USBRS: Inspired to Get Involved

Thanks to intern Scott Chilberg for preparing this post.

Portions of SR 20 may become part of the USBRS.

The reasons behind Bicycle Alliance of Washington's support of the US Bike Route System (USBRS) are obvious. USBRS’s astounding and seemingly idealistic mission, to create an interstate bike highway connecting urban centers with some of the country’s most idyllic natural environments, would be a dream come true for many of our state’s avid bicyclists. Even more impressive is the progress that’s been made toward achieving that dream; over 40 states are currently working on the project with several more in the works. 

So, with this clear alignment of interests, it was only natural that the Bicycle Alliance would agree to partner with Adventure Cycling Association to create US Bike Routes in Washington.  With the support of Washington State Department of Transportation, it was decided to tackle a cross-state northern route first.

Several of our individual members, however, have extended their involvement with USBRS beyond the professional realm, and their reasons for doing so are, as stated by Bicycle Alliance Executive Director and soon-to-be USBRS volunteer Barb Culp, “purely selfish.”

“Washington is a great place to bicycle, with diverse climates and breathtaking views,” said Barb. “My husband Andy and I want to both explore the state from the seat of our bikes, and then share  our experiences so that others will see the state in a new way.  The cool thing about the USBRS is that we’ll be able to keep right on riding into Idaho on the bike route system, or down the coast into Oregon.  Eventually we’ll be able to follow signed routes all over the country just like we did in Scotland.  We rode for days just following the signs.”

Barb celebrates the fact that the US Bike Route System will focus on a 50 mile swatch on either side of the road, “thereby giving the bicyclist a reason to explore off the beaten path and visit the sights and communities along the way.”

Bicycle Alliance Board Member John Pope, of Anacortes, has also committed his personal time to assist with the US Bike Route Project. John first came into contact with USBRS in the 1990s while doing bike map work with the Skagit Council of Governments’ non-motorized advisory committee, and was thrilled when the idea was rekindled and the Bicycle Alliance pledged their involvement in the past few years.

“I love the back-roads of Washington and the greater Northwest,” said John. “I grew up in eastern Washington, at a time when the North Cascades Cross-State Highway project captured our hearts and opened new avenues for adventure and scenic beauty.  My early bike touring across that new highway and into the BC border regions got me hooked.  The Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail and other interests over the years have convinced me that a small, dedicated band of volunteers can make an enduring difference.”

Both John and Barb hope that, by being part of that dedicated band of volunteers, they will be able to help the USBRS dream become a reality in the Pacific Northwest. 

Become a part of the USBRS movement! Click here to make a donation to our May fundraising effort for building the USBRS.  Twenty percent of funds raised by the Bicycle Alliance will be used for USBRS efforts in Washington.

We also need additional volunteers!  If you live in northern Washington and would like to help us develop this route, please contact Louise McGrody.  We need volunteers to assist with community outreach and researching routes.

Build it.  Bike it.  Be a part of it.

USBRS: Build it. Bike it. Be a Part of it.

Thanks to Scott Chilberg for assistance with this post.

Imagine an interstate highway system for bicycles…officially recognized and signed bike routes that crisscross our country, connecting urban centers, parks, landmarks and other popular destinations, and traveling through some of the most spectacular scenery this country has to offer.

This is no pipe dream, friends.  I’m talking about the US Bicycle Route System (USBRS), an ambitious project led by the Adventure Cycling Association.  Presently, more than 40 states are working on U.S. Bicycle Routes. Last year, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approved six new U.S. Bicycle Routes : USBR 1 in Maine and New Hampshire, USBR 20 in Michigan, and USBR 8, 95, 97, and 87 in Alaska — the first official U.S. Bicycle Routes to be established since 1982. Several more approvals are expected in the upcoming month.

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington is partnering with Adventure Cycling to create the routes in our state that will be part of the USBRS.  Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is working with us on this effort and we hope to have our first officially recognized US bike route--USBR 10 across the northern tier of the state--in a few years.

Adventure Cycling is doing a fundraising campaign for the USBRS during the month of May.  We are participating as Team Washington and we hope you will make a donation to our team.  Twenty percent of the money that we raise as Team Washington will come back to support the local effort.

Use this link to our fundraising page to make a contribution to the USBRS and Team Washington today.  Everyone who makes a donation to our team will be eligible for a drawing for some cool gifts, including a Share the Road jersey.

Build it. Bike it. Be a part of it.

Planning for 2012 Legislative Agenda Underway

The Bicycle Alliance’s Legislative & Statewide Issues Committee gathered at REI corporate headquarters in Kent in late June to begin planning for the 2012 legislative session.

