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Bamboo Bikes That Help Fight Poverty & Save Lives in Africa

September 20, 2011 /

Ok.. I know this is not Lawrence, but it shows the power and importance that basic, dependable transportation provides.

I saw the post in the Inhabitat blog and it really struck me..

Customized bikes, may be all the rage in urban America nowadays, but even the simplest, cheapest bike is a rare sight in rural Africa. Fortunately, the bamboo from which to craft bikes grows on trees – or rather in groves. However, the labor and money to manufacture bicycles does not. That is where Zambikes comes in. In partnership with the non-profit Akerfa, this Zambian bike manufacturer sells hand-crafted bamboo bikes to the West and invests the profits back into its community.

Zambikes Bamboo Frames Commercial from Russell Brownley on Vimeo.

Bike MS: Kansas City Stopping over in South Park Saturday 9/17

September 16, 2011 /

It’s official! Bike MS Kansas City & Bike MS Eastern Kansas are merging into one new and exciting ride. The Kansas City starting point will begin in Olathe, Kan., at Garmin’s headquarters. The Eastern Kansas starting point will begin in Topeka. Both rides will merge into one and travel to Lawrence, Kan., for an even bigger and better overnight.

Bike MS: Kansas City Ride FAQs — Link to Website

Route Options

DAY ONE KC START OPTIONS: 38, 71 & 109 miles. Five miles may be eliminated from the KC and Topeka Century routes, depending on construction. Route towns include Olathe, Spring Hill, Edgerton, DeSoto (lunch stop), Basehor, Tonganoxie, Eudora and Lawrence.
DAY ONE TOPEKA START OPTIONS: 38, 71 & 114 miles. The decision to take the 71-mile versus the 114-mile route occurs at the lunch rest stop (#5) at approximately Mile 59.
DAY TWO OPTIONS: 38 & 71 miles. Both routes will begin at South Park in Lawrence and will finish at the starting line at Garmin’s Headquarters in Olathe.

Start/Finish

KC START: The ride begins at Garmin’s Headquarters: 1200 E 151st St, Olathe, KS 66062, on Sept. 17. Start line will open at 7 a.m. for the 71-mile and 109-mile routes. Top fundraisers are first in line! Short route riders will begin at 8 a.m. All routes will re-combine at Mile 10.
TOPEKA START: The ride begins at Shawnee Heights Middle School: 4335 Southeast Shawnee Heights Rd., Tecumseh, KS on Sept. 17. Start line will open at 7 a.m.
FINISH: The second day begins at 7 a.m. at South Park in Lawrence.
Riders will cross the finish line at Garmin in Olathe on Sept. 18. You will get your finish medallion, claim your luggage, grab food and listen to music. Don’t forget to take your bicycle home!
Bring your kiddos for a bicycle rodeo and helmet fitting at the finish line from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., sponsored by Headstrong for Jake (headstrongforjake.org). Enjoy the festivities and cheer in the finishers!

The Village

The Village is hopping! All along South Park (11th to 12th Street), Massachusetts Street will be closed for Bike MS.
TENTS: The Boulevard Hospitality Tent will serve beer and feature live music and general info about the weekend; The Research Medical VIP Tent will be available for TreadSetters with a special spread of food and drink; The Ameriprise Information Tent will provide detailed info about the Village activities, including tent maps, the music line-up and vendors.
TEAMS: From the Vermont St. side, teams will be able to bring supplies into the Village by vehicle, but vehicles cannot be parked on the grass. All supplies needs to be delivered to tents by 10 a.m. to ensure the safety of all people involved. No vehicles will be allowed in the park after.
ACTIVITIES: Invite your family to enjoy the festivities including a playground, bounce house and many other fun things!
FESTIVAL: Ingredient will host a festival of music, food and drink on the East side of South Park. Starting at noon Saturday, listen to live bands on two separate stages while enjoying tastes of Lawrence from local food and drink vendors. The MS Society will not have a free pasta dinner, but meals will be available for purchase through vendors, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the MS Society.

