NRV Bike Recycle – Job Announcement
The New River Valley Bicycle Association (NRVBA) is partnering with the VT Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships (CSECP) to develop a Bike Recycle Program in the NRV that will serve income-eligible people with transportation needs and challenges. While focusing on transportation issues, the program will build community service opportunities for adults and youth in the NRV, including after-school programs, earn-a-bike programs, and events to raise awareness surrounding cycling-related issues.
The NRVBA and CSECP have partnered to cost share the administrative costs for hiring a Americorps VISTA to establish the program in the NRV. This is a 40-hour per week paid position with benefits under the Federal Americorps VISTA program. See the job announcement here: http://www.idealist.org/view/volop/j26G6p3WmgW4 .
If you have questions about the job, please feel free to contact Beth Lohman at ealohman@gmail.com . If you are interested in applying for the position, please follow the above hyperlink for instructions on how to apply.
2nd Annual Fix Fest – April 30
Get geared up for Bike Month! Come out to the Second Annual Fix Fest
- When: Saturday, April 30, 9 am – noon
- Where: 110 Draper Road adjacent to the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market
Dust off your bike, pump up the tires, and lube the chain. Spring is here! Has your bike been sitting in the garage over the winter – or even for the last few years! If so, it’s time to get your bike ready to ride! Everyone can bring their bikes downtown for a *free* safety check and basic tune up. Our local bike shops – Bike Barn, East Coasters, and Hokie Spokes, will be on hand with mechanics offering basic services. (Participants that require part replacement or more involved repairs will be referred to the bike shops.)
You can also download a poster to help spread the word. If you have questions about the event, email cstraight@nrvpdc.org
This event is made possible with our sponsors’ help: Town of Blacksburg, NRV Bicycling Association, RIDE Solutions, Hokie Spokes, Bike Barn, East Coasters, Sustainable Blacksburg and Modea.
Once you’ve got your bike in working order, join other commuters on Clean Commute Fridays.
Clean Commute participants pledge to use a cleaner commute mode – biking, walking, riding the bus, carpooling – on one or more Fridays in May. Pick one Friday to try a clean commute mode, or challenge yourself to carpool, bike, bus, walk, or telecommute every Friday.
Each day pledged is an entry for the prize drawing which will include a variety of prizes. There is also a Cleanest Team competition open to any group (workplace, clubs, informal groups). For more information go to http://www.ridesolutions.org/cleancommute/index.shtml
We’ll be celebrating Clean Commute on Friday morning, May 20, at the Blacksburg Farmers’ Market. Be sure to stop for coffee and pastry!
NRV Ride of Silence
Leaving Bissett Park and entering Wildwood Park
On Wednesday, May 18, 2011, join cyclists worldwide in the annual Ride of Silence. Participate locally by coming to Radford for a slow-paced, silent ride in honor of those who have been hurt or killed while cycling on public roadways.
The 6.8-mile route winds through downtown Radford, Bissett Park and Wildwood Park with a police escort. This is a family-friendly event, and children are encouraged to participate (helmets are required). Though solemn, the group ride is enjoyable and inspirational to even the youngest riders. There is just something cool about being in this quiet, rolling parade.
Co-sponsored by the NRVBA and Pathways for Radford, the NRV Ride of Silence was first organized in 2008 after the untimely death of Fess Green, local professor, veteran cyclist, and advocate of Wildwood Park. This year’s event will follow the same route, traversing Radford’s roads and scenic Riverway, which Fess was instrumental in building.
Staging will begin in the Sal’s parking lot at 6:30. Armbands will be available to those who wish to wear them.
Schedule of events:
The family-friendly Ride of Silence has been held in Radford three years.
6:30 – staging begins
6:45 – speakers and instructions
6:59 – moment of noise
7:00 – Ride of Silence begins
Participants are invited to gather at Sal’s and El Charro following the ride. Please feel free to share this with friends and families!!!
Sharrows Come to Blacksburg
In spring 2011, a new pavement marking will be used in Blacksburg: a sharrow. What’s a sharrow? It’s a shared-lane pavement marking that consists of a bicycle with two chevron markings above it. The purpose of a sharrow is to remind vehicle operators to share the road when driving or riding in town.
Benefits
Sharrows are designed for use in areas too narrow for a separate bike lane and have several applications for improving interactions between cyclists and motorists:
The rider is using the sharrow as a guide for lane position, staying out of the door zone.