Nineteen individuals representing bike clubs, bike groups, and partner organizations with shared interests participated in this meeting. Cascade Bike Club, Skagit Bike Club, Tacoma Wheelmen's Bicycle Club, and the Vancouver Bike Club, were among the clubs in attendance. Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition, Foothills Rails to Trails Coalition, Transportation Choices Coalition, Washington Coalition Promoting Physical Activity also had representatives participating in the meeting. The geographic representation included Anacortes, Bremerton, Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Yakima.

The group reviewed the results of the 2011 session, then discussed possible legislative priorities for 2012. Among the potential legislative and statewide priorities that emerged were:

• Continue to push for the passage of HB 1700, which would offer additional design standards as a complement to Complete Streets.
• Continue to pursue the passage of HB 1217, the 20 mph bill.
• Supporting the transportation funding package that shakes out of Transportation for Washington campaign.  The Bicycle Alliance is a member of this coalition.
• Seek funding for the Complete Streets program that was passed in 2011.
• Use 2011-2013 to see if there is support for a 3- to 5-feet safe passing bill (no intent to resurrect the Mutual Responsibility Bill).
• Work on the US Bicycle Route System (USBRS) in Washington State.
• Revise Department of Ecology’s stormwater rules that currently inhibit widening shoulders or adding bikes lanes due to the creation of additional impervious surface, ability to mitigate, and cost.

Representatives from the partner organizations briefed the committee on what their upcoming priorities were likely to be. Transportation Choices is interested in potential tolling revenue changes and promoting mileage-based insurance to reward those who drive less. Washington Coalition Promoting Physical Activity continues to be interested in Complete Streets and Safe Routes to School. They and the Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition want to increase community access to physical activity through joint use agreements for facilities like schools.

Many thanks to REI for the use of their facilities and their ongoing support of bicycling and bicycle advocacy and to the individuals from around the state who serve on or participate with the committee. Additional thanks to Ralph Wessels and Brian Foley, who co-chair the committee, and to our lobbyist Michael Temple for his guidance and work on our behalf. The committee will reconvene in September to make a final decision on what priorities to move forward for 2012.

What I learned from a road trip

Photo by Ben Brown.

I did a Bicycle Alliance road trip last week. Accompanied by Executive Director Barbara Culp, her husband Andy, and former BAW staffer Kent Peterson, we traveled across the North Cascades Highway to the Methow Valley community of Twisp. We were joined by Ian Macek, WSDOT’s Bicycle Pedestrian Coordinator, as we gathered at the Methow Valley Inn to meet with over a dozen individuals to discuss creating Washington’s first US Bike Route—Route 10—across the northern tier of the state.

Folks in the Methow Valley understand the economic benefit of USBR 10. The region is already a destination for recreation, touring and mountain biking. So it was no surprise that Winthrop Mayor Dave Acheson, Twisp Councilmember Traci Day, and local business owners were among the attendees.

After the meeting, Kent unpacked his folding bike and bid us farewell. He pedaled back through the Methow Valley and across the mountains to home, checking out the future Route 10 on a more personal level. You can read his blog post about the ride home here.

It was on to Spokane for the rest of us. Thursday evening we gathered at the Steam Plant Grill with a wonderful group of local cyclists for Hub & Spoke. Spokane has a vibrant and energetic bike culture and it was inspiring to hear about their successes, new ventures and vision for their community. Representative Andy Billig and Spokane City Councilmember Richard Rush also joined us and shared some insights with the group. Both men cycle for transportation and advocate for policies and programs that benefit bicycling.

Councilman Richard Rush  addressed challenges facing Spokane.

We rounded out the trip with a couple of Friday meetings. We sat down with Representative Andy Billig over a cup of coffee at Rocket Bakery to discuss the 20 mile per hour bill, funding for Complete Streets, and more. 

Then we dashed off to the WSDOT regional office to meet with Mike Bjordahl, the East region bike pedestrian coordinator. We reviewed the progress of the Children of the Sun Trail, which is part of the North Spokane Corridor project, and discussed the need to get cyclists’ input early in projects—including rumble strips and chipsealing.

As we headed back to Seattle, I sifted through what I learned on the road trip. First and foremost: we have bright, thoughtful and passionate bike advocates in all corners of our state who are capable of transforming their communities.

Second take away: perseverance and creativity pay off. The dollars don’t always flow as generously in communities east of the Cascades, yet bike advocates are finding ways to build trails, start a Safe Routes to School program in an elementary school, encourage people to bike to work, and make their communities more bicycle friendly. 

Coffee meeting with Rep. Andy Billig.

Third lesson:  meeting with elected officials on their home turf is valuable.  Our meeting with Representative Billig was pleasant and unrushed--vastly different than meeting with him in Olympia during a legislative session.  State and local officials are proud of their communities and are pleased when we venture out of Seattle to visit their part of the state.  It also gives us a chance to see firsthand the on-the-ground successes and challenges in their towns.

