Summer - Florida Bicycle Association

Transcription

Vol. 16, No. 3
Summer 2013
OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE FLORIDA BICYCLE ASSOCIATION, INC.
For more effective advocacy...
Get your decision makers on a bike
P.O. Box 916715, Longwood, FL 32791
also taken part, as have those from
neighboring counties. A recent outing
saw a county commissioner, city mayor,
two city council people, and two senior
city staff members take part in the tour,
during which they were able to experience the good, bad, and ugly of their
infrastructure, as well as hearing how
policy and procedure affects these public
assets.
In my case I’m fortunate to have
access to a trailer full of bikes and helmets that are used for training as part of
my work for our EMS service, which
means there’s no expense incurred by
those who would have to rent one if they
didn’t have their own (or a working one),
which would also give potential participants an easy opt-out. Helmets are also
provided for anyone who shows up without one. If your community doesn’t
have a similar program, try partnering
Please see Decisions, page 15
City of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn (center) and other dignitaries enjoy a bike ride
during the Southeast Regional Bicycle Safety Summit held in Tampa in April.
Bike/Walk Central Florida...
New members and officers join BWCF board
by Amanda Day, Bike/Walk Central Florida Project Director
PAID
Mid-FL, FL
Permit #475
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. Postage
his is great – I’ll have to get
out on my bike more often.”
“I had no idea it was so difficult
to navigate this intersection on a
bike.”
“For as long as I’ve lived here I never
visited this park.”
Those are the kind of comments heard
time and again, uttered by decision makers BikeWalkLee, a local bike/ped advocacy coalition in Southwest Florida, has
gotten from key people who came out
for an “interpretive” bike ride on a route
that links parks and nature centers.
A simple invitation to “take a fun ride
to see your parks” on a route that’s perceived as safe and enjoyable was all it
took to get the right folks in the saddle.
What was originally offered as a way
to help volunteer planning committee
appointees become more aware of
effects their decisions have on the bicycle and pedestrian environment has
expanded to a monthly offering that
includes any government official who is
elected, appointed, or works as staff.
Consultants and interested citizens have
here have been some recent
changes to the Bike/Walk
Central Florida board.
FDOT District 1 Secretary Billy
Hattaway was elected as
Chairman.
Former Orange County Mayor Linda
Chapin and attorney Hal Downing,
founding chairs of the organization, will
continue to serve on the board.
Lisa Portelli was elected as the newest
member of the volunteer board of directors. She is the program director at
Winter Park Health Foundation, focusing
on community health through active
evaluation and support of policies, practices and programs to improve the health
for all ages.
ooo
Bike/Walk Central Florida joined
MetroPlan Orlando in the West
Orange Trail Ride to Support Coastto-Coast Connector
Bike/Walk Central Florida board came
out in full force to ride the West Orange
Trail along with MetroPlan Orlando
board, staff and family in support of the
Coast-to-Coast Connector, the multi-use
trail linking communities between St.
Petersburg to Titusville.
Over fifty people joined the ride with
trailblazers like MetroPlan Orlando
Board Chairman, Commissioner Daisy
W. Lynum, City of Orlando Mayor
Buddy Dyer, Orange County
Commissioner Scott Boyd, Seminole
County Commission Chairman Bob
Dallari, City of Winter Garden Mayor
John Rees, MetroPlan Orlando Executive
Director Harry Barley, Richard Dunkel
from the Florida Greenways & Trails
Foundation, and Dr. Brock Magruder
and Jamie Krzeminski both who serve
Amanda Day
on the Bike/Walk Central Florida Board
—just to name a few.
Once the riders arrived in the City of
Winter Garden, we were greeted by city
Please see Bike/Walk, page 4
A D V O C AT I N G A B I C Y C L E - F R I E N D LY F L O R I D A
2
Florida Bicycle Association
Death and injury rates for U.S. bicycle riders are getting worse
by Christopher Burns, Esq.
eaths and injuries to
bicycle riders spiked
upward in the U.S.
from 2010 to 2011
according to the U.S.
Department of Transportation
(download PDF study at http://floridacyclinglaw.com/images/uploads/
blog/2011_NTSA_Traffic_Safety_
Facts_-_Bicyclists_and_other_Cyclists.
pdf). This is the reversal of a trend
which saw bicycling deaths dropping in
the United States over the past 20 years.
Just released statistics from the National
Highway Transportation Association
(NHTSA) prove that bicycling injuries
and deaths have increased. In April
2013, NHTSA released statistics about
bicycling deaths and injuries occurring
in 2011. Bicycling deaths have increased
by almost 9% from 2010 to 2011, while
pedestrian deaths increased about 3%.
By comparison, deaths to occupants of
vehicles (cars, trucks, etc.) decreased by
more than 7,500 between 2010 and
2011.
In 2011, how many American cyclists
were injured in crashes? 48,000.
When is the most dangerous time to
ride? 30% of all cycling deaths in 2011
took place between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Another interesting trend is the average
age of the cyclist who was killed. In
2002, the average age of the cyclist
Have You been injured
wHile cYcling?
( i have. That’s why i’ll fight
so hard for you. )
Chris Burns is not your typical personal injury
attorney. As an avid rider, he combines his
experience on the road with his expertise
and insight in the courtroom. This unique
perspective provides cyclists across Florida
with the representation they deserve.
Your race for compensation begins here.
904-632-2424
killed in an accident was 36. 10 years
later, the average age is 43.
There is one way in which death rates
for bicycle riders and vehicle drivers are
similar. Alcohol is a killer! 23% of all
cyclists who died in 2011 had a blood
alcohol level over the legal limit of .08
g/dL.
What state had the highest number of
bicycling deaths? Florida.
Bicycling deaths totaled more than 5%
of all traffic fatalities—125 cycling fatalities. Both the total number of cycling
deaths and the percentage of bicycle
deaths compared to vehicle deaths are
highest of any state. This is compared to
Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Rhode Island,
Vermont and West Virginia—they had
zero bicycling deaths!
With bicycling having so many benefits—such as enhanced health, decreased
pollution and auto emissions, reduced
obesity, positive economic impacts on
the community, how can we encourage
people to ride bikes? Probably the most
important way is to enhance bicycle
safety around our nation.
What is behind this increase in bicycling deaths and injuries? Many commentators suggest simply more people
are commuting by bike than ever before.
With more cyclists, there are more injuries and deaths. But this does not explain
the sudden uptick in deaths and injuries.
Others fear that motorists and cyclists
frequently become frustrated with each
other, and motorists more commonly
become enraged by cyclists who they
feel should not be able to share the road
or delay their speed.
ooo
Is it Legal to Ride Bicycles
Side-by-Side?
