News

Get The Rust Off - Join the April Fools Challenge!

The April Fools Challenge is Now Available in Napa.

  

The April Fools Challenge is for anyone who owns a bike, is ready to pedal, raise money and become part of a friendly Valley-wide competition.

Napa Bike says, “get ready to ride and raise” – money, that is – for two worthy non-profit organizations, the Cope Family Center and Napa Bike. As part of a month-long event that encourages people to ride and log their miles, whether for commuting or for fitness, the end result is the same: support for Napa’s Bicycle Coalition and Napa’s Family Center.

The Aprils Fools Challenge, which has been taking place in Calistoga and St. Helena since 2005, is new to those who reside in Napa. “The spirit of the event is about cycling, enjoying time on the bike, and as a happy coincidence a little money is raised for great local charities,” says Calistoga’s April Fools Event organizer, Peter Potrebic. For the past several years, both communities have competed another to see who can log the most miles and donate the most money. The 2012 beneficiaries are the Calistoga Family Center and the St. Helena Family Center.  For the Napa community, the Cope Family Center will share proceeds with the Napa County Bicycle Coalition.

The event, which runs March 31st through April 29th, will be celebrated with the coronation of the “Grand April Fool” at a fun and casual awards potluck dinner for Napa riders in mid May at the Cope Family Center.

Registration is simple at http://bikingfools.org/. Each cyclist/fundraiser will determine how much he or she wants to raise. At the end of each day, riders log in their miles at the Aprils Fools website, and can check to see how other riders and towns are faring. (Logging in miles is an honor-based system). People can sponsor a town or a specific rider using Paypal.

All monies go directly to the town’s target charity. “It’s truly a terrific way to get people even more motivated to ride and log their miles – I call it “fitness fundraising” where everyone wins; and as a small non-profit representing all cyclists in the county, every dollar really does matter,” says Napa Bike’s Executive Director, Mike Costanzo.

Everyone who rides for Napa Bike and Cope will receive a special April Fools Challenge T-Shirt and be welcome at the pot luck dinner at Cope in mid-May.

Registration opened March 12th at http://bikingfools.org/. You must register by April 10 if you want to be part of this.

 

Cycling for Women 101

 

A safe biking course for women taught in 3 sessions by a woman certified by the
League of American Bicyclists.

In these sessions you will learn the foundation of road and bike path cycling. Course objectives:

 

Download the registration form and sign up today.

 

 

 Velo Vino is providing the venue for the training classes and is generously donating a choice of its delicious coffee drinks to all who attend the classes. 

Additionally, they will extend special discounts on women's riding apparel items and Clif products to help you celebrate completion of the course!

Schedule: Sep 10 -   Basic Street Skills and Bike Handling - 9:00 am to 12:00 pm 
                    Oct  08 -  Rules of the Road and Basic Bike Maintenance - 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
                    Oct  22 -  On-Street Riding Practice and Graduation - 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Location:   Velo Vino - 709 Main Street, St. Helena, CA

Cost:          $30 ($25 for Napa Bike members) - Includes reference guide to keep.
                    Send registration forms and your check to:

                                   Napa County Bicycle Coalition
                                   3379 Solano Avenue - #1700
                                   Napa, CA 94558

Instructor/Contact:  Gabriela Gonzalez-McNamara - email any questions to Gabby at:
                                    gglez11@hotmail.com

 

SB 910 Support Needed 

If you think it is a good idea to define exactly what makes a safe gap between vehicles and bicycles passing on the road, let our Assemblymember Michael Allen know your opinion.

We've been alerting you to a bill in Sacramento to give drivers clearer guidance for how to pass bicyclists safely. It's time to act again as it heads to a vote by the entire California State Assembly in late August.

SB 910, authored by Long Beach Sen. Alan Lowenthal and cosponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition and the City of Los Angeles, would require drivers to give bicyclists three feet of clearance when passing from behind. If SB 910 is enacted, California will join 19 other states that already have minimum passing distances on the books. Read more about the bill here

It is time to urge Assemblymember Michael Allen to vote yes for on SB 910. Messages of support are especially important for this next vote: unlike a committee hearing, the debate on the Assembly floor won't include testimony from outside experts and supporters. Instead, the Assemblymembers themselves will be speaking for or against the bill. That's why we need them to be as informed as possible before the vote.

