Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee

Yesterday I went to my second Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting. I'm still learning 'how the system works', but here are a few interesting points that I thought I'd share:

• Regarding the Tausick/Isaacs intersection, where the lights have been updated but the lane markings have not (causing confusion and thus a hazard to cyclists and drivers), how the bicycle lanes should be marked was discussed. It was said (I paraphrase), "There is just going to be a portion of the population that is going to be uncomfortable with this intersection."
• It was suggested (by a cyclist) that the Walla Walla Police pull over cyclists riding against traffic.
• The City is re-striping the streets. Only the left line (between cyclists and traffic) of the bicycle lane is being striped so that twice the amount of bike lane can be striped instead of half as many bike lanes being striped fully. The price of paint has doubled.
• Want to get things done? Run your truck into a traffic signal pole. When repairs are made, new standards must be met. At the Roosevelt & Alder intersection, a truck ran into a pole, the light had to be replaced and now the intersection is being updated to meet new standards. Including appropriate bike lane markings.

NEW YORK CITY hosts 3 Car-Free events!

On Saturday, NEW YORK CITY closed down PARK AVE, 4th AVE and LAFAYETTE ST to car traffic and hosted activities such as "Children's Latin Percussion Class" and "Cha Cha Class" and "Chalk Drawing"!! And there was live music and bicycles and pedestrians and rollerbladers and joggers and.. just watch the video.

(NEW YORK CITY?! PARK AVE?! NO CARS!!!)

Check out the Summer Streets event page!

Another Great Bike Thyme!

Hoorah! Thanks, Alice for giving us a tour around West End Farm! Your vegetables were beautiful and your basil cookies truly delicious. Another wonderful Bike Thyme. (And check out her Big Dummy/Xtracycle! Aka- Hot Rod :)

HA! Another Glorious Xtracycle Load

I have yet to come across anything that I couldn't bring home on my Xtracycle. This here is the makings for my pirate ship! ..oh, you just wait. :)

Walla Walla August

Earlier this summer, Walla Walla was sandy blonde. It wasn't quite sure whether it wanted to be gold or green. For a while, you could even see it grow out its roots. Now Walla Walla has been bathing in the heat for 2 months and boasts a well-earned sun-bleached blonde, daring perhaps, to go platinum.

I'm excited for the BICYCLE PARADE!

I'm excited for the Bikes & Buses are Beautiful portion of the Walla Walla Fair parade.. now what shall I make?..


A ZEBRA?..



A BUTTERFLY?..

A SWAN?..

GIANT OWL HEADS?..

A PHOENIX?..

Or perhaps a.. (these are the best ones, check 'em out!)

PIRATE SHIP BICYCLE.

GIANT FISH BICYCLE.

A special thank you to Willis & Toews for sponsoring costs for this event!

Bike Thyme - Tues, August 12

For this week's Bike Thyme, we will be stopping at Alice Bagley's farm on Wallula Rd and eating our picnic dinners at Fort Walla Walla on the way back! Though it's still summer, we are slowly losing light- so please invest in a red rear light and front white light if you don't have one already. Allegro carries the Planet Bike Super Flash, which is my recommendation for a red light. I'll leave the white light up to your perusing. :) See you Tuesday!

Bike Thyme

• Spandex free.
• Picnic pace.
• Local farm, park & tasty destinations.
• A good thyme.

TUESDAYS, 6pm, MEETS @ 1st & MAIN ST.

And now for some Eagles.. "Take it Easy"

New Belgium Brewing - Introducing Team Wonderbike!

New Belgium Brewing is a really awesome company.

OWNERSHIP
All employees of at least 1 year or more own a part of the company (and get a new bike!). Everyone gets a vote- for instance, the vote was unanimous to become the first 100% wind powered brewery in the world.

PHILANTHROPY
To date, New Belgium has donated $2.5million to philanthropic causes and continues to donate $1 for every barrel brewed. They are a member of 1% for the Planet, a group that has donated $30million since it began.