When you ride your bicycle with a
group, are you legally allowed to ride
side-by-side? How many riders across
are you allowed to ride? How wide can
your pace line be? Are there good reasons to ride more than single file, or is
single file always safest? What does
Florida Law allow?
Riding more than single file in a group
bicycle ride can actually be more safe
than riding single file. Safety is
enhanced by cyclists being able to communicate clearly with one another.
When bicycle riders are side-by-side
they can talk clearly to one other. Riding
single file, communications become a
shouting match or a series of hand gestures. I am aware of only one state that
requires all bicycling be single file—
Nebraska.
Yet, we bicyclists must also be aware
of road rage. Many motorists can be
enraged when they think that cyclists are
blocking their travel. Too many motorists
think of cyclists the same way—they
should not even be on the road, they are
obstacles, and when they ride side-byside, they are arrogantly trying to invade
the cars’ proper space. This can also
lead to bicycle accidents injuries or even
fatal cycling tragedies.
Florida Statute 316.2065 (6) says:
Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway may not ride more than two abreast
except on paths or parts of roadways set
aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
continued on page 12
Summer 2013
3
Thanks to Our Donors! 2nd Q 2013:
City names denote board and program staff member distribution.
Is your area represented? Contact a board member today!
Lifetime members
Advocating a
bicycle-friendly Florida
Jacksonville
Orange Park
P.O. Box 916715, Longwood, FL 32791-6715
Executive Director
Tim Bustos
336 N Woodland Blvd.
Deland, FL 32720
Phone: 850-238-5328
[email protected]
Membership Director
Program Director
Deb Devoe
2738 Gables Dr.
Eustis, FL 32726
[email protected]
Eustis
Dan Moser
1449 Linhart Ave.
Ft. Myers, FL 33901
Phone/Fax:
239-334-6417
[email protected]
Board of Directors
DeLand
Orlando
Golden Gears ($250 - $499)
Port Charlotte
Operations Manager
Earl Lang, Treasurer
1700 Tamiami Trail, E-5
Port Charlotte, FL 33948
Phone: 941-258-3400
[email protected]
Jodi Hohlstein, Vice President
3838 Cardinal Oaks Circle
Orange Park, FL 32065
Phone: 904-282-2180
[email protected]
Christopher G. Burns, Esq.
Terrell Hogan
233 East Bay Street - 8th floor
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Phone: 904-632-2424
[email protected]
Hope Howland-Cook
10245 Winding Creek Lane
Orlando, FL 32825
Phone: 352-514-0652
[email protected]
Silver Spokes ($100 - $249)
Richard Carlson
Panthers Tandem
Club
Chapters & Affiliates
First Coast Chapter Director
Bike/Walk Central Fla., Inc.
Jeff Hohlstein, Director
Jacksonville
Phone: 904-291-8664
[email protected]
www.fbafirstcoast.org
Amanda Day, Project Director
Orlando
Phone: 407-716-8221
[email protected]
Advisory Board
Becky Afonso
[email protected]
David Henderson
[email protected]
Louis Rossi
[email protected]
Michelle Avola Reese
[email protected]
Herb Hiller, Journalist
[email protected]
Tina Russo
[email protected]
Don Braverman
[email protected]
Dwight Kingsbury, Historian
[email protected]
Robert Seidler, Filmmaker
[email protected]
Keri Caffrey, Webmaster
[email protected]
Henry N. Lawrence, III, Special Programs
[email protected]
John Sinibaldi, Jr
[email protected]
Dan Connaughton, Director, Florida Traffic &
Bicycle Safety Education Program
[email protected]
Laura Minns
[email protected]
Lisa Walker, Public Affairs
[email protected]
Roger Pierce, Touring Calendar
[email protected]
Randall Williams, Newsletter
[email protected]
Steve Diez
[email protected]
Hal Downing
[email protected]
Join FBA
Join FBA online at
www.fbamembership.org
Individual$25
Family$35
Student/living lightly
$15
Bicycle Club
$100
Corporate/Agency$100
Higher donations are greatly appreciated! See membership categories
at right.
Pay conveniently online or make
check payable and mail to:
Florida Bicycle Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 916715
Longwood, FL 32791-6715
Carol Pulley
[email protected]
Visit FBA’s Website
www.floridabicycle.org
Log in to the FBA Blog
Stay up-to-date on bicycle issues
with this statewide forum.
FBA's Blog is on the website
www.floridabicycle.org
FL Greenways &
Alta Vista Sports
Trails Foundation Inc.
Ft Myers
Laura Hallam
20420 NE 132nd Ave.
Waldo FL 32694
Phone: 407-399-9961
[email protected]
Mighk Wilson, President
737 S. Mills Ave.
Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: 407-488-9990
[email protected]
Ted Wendler, Secretary
716 Ohio Ave.
DeLand, FL 32724
Phone: 386-235-0057
[email protected]
Waldo
Mighk and Carol Wilson
Mr. & Mrs. H. Middleton Raynal
James Nash
Duke Breitenbach
Kimberly Cooper
Dr. Joe Warren
William R. Hough
Earle and Laura Reynolds
Messenger Deadlines
Copy and Advertising Deadlines:
Summer Messenger - May 15
Fall Messenger - August 15
Winter Messenger - November 15
Spring Messenger - February 15
Inquiries and submissions:
tim@floridabicycle org
Membership Categories:
Paceline Leaders ($1,000+)
Titanium Partners ($500-$999)
Golden Gears ($250-$499)
Silver Spokes ($100-$249)
Bronze Pedals ($50-$99)
Membership includes a subscription to the FBA Messenger.
John Stamp
Michael Pilato
Steve Bayard
Bronze Pedals ($50 - $99)
Al Parker
Candace Odierna
Jason Aufdenberg
John Stamp
Karen Karabell
Laura Hallam
Red Camp
Sandra Jolly
Steven Diez
Welcome New/Rejoining Members!