You can help by sending your message of support by email to Michael Allen. The link includes a sample message which you can personalize (especially if you or a friend or family member have been hit by a driver passing too close).

Please send your message no later than Monday, Aug. 15 - that's when a summer recess ends and Assemblymembers return to Sacramento. SB 910 could be heard at any time during the two weeks after that date.

House Transportation Chairman John Mica (R-FL) announced today that his transportation bill will eliminate dedicated funding for bicycling and walking, including Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and the Recreational Trails Program, and discourages states from choosing to spend their dollars on these activities that are “not in the federal interest.”  Chairman Mica’s statement that these programs remain “eligible” for funding is worthless; without dedicated funding for these three programs, they are effectively eliminated.

Things on the Senate side are not much better. Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), the lead Republican negotiator on the transportation bill, declared that one of his TOP THREE priorities for the transportation bill is to eliminate ‘frivolous spending for bike trails.’  This is in direct conflict with Senator Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) commitment to maintain dedicated funding for biking and walking.  However, the Senate is working towards a bi-partisan solution, and Senator Inhofe’s comments mean funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs is at risk of total elimination. 

Help protect Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and Recreational Trails. Contact our Members of Congress and tell them to reach out to Senators Inhofe, Boxer, and Congressman Mica to urge them to continue funding for these important bicycling and walking programs.

 

The Facts

 

Not in the federal interest?  Biking and walking make up 12 percent of all trips in the US – even as funding for biking and walking projects only accounts for 1.5% of the federal transportation budget. That is more than 4 billion bicycle trips and 40 billion walking trips a year, including trips to work, school, shopping and for recreation and tourism.

Frivolous?  Two-thirds of all pedestrian deaths are on federally funded highways.  One-third of children’s traffic deaths happen when children are walking or bicycling and are struck by cars.  Bicycling and walking programs build sidewalks, crosswalks and bikeways—improving accessibility and saving lives.

Biking and walking are efficient use of federal transportation dollars.  Portland, OR built 300 miles of bike lanes and trails for the cost of one mile of highway.

 
These projects create jobs and build local economies.  Building bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure creates 46% more jobs than building road-only projects per million dollars spent.  Cities that invest in bicycle and pedestrian projects turn downtowns into destinations, and capitalize on increased business activity.

The wrong cuts. Eliminating the 1.5% of transportation funding spent on bike/ped would have no meaningful impact on the federal budget, but instead, decreases transportation options for American families in a time of rising gas prices and an uncertain economy.

 
Why Act Now?  Both the House and Senate long-term transportation bills are being written as you read this.  You still have a chance of influencing the outcomes.  Let’s make sure that funding for biking and walking programs don’t disappear for many years.

Here's an easy tool for contacting our members of Congress.  Please do this TODAY; it's the quickest way tell them that bicycling and walking are a critical part of a safe and equitable transportation system.  Ask them to tell Representative Mica and Senators Boxer and Inhofe that a federal transportation bill must continue dedicated funding for bicycling and walking.  

One of the highlights of the meeting was the announcement of Jim Wilson as Napa County’s 2011 Bicycle Commuter of the Year.  Jim graciously accepted a beautiful wool jersey, donated by Napa River Velo, to commemorate his accomplishment, and then joined group on a 18 mile fun ride.

Jim got into commuting by bike from his home in Napa to his job of Quality Assurance Manager at Anheuser-Busch in Fairfield, as an expression of a personal commitment he made to help ‘de-carbonize the economy’. 

Jim’s decision to reduce his impact on the earth’s resources started 3 years ago with running the 18 miles from his home to work once each month and car-pooling with fellow employees.  He also got into biking and convinced other A-B employees to form Team Budweiser to compete in Solano County’s Team Bike Challenge.  Last summer he decided to step-up his commitment, bought a really good bike, and put 2000 miles on it instead of his car.