SUSTAINABILITY
What New Belgium believes:

We believe, to be environmental stewards, we need to:


1. Lovingly care for the planet that sustains us.

2. Steward natural resources by closing the loops between waste and input.

3. Minimize the environmental impact of shipping our beer.

4. Reduce our dependence on coal-fired electricity.

5. Protect our precious Rocky Mountain water resources.

6. Focus our efforts on conservation and efficiency.

7. Support innovative technology.

8. Model joyful environmentalism through our commitment to relationships, continuous improvement, and the camaraderie and cheer of beer

You can see HOW they're doing it by clicking HERE. AND you can find out what YOU can do, by clicking HERE.

And NOW, New Belgium presents TEAM WONDERBIKE! An online community promoting riding more & driving less. Check out the blog, forums, media, 'My Commute', 'Why I Ride' and other cool stuff at www.teamwonderbike.com Also, please enjoy their short video (there's DANCING!):

Bicycles: playful by nature

This was on the Momentum blog and was just too good to not share. It's inspiring in a funny way to realize that we've been playful about bikes for a long time. :) It makes you feel good about human nature, at least for a little while.

I particularly like the segment at 3:58- doesn't that look like something you'd conceive of when you were 12?

Trek: 1 World 2 Wheels

You may have noticed the green 'widget' to the right for Trek's 'Go By Bike Challenge.' Go ahead, click on it! You'll be taken to a web page where you can pledge to ride to the gym, grocery store, work, wherever- and you'll have a chance to win a Trek 7.2 FX! (One given away every day!)

There are also other useful resources to click around, so you won't be left wondering where to start. There's a collection of helpful videos that cover topics such as 'finding the right bike', 'gadgets and gear' and 'basic commuting tips.' There's a neat blog as well! The most recent post invites readers to submit photos of their bicycle commute. Also, don't miss the awesome gear. I quite like their t-shirt designs and rumor on the blog says there might be jerseys soon, too!

Overall, I'm quite pleased with Trek's 1 World 2 Wheels campaign. Even though it's an online-based campaign, I feel like it strives to be as interactive as possible. You can join a community email list for support, you can watch real people give real advice in videos, the blog is updated regularly, you can wear gear to start conversations and when you email Rebecca Anderson, the Director, she replies!

Nice job, Trek.

Rock the Bike!

A great video from Rock the Bike!

..you know I'm still looking for a musician for my bicycle-towed trailer in the parade.. ;)

Some background: Rock the Bike creates and sells cool bicycle products like the Down Low Glow and Audio Systems for your bike. The company was started by Paul Freedman, also known as Fossil Fool, the bike rapper. I own a Down Low Glow myself and LOVE it!

Their advocacy philosophy, which sums up what I strive for, is awesome (bold emphasis is theirs, not mine):

We're bike people. We're inventors and advocates working away in a sweet little workshop in Berkeley, California, pushing the limits of bike culture. Our dream is to help spread the spirit of the bike into the broader culture by organizing, entertaining, inspiring, educating, and inventing new ways to get the message out there. And more importantly, we help our customers spread the message in their communities.

The bike is about so much more than transportation or environmentalism or physical fitness. It's about bringing the element of magic into our communities. You can't ride a bike and not be part of a community. We hope that our inventions and outreach efforts help more people experience this magic.

We're developing a new school of bicycle advocacy, working off of the old writer's adage "Show, don't tell." If you want more people in your community to ride bikes, then get out their and show them how fun, cool, and sexy it is. We make the kind of bikes that make died-in-the-wool car people want to ride bikes. We get pulled over by cops when we're riding. Not because we've done anything wrong. They just want to know where we got our bikes. The 'Sex Appeal School of Bike Advocacy' is not about guilt-tripping and alienating people. It's about shining our light brightly and spreading a positive message in the community.

Tire Inflation & Helmet Safety

This is a helpful video from Trek's new program, 1 World 2 Wheels: Go By Bike Challenge. Follow the link to find more great information on bicycle commuting AND pledge to ride your bike and you just might win a new Trek commuter!

Also, this Tuesday (@ 6pm, meeting at the corner of 1st & Main St) Bike Thyme will be riding out to Welcome Table Farm! Man, these guys have the bestest eggs. Don't miss this one!!