A John Saranko, MD
Adam Clark
Aileen M Marty
Al Brown
Alan Brents
Alan S Veingrad
Alex Tabanfar
Andres Vanegas
Angel Johansson
Ann Lanza
Armond Bordeau
Arnie Schwartz
Austin Zakari
Baerbel A Bartyczak
Barclay Brown
Barry J Kotler
Bernardo Avila
Bill & Nancy Feinstein
Bill Bone Bike Law
Bill Brookings
Bill Schneider
Blake Murray
Blanca Dominquez
Bob Roussel
Boris Ginzburg
Brian R Link
Brian S Doherty
Brock Herman
Bruce Perry
Bruce Reingold
Bud Leffler
Buffie Paulauski
Candace Williams
Cara Wells
Carl Vogel
Carlos Romero
Carol Lundberg
Cassie Glaude
Catherine Charlton
Celina Gonzalez
Cesar Avila
Charles Granger
Charles Thomas
Charlotte Shumba
Cheryl Sweitzer
Chip Bone
Chris Allen
Chris Bolster
Chris Burke
Christopher & Naomi
Hayner
Cindy Maniscalco
Clifford Selsky
Colleen Lundrigan
Connie M Boczarski
Conrad Santiago
Corinne Mero
Craig Pasek
Craig Williamson
Dale E Potter &
Milagros Padilla
Dale Gange
Dalia Cantor
Dan Weber
Daniel & Carlos
Ramos
Daniel Bruck
Danny Bocevski
David & Amelia
Kraker
David & Mary Colon
David Flaks
David Hoffman
David McConnell
David Petkovsek
David Wilson
Deborah Mallery
Deborah Mantello
Delena Johnson
Densel R Raines
Diana Charalambous
Diana Rodriguez
Dina Rich
Donna Lyons
Doug Stolfo
Earl Green, II
Edward Tully
Elizabeth Blissett
Elizabeth Wicks
Ely R Brand
Eric A Leon
Eric Borduas
4
President’s message...
Zen and the art of bicycling
Mighk Wilson
popular modern Zen koan
goes as follows:
A Zen Teacher saw five of
his students return from the
market, riding their bicycles.
When they had dismounted, the teacher
asked the students,
“Why are you riding your bicycles?”
The first student replied, “The bicycle
is carrying this sack of potatoes. I am
glad that I do not have to carry them on
my back!”
The teacher praised the student, saying, “You are a smart boy. When you
grow old, you will not walk hunched
over, as I do.”
The second student replied, “I love to
watch the trees and fields pass by as I
roll down the path.”
The teacher commended the student,
“Your eyes are open and you see the
world.”
The third student replied, “When I ride
my bicycle, I am content to chant, ‘nam
myoho renge kyo.’”
The teacher gave praise to the third
student, “Your mind will roll with the
ease of a newly trued wheel.”
The fourth student answered, “Riding
my bicycle, I live in harmony with all
beings.”
The teacher was pleased and said,
“You are riding on the golden path of
non-harming.”
The fifth student replied, “I ride my
bicycle to ride my bicycle.”
The teacher went and sat at the feet of
the fifth student, and said, “I am your
disciple.”
Lately I’ve begun to wonder if we’re
over-selling bicycling. It has increasingly
become more of a means to various ends
than the simple joy we experienced as
kids.
Today the bicycle is promoted as a
savior; saving us from the evils of obesity, climate change, heart disease, diabetes, and financial strife, to name a few.
Yes, yes, cycling certainly has a positive impact on all those problems, but
how much?
And as we’ve forced cycling into the
service of these emergencies (whether
real or perceived), we’ve decided it’s
better to cut corners and have more
untrained cyclists and questionable bikeway designs.
We’ve chosen quantity over quality.
Bike/Walk Central Florida
continued from page 1
staff and treated to a presentation by the
City of Winter Garden Mayor and staff
who shared the West Orange Trail history, Orange County Mayor Linda
Chapin’s leadership in convincing officials to support the trail, and the economic impact.
Approximately 70,000 walkers, bikers,
roller bladders use it monthly and it is
supported by 60+ jobs. The Winter
Garden business district has seen an
estimated increase in CRA value from
$22 million in 1993 to $69.3 million in
2010, a cumulative increase of 215%
from the base year.
This is just one community, so we can
imagine what other communities like
Winter Garden can benefit from a long
term investment in the Coast-to-Coast
Connector.
ooo
Trauma in May?
What if we told you trauma injury
accounts for 30% of all deaths, whereas
cancer accounts for 16% and heart disease is 12% in the U.S.
That’s why May was named Trauma
Awareness Month: to remind all of us
that ALL accidents are preventable.
Yes, cycling helps cut CO2 emissions.
But for many of us, moving to a more
transportation-efficient location would
save more. (The same is true for saving
money.)
Improving the energy efficiency of our
homes or investing in alternative energy
would save more still. Cutting down on
meat consumption also has a much larger climate effect than our transportation
choice.
Can you feel morally superior towards
that guy in the SUV if he’s actually a
vegetarian with a roof full of solar panels at home?
Yes, cycling can help people with losing weight. But back in the 1960s and
’70s when obesity wasn’t such a big
issue people didn’t ride bikes or even
walk very much either, for that matter.
Why are we proclaiming that bicycling
is the solution to obesity and its related
problems now?
I’m not saying physical activity isn’t
important, but the more I read on nutrition, the more I think the problems are
from the industrial food system. Too
much sugar.
The fifth student in the koan is the one
who strives to ride not only for its own
sake, but also in
the best manner
possible, because
only when you do
something exceptionally well does it best serve that goal
of enjoying it for its own sake.
“Best” in this context does not mean
“fast;” it means riding in a way that
takes the greatest advantage of the nature
of the machine and one’s environment,
and creates the least amount of conflict
with other people, creatures and objects.
To put it another way—with mindfulness. The fifth student thinks about his
own actions—which he can change—
and how his actions affect others, rather
than focusing on the actions of others
and how they affect him.
None of the other four cyclists are
doing anything bad—indeed, the fourth
cyclist is doing quite well—but in the
wrong situation and without proper training, they might end up losing all that
groovy harmony.
So I’d rather work on becoming the
best bicyclist I can be, help others who
are interested to do the same, and ride
my bicycle to ride my bicycle.
Best Foot Forward pedestrian safety
program partner, Orlando Health, reports
that their Level One Trauma Center
treated 405 pedestrian injuries in 2012, a
jump of 50 from 2011.
Injuries range from fractures to severe
head injuries.
You ask, “Who are these people?” Not
tourists, but LOCALS.
That’s right—fewer than 18% of these
patients are visitors.
Help us honor
Trauma Awareness
Month by giving the
Level One Trauma
Center staff a break
and do your part.
As a driver, yield to
pedestrians. If you’re
a pedestrian, wear
bright colors at night and always use a
crosswalk.
When asked what their neighborhoods
needed for improved pedestrian safety,
the answers varied from improved street
lightening and more enforcement to
audible traffic signals and teaching
young kids how to cross safely.
Have a group or organization interested
in learning about increasing safety for
pedestrians in Central Florida? Please
contact me at [email protected] for information about speaking to your group.
ooo
Best Foot Forward—Out in Action
On Saturday, May 4, we had the honor
of speaking during a general session of
the Annual Trauma Conference on Auto
Pedestrian Injuries.
The conference provided continuing
education courses for trauma professionals. Other recent speaking engagements
include the Orlando Lutheran Towers
Women’s Breakfast and the Mystic at
Mariner’s Village HOA.
