Tacoma, Snohomish join the ranks of Bicycle Friendly Communities

The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) announced its 2012 round of new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Communities and the Washington communities of Tacoma and Snohomish joined the ranks at the bronze level.  Port Townsend improved its ranking from bronze to silver and Vancouver retained its bronze status.

Washington is currently ranked as the most Bicycle Friendly State by LAB’s Bicycle Friendly America program.  Ten of our communities are now ranked as Bicycle Friendly Communities with Seattle holding the only gold award.  Seventeen state businesses have earned a Bicycle Friendly Business designation and the University of Washington holds a silver ranking as a Bicycle Friendly University.  

The Bicycle Friendly America program provides incentives, hands-on assistance, and award recognition for communities, universities and businesses that actively support bicycling, and ranks states annually based on their level of bike-friendliness. Learn more about it here.

Ride for Yourself, Ride for all of Us

No doubt about it—bike riding season is upon us. Maybe you attended Bike Expo last weekend or perhaps you’re planning to check out the upcoming Spokane Bike Swap. It’s time to plan which rides to do this year, so be sure to consult our special Ride Calendar.

Why is our Ride Calendar unique? It lists rides that support the Bicycle Alliance’s advocacy and education efforts with a financial contribution. When you sign up for the bike rides listed in our calendar, you ride for all of us who bike!

Consider the McClinchy Mile, which is coming up on March 17. The ride organizer, BIKES Club of Snohomish County, donates $1 per rider to the Bicycle Alliance. These funds support our efforts to make streets safer for bicyclists, bring Safe Routes School to all school districts, and make bicycling accessible to everyone.

The McClinchy Mile is a great early season ride that explores the peaceful valleys and rolling hills of scenic Snohomish County. There are several route options to choose from, including an 8-mile family ride on the Centennial Trail.

When you ride the McClinchy Mile or any other ride listed on our Ride Calendar, you are pedaling for all of us who ride a bike in Washington. So why not sign up for one of these generous bike rides this summer. You’ll benefit all year long from it.

See you on the roads and trails!

Community Bike Shops

What do you do with the bike that your 10-year-old has outgrown?  Or perhaps you've just upgraded to a fancier road bike and you'd like to find a good home for your trusty old steed.

Maybe you're a student on a tight budget and you'd like to do some simple repairs on your bike, but you live in a dorm and don't have the right tools.  Maybe you live in your own home and regularly host out-of-town guests and it might be nice to have an inexpensive bike in the garage to lend to them.

It's time to check out a community bike shop.

Community bike shops are nonprofit groups, often run by volunteers, that refurbish and recycle bikes at low-cost or free to the community.  They're appearing all across Washington State and there may be one or more in your town.

Bike Works, in Seattle, operates a full service bike shop.  They sell refurbished bikes, offer maintenance and repair services, and sell accessories and parts.  They also offer an earn-a-bike program for kids.

Live in Everett?  Check out Sharing Wheels. Besides refurbishing and reselling bikes at low-cost, Sharing Wheels has earn-a-bike opportunities for troubled teens and low-income adults.  They also have a co-op program where members have access to shop space and tools for do-it-yourself bike repair.

Pedals2People is a do-it-yourself community bike shop in Spokane. They provide low-cost access to shop space and tools and they offer a variety of bike repair and maintenance classes, including a Ladies Mechanics Class. Like the other community bike shops, P2P also sells used bikes.

These three programs are a sampling of community bike organizations in our state.  The Bike Collective Network has a listing of community bike shops in Washington State.  Do you know of a community bike shop that's not on the list?  Tell us about it.

Ride for yourself, Ride for all of us

It's March, there's more daylight, and spring is on the horizon.  I'll wager that many of you are thinking about your ride season and which bike rides you might sign up for this year. 

I want to encourage you to select a bike ride not only for you, but for all of us.  How?  Easy.  There are twenty or so event rides that have pledged to make a contribution (typically $1 per rider) to the Bicycle Alliance of Washington to support our advocacy and education efforts.  If you sign up for one or more of these rides, then you'll not only be riding for yourself but you'll be riding for all of us!

McClinchy Mile is the first of those rides and it's just around the corner on March 19.  Organized by the BIKES Club of Snohomish County, McClinchy Mile has something for everyone. Several loops of varying lengths travel the scenic backroads of the county and can be combined for a challenging century.  There's also a family fun ride on the Centennial Trail.

Take a look at our Rides Calendar to view all the rides that support bike advocacy and education and plan your ride season accordingly.

See you on our roads and trails!

Hub and Spoke: Next stop Everett

This year, thanks to a grant from the Alliance for Biking and Walking, the Bicycle Alliance of Washington launched our Hub and Spoke outreach tour.  We have organized meet ups with our members, interested officials, and other community cyclists in Wenatchee, Vancouver and Walla Walla.  (Here's a link to a previous post about Hub and Spoke.)  Next Thursday, we take Hub and Spoke to Everett.

As the voice for citizens who bike in Washington State, the Bicycle Alliance wants to hear from you.  We want to know what issues you face in your community and we want to hear about local successes.  We also want to share information with you.  We have identified legislative priorities for the 2011 legislative session and we'd like your help to pass them, and we'd like to tell you about some exciting projects that we have coming on line.

Please join us for this timely event if you live in Snohomish County.  We'll provide light appetizers and a no-host bar is available.  Please RSVP Louise McGrody if  you plan to attend.

Hub and Spoke: Everett

November 18 at 5:30PM

The Anchor Pub

1001 Hewitt Avenue