- Sharrows tend to keep bicyclists from riding too close to parked vehicles, which puts them at risk for unexpected opening car doors.
- With sharrows on the road, motorists tend to give more space to bicyclists that they pass.
- Sharrows help reduce wrong-way riding by bicyclists.
- They help decrease aggressive bicycle-car interactions.
- They can help reduce the level of pedestrian-to-bicycle conflicts on sidewalks.
Technical Information
All signs and pavement marking designs and uses are defined by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The MUTCD was revised in 2009 and included the sharrow.
Technical specifications for the sharrow
The City of Alexandria, Virginia put together an excellent FAQ page that you can access here.
As the pavement markings are added, we’ll update the website so you can go out and check them out!
NRVBA Makes Donations to Community Organizations
As part of the NRVBA’s Mission and Goals, we work to develop partnerships with other organizations to promote cycling in the region. These partnerships are especially important when it comes to planning the organized rides, such as Mountains of Misery (MoM) and the Burke’s Garden Century, and to promoting bicycling in the region. To recognize the help and assistance these organizations provide, the NRVBA commits to giving 25% of the proceeds from MoM to partner organizations.
The NRVBA is happy to announce the financial donations made in 2010. Recipients included:
- Radford Rescue Squad
- Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad
- Burkes Garden Volunteer Fire Department
- Narrows Fire and Rescue
- Newport Volunteer Rescue Squad
- Mountain Lake Conservancy
- Town of Pulaski for the Draper Mountain Trail Project
- Craig County Rescue/EMS
The NRVBA is proud to be able to support these groups and is grateful for their commitment to helping promote cycling in the region.
NRVBA Board Meetings – January 2011 meeting
January 2011 meeting:
The NRVBA board will meet on January 26, 2011 at 7 pm at the public library in Blacksburg.
September 2010 meeting:
The NRVBA Board will meet on September 21, 2010 at 7 pm at the Blacksburg YMCA to discuss planning issues surrounding 2011 Mountains of Misery and 2011 Bike Virginia which will occur within a month of each other. The Board will be making decisions about the two events. The meeting is open to the public.
August 2010 meeting:
The NRVBA will hold it’s third quarterly board meeting on Wednesday, August 18, 2010, at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be held in the public meeting room at the public library in Blacksburg. The agenda includes old business and new business such as upcoming events in 2010 and 2011 – especially Mountains of Misery and Bike Virginia. The meeting is open to the public.
Traffic Skills 101
The Virginia Bicycling Federation’s Barbara Duerk and Dave Walsh will soon be teaching two Traffic Skills 101 courses, in Roanoke and Lexington. Each course is 9 hours long: 3 hours on a Thursday evening, plus 6 hours during the day on a Saturday, with an hour break for lunch. Cost is $35. For more information, please go to the Virginia Bicycling Federation website.
YMCA hosts Safety Tips for Bikers & Pedestrians
On Thursday, September 23, 2010, Virginia Bike Walk representatives will be hosting a talk at the YMCA at 1000 North Main Street, in Blacksburg. The discussion will provide tips on how to bike and walk confidently in your community. The event runs from 7:30 – 8:30 pm.
If you have any questions, please contact Jeanne Duddy at (540)344-4803 or jeanneduddy@yahoo.com.
State Bicycling Policy Plan
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has developed the State Bicycle Policy Plan to ensure bicyclists are an integral component of Virginia’s multimodal transportation system, and to provide bicycle policy recommendations that will guide the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of bicycle accommodations.
The draft plan provides strategies and identifies opportunities for enhancing the implementation of the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s 2004 Policy for Integrating Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodations, as well as VDOT’s coordination within the agency and with stakeholders across the commonwealth.
The VDOT State Bicycle Policy Plan, including a summary of recommendations is available for public review and comment beginning Monday, Aug. 16, and concluding Friday, Sept. 17, 2010.
Comments can be submitted via e-mail to vabiking@vdot.virginia.gov until Friday, Sept. 17, 2010.
Huckleberry Trail Update
Friends of the Huckleberry Trail are hosting a brief informational session at 2 pm on Sunday, August 1st at Mill Mountain. Bill Ellenbogen and Lance Matheson, two long time trail promoters, will be present to provide the latest information about trail expansions, time frames and funding needs. The meeting will be informal and is open to the public.
Please share this email with individuals or groups that might have a strong interest in working together on the Huckleberry Trail expansion.
