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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Our Community Bike Ride

June 12, 2013 /

Ride Lawrence and our partners are excited to present our third FREE community bike ride Saturday, July 20th 2013 to promote cycling as a part of a healthy lifestyle at the The Rotary Arboretum at Clinton Park (by the YSC Soccer fields).

There are three rides to choose from and they all travel along the South Lawrence Trafficway bike path, a paved surface that is a “car-free” environment:

• Ten-mile ride. It begins at 8 a.m. and travels near I-70 and back.

• Three-mile family ride. It begins at 8:30 a.m. and goes to the Clinton Lake Overlook and back.

• One-mile easy loop. It’s available anytime between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. and circles around the arboretum.

Other activities from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. include:

• A Training Wheel Takeoff. Experts will help children who are ready to take off their training wheels in a safe and fun environment.

• Safety Zone. Safe Kids Douglas County will help outfit children with helmets and other safety gear while supplies last along with providing cycling safety tips for kids of all ages.

Lawrence Central Rotary organizes and sponsors the event. Last year’s event drew about 200 participants.

We’re really excited and want to thank all those who are helping us to do the ride this year. Our 2013 Sponsors include: Anderson Rentals and Lawrence Central Rotary

The 2013 partners include: The Merc, TeamGP Velotek, Bev West Creative, McDonalds, and the Lawrence Bicycle Club.

And the 2013 Friends of the ride include: Booster Print, Sunflower Outdoor & Bike, Lawrence Memorial Hospital, EconoLodge Lawrence, Ortho Kansas and Safe Kids of Douglas County.

We’ll have them there, but if you want to pre-print a release to be a part of the ride you can download this form, print and fill it out and bring it to the event. It’s that easy!

Here’s more information and Ride Maps. We look forward to seeing you!

With Warmer Weather Comes Fun Regular Ride Opportunities!

May 23, 2013 /

{Editor’s note: The fine folks over at Team GP VeloTek asked us to post this}

Ever notice how most runners don’t smile when they run? And cyclist are gabbing, smiling and chatting when they ride and even race? The social aspect courtesy of drafting is one of the best parts of cycling. As you get into cycling you’ll notice that you’ll hang around cyclist more and more. You will have more energy, your clothes will seem oversized, you’ll fantasy about riding and not driving your car. Strange things happen when you pedal your bike. Pedal in a group and even greater things are possible.

Maybe you’ll start shaving your legs and wear spandex, maybe your bike will have no gears or brakes and you’ll wear wool. Maybe you’ll ride to work in work clothes and save money, your health, and the world?! It doesn’t matter, as long as you pedal something you are making a difference.

Join the gang at Team GP VeloTek in making a difference. They promote health competition, communities, youth and sustainability.

The “Pizza” Ride.
3rd Monday of every month May through October. Meet at Johnny’s across the Kansas River in Lawrence KS at 6pm to stage. We’ll ride from 6:30pm to 7:30pm along the crushed gravel Kansas River levee trail. This is a no drop ride with varying abilities. Typically we average around 10mph. This ride is sponsored by Team 360 and Venturing Crew #2159. Crew Advisor and Coach Jim Whittaker is your contact. Open to everyone with a helmet! Kids’ bring a parent. Rain or shine, if it storms we’ll just eat pizza and talk about riding. Jim’s cell 913.269.VELO
PT’s “Flying Monkey” Ride
Join Ian Silovsky and Mike Rost in Topeka EVERY Monday from April to September for an easy ride from the best coffee shop in the World! It’s a relaxed recovery ride that travels the Big Shunga trail. Talk to Ian about health and fitness needs as he’s a Professional Fitness Trainer at Rebound PT. Heavy rains or dangerous storms will cancel this ride. Ian’s cell 785.223.1988 FlyingMonkeyRideFlyer
TREK Store of KC Shawnee Store Rides.
Wednesday – Join the experienced VeloTek race squad and very helpful TREK store shop riders to learn basic road safety, pace line and other group riding skills. 6:30 pm Start.

Thursday – Join the VeloTek ladies on the women’s ride 6:30 pm Start
Trek Store ride link.

VeloTek Performance group riding tips.

1. Keep your head up and forward, where you look is where you go.
2. Be consistent and calm.
3. Easy on the brakes and go in a straight line.

Repost: Infographic: Four Requirements for a Bikeable City

May 23, 2013 /

This is a repost from Good.is http://www.good.is/posts/infographic-four-requirements-for-a-bikeable-city

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This month, communities all around the country are hosting Bike To Work and Bike to School days—opportunities for everyone from novices to the most experienced riders to get on a bike instead of using a car to get where they’re going. Single-day biking events, which often include fun elements like energizer stations where people biking can pick up a healthy snack and literature on biking, are great for introducing people to how easy it is to rely on two-wheeled transportation. But what does it take to keep people from abandoning their bikes and returning to cars for their normal commutes?

At ChangeLab Solutions, we believe the answer is policies that help communities become bike friendly. That means policies that make biking safer, more convenient, and more socially acceptable—while also making sure that people have access to a bicycle when they need one. Riding a bicycle has great benefits. It’s healthy, convenient, cheaper than driving a car, fun, and environmentally-friendly.

Once biking becomes the new normal way to travel, it’s amazing how many trips turn out to be the perfect distance for biking rather than driving. Forty-one percent of all trips (whether that’s commuting or running errands) are three miles or less, and two-thirds of those trips currently happen with cars rather than on bikes or on foot. Bike-friendly policies can really make a difference to those statistics.