New BFF Project
Director appointed
The Bike/Walk
Central Florida board
appointed me as the
new Best Foot
Forward (BFF) project
director. A BFF veteran, I joined the
team in January 2012 and have worked
alongside BFF partners and staff to help
move great safety ideas into needed
action in the name of pedestrian safety.
So now I’m wearing both hats: BFF
and BWCF.
The BFF partners are in the process of
evaluating their first year efforts and setting measured goals for the next year. I
seek your input. All ideas are welcomed
—including improvements on the BFF
newsletter—and will be shared at the
next BFF Steering Committee meeting.
E-mail me at [email protected].
Summer 2013
5
Executive Director’s corner...
Be cool
Tim Bustos
ay!—summer is here!
Summer in Florida can be
daunting due to the infamous
heat and high humidity—
especially if you’re doing
something active like riding a bike!
Some people simply leave the state
until saner weather patterns prevail again
(like in November). Understandable.
However, this is still my favorite time
of year, and I ride as much in the summer as I do in the winter.
The key to riding in Florida is to ride
early in the morning. This way you
avoid most of the heat and humidity, and
you stand a much better chance of avoiding the afternoon thunderstorms you can
practically set your watch by in the
months between June and August.
And water. All summer rides in
Florida should include some component
of water, either during or after your ride,
but a water feature should definitely be a
component of all your summer rides.
Also be sure to hydrate well! Bring
plenty of water with you on all your
rides, and always be sure to drink before
you’re thirsty.
ooo
The Importance of Membership
If you’re reading this column right now,
chances are that you’re a loyal member
of the Florida Bicycle Association.
If so—thank you! Some of you are
even life members, so you get an even
bigger THANK YOU!
Many of you have probably even
thought about joining FBA, but wondered “Why?”
However, if you’re reading this fine
publication, and you’re not a member,
it’s probably because you got it from
someone who is.
You may have even received this newsletter from one of our fine bike shop
members.
The point is, we are a membership
driven organization. In the eyes of the
U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and the
State of Florida, we are technically classified as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit.
However, as I often like to point out,
being a “non-profit” is not a business
model, it is a tax status, and we do have
to occasionally make money to provide
services to our fine members.
Yes, you do get a cool membership
card, but by joining FBA, you get much
more in return (we aren’t offering secret
decoder rings yet, but if I find there’s a
demand, we could work on it).
Most of the income we earn from
membership revenue goes directly back
into programs.
Yes, some does go into salaries, but we
run a pretty lean operation, and have a
much smaller staff than most people
realize. With the exception of a full time
executive director, most FBA staff is part
time, and almost all of them are contract
employees.
The reality is that we are very efficient
with our operations, but we still need
your help to continue operating and
expanding on our many successful programs.
Among our many successes include the
following:
Education: FBA’s highly acclaimed
We work with the Florida legislature
each year trying to improve conditions
for bicyclists, and to make our transportation network safer for all road users.
During the most recent session of the
legislature, we worked to help pass antitexting legislation (one of the newest and
greatest threats to bicyclist safety). This
bill passed, and it has been signed by
Governor Scott, and is discussed in more
detail on page 13 of this newsletter.
We also worked hard on trying to get
Governor Scott to sign off on the much
anticipated “Coast to Coast Connector”
Membership
– that’s you! –
is what really keeps
us moving forward
CyclingSavvy Program, launched just a
couple of short years ago, has been
hugely successful.
Conceived of, developed, and launched
by FBA’s own Keri Caffrey and Mighk
Wilson (Mighk is currently our board
president), CyclingSavvy continues to
empower more cyclists of all skill levels
to be safer and more competent cyclists.
More and more CyclingSavvy
Instructors (CSIs) continue to be trained
as well—which helps the program grow!
We also continue to publish the ever
popular “Florida Bicycling Street
Smarts,” which is basically “driver’s ed”
for bicyclists.
Even if you are a seasoned roadie, I’d
wager there is still something in this
publication you don’t know yet!
Law Enforcement: In order to help
reduce the inordinately high number of
bike crashes in Florida, and to ensure
that rules of the road are enforced equally for all road users, we continue to work
with the law enforcement community
throughout Florida.
We do this through our interactive
advice column on our website called
“Ask Geo,” where police and cyclists can
go to get questions answered about
Florida bike laws. We reprint a few of
these in each FBA Messenger. See page
11.
We also publish a reference manual
called the Florida Bicycle and
Pedestrian Law Enforcement Guide, a
summary of all bicycle and pedestrian
laws in Florida.
This has also been very popular with
the law enforcement community and
cyclists alike.
Legislative Activities: This is one of
our most important emphasis areas for
you—our members.
(much of the trail is already built as separate links). This contiguous trail would
have stretched from the Gulf of Mexico
to the Atlantic Ocean through Central
Florida, for a total distance of over 270
miles.
For reasons that are still unclear, the
governor chose to veto this item, but we
will continue working on this next year.
Past legislative successes have included
easing penalties for infractions regarding
bike lights, easing requirements for
Florida’s “mandatory bike lane law
(future efforts hope to reverse this poorly
conceived law), reducing restrictions on
limited access bridges, and many others.
It’s also important to note here, that,
from a legislative perspective, increased
membership numbers are really helpful.
When I’m up in Tallahassee, what I
have to say will have a lot more clout if I
can say we’re 13,000 members strong,
vs., say, 1,300.
Other activities
and enhancements we’ve
recently undertaken for the benefit of our members
include a newly updated, state of the art
web site (check it out at floridabicycle.
org), and a new, fully automated membership program. We have other plans in
the works as well!
To be clear, we are as resourceful as
we can be—we do rely on multiple funding sources, including revenue generated
from the “Share the Road” license plate
(do you have yours yet?)—and we are
always pursuing outside grants.
However, we are still looking at ways
to increase our membership, because
membership is really what keeps us
moving forward.
The last time we checked, FBA had
approximately 1,300 members—certainly up from a few hundred when we started not so long ago.
However, in a state with a population
of approximately 19 million, I’m confident we can do better—and we need
your help.
My goal is to double our membership
by the end of the year—2,600 sounds
achievable doesn’t it? If you’re not a
member, please consider joining.
Recommend FBA to your friends, colleagues and the people you ride with on
Saturday morning.
Many fine bike clubs in Florida are
members also, and several clubs donate
above and beyond the minimum club
membership rate.
We also have special membership
packages available for bike shops.
I don’t make this appeal very often, so
please consider joining FBA today.
Better cycling means a better Florida!
The mission of the Florida Bicycle Association (FBA) is to inspire and support people and
communities to enjoy greater freedom and well-being through bicycling.
The Florida Bicycle Association was incorporated in 1997 for educational and charitable
purposes. FBA is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code. Donations, including membership dues, are tax deductible. A copy
of the current financial statements may be obtained by contacting FBA, P.O. Box 916715,
Longwood, FL 32791.