Jim sustained an injury to his arm late in the year which temporarily took him off his bike. The injury has not deterred his enthusiasm for bike commuting, and so while he recuperated, he organized a bike-to-work competition involving all 30 A-B breweries in the US and Canada.  Jim organizes internal competitions for 300+ employees in Fairfield and offers a healthy breakfast to encourage employee participation. Jim is well now, and celebrated his bicycle come-back with a century ride in the Napa Valley Tour de Cure on May 1, the first day of National Bike month.

Jim is an outstanding example of how one person’s quest to help environmental consciousness can inspire hundreds to change their habits to the benefit of everyone. We are proud Jim Wilson is Napa County’s Bicycle Commuter of the Year.

Federal Transportation Bill to Come Soon - Almost Time to Speak Up

The future of federal funding for bicycling is at risk  — both for the balance of the fiscal year and for the next six years that would likely be covered by a new transportation bill.

The federal government has invested more than $1 billion in bicycling and walking infrastructure and programs during the past two fiscal years, which is less than two percent of total annual transportation spending.

This has paid for thousands of miles of new bike paths, lanes, bike/ped bridges, and the development of bike safety programs such as Safe Routes to School. While state and local investments are important, federal funding is the single largest source of dollars to make bicycling safe, and a realistic alternative to driving for more people.

 

 

Points of Debate

The pressure to eliminate future bike funding is linked to three things: 1) the federal deficit, 2) a deficit in the federal Highway Trust Fund, and 3) the assertion that bike riders don’t contribute to the Trust Fund.

The federal deficit has led Congress to review nearly all categories of spending in search of potential cuts. Every program is being scrutinized, including transportation. We understand this, we just want to ensure that cuts to bike/ped projects are not out of proportion.

The Highway Trust Fund revenue is from the federal gasoline fuel excise tax — an 18.4-cents-per-gallon levy that hasn’t increased since 1994. The Trust Fund is running an annual deficit that is projected to exceed $10 billion. As a result, annual transportation expenditures of about $45 billion will need to be reduced to $35 billion unless new revenue can be found.

Congress is contemplating a six-year federal transportation bill with total spending of $200 billion — a figure that falls far short of the six-year, $286 billion sum approved in 2005. Unless people who understand the value of cycling and walking infrastructure speak up, it is likely that funds for improvements to bike/ped infrastructure will be totally eliminated. 

Are Investments in Cycling an Unjustified Use of Highway Funds?

Nearly all adult bike riders drive and contribute to the Highway Trust Fund when they buy gasoline. Each time a cyclist rides rather than drives, one less car moves on the road and both congestion and roadway wear and tear are reduced. Yet, according to data from Bikes Belong, the Highway Trust Fund covers no more than half the cost of building and operating our highway system; the balance comes from other federal funding sources (everyone's federal tax dollars). So all of us support the highway system. We just want to ensure we retain a fair share for bike/ped projects.

Despite these arguments, some members of Congress want to eliminate federal bike project funding, saying that bike riders don’t pay and therefore, shouldn’t benefit.

The truth is that federal funding for bicycling as one of the best investments our government can make. In 2010, federal funding supported more than 3,000 projects in all 50 states — projects that move hundreds of thousands of Americans each day while reducing traffic congestion, air pollution, and obesity. According to data from Bikes Belong, if every federal bicycling dollar from 2010 were reallocated to highway construction, it would pay for less than eight (8!) miles of urban, multi-lane highway.

What's Next?

Soon, the U.S. Congress will decide how to spend billions of dollars in the next federal transportation bill. And, if we don't act as soon as the first bill is introduced, dedicated funding for biking and walking projects and programs may be written out of our transportation system for the next six years.

Both Senator Boxer and Feinstein are involved in Senate committees influencing this bill  and so it will be important to reach out to them on a timely basis to voice your opinion on the value of biking and walking projects.  (Congressman Mike Thompson is not on any of the House committees involved with the bill).

We will let you know when it is time to act in the next few days.  

 

Attention fans of Napa Bike, our Eagle Club Cycling Club partners and just all of you who ride in Napa County and nearby Sonoma Valley. We have a great cycling event for you to be part of, and one in which Napa Bike will be a key beneficiary.