The Overnight

ACCOMMODATIONS: Free outdoor camping in South Park is on a first-come, first-served basis. Limited indoor camping will be in the Lawrence Recreation Center. There are also many hotels.
SHUTTLES: Purchase a $5 ticket and receive shuttle service to your hotel on Saturday and back to the start line on Sunday. Schedules will be in the Ameriprise Info Tent.
SHOWERS: Portable showers will be available at South Park. Our contracted vendor has successfully provided clean, private, warm shower services to many other Bike MS rides across the country.
ONE DAY ONLY RIDERS: A shuttle back to the Olathe start from Lawrence will be available for those only participating on Saturday. If you have not yet reserved a spot, call the MS Society.
DAY TWO RIDERS: The MS Society will not provide shuttles back to Topeka from Olathe. However, riders who need a way back to Topeka on Sunday can share their need by connecting with other riders through a Google Group: Bike MS-Topeka Ride Share (http://groups.google.com/group/bike-ms-topeka-ride-share) or ([email protected]).If the demand for rides from Olathe to Topeka outstrip the supply of rides, other accommodations may be arranged.

Octoginta comes to Lawrence October 8-9

September 14, 2011 /

Come to Lawrence, Kansas October 8-9 and join the Lawrence Bicycle Club and hundreds of other cyclists for the traditional wind-up event of the year. Sign up early; entrance is limited to the first 1,000 riders. In its 42nd year, the Octoginta is truly a fall classic. So come join the festivities this fall. It’s never been better!

Known as one of the best rides in the Midwest, the 2011 Octoginta promises to be another great end-of-season ride. The Lawrence Bicycle Club prides itself in going the extra mile to give you the best SAGs and support along with the gorgeous fall foliage that combine for a ride you’ll never forget.

The Sunflower Bike Shop and all of the Sunflower employees will again be providing a full breakfast with all of the trimmings at their expense as a part of their sponsorship of Octoginta. You won’t want to skip this SAG unless you were hoping to lose weight on the ride.

Early Registration Deadline is September 25, 2011
For more information
Contact: Justin Graham, [email protected].

Ride Schedule

Saturday, October 8

7-8:15 a.m. – Time Trial

Registration is between 7-8:15 a.m. Start of the Octoginta Weekend by testing yourself in “the race of truth” – an individual time trial! Classes available for all ages and skills.

Riders start at one minute intervals and race over the flat out and back 10 km. (6.2 mi.) course. This event will also serve as a fund raiser for the Free State Racing Team.

Location: Parking and registration at the KDOT materials lot located at the intersection of E 1750 and N 1400 Roads 2 miles east of Lawrence.

Entry Fee: $20 except age 10-18 FREE! Pre-registration information is available at http://freestateracing.com. Event held under USA Cycling (USAC) permit. All USAC rules apply. All participants must have USAC annual license or purchase one-day license for $10.

Contact: Curtis Martell, http://freestateracing.com.

8 a.m. – 7 p.m. – Pre-registration

Come down to the Broken Arrow Park on Louisiana and 31st St., between 8 a.m.-7 p.m. to register and pick up your packets. Beat the Sunday morning rush and register on Saturday!

9:30 a.m. – Tour de County

Enjoy this 30-mile round-trip ride through pastoral Douglas County. Return for brunch at downtown Lawrence. The ride departs from the Broken Arrow Park, with a SAG at the halfway point. Helmets are required. Fee: $5

2 p.m. SWAP Meet

Looking for something? Want to get rid of something but can’t quite bring yourself to throw it away? Come to the SWAP meet at Broken Arrow Park and go home happy.

Contact: Michelle Jensen, Women’s Free State Racing Team, [email protected]

7 p.m.- KC Sprints Roller Racing

Stop by the Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts St. in beautiful downtown Lawrence for some indoor roller racing courtesy of KC Sprints.

Registration is at 7 p.m. and racing begins at 8. Register for the tournament ($5), grudge matches ($2), or both. Proceeds go to Women’s Free State Racing Team. Ages 21 and over.

Contact: Michelle Jensen, [email protected]

Sunday, October 9

7 a.m. Ride-day Registration & Check-in

Late registration & check-in begins at 7 a.m. at the Broken Arrow Park on Louisiana and 31st street. Note: this is a new location for the start of this ride.