To become a member supporter of FBA, join online at www.fbamembership.org.
The Florida Bicycle Association Messenger is published quarterly as a service to members and advocates for a bicycle-friendly Florida by the
Florida Bicycle Association, P.O. Box 916715, Longwood, FL 32791.
www.floridabicycle.org; e-mail: tim@floridabicycle.org; Phone: 850-238-5238
Membership in FBA includes a subscription to the FBA Messenger.
The Messenger accepts and welcomes your advertising! Please see the Website for rates
and specifications or e-mail [email protected]. Publishers reserve the right to review
advertising content and to reject advertising that, in the opinion of the Association, is neither
in the best interest of FBA’s members nor its goals and objectives. Although we carefully
review articles and information submitted, FBA is not responsible for the information or opinions contained herein unless explicitly stated as official policy of FBA.
© 2013 Florida Bicycle Association All rights reserved.
6
Bike Florida and FBA sponsored event ...
Share the Road Celebration of Cycling Event
by Ron Cunningham, Bike Florida Executive Director
n his book “Walkable City,” author
Jeff Speck calls the rising popularity
of cycling “Perhaps the greatest revolution underway” in many
American cities.
And he lays out a persuasive case for
why communities ought to be investing
more time, effort and resources to make
cycling a safer and more enjoyable
experience.
“Almost every American city is currently well stocked with would-be riders
who are only waiting for an invitation to
hop on the saddle,” he writes, “and it is
likely that those cities that invest now in
(relatively inexpensive) biking infrastructure will have a meaningful advantage in attracting the next generation of
new residents.”
Actually, the benefits of becoming a
bicycle friendly community are many
and demonstrable; they include public
health, quality of life,
become a bicycle
economic and energy
friendly community.”
benefits.
The hope is that city
“Almost every
So why strive to
and county-level offiAmerican city is
become a bicycle
cials from around the
well stocked with
friendly community?
state will attend to
That question will
would-be riders who learn about the benebe front and center on
fits of cycling.
are only waiting for
the agenda of the
There are certainly
upcoming “Share the
an invitation to hop success stories to
Road Celebration of
point to: The City of
on the saddle.”
Dunedin, for instance,
Cycling” weekend, to
— Jeff Speck saw its once depressed
be held in DeLand
downtown area underOct. 25-27. Jointly
go dramatic revitalizasponsored by Bike
tion after the compleFlorida and the FBA,
tion of the Pinellas Trail.
Celebration will incorporate some advoThat forum will be followed by a good
cacy, some education, lots of riding and
old fashioned Friday evening social in
even an art walk, street festival, music
downtown DeLand, with art, music and
and, of course, a bicycle parade.
good food.
The program will begin on Friday, Oct.
The weekend will include fully sup25, with a forum led by the League of
American Bicyclists titled “How to
ported 25, 40 and 65 mile rides in and
around DeLand and a variety of selfguided rides to choose from.
On Saturday there will be workshops
on basic bicycle maintenance, an introduction to FBA’s CyclingSavvy program
and briefings on Florida Traffic and
Bicycle Safety Education programs in
communities around Florida.
Bike Florida and FBA will also host an
awards banquet on Saturday night.
And, oh yes, did we mention that there
will be a bicycle parade on Saturday?
Everybody loves a parade.
Join us on Oct. 25-27 for the first of
what will be an annual Share the Road
Celebration of Cycling in DeLand.
As Speck argues in his book, “cycling
has got to be one of the most efficient,
healthful, empowering and sustainable
form of transportation there is…And it’s
fun.”
Get in on the fun and help us Celebrate
Cycling.
FDOT engineer Chris LeDew – designing for bike safety
by Jeff Hohlstein, First Coast Chapter Director
This is the second of a two-part transcript of an interview with Chris LeDew, Assistant District Traffic Operations Engineer, Florida
Department of Transportation, District Two.
Jeff Hohlstein: What do you see going
forward with FDOT and yourself regarding bicycle and also pedestrian safety?
Chris LeDew: When we look at the
crash data on a map of Jacksonville, we
see a ring of crashes around - not within
- the urban core, but just outside of it, in
the neighborhoods that were built right
after World War II.
They were built on an automobile
scale, for higher speeds. They don’t have
sidewalks as much as other areas of
town, as the urban core does, and
because of those designs, retrofitting
them is very difficult, but we see crashes
happening in that area.
So the idea is to build infrastructure to
promote good behavior, and when we
look at suburbs like the Mandarin area,
I’ve noticed that even though we have
sidewalks and crosswalks at many signalized intersections, it’s still predominantly an automobile environment.
Motorists just don’t expect to see
pedestrians, or bicycles for that matter.
So, you will have people behaving differently in that environment because
bikes and peds are on the roads so seldom.
But when you get into the urban core,
and you expect to see bikes and peds,
then as a motorist, you look out for
them, you give them way. Different
behavior. So, if you go into this suburban
We have a lot of people out there who
area, like Mandarin, and expect to
are
bicyclists who aren’t skilled—they
change people’s behavior overnight - it
ride
the wrong way, big source of crashjust isn’t going to work. What you do is
es;
they
ride in and out of traffic, don’t
you build from existing behavior.
stop
at
red
lights or stop signs; they ride
JH: How?
at night without
CLD: Expand
lights, wear dark
the sidewalk and
clothing.
bike lane network
There’s a lot of
from the urban core
I guess I started
dangerous
behavior
outward. From
looking
at
things
a
out
there.
When
areas where you
you put in a bike
already have the
little bit differently.
lane, you’re telling
behavior you want,
From
the
safety
people, “This is
to the high crash
where you ride,
aspect,
what
we
areas.
this is the direction
Connect bike
have been doing
you ride,” and right
lanes and sidewalks
isn’t
working.
there, we’ve made
to where they actuthe situation much
ally function and
safer.
go someplace. Do
Same thing with
that and people will
pedestrians.
In
the
future
we’re looking
use it. The volume of pedestrians and
towards
more
interconnected
sidewalks,
bicyclists will grow and as it does,
building
better
signalized
crosswalks,
motorists become accustomed to seeing
like, at intersections with countdown
them and they behave accordingly.
pedestrian signals.
And, so we’re working at expanding
Also mid-block pedestrian crossings,
this network and not doing it piecemeal
which
is something the engineering comwhere you have a bunch of disjointed
munity
has been very leery of in the past
pieces of bike lane or sidewalks. We’re
and
we’re
coming around.
working to connect those pieces, and in
There’s
a
lot
of good research out there
that way we’re hoping to change the
that
shows
that
it does make the situation
behavior of motorists, bicyclists and
safer.