The 2012 Echelon Gran Fondo has moved from downtown Napa to downtown Sonoma on Saturday May 12th.  The course actually takes you through Napa and that’s where we come in. We have put together a NAPA BIKE Team.

We would like for all of you to JOIN the NAPA BIKE Team. When you join our team, then the majority of your $85 Registration fee will be funneled back to us. Our goal is to raise $7500 to help fund our annual operating budget – that means we are hoping for nearly 90 cyclists to support our cause of building a bicycle friendly Napa Valley.

PLEASE click this link to register and join our team. First 25 people will be the recipient of a special Napa Bike gift. 

We thank you for your support of Napa Bike and hope you become part of our Echelon Gran Fondo Napa Bike team!

Mark your calendars for April 28! It's a Saturday, and will be our celebration of the kick-off of May Bike Month, featuring the first bike swap meet in Napa County in a couple of years. Yes, Copia is closed, but the folks who manage the property have just agreed to let us use a section of the parking lot for the swap meet. And we can also use the theater, so we can show some great bike movies is a great environment . . . sort of a two-wheeled Napa Valley Film Festival.

Our team of volunteers is just getting organized, so not all of the details are worked out yet. But do plan to come and check out the stuff as the bike community comes together to celebrate Spring.  In addition to the swap meet and movies, we will also start the festivities with a casual bike ride for all to enjoy.  If you would like to volunteer, just send an email and we'll get you connected to the members who are doing the planning. If you want to sell some bikes or parts, we will have spaces for rent at a very good price. More at http://napabikefest.org/

In this the first newsletter of 2012, we'd like to share some of the highlights of Napa Bike's activities and accomplishments last year.

- Community outreach at 34 events
- Represented at Calistoga, St. Helena, and Napa City and Napa County BACs, and steering committee for County-Wide bike plan
- Represented at select Napa and Calistoga City Council meetings
- Represented at select Napa public works meetings, preserved bike right-of-way at Napa Creek development
- Partnership with Vine Trail Coalition, shared membership option
- Recognized by County Public Works as the voice of cyclists
- Silverado trail restriping, more bike lanes, additional cyclist awareness signage secured.
- Doubled membership
- Launched new website and Facebook page
- Secured Rabobank sponsorship of mobile bike parking module
- Facilitated recognition by Destination Council of cycling as a valued Napa Valley asset
- Secured Destination Council sponsorship of a Bike Map in 2012
- Partnered with Destination Council on first Legendary Napa Bike Wine Tour
- Secured continuation of sustainability grant from Eagle Cycling Club
- New Platinum-level sponsorships: Destination Council, Solage, Pine Ridge, Vineyard 29, Velo Vino, Balzac Communications, and Calistoga Bikeshop
- The Board of Directors has grown from 5 to 8 and an advisory board has been added.

Summary: The only organization representing Napa County cyclists set its sight on building its strength in 2011, and as a result, is on much more solid ground at the beginning of 2012 than ever before. More people know Napa Bike exists than ever before and hundreds now support Napa Bike as members. The basis for financial sustainability has been expanded, and along the way, essential cycling advocacy work was maintained. A solid foundation was created on which to lay plans for next year.

The April Fools Challenge is just around the corner. And this year, the City of Napa will be able to join the fun!

For those of you who may not know about it, this will be the 7th annual April Fools Challenge. Last year, 161 bicyclists competed in the April Fools’ Challenge and raised more than $14,600 for the family centers that serve St. Helena and Calistoga.

As a group, the cyclists rode 38,909 miles, and St. Helena’s 95 riders soundly beat Calistoga’s 66 riders, besting them by 5,561 miles. This was despite Calistoga having its first 1,000-mile day on the last day of the month.

Robert McCullough was named the Grand April Fool for St. Helena, logging in 1,303 miles. Peter Potrebic, who is the organizer of the event, logged in the most miles for Calistoga, 1,201; but since he is a Past Grand April Fool, the title went to Dennis Jepsen, who logged in 899 miles. Altogether, Calistogans logged in 16,674 miles.

This year, Peter Potrebic is updating the April Fools event website to allow Napa riders to log miles in competion with the riders in St. Helena and Calistoga. As in the other towns, funds raised in Napa will go to support to support worthy causes, a family-focused charitable organization in Napa (to be determined) and the program fund for Napa Bike! Thank you Peter, for opening this door.

