Fort Collins Velodrome Group Visits Boulder Indoor Cycling

On Feb. 20, 2009 Tim Anderson took several members of the Fort Collins Velodrome Association and Team Rio Grande to Boulder Indoor Cycling for a two-hour ride on the new track. Dan Lionberg, 2008 national collegiate omnium champion (best all-round track cyclist) joined them for some fast paced laps. That's Dan in the photo.

Click here for more photos of Dan and the rest of the crew at Boulder Indoor Cycling. Click on the photo to see Dan's big smile.

And for more photographs of the Fort Collins cycling scene click here.

Boulder Indoor Cycling is here.

Re-elect Kelly Ohlson - Read our Recent Post

We recently posted an appeal to the community to support Kelly Ohlson in his re-election bid to Fort Collins' City Council. Read that post by clicking here.

Bike to Breakfast in Portland & Salem, Why not Fort Collins?

In Fort Collins our City Bike Coordinator throws a breakfast bash during Bike to Work Week in late June and during Winter Bike to Work Day in December. Click here for photos of this last December.

But in Portland and Salem, Oregon they do Bike to Breakfast monthly! I've linked to some photos here and suggest we consider a monthly bike to breakfast to encourage more pedaling, more camaraderie, and more visibility for bicycle commuting. The difference from what we now do twice a year, with fancy breakfasts, corporate hosts, pancakes, heaters, and all and what Portland and Salem do is simplicity. They just serve coffee, juice and sweet rolls. Of course in Portland they do Breakfast on the Bridges over the Willamette River with great views. But still . . . we could find one place, one host, and do a simple gathering the last . . . take your pick, Wednesday, every month.

BUT - This is a job for the community NOT the City Bike Coordinator. As the recent Community Bike Safety Forum (see post below) indicated, the community thinks our Bike Coordinator should focus on safety, not encouragement. So let's get Bike Fort Collins to sponsor a breakfast, then Diamond Peaks, then Rotary, then New Belgium, then . . . . . are you with me?

Check out Portland's Bridge Breakfasts here.
And Salem's breakfast by bike here.

And the photos here.

Community Bike Safety Forum Focuses on Education

Details will be forthcoming in a report from the Center for Public Deliberation at CSU but the results of our Safety Forum this last week were the following action items in order of priority.

1) Require bike rights and responsibilities questions in the State Driver's Manual;
2) Educational outreach for K-12;
3) Educational outreach for the general public;
4) Educate the motorist on the rights of cyclists;
5) Educate college age cyclists;
6) Increase overall numbers of cyclists;
7) Start another "Smart Trips" program;
8) Move away from our "car-centric" culture;
9) Move toward better law enforcement;
10) Improve and expand infrastructure.

The top five are educational initiatives, including the driver's manual rewrite, which is better acted upon by Bicycle Colorado since it requires legislative action.

Seems to us that the easiest way to achieve a lot of the educational outreach suggested is to have the City Bike Coordinator focus laser-like on education for students age 6 - 20 (that would pick up the K-12 and CSU students and reach the public as well through school groups, parents, PTAs, etc.)

In short, maybe it is time the Bike Coordinator stopped encouraging cyclists (who shows up for winter bike to work anyway? The already committed!) and start educational outreach programs by leveraging existing groups to help: CSU students helping CSU students; the Bike Co-op reaching out to school kids with a "kidz on bikes" program; and Bike Fort Collins using their $5,000 REI grant for educational outreach (whatever happened to that program, anyway?).

Bike Forum Thursday, February 12, 2009

How Can we Create a Safer Bicycle Culture in Fort Collins? A Community Cyclists Forum
Cyclists to Discuss Bicycle Safety at Community Forum on Feb. 12

The forum will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Drake Centre, 802 W. Drake Road. Click for details.

Support Kelly Ohlson (and our Bike Policy) for Re-Election to City Council

A letter from local cycling advocate, Rick Price:

Dear Fellow Cyclist and Environmental Advocate,

Cycling and environmental advocate, Kelly Ohlson, is running for re-election in the upcoming city election this April. For over a quarter century, Kelly has been a solid supporter of bicycling, trails, and natural areas. (He recently won Etown’s national Echievement award for his more than 2 decades of work protecting open spaces and natural areas in Fort Collins and Larimer County.)

It is crucial that Kelly be re-elected to City Council if we are to continue making Fort Collins a sustainable, bicycle-friendly community that has both a healthy economy and a high quality of life.

Because successful campaigns need financial support, I have personally committed to raising $1,500 to help Kelly get re-elected. Furthermore, my wife Paola and I have each contributed $75 (the maximum allowed per person).

I’m writing to ask you to contribute to Kelly’s re-election campaign. Your financial support is vital! Won’t you help today by going to Kelly’s web site and matching my donation of $75? Or mail your check to: Citizens to Re-elect Kelly, 2040 Bennington Circle, Fort Collins, CO 80526. The election is only a few weeks away.

Thanks for your support and as you pedal those bike lanes and bike paths or hike those natural areas and do your birdwatching at Wigeon Pond, think of Kelly!

Thanks! (and please circulate this to your friends!

Rick Price, Ph.D.

How Can we Create a Safer Bicycle Culture in Fort Collins? A Community Cyclists Forum

Cyclists to Discuss Bicycle Safety at Community Forum on Feb. 12

The forum will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Drake Centre, 802 W. Drake Road.

The Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation, or CPD, will host the “Bicycle Safety Summit,” a community forum to discuss bicycle safety in Fort Collins.
Although Fort Collins has been recognized as one of the nation’s most bicycle-friendly communities by the League of American Bicyclists, developing safe cycling practices is still a work in progress.

Recent public concerns regarding safe cycling issues, and the deaths of two cyclists, are leading city officials to turn to the community in search of solutions.
David “DK” Kemp, City of Fort Collins Bicycle Coordinator, said that the goal of the “Bicycle Safety Summit” is to respond to safety concerns in the community, with a goal of gathering ideas for creating a stronger culture of safety in the community.
“We need to acknowledge that the city cannot fix the issue on its own,” Kemp said. “Community involvement and cultural change is essential to finding a solution.”
The forum is designed to gather concerns and ideas for action at all levels of involvement. The idea of a “summit” is symbolic of the collaboration of individuals, the community, local organizations and government.

“One of the hopes of the CPD is to help our community think of all the different ways we can approach issues,” said Martin Carcasson, CPD Director. “This is an issue where a simple policy solution is not likely, but rather requires us to work together as a community at multiple levels.”

The forum is co-sponsored by the City of Fort Collins and local cycling organizations, Bike Fort Collins and the Fort Collins Bicycle Co-Op. The event is open to the public, and community members are encouraged to participate.
Light refreshments will be provided. Non-partisan student facilitators from the CPD will moderate the forum, and the discussion will be documented to ensure that concerns, ideas and questions will be addressed. The results compiled at the forum will be utilized by the City of Fort Collins and cycling organizations to move forward on this issue.

About the CSU Center for Public Deliberation
The CPD was founded in 2006 and is dedicated to enhancing local democracy through improved public communication and community problem solving. The organization coordinates and hosts numerous events in the Fort Collins and Loveland communities. Student associates are trained as non-partisan facilitators and conveners, and focus on helping the public unite and address critical issues in a more effective manner.