Starting at 5:30, the MassBike Board of Directors will hold a brief business meeting where Executive Director David Watson will report on MassBike’s 2012 accomplishments and preview our 2013 plans, followed by Q&A. We’ll conclude the evening with a relaxed opportunity for people to get to know their fellow bike advocates. Be sure to stick around and play some pool, because Flat Top Johnny’s has generously donated four tables for our members. This is a great opportunity for you to meet others in the bicycling community working to make our rides safer and even more fun.

The event is free and open to the public, but a $5 donation is recommended. Not a member yet? Join at the event and save $5! You can RSVP to events@massbike.org so we can tell Flat Top Johnny’s how many people to expect. Even if you don’t RSVP, please come anyway!

Light appetizers will be provided, and we will have drink and/or meal specials for those who want dinner.

We’re happy to announce that they were such a big hit we decided to order some more. Same great quality, same great cause, and still locally made.

This second run is made possible thanks to Sam Adams (another great local company) graciously stepping up as the official sponsor of our jerseys. These beauties are now available just in time for the holidays in our online store and at the Sam Adams Brewery. All jersey proceeds from our online store go to making the biking safer and more enjoyable here in Massachusetts.  Members save $15 and can pick one up for only $70.

Bike safety information now available in seven languages

Today at the Moving Together bicycle and pedestrian conference in Boston, the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) introduced new versions of its most popular educational publications in seven languages: English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Russian, and Haitian-Creole. Arabic and Portuguese versions will follow shortly. The new materials are:

• “Go By Bike: A Guide to Bicycling in Massachusetts”, filled with valuable information on how to ride safely and legally in traffic;
• “Go By Bike: A Parent’s Guide to Bike Safety”, helping parents teach their young riders the basics of safe biking; and
• “Same Roads, Same Rules” spoke cards, with key tips for bicyclists and motorists to interact more safely.

This marks the first time bicycle safety educational materials have been available in Massachusetts in such a wide range of languages.

MassBike works with bicyclists and communities statewide to make bicycling safer and more convenient, and we are pleased to provide educational resources that better reflect the diversity of our state. “The rapidly increasing popularity of bicycling, combined with MassDOT’s recently announced mode shift goal to triple biking in Massachusetts, highlights  the need to make bike safety information available to motorists and bicyclists for whom English may not be their primary language,” said David Watson, MassBike Executive Director.

All the new materials will be available for download free-of-charge on our Publications web page, and in print at all events where MassBike has a booth. For larger quantities, contact us. If there are other languages you would like to see, please let us know.

MassBike gratefully acknowledges the hard work of our volunteers, without whom this project would not have been possible:

Project Manager/Intern: Chinh Bui

Translators:

This event is hosted by Harvard Graduate School of Planning and Design and the Harvard Kennedy School and co-sponsored by the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, the Boston Cyclists Union, MassBike, WalkBoston, and the Livable Streets Alliance.

When: Oct 15, 2012 – 4:30 – 6pm

Where: Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy St. Cambridge, MA

About the Lecturer: John Pucher is a professor in the School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He has conducted research on a wide range of topics in transport economics and finance. For over three decades, he has examined differences in travel behavior, transport systems, and transport policies in Europe, Canada, the USA, and Australia. Over the past 15 years, Pucher’s research has focused on walking and bicycling. His research emphasizes walking and cycling for daily travel to increase physical activity and to enhance overall public health. Pucher has published three books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles in academic and professional journals. His latest book, “City Cycling” for MIT Press, provides an international overview of cycling trends and policies: http://citycyclingbook.wordpress.com

We are pleased to announce that we reached our goal and have successfully logged 10,000 bike trips during the month of August on 2milechallenge.com! Riders from throughout Massachusetts and across the nation rode their bikes and logged their miles in support of the good work MassBike does to make cycling a safe, practical option for transportation and recreation throughout Massachusetts. Thank you to everyone who logged trips and to ClifBar for inviting MassBike to participate in this campaign. We really couldn’t have done it without you. No, really. This money is going to go to support our advocacy and education work, including programs like Bay State Bike Week, putting on the Bike/Walk Summit, and involvement on infrastructure projects like the Fore River Bridge. Basically, every trip you logged was an action to make Massachusetts better for biking. Happy riding!

Thank you to everyone who has been recording trips for MassBike and if you haven’t started but need some help logging on we have created some step by step instructions just for you.

Happy Riding Everyone!

Bikeable Communities Trainings

Bikeable Communities trainings come in two parts. The first training provides an overview of the decision making process in transportation, and outlines strategies for advocates to plug into that process. The second training focuses on specific infrastructure, programs and policies that can be used to encourage biking in a community. Together, these trainings lay the foundation for citizens and community leaders to effectively improve the environment for bicycling. Click here for more description of the trainings.

Part One, “Plugging Into The Process”

Tuesday, September 18, 6:00 – 8:30 PM
Boston Public Library Main Branch, McKim Conference Room
Boston

Wednesday, October 3, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Metropolitan Area Planning Council, 3rd Floor Conference Room
60 Temple Place, Boston

Part Two, “Policies, Programs and Projects”

Tuesday, September 25, 6:00 – 8:30 PM
MassBike Office
171 Milk Street, Suite 33
Boston, MA

Wednesday, October 24, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Metropolitan Area Planning Council, 3rd Floor Conference Room
60 Temple Place, Boston

Biking For Everyone Workshops

Urban Cycling Workshop (Sponsored by the City of Newton and Harris Cyclery)
Thursday, September 7:00 – 8:00 PM
Newton City Hall, Room 202
1000 Commonwealth Ave, Newton

Hubway Workshop
Friday, September 14, 12:00 – 1:00 PM
Boston City Hall

Hubway Workshop
Tuesday, October 2, 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Boston Public Library Main Branch, McKim Conference Room
Boston

Basics of Better Biking (On-Bike Workshop)

Saturday, September 15, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Boston University
Meets at the Corner of Agganis Way and Commonwealth Avenue

Saturday, October 13, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Seaport District
Meets at the Main Entrance of South Station

If you have any questions, please email Education@MassBike.org.

