get involved.  Send us your event listings for free or take out an advertisement to make your event jump out of the page. . One Hundred Thousand (100,000), 2004 NY Bikes! Events Calendars will be distributed in two issues: Early Spring and Late Spring. Look for the calendars in local bike shops, bike club meetings, biking events and in your mailbox.

New York Bicycling Coalition Annual Meeting January 10^th

The New York Bicycling Coalition board of directors and members met in Albany January 10^th.  Six  directors were voted in for two years by the membership: Justin Booth, Glen Goldstein, Jackie Marchand, William Eisenreich (President), Lois Chaplin and Richard Brustman.   There are another six board members who are half way through their respective two year terms: Robert Ostiguy (Treasurer), Richard DeSarra, Kristin Bennett, Bertil Schou (Secretary), Ivan Vamos and Irene Van Slyke (Vice President).  Visit www.nybc.net/about to learn more about the board members and goals of NYBC.              

Following the election there was discussion of projects and programs from the previous year and a look ahead to the programs and projects for this year, many of which are new, including: the (1) printed Events Calendar, (2) Thunderhead Alliance Northeast Bicycling Advocacy Leaders training in Albany March 26-27^th, (3) Better Roads Workshops in Buffalo, Elmira/Corning, Rockland County and New York City in late spring, (4) Transportation Funding Re-Authorization in Washington, (5) Capital Bike Week may 8^th- 14^th in Albany, and much more.  See www.nybc.net for more details on these programs and more news.

State Bike Routes

Wouldn’t it be great to have the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) continue to develop the State Bike Route system?  Ever wonder what happened to the proposed state bike routes in western NY SBR #19, central NY SBR # 11 and on Long Island SBR #24? 

This year is the 10^th anniversary of the State Bike Route #5.  The New Department of Transportation and the New York Bicycling Coalition are working on surveying the existing bike routes, SBR # 5, 9, 17.  There will be a relay ride and celebration of State Bike Route #5 on June 11^th, which runs from Buffalo to Albany. The NYBC will work with the  NYSDOT on improving the existing routes and advocating for the proposed routes from years ago.  For more information on existing and proposed routes visit www.nybc.net/resources and go to the “Bicycling Riding in New York” section.

Ideally, the information gathered and collected on the existing and proposed routes would be maintained as an internet- based mapping system that could be updated as new routes are added.  This effort could be a tool for planning transportation improvements allowing for feedback to enhance and protect these routes.  If funding allows it, a series of regional maps printed every few years would be produced as well.

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