Just last week, my coworkers and I created a bike “train” in honor of Bike To Work Day—we added bikers along the way as we rode through North Oakland to our downtown office. It was a great, social way to show we support the types of bike-friendly policies we develop. Our infographic provides a few suggestions for policies communities can implement. Are there policies listed that you’d like to see in place near you? We’d love to hear how your community is supporting biking, and where you’d like to see it improve. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

This post is part of the GOOD community’s 50 Building Blocks of Citizenship—weekly steps to being an active, engaged global citizen. This week: Try Biking to Work. Follow along and join the conversation at good.is/citizenship and on Twitter at #goodcitizen.

Original bike lane image via Shutterstock

45 Riders Take to the Street for the Lawrence Ride of Silence

May 16, 2013 /

Lawrence Bicyclists on the 2013 Ride of Silence There was a wondeful turnout for this year’s Lawrence, KS edition of the Ride of Silence! 45, that’s right, 45 caring cyclists gathered at South Park for the (surprisingly, only the) 2nd Lawrence Ride of Silence. After a short intro “speech” by Pat Schlager, they bowed their heads for a moment of silence to remember all of our fellow cyclists who did not make it home from their rides. Then they rolled out two-by-two and made two loops through Downtown Lawrence before returning to South Park.

Don’t you wish that you were there? Mark your calendars now for the 3rd Lawrence edition of the Ride of Silence in 2014 – always the 3rd Wednesday of May at 7 PM (local time).

Where the Ride Takes Us: Connecting Kids To Healthy Foods

May 8, 2013 /

Below is a repost of a great, great story by Carolyn Szczepanski of The League of American Bicyclists about how Neil Walker, a leading League Cycling Instructor Coach, a youth program coordinator for Metro Atlanta Cycling Club, founder of Cycles and Change and member of the League’s Equity Advisory Council.

The URL of the original story is http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2013/05/where-the-ride-takes-us-connecting-kids-to-healthy-foods/

Where the Ride Takes Us: Connecting Kids To Healthy Foods

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In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development in our with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post comes from Neil Walker, a leading League Cycling Instructor Coach, a youth program coordinator for Metro Atlanta Cycling Club, founder of Cycles and Change and member of the League’s Equity Advisory Council.

Two years ago, the Atlanta Bike Coalition, the Dream Team and Metro Atlanta Cycling Club partnered with City Councilman Aaron Watson to do a series of rides called “Living Smarter.” These rides were developed to support farmers markets and community gardens.

There has always been the conversation about quality food and the fact that it isn’t affordable for those that are financially challenged. Unfortunately, whole foods are not an option when you are living on a limited budget — but visiting the local community gardens and understanding how they work gives parents a more viable option.

The initial idea was to find a way to deal with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. We have always worked with nutrition as part of our programming but most of it had been done through our partnership with the East Atlanta Kids Club. The Tour de Farm was different than anything else that had been done in Atlanta — an opportunity to educate our youth contingent (The Dream Team and The Drew Charter School Bike Club) on healthy eating choices and affordable food options other than the local supermarkets.

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Each farm or vendor site represented a unique aspect of local sustainable agriculture, offering a great learning experience — with riders having the option of participating in the whole tour with camping or for one-day only. All meals and snacks were provided and primarily sourced from the farms on the tour and other market vendors and partners fincluded the East Atlanta Farmers Market, the Grant Park Farmers Market, Whole Foods, The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, Loose Nuts Cycles, Georgia Organics, and the participating farm sites.

While bike tours are common, it’s not often you get to camp out on an urban farm and have a casual dinner with one of the city’s hottest chefs. The kids not only saw the backyards and patched pieces of land that urban farmers are utilizing; they also get to see behind the scenes of some of the most popular new food entrepreneurs. From experiencing sausage making to perfecting a croissant, the event highlighted the most unique and edgy parts of the Atlanta local food scene.

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The response from the kids was superb; after all, they love to ride and they love to eat! The most fascinating part for me was to see them get involved. They have no problems getting their hands dirty. The knowledge they received during those rides and the various classes have birthed two new Community Gardens in areas that were once abandoned lots.

The other aspect is that they are aware of terms such as GMO (genetically modified organism), saturated fats, cholesterol and pesticide. They now know that “you are what you eat.” They know that potato chips and sodas are not an option — and the proper foods they should eat to help fuel their bodies on our weekly bike rides.

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It all works together, exercise (cycling), proper nutrition and the rest. Overall, it has been a success for the farms, the farmers markets and for the riders. We are looking forward to the second annual Tour de Farms and to continuing to ride, as well as educate and inform.

The collaboration of bicycling and proper nutrition is just one of the ways we are fighting against obesity and other health related disparities in our city.

Read more about Neil and his efforts in the January/February issue of American Bicyclist.

My Signature

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director

Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League’s blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women’s Bicycling Summit and launched the League’s newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.

Ride Lawrence

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Our Community Bike Ride

With Warmer Weather Comes Fun Regular Ride Opportunities!

VeloTek Performance group riding tips.

1. Keep your head up and forward, where you look is where you go. 2. Be consistent and calm. 3. Easy on the brakes and go in a straight line.

Repost: Infographic: Four Requirements for a Bikeable City

45 Riders Take to the Street for the Lawrence Ride of Silence

Where the Ride Takes Us: Connecting Kids To Healthy Foods

Where the Ride Takes Us: Connecting Kids To Healthy Foods

Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director

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1. Keep your head up and forward, where you look is where you go.
2. Be consistent and calm.
3. Easy on the brakes and go in a straight line.

Carolyn Szczepanski
Communications Director