Thanks, bike advocates! I return to the office inspired by your work and seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

US Bike Route 10: The Work Begins

In May, the Bicycle Alliance participated in a month-long fundraising campaign organized by Adventure Cycling Association for the US Bicycle Route System (see this post).  The campaign raised over $31,000 nationally and we raised close to $1000 of that.  Thanks again to all of you who made a contribution!

For those not familiar with the USBRS, picture an interstate travel system designed with bikes in mind.  These routes will be officially recognized, mapped and signed.  Using the road less traveled, it will connect communities, parks, landmarks and other popular destinations while traveling through some of the best scenery America has to offer.  Adventure Cycling is leading this ambitious effort nationally and the Bicycle Alliance has stepped up to lead the effort in our state.

Now we're rolling up our sleeves and getting down to business.  As the lead partner in the USBRS effort in Washington State, we're hitting the road to meet with elected officials, transportation staff, and community advocates along the northern tier corridor that will someday become US Bicycle Route 10.

Ian Macek, WSDOT's Bicycle Pedestrian Coordinator, will join us as we hold outreach meetings along the corridor to begin the planning and implementation of USBR 10.  We're holding our first meeting this week in Twisp.  The Methow Valley offers some great biking and folks over there know the economic benefit of bicycle tourism.

If you live along the USBR 10 corridor and would like to help champion the project in your community, please email me at louisemc@bicyclealliance.org.  We'd especially like to hear from if you live in the eastern half of the state.

USBRS: Never Alone

Today's blog post was written by Seattle bicyclist Kevin Henderson. He shares a reason why the US Bicycle Route System (USBRS) is important to him.

In the summer of 2009, I embarked on my first long distance bike tour, alone. This had been something I'd dreamed of since I was a teenager in the 70s, and one day something finally clicked in me that said "you need to do this, this is the year."

My destination, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, made sense to me, since I was born there and have great childhood memories of many visits with my extended family during visits over summer vacations. The only problem was, how do I get there? What's a good route? Browsing the internet, I was lucky to find blogs of some others who had traveled along routes that I could make use of, at least in part, to get where I was going. Bike travel has some different considerations than motorized travel. For example, it's good to plan your travel time to be off the road by the time the hottest summer sun is beating down. In order to make the day's travel segment work out, it really helps to be able to predict what lies ahead.

I pieced my route together with combinations of local city and state bike maps, and with the help of selections from Adventure Cycling's library of route maps. I was happy to find that I could make use of portions of both the Lewis and Clark and TransAmerica routes.

In retrospect, I have to say that traveling on a route planned for and by cyclists makes a world of difference. In a sense, though I was making this trip by myself, being on an Adventure Cycling route helped me feel like I was never really alone. The things you care about when you're on a bike like "where's the next available water, or restroom, lodging, or even, how much further will this uphill last" are all readily apparent.

By virtue of the work of all the people that went into making the route, I felt connected to those who came before me. In the best way, I was never really alone. The concept of a U.S. Bicycle Route System appeals to me, because it shouldn't take planning on the order of a lunar expedition to get out and see our country in the best possible way: on a bike!

 Building the USBRS is an ambitious undertaking and the Bicycle Alliance is working with Adventure Cycling to create USBRS routes in Washington State.  A fundraising campaign for the USBRS is underway during the month of May.  A donation (as little as $10) through our Team Washington page ensures that a portion of your contribution will be dedicated to efforts in our state.

USBRS: A Tale from the Road

Today's guest blogger is Phyllis Counts of Seattle, who is sharing a tale from her cross-country bike trek in 2010.  Phyllis is supportive of the US Bicycle Route System and our efforts to create routes in Washington State.  We hope you'll support our effort as well with a $10 donation to our USBRS Team Washington fundraising page.

Fred and Barb. 

Just two examples of why this U.S. bicycle route system is a good idea. And they're not even from here … Egads, they're FOREIGNERS!

Last summer when I was pedaling across the country with my friend Jerry, we had the pleasure of meeting these two colorful, happy, and vigorous souls … a 77-year-old couple from Melbourne, Australia. Fred and Barb are retired sheep ranchers, who, until around the time they both turned 70 and hopped on their first touring bikes, were simply hard working Aussies, raising kids and grandkids and keeping their ranch running. When Fred retired from sheep ranching, he became a contractor, building and remodeling homes. Barb retired from her university position as an accounting professor. 

Somewhere around that time, they were given a tandem, started bicycle touring, and haven’t looked back. They have toured in Tasmania, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Canada and completed two tours in the United States, the first using the Adventure Cycling Pacific Coast route, and then fulfilled their long time dream of riding across the country, coast to coast on the classic TransAmerica route.

Fred and Barb touring Yellowstone National Park.