Our apologies for not revealing earlier the the winner of our Membership Sweepstakes for last year.  We are proud to announce that Annette Shafer of St. Helena is the winner of the Grand Prize, the Breezer Infinity Town Bike. Many of you know that Annette is an avid cyclist and co-founder of Performance Napa Valley, a cycling fitness coaching enterprise. Even though Annette normally rides a road bike, she was delighted at the news and when she picked up the bike she said, "Thank you so much – the bike is awesome!  I am ever so grateful and can’t wait to really try out that very techie gearing!"  Annette said she was especially happy to win the bike because she would at long last have a proper town bike to take her on errands around town. Congratulations Annette! And a big thank-you to the kind folks at Breezer bicycles for their generosity in donating the bike.

 In a nutshell, the federal transportation bill is bogged down in congress. There are some powerful interests who want to remove all support for bicycling and walking from the bill, and things probably would have gone that way had not thousands of voters (including many from Napa County) contacted their Representatives and Senators urging support for bicycling and walking be preserved.  

Here's what's going on as of now.  Thanks to those who wrote and emailed their opinions to Congress in the past weeks, members of Congress from both parties are now speaking up for bicycling and walking. Bi-partisan amendments to improve the House and Senate transportation bills are being submitted in the both chambers of Congress. 

In the House, Representatives Tom Petri (R-WI), Timothy Johnson (R-IL), Steven LaTourette (R-OH), have teamed up with Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Dan Lipinski (D-Il), and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) to offer a bi-partisan amendment to protect bicycling and walking funding, streamline project delivery, and increase local access to funds. 

In the Senate, the bi-partisan Cardin (D-MD)/Cochran (R-MI) Amendment, which would increase local decision-making, is gaining addition co-sponsors from both parties. 

So…what’s actually happening with the bills?

Last week both the House and the Senate postponed votes on their bills until after this week’s recess: In the House, the delay is due to apparent lack of yea votes; in the Senate it is, in part, because of a host of amendments not related to transportation.

If you run into Mike Thompson this week, be sure to thank him for his ongoing support for bicycling and walking. And if you happen to see Senators Boxer or Feinstein, be sure to make the case for continued investments in bicycling and walking.

It is not clear at all as to what the ultimate outcome will be.  Some folks believe the result of all of this strife will be a last-minute agreement to simply extend the existing bill until some time after the fall election. In any case, we will keep you apprised of any need to reach out to our elected officials. You can be assured that your emails, letter, and calls do matter.

 

Napa Bike is pleased to announce another two Kidical Mass events. The first one is in Napa in the Westpark School neighborhood on April 28 and will be coordinated with other family-friendly events at Copia that day. The second one is in American Canyon on May 19 and will include a tour of the beautiful wetlands on the western edge of town.

Kidical Mass originated in Eugene Oregon in 2008.  The goal was simply a matter of wanting to get more kids and families excited about riding. It is a family friendly, law-abiding ride. The purpose is to teach kids, parents and caregivers safety skills and provide a ride in which to practice them. The program creates awareness of the growing presence of kids and families on bikes and the need for all road users to respect other users of the road. An added bonus is that it brings together families who bike in a positive community experience and shows children how much fun riding a bike can be! 

The program has spread to many communities around the country and now, thanks to a sponsorship from the Napa Valley Clean Air Coalition, and with the help of folks from the Napa County Office of Education's Safe Routes to School program, we are able to stage two of these special events for children and their parents this year. We're excited.  Here's another opportunity to volunteer . . . just send us an email and we'll get you involved.

It's highly unlikely that Congress will take any action on the transportation bill before the August recess. But things are not looking all that good for a bill that makes sense for cycling and walking. It's important to talk about this with Mike Thompson, Diane Feinstein, and Barbara Boxer if you meet them during the recess. Here's why:

Representative John Mica (R-FL), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, recently introduced an outline of his proposed transportation bill. The proposal eliminates all dedicated funding for bicycling and walking and maintains "eligibility" for these activities only if states choose to spend their funds on these kinds of activities. The details of the proposed Senate bill are not yet available.