There
are
a lot more new devices,
pedestrians.
flashing light devices, detection devices,
highly visible LED signs.
Taken together you have more people
being seen at those locations, to make
motorists aware of them, to expect them.
So, I think that’s—that’s in the future.
JH: How do transit authorities fit in?
CLD: We need to partner with these
other agencies, such as the JTA or transit
agencies, because, you know, many people walk and ride their bikes and use
transit.
So we need to think beyond just the
urban core and start trying to improve
bike lanes and sidewalks leaving the
transit facilities as well - create bicycle/
bus corridors.
The advantage is that, we’ve already
seen more people riding transit for economic reasons in just the past three or
four years.
So you will have people walking and
riding to the bus stop. By providing sidewalks and things like that you’re going
to help that segment of the population,
make it safer for them.
The disadvantage is out in the suburbs,
where you have higher speeds on some
of your major roadways, some are six
lanes wide. We’re attracting pedestrians
to that environment, and it’s difficult to
Continued on page 8
Summer 2013
7
Cyclists and trail advocates mark 15 additional miles of
the East Coast Greenway through northeast Florida
by Herb Hiller
ycling and trail groups for
three days in May led the
advance by 15 miles of the
East Coast Greenway through
Northeast Florida. They joined
officials and advocates to show how
beyond safety, beyond fitness, family fun
and touring, long distance multi-use
trails spur economic development not
just in cities but also hamlets.
Speeches were short but hopes long
when May 9 officials and civic leaders
of Armstrong in rural southwest St.
Johns County marked designation of the
Photo: Val Bostwick
Cyclist Steve Tocknell hoists a bicycle
over the East Coast Greenway sign
newly affixed to the St. Johns Ferry.
first eight-plus miles of the Palatka-St.
Augustine State Trail, a project initiated
by North Florida Trails and the Rails-toTrails Conservancy that’s now part of the
East Coast Greenway.
Park officials, led by State Parks
Director Donald Forgione, spoke at the
trail crossing at Armstrong Road where a
kiosk will signal a site planned by local
leaders for a combined historical museum, grocery store, café, and bed-andbreakfast rooms. Use by passing cyclists
would help support a health clinic for
residents.
Said Armstrong leader Malinda
Peeples: “We just want to keep it all
local.”
Freedom Road Productions of St.
Augustine filmed the occasion to support
inclusion of the Palatka-St. Augustine
route in the Gullah Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor that officially runs
between St. Augustine and Wilmington,
North Carolina. A task force is working
to develop the four-state overlap of the
Corridor and Greenway. Gaye Esperson
and Linda Crider led participation by
Putnam Blueways & Trails.
May 10th, St. Johns River Riders’
Errol Bos and VeloFest’s Heather Neville
led cyclists to Mayport where the St.
Johns River Ferry became an official
part of the Greenway. Their ride led
through Jacksonville’s beach towns that
for the occasion posted signs that mark
the Greenway route. REI of Jacksonville
supplied refreshments.
One day later, led by co-chairs Phil
Scanlan and Mike Pikula of Amelia
Island Trails, members of the North
Florida Bicycle Club, Nassau County
and Fernandina Beach officials marked
opening of the first
six-plus miles of the Amelia Island Trail
– also newly part of the East Coast
Greenway.
— Herb Hiller is Southeast Region
Coordinator for the East Coast
Greenway Alliance and FBA advisory
board member. He lives in DeLand.
During the 12
months
Photo: Val Bostwick
Above: the endangered St Johns River Ferry [ FBA Messenger,
Spring 2013, pg 7] has become an official part ot the Greenway. Below: St Johns
River Riders celebrated the occasion with a ride to Mayport.
Photo: Jay Grubb/SURFCORE
8
Chris LeDew interview, part two...
Designs engineered for safety
Riding
• Fully Supported 25, 40 & 65 mile rides.
• Self-Guided Rides
Advocacy & Education Programs
• How to Become a Bicycle Friendly Community
presented by the League of American Bicyclists.*
• Florida Traffic and Bicycle Safety Education
Program in your community.
• Introduction to Cycling Savvy
• Hands on Bicycle Maintenance Classes
Networking
• Awards Dinner Banquet
Sharrows on the Bridge of Lions draw span.
• Friday night Social, Art Walk & Music
mix the pedestrians with that high speed
traffic, and very wide lanes. Crossing
these big highways like Southside
Boulevard…Blanding Boulevard—that’s
the challenge there.
JH: What about combined bike/bus
lanes where bikes and buses would share
a lane?
CLD: Well, I think that’s one of the
tools that’s available to us, and as we
start retrofitting the suburban and urban
environment, you can’t always put in
your ideal situation.
Some people want dedicated, multi-use
lanes or multi-use paths everywhere for
bikes, or even bike lanes everywhere.
You simply can’t fit them in everywhere. So, on some locations we feel
that it’s important to interconnect and
give the bicycles some sort of credibility—give them a sign, a pavement marking, that let’s everybody know, “Hey,
they’re allowed to be here.”
Here’s where you expect them and that
will cut down a little, on some of the
road rage, and some of the animosity.
• Saturday Bicycle Parade
*Approved by the American Planning Association for
continuing education credits.
When you get off your bike, go on FBA’s new website.
Stay informed at www.floridabicycle.org
Photo: Chris LeDew
JH: Shifting gears, how did you
become interested professionally in
cycling?
CLD: Well I guess there are three different reasons - one, when I was younger, going through college, Gainesville, I
was constantly on a bicycle.
I was always reading Mechanics
Illustrated and Popular Science, other
science magazines and I was interested
in the future of technology.
Back in the seventies there was a big
emphasis to find more efficient ways of
traveling, doing everything—because of
the energy crisis—bicycles were part of
that.
When I fast forward to today, I can see
that we’re where we thought we were
going to be—you know thirty, forty
years ago.
There’s the concept of “peak oil”
where the supply of oil is diminishing
but the demand is increasing, and so as
we look to the future we’re going to have
Continued on page 13
Summer 2013
9
Bike Florida now and next
by Becky Afonso, Bike Florida Ride Director
ike Florida held it’s annual
spring tour, the Orange
Blossom Express, during
the last week of March.
Post-tour reflections from
the “back end” are often not all warm
and fuzzy feelings of accomplishment.
Unless the tour was absolutely perfect,
there will always be thoughts of
improvement and a Pro/Con list of what
worked.
It’s nice to hear good and bad about
the tour from those who attended
because the essence of any feedback is a
passion that someone cared enough to
share.
One e-mail I received post-tour as ride
director came from a gentleman who
grew up in the Tampa Bay area (Pinellas
County in particular) and his comment
ended with “things have changed.”
Turns out he graduated from
Clearwater High School the year I was
born in Mease Hospital in Dunedin, a
town just to the north of Clearwater.