It was our good fortune and sheer delight to meet and travel with them for weeks while they pushed and pulled their fully loaded Co-Motion tandem through the Appalachians, the Ozarks, the Rockies and finally the Cascades. They infused our days and nights with great humor and Aussie insights, delighting in sights, sounds and historical monuments that we mostly take for granted.

Barb and Fred are only two of the many amazing adventure cyclists we met coming across from Virginia to Oregon.

My point to this reminiscing is that our trip and our lives were enriched by meeting and traveling with these people, folks we most likely would not have met had it not been for the detailed route and map system established by Adventure Cycling Association that we were all following. If we had all been on different highways and backroads, we might never have bumped into each other.

In our cross country bicycle journey, having common routes made the difference — whether it was to borrow a pump or spare tube in a crashing rainstorm, soaking up companionship and stories after a climbing three or four mountain passes in one day, or getting into a pickup game of tent-sack football in a small city park — it made the entire trip a richer experience. 

Fred and Barb on their Co-Motion tandem in the high plains of Colorado.

To Fred and Barb we say thanks for being our new friends, and for the invitation to come do a little bicycle touring in Australia. And, thanks to Adventure Cycling Association for mapping fabulous routes and continuing to be a great cycling resource, and source of inspiration to travel by bike.

Adventure Cycling is leading the national effort to create the US Bicycle Route System and the Bicycle Alliance is their partner in Washington.  A USBRS fundraising campaign is happening during the month of May.  If you make a contribution through our Team Washington page, a portion of it will be dedicated to the work here in our state.

USBRS: You can double your donation this week!

May is Bike Month, so what better time to raise money for the US Bicycle Route System (USBRS)!  AdventureCycling Association, the lead to create the USBRS, is running a fundraising campaign this month for the USBRS and the Bicycle Alliance of Washington is participating as Team Washington.

What is the USBRS?  Imagine an interstate highway system for bikes…mapped, signed and officially recognized network of routes crisscrossing our country and created with the bike traveler in mind.  This network of bike routes would connect urban centers, parks, landmarks and other popular destinations, and travel through some of the best scenery that America has to offer.

Why is the Bicycle Alliance involved?  We have partnered with Adventure Cycling to create the planned bike routes for Washington State.  We’re already working with Washington State Dept of Transportation (WSDOT) on USBRS Route 10, the northern route across our state.  If you make a donation to the USBRS campaign through our Team WA fundraising page, a portion of the money raised (20%) will be dedicated to the USBRS efforts in our state.

 

And thanks to AdventureCORPS, you can double your donation if you make it this week!  AdventureCORPS is offering to match $1000 in donations made this week.  This is a great week to give to the campaign and double your support of the USBRS.

Please make your donation today.  Just go to our Team WA fundraising page and make a contribution to the USBRS.  You can donate as little as $10 to qualify for the match from AdventureCORPS.

Build it. Bike it. Be a Part of It.

USBRS: Check out the Map

In a previous blog post, we kicked off our month of May fundraiser for the US Bicycle Route System.  The USBRS is a major undertaking by our friends at Adventure Cycling Association to create a mapped, signed and officially recognized network of interstate bike routes.

The Bicycle Alliance has stepped up to work with Washington State Department of Transportation to develop the USBRS bike routes in our state.  We are currently working on USBRS Route 10, the northern route that will connect to Alaska (via the ferry) to the west and Idaho to east.  Check out the USBRS National Corridor Map to get a feel for the national plan.  You can see that six bike route corridors are planned to travel through Washington State.

Please make a donation to the USBRS effort through our Team Washington page.  Twenty percent of the funds raised through our team page will be dedicated to the USBRS efforts in Washington State.

Build it. Bike it. Be a part of it.

Help us make the US Bicycle Route System a reality in Washington State

Imagine an interstate highway system for bicycles…officially recognized and signed bike routes that crisscross our country.  This network of bike routes would connect urban centers, parks, landmarks and other popular destinations, and travel through some of the best scenery that America has to offer.

This is no pipe dream.  I’m talking about the US Bicycle Route System (USBRS), an ambitious project led by the Adventure Cycling Association.  Two official routes are already on the ground and more are on the drawing board.

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington is partnering with Adventure Cycling to create the routes in our state that will be part of the USBRS.  Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is working with us on this effort and we hope to have our first officially recognized US bike route in a few years.

Adventure Cycling is doing a fundraising campaign for the USBRS during the month of May.  We are participating as Team Washington and we hope you will make a donation to our team.  Twenty percent of the money that we raise as Team Washington will come back to support the local effort.

Use this link to our fundraising page to make a contribution to the USBRS and Team Washington today.  Everyone who makes a donation to our team will be eligible for a drawing for some cool gifts, including a Share the Road jersey.

Build it. Bike it. Be a part of it.