Logging into 2milechallenge.com

1.  Go to 2milechallenge.com

2.  Click on Join the Ride on a red ribbon button at far right of screen

3.  Enter your email and other required info, accept the terms and conditions and click register

4. You should get an email from 2 Mile Challenge verifying your email address, click the link and continue on to step 5.

5. Fill out all the contact information and then click “Get Rolling” in the bottom right hand corner.

Logging trips on 2milechallenge.com

6.  Click on Sign in in the upper right hand corner of the 2milechallenge.com page

7. Type in your user name and password and press “Login”.

8.  So now you are on a page that should have your user name in the top right half of the page and just under that is a red tab that says LOG MILES

9.  In the white space to the left of the LOG MILES arrow, type in an estimate of your single trip mileage.  (Don’t worry too much about this since it’s based on TRIPS not miles, logging each trip is more important)

10.  After you type in your miles, you can if you want enter where you went, but I usually just skip this part and after I type in the miles, click that red LOG MILES arrow button, and that’s it. You have now logged your first trip with the 2 Mile Challenge and raised $1 for MassBike!

Extra Step: If, after logging in, you find yourself on the main august page (see screen shot below) simply click on the dashboard tab in the upper right hand corner of the screen to get to your logging miles page.

I hope these instructions help! If you still have questions feel free to email me at bikeinfo@massbike.org or call the office at 617-542-2453. Thank you for participating in the 2 Mile Challenge and helping to raise funds for local bike advocacy.

What: Basics of Better Biking (an on-bike class)
When: Saturday, August 25, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Where: Meet at South Station’s Main Entrance, Boston
RSVP: This class is free and open to the public thanks to the support of the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness. To register, email Education@MassBike.org.

The Basics of Better Biking class is designed for adults who want to get back into bicycling, improve cycling skills, learn to ride more effectively and safely in traffic, and/or participate in a large-scale benefit ride. This four-hour weekend session provides guided instruction with simple practice drills in a parking lot, easy-paced riding on local roadways for short distances, and group-discussion breaks along the way. Topics covered include bike and helmet fitting, starting and stopping your bike in traffic, shifting gears, scanning and yielding, choosing the correct lane position in the road, handling intersections, and more.

• A bicycle in good working order and a helmet are required.
• Preregistration is required.
• This class is intended for participants 18 and older. For minors wishing to take the class, please contact Price at price@massbike.org.
• Sometimes we have to cancel a class due to low registration. We will let you know no less than three days in advance if the class is canceled.

What: Bikeable Communities Training (Part 1)
When: Thursday, August 16, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Where: Northern Berkshire YMCA, 22 Brickyard Court, N. Adams
RSVP: This class is free and open to the public thanks to the support of Mass in Motion. To register, email Education@MassBike.org.

This first installment of our Bikeable Communities Training focuses on the decision making process and how engaged citizens can fit into the process to make their communities better for biking. Some specific points are:

• How the decision-making process works for local projects and policies, and the interaction between local, state, and federal entities when making those decisions.
• An overview of how projects are funded, and explanations of how the public is involved in the various stages of those funding decisions.
• Building alliances with citizens and organizations sharing complementary goals or missions, and maintaining momentum behind efforts that can sometimes take years.
• Case studies on successful bicycle initiatives and an overview of lessons learned.

On the last Saturday in July MassBike held its 3rd Annual Summer Century & Family Ride and it was a terrific success! The weather cooperated with the first few rain drops starting to fall just as we finished packing up.   Over 280 cyclists joined us for a great day of riding and a delicious barbeque lunch. Riders took on routes from 8 to 100 miles which traversed the heart of early American history, from Paul Revere’s Ride through Lexington and Concord and to nearby battlefields. Longer rides visited the towns and villages that sent the first Minutemen and refueled at well stocked rest stops in Groton and Carlisle.

With the success of the ride, the proceeds help MassBike better advocate for bicyclists across Massachusetts. MassBike works through legislation, education, and infrastructure projects to get more people on bicycles and to make our roads and paths safer. Your support is important to making sure that bicyclists are protected in Massachusetts!

One reason our event was so successful was because of our fundraisers who went the extra mile to raise additional funds in support of MassBike! In addition, a big thank you goes out to all of our board members and volunteers who helped to organize the event and make sure that everything went smoothly on Saturday.

We also want to thank our fantastic sponsors who donated their products and services! Thanks goes out to Redbones BBQ, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cascadian Farms, Honest Tea, Izze, Ride Studio Cafe, Luna Bar, Food Should Taste Good, Jason & Fischer, Italia Outdoors Food and Wine, Easy Rider Tours, Road ID, REI and Mass Land Law, who helped provide support and fuel our riders throughout the day.

Photos of the event are posted on the MassBike Facebook page. If you have any you’d like to share, please send them to century@massbike.org.

Thanks to all our riders for joining us, we hope to see you again in 2013!