My comment back was I felt blessed to
have been in the Bay area to witness the
transformation over the last 40-plus
years—to know where the area has been,
to see where it is now and to listen at
government meetings to what the future
may hold.
I’ve no doubt a majority of our recent
Orange Blossom Express participants
can say the same about bicycle tours in
general, as this industry has had its own
transformation over the years, and to an
extent, so has Bike Florida.
This year, the Orange Blossom Express
spring tour set out to accomplish two
primary goals: to go somewhere the tour
had not been before and to show Florida
is not flat.
Polk County provided new venues and
new experiences of back roads and fragrant farmlands while Lake County did
not disappoint in showing riders that
there are places to climb in Florida that
are not interstate overpasses or
Intracoastal bridges.
Mission accomplished, time for what’s
next.
Bike Florida turns 20 in 2014, a milestone worth examining. The multi-day
tour started in 1994, held during the
month of July, and it didn’t take long to
make the move to spring as opposed to
summer.
There have been staff changes over the
years and there have been board mem-
Photo: Joe Carr
bers and volunteers who have attended
every tour.
A mix of old and new over time that
has honored the past, kept the current
wheels spinning, if you will, as the tour
and other Bike Florida programs rolled
into the future.
Bike Florida’s 20th Anniversary tour
will be fueled by reflections of the past,
a past that will twinkle on the ocean
waves along the coast of St. Augustine.
The 20th will also celebrate the now,
utilizing routes well-established by local
bicycle events and clubs in the Putnam,
Clay, St. Johns, Flagler and Volusia
counties.
And finally, Bike Florida’s 20th
Anniversary will aspire to establish a
foundation by which future tours will
follow, based on observations and passions shared by all Bike Florida has ever
touched, because, quite frankly, we are
passionate about bicycling and we care.
Cyclists are the transformation of Bike
Florida and our best is on the horizon.
Let’s ride there together.
10
Ask a lawyer...
Vulnerable user laws — what are they?
by J. Steele Olmstead, Esq.
was asked by a reader to write
about vulnerable user laws.
To gain some perspective, let’s
say you are helping set up the wedding reception for the sister of a
friend whose family is wealthy.
Your friend gives you a bottle of wine
and says, “Please carry this to that
table.”
You wade through the chairs and
tables, put it down and come back.
Then your friend says, “Please take
this one over, but be extra careful. It’s a
1767 wine bottled by Thomas Jefferson
and worth $1.75 million.”
How careful are you carrying that bottle? Both bottles have wine, so what’s
the difference in consequences carrying
the second bottle?
Busy mom is driving errands in a
Hyundai SUV, with a child in a car seat
and a cell phone in her hand. She is
approaching an intersection.
Bicyclists and an open cab tractor are
on the road; waiting at the pedestrian
crossing are a rider on horseback and
two roller bladers.
In the multi-use lane nearby is a handicapped person in a motorized wheelchair, also coming to the intersection.
At the previous light, Mom started a
text and kept on texting. As she
approaches the intersection, she gets a
phone call—it may be her boss—her
child starts screaming bloody murder in
the back and the light changes yellow to
red as she looks in the rearview mirror.
On the road In front of her is a 1767
bottle of Thomas Jefferson’s wine.
If she rear-ends a car she gets a ticket
and her insurance pays. She may or may
not injure the occupant because they are
surrounded by a steel cocoon.
If she hits one of the people not surrounded by a steel cocoon (the bicyclists,
etc.), she gets the same deal: ticket and
call from the insurance company.
Though one of those vulnerable road
users may get catastrophically hurt, be
permanently disfigured, off work for two
months and the bike for six months, it’s
still only a ticket and a premium hike.
Here’s the kicker. What if the woman
does not have bodily injury coverage to
pay for the medical bills, physical injury,
lost work, pain, and mental anguish of
vulnerable road users?
What’s that? No insurance if she hurts
someone? Holy Guacamole! What?
Yes, here in the land that can’t count
votes, the legislature in its finite wisdom,
again has not made bodily insurance
required of those driving the deadly
weapons we know as motorized vehicles.
Attorney J. Steele Olmstead practices law statewide from offices
in Tampa. One of his specialties is bicycle law and he’ll even
come to you...wherever you got broken.
So, where were we? Oh, yeah.
Vulnerable user law
What if it were like a hate crime? A
crime against a specific class of people
who were deserving of higher protection
because of vulnerability?
What if the law recognized that those
folks at the intersection were vulnerable
and the SUV driver was on notice that
hitting one of them would carry repercussions that carried onto her bank
account and affect her life as permanently as it affected the vulnerable user’s
life?
Beyond “feeling awful,” a $185.00
ticket and insurance premium hike. Or
what about criminal penalties?
Down to the jail, kid off to husband/
boyfriend and she has to post bail?
Think that possibility might get Florida
drivers to pay attention to vulnerable
users on the road?
That’s what vulnerable user laws do.
they’re a recognition that some road
users are more vulnerable than others.
In Europe they have these. Ah, yes.
Europe. Cycling heaven. But wait,
Oregon, Illinois, Delaware, Washington
State, and New York have these statutes.
Whoa! Here in the states? Are there legislatures and governors who really care?
Wait a minute... Florida has a legislature and a governor. Can you think of a
state which needs it more than Florida?
So, how do we get the message to the
SUV mom and the criminals that come
at us head-on in our lane because we are
using the roads?
Why not make hitting a vulnerable
user have direct financial penalties of
say $15,000 that is due to the State of
Florida and a suspension of drivers
license for one year or even a criminal
penalty of six months in jail?
The League of American Bicyclist has
a model law posted on its website.
http://www.bikeleague.org/action/
bikelaws/modellaws.php
This would work in Florida.
So, dear reader, print a copy of the
law. Write a letter to your representative, ask him or her for an appointment
time when you can come in and talk to
him or her. Go meet with him or her,
take the law with you and ask him or her
to submit this filed in the Senate or
House. The bills have to be filed in
Tallahassee by August 31, 2013 for next
year’s session. Do it. It’s time for
Florida to take steps to bring home to
motorists a threat of real and personal
financial or criminal consequence for
hitting us bicyclists.
Summer 2013
11
Do you have a question about the laws related to bicycling?
Welcome New/Rejoining Members!
Eric Davis
Eric Hanke
Eric Seoane
Erin Deemer
Eugene B Berman
Evalyn Katz
FL Greenways & Trails
Foundation, Inc.