8:30 a.m. – Ride Start

The mass start begins at 8:30 a.m. at Broken Arrow Park on Louisiana and 31st street. Please be registered and checked in before this time.

Another beautiful route has been chosen for this year’s 80-mile tour through northeast Kansas. In addition to the 80-mile ride, there will be a shorter route around 40-miles. View the fall colors as you bicycle scenic country roads.

The route will be patrolled by County Deputy Sheriffs.

Sunflower Bike Shop’s SAG has become famous for its breakfast fare of bacon, sausage, eggs, french toast and extras sure to fuel up the hungriest cyclist.

The 80-mile riders will enjoy a brats and sauerkraut SAG before heading back to Lawrence.

The Lawrence Bicycle Club will be serving the traditional minestrone soup and sandwich lunch acclaimed as the best of any ride in the Midwest. Lunch will be served at Broken Arrow Park at the end of the ride.

CycleWorks will be performing emergency repairs.

Long Sleeve T-shirt

This 2011 edition T-shirt will be made of nylon wicking material and have the Octoginta logo printed on the chest and will be blank on the back to make this shirt a valuable addition to your wardrobe. Cost: $20 each.

Volunteers Still Needed!

September 6, 2011 /

The Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization is still short on volunteers (six more people) for a few of the count times(listed below).

Volunteers are still needed to manually count bicycles and pedestrians, for the following count times:

Saturday, September 10th from 11:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 14th from 9:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 14th from 4:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Rain Date: Thursday September 15th 9:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Rain Date: Thursday September 15th from 4:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Rain Date: Saturday September 17th from 11:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

If you are interested in volunteering for one or all of the scheduled count times are required to attend training session on either Thursday, September 8th from 11:30 a.m. to or 12:30 p.m. or Thursday, September 8th from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Volunteers will be taught the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project method created by Alta Planning and Design and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Volunteers trained in 2010 are not required to attend training in 2011.

To volunteer, sign up at: http://www.lawrenceks.org/pds/mpo/volunteer

Lawrence’s Road to Complete Streets Gains Momentum

September 1, 2011 /

Re-post from Lawrence complete streets site.

The United States Senate is considering whether to require all states to adopt Complete Streets policies. A similar bill has already been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Locally, the city of Lawrence, in partnership with LiveWell Lawrence, hosted a public presentation about Complete Streets last September. LiveWell Lawrence’s community plan includes the goal to, “design all streets with safe access for all users: walkers, bicyclists, wheeled-device users, transit riders and drivers.”

As part of a broader goal to improve the health of the community, this LiveWell Lawrence goal is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation that communities adopt Complete Streets policies in their effort to reduce obesity.

On May 5, Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Steven LaTourette (R-OH) introduced the Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011 (.pdf) (H.R. 1780). The measure is designed to create safer streets for all who use them – including motorists, bus riders, pedestrians, bicyclists and people with disabilities.

On May 24, a dozen members of the Senate, led by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), introduced similar Complete Streets legislation, the Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011 (S. 1056), which calls on states and metropolitan planning organizations to consider the safety, interests and convenience of all users in the design and construction of transportation projects receiving federal transportation funding.

That same day, NPR mentioned Complete Streets policies in a story about improving the design and safety of streets to meet the needs of an aging population. The NPR report cites a recent survey by AARP that finds the use of public transit by those ages 65 and over increased by 40 percent in the past decade. With the first baby boomers turning 65 this year, Lawrence’s reputation as one of the best places to retire could be supported by efforts to make roads safer for seniors.

Complete Streets policy adoption has accelerated rapidly, according to the National Complete Streets Coalition. In their recent publication, Complete Streets Policy Analysis 2010: A Story of Growing Strength (.pdf), they report that the number of communities adopting policies roughly doubled each of the last three years. In total, 249 jurisdictions (.pdf) have adopted policies or have made written commitments to do so. On April 2, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City Kansas, with the leadership of Mayor Joe Reardon, passed a Complete Streets resolution (.pdf).

To show support for the Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011, an online form to write members of Congress is provided by the National Complete Streets Coalition.

Ride Lawrence