If you are able, make time to meet with our Senators Boxer and Feinstein, and be sure to chat with Representative Thompson when they are back in their home districts.  It really helps when people speak up to show them how important bicycling is to their communities and why eligibility isn't enough. Take this opportunity to share your views on the benefits of investing in bicycling.  We hope you agree that allocating money for making cycling and walking safe for everyone is not frivolous spending and that the next transportation bill must retain dedicated funding for non-motorized projects and programs. For help on what to say, read our advocacy tips on building relationships with Congress.

We asked you to reach out to Governor Brown and urge him to ensure balanced cuts, so that not everything comes out of bike and pedestrian budgets.  Well, members of Napa Bike, and bicyclists across the state, said "enough is enough!" and lawmakers listened!

On July 5th, we alerted you that the Federal Highway Administration informed state Departments of Transportation of another round of rescission of funds, this time totaling $2.5 billion, with California's share being $238 million. You helped put a stop to it!

Now, funding for bicycling and pedestrian improvements will be preserved as California prepares to give back a portion of unspent federal transportation funding in an annual process known as the "rescission."

Thanks to those of you who sent messages of support, our lobbyist in Sacramento, the California Bicycle Coalition (CBC), had the clout to persuade the California Transportation Commission to keep money from the federal "Transportation Enhancements" or TE funding category, which pays for bicycling and pedestrian improvements, off the table.

It's good to know that when we share our opinions on important issues with our elected officials that it does help and is worth our time.

Now you can join Napa Bike and the Vine Trail Coalition with one click of the button! Join either coalition at the $100 donation level or above, and you will automatically get a 1 year free membership in the other organization. This option is an indicator of the growing unity in the biking and walking communities; we recognize that we need to pull together if we are going to reach our goals.

So what is the difference?  Napa Bike is dedicated to making cycling safer throughout the County by advocating for improvements in cycling infrastructure, cyclist and motorist education, bike riding encouragement programs, and enforcement of rules of the road for cyclists and motorists.  Our friends in the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition are focused on a specific project that supports our goals too.  They are working to create a safe off-highway multi-use trail that will connect all of the towns of the county with the Vallejo Ferry, essentially creating the 'spine' of the Napa County bike network.  It's hard not to want to be involved with both if you like to bike and enjoy the outdoors on foot.

Clearly we have much in common and share many goals. In fact the leadership team of the Vine Trail Coalition are members of Napa Bike and Chuck McMinn, CEO of the Vine Trail, serves on the Napa Bike advisory board. Similarly, many members of the Napa Bike board are also members of the Vine Trail coalition, and there are several members who serve on the Vine Trail Board.

Recognizing that we have many members in common, and that a lot of people want to support the goals of both coalitions, Napa Bike and the Vine Trail are each offering this convenient way to be part of both initiatives. If you would like to join or renew your membership and take advantage of this opportunity, just go to our web page and click on the JOIN button.  Select any donation amount of $100 or more and you will be in both coalitions and be totally in the know about what's going on to advance the cause of biking and walking in Napa County.

It's not too late to be in the Summer Membership Sweepstakes and get a chance to win a Breezer Infinity town bike in your size, or win a luncheon kayak tour on the river with 5 of your closest friends, or some astonishingly excellent Napa Valley Wines.  All you've got to do is join up.  

We really need you.  Napa County is filled with charm, but is in an awkward position when it comes to funding improvements to cycling infrastructure or education and awareness programs.  Population-wise, we are the smallest of the 9 Bay Area counties, yet we are the 3^rd most visited place in California. This means that Napa County has received too little money to handle the true number of users.  

The net effect is that we do not have the safe cycling infrastructure we should have.  Napa Bike is speaking up at Federal, State, and local levels to bring this problem to light.  When we do our advocacy work, one of the first questions is about paid membership. Paid membership, in the minds of elected officials and staff, is the measure of the organization.  That’s why it is important for you to renew, to ask your cycling friends to join, and volunteer to help us grow. 

If you have not joined, renewed or extended your membership in the last 30 days, please do so now.  Just click here and make it happen.  Someone will win that Breezer . . . it might as well be you.