Frank and Maria
Angel
Frank Garber
Fredy Acevedo
Gale & Kellyn Biela
Garland Paulk
Gary A Corbett
Gary Brizendine
Gary Simmons
George Edwards
George ForlenzaSaunders
Gerald Myers
Gerald P & Joyce
Kessler
Gil Acosta
Glee Hellyar
Glen Cunningham
Gregg R Buongiorno
Gregg Rosa
Gregory Miller
Greta Ferkel
Guillermo Valenti
Guy Regalado
Gwen McFadden
Harvey Rotstein
Heather Ferguson
Hector Cabrera
Hilary Woodworth
Howard Kahn
Hugo A Rodriguez &
Chelena Gaffoglio
Isabel Sullivan
Ivy Bibler
Jace Provo
Jack Abarbanel
Jack R Cottrell
Jaime Rivera
James Donnelly
James Lustig
James Walker
Jane Wynn
Janet Sullivan
Janice Williams
Jason Panos
Jay Bailyn
Jay Flanary
Jay Smith
Jeff Allen
Jeff Macre
Jeff Smith
Jeff Stephens
Jeffrey & Anne
Campbell
Jennifer Carey
Jennifer Labbe
Jerad Wood
Jerry Rubin
Jill L Eisner
Jim Cammack
Jim Harmon
Jim Pigmon
Jim Rucquoi
Joan LeRoy
Joe Clayton
John Benton
John Bowers
John De Vito
John J Perez
John Lehnen
John Mcmanaman
John Osorio
John Weiss
John Wood
Jorge E & Catalina
Soto
Jose Cabrera
Jose Millan
Josh Rabine
Joshua Friscea
Juan Santiago
Julian Robayo
Juliana Avila
Julie Bahr
Julio Rubio
Karen M Kelly
Karen Verkler
Kathy l Berk
Keith & Ava Johnson
Kelli Eady
Kem Sprawls
Ken & Lissa Udell
Ken Golby
Kenneth A Siviter
Kenneth Watts
Kent Morsch
Kevin Casey
Kevin Christensen
Kimberly Peterson
Kirsten Hite
Krista Anderson
Abbott
Kurtis S & Vaylene
Tucker
Kyle & Tamara Gibson
Larry Kaminsky
Larry Rooney
Lauren Cohn
Laurie Leslie
Lee Zehngebot
Les Greenberg
Lili Oliver
Linda Pellegrino
Linda Toelke
Linda Weirich
Lisa Edwards
Lisa M Bell
Lisa Portelli
Lisa Smith
Liz Lee
Loretta Holley
Lourdes Jones
Lucy O’Connor
Luis E Gomez
Luis Trigo
Luke B Jeske
Maggie Gonio
Mandi Stephenson
Manuel Espinosa
Marc J Williams
Marcel Zielinski
Maria Lowe
Mariela Neshem
Marisa Davis
Mark & Phyllis Atkins
Mark Gregory
Mark Murdoch
Mark N Schachter
Mark Woehrle
Marni Pasch
Marshall Stone
Martin K Barnes
Marvin L Bzura
Mary Abbott
Mary Kozak
Mary Shanklin
Mary Stewart
Matthew & Melissa
Brown
Matthew Eckert
Melissa Ross
Micah Friedman
Michael & Ann Carey
Michael & Caroline
Kasper
Michael Brown
Michael C Gottlieb
Michael Ciuchta
Michael Fatta
Michael Hirschmann
Michael J Rockwell
Michael Masem
Michael Morris
Michael Neal
Michael Schau
Michael Schwimmer
Michele Paulson
Miguel Correa
Mike Chaykowski
Mike P Pettinella
Mike Pyles
Misael Perez
Murray Fishel
Nancy Andreae
Nat Lewis
Natalino Zanchetta
Neil Sander
Nelson Griffin
Noelle L Savedoff
Norma Skye
Pamela Fuller
Pamela Reuter
Pascal Bijmaar
Patricia Hancock
Patrick McGuire
Patrick Walther
Patrick Welch
Paul A Messer
Paul Adamson
Paul F Dickenson
Paul Tuffy
Paul Zicuis
Paulette Fiske
Peter & Marilyn Zutty
Peter Hjelm
Peter Van Winssen
Phil V Scandariato
Phillip Garcia
Phyllis M Robinson
Ask Geo @ FlBikeLaw.org*
George Martin
Rachelle Bivins
Rafael Frederick
Raj Saxena
Raul Garcia
Ray Vecchiarelli
Rebekah Piatt
Renata D’Angelo
Rich Dadisman
Richard & Carolyn Fry
Richard A Mertl
Richard A Paul
Richard E Gitlen
Richard Pacheco
Rick Abell
Rick Carvacho
Robert Accordino
Robert Sullivan
Ron Jones
Rosellen Kraus
Roy Jones
Rusty Stoeckel
Sam Haddad
Samuel Serfaty
Sandy Rivera
Sarah Day
Sarah Simonetti
Scott Lelling
Scott Liotta
Scott Trien
Sergio Diaz
Sergio Soto
Stacey Bayer
Stan Mickelsen
Stephanie R Calk
Stephen D &
IsaacTonjes
Steve & Diane Parks
Steve Maurice
Steven & Joan
Teitelbaum
Steven R Diez
Stuart Abramson
Stuart Borie
Stuart H Brownstein
Susan Thompson
Tanya Santiago
Tara Hoisington
Tara Laine Hoffman
Taylor Lonsdale
Teena Lopez
TH & Deborah Smith
Thaddeus Gamory
Thomas Core Jr.
Thomas Skoloda &
Alice Newlon
Tim Henery
Tim Reese
Tim Willings
Tom Ferraro
Tom Jones
Trish Deerwester
Valerie Boughner
Victoria Scott
Wayne Grim
William Davis
William Moniz
William Schesser, II
Woody Greene
Yoyi Kahle
Three Foot Law
Dean asked: Is a
motor vehicle still
required to give 3 feet to a
cyclist if the cyclist and
vehicle are in their own
lanes? I many cases, I see
the cyclist in the center of his dedicated
lane and a car passing with his right tires
almost on top of the white line.
Q
A
The applicable statute is:
s. 316.083 – Overtaking and
Passing a Vehicle
The following rules shall govern the
overtaking and passing of vehicles proceeding in the same direction
(1) …. The driver of a vehicle overtaking
a bicycle or other nonmotorized vehicle
must pass the bicycle or other nonmotorized vehicle at a safe distance of not less
than 3 feet between the vehicle and the
bicycle or other nonmotorized vehicle.
The statute does not impose any limitations by the location of the bicyclist
which could be in the roadway, including
a bike lane, or the paved shoulder, which
is not part of the roadway. The same is
true whether the bicyclist is being passed
on the left or right, when that is permissible.
Note also that the three feet is the
absolute minimum and in many situations the safe passing distance may be
more.
Electric Non-Bike
Sean asked: I have a question
regarding electric bicycles and
needing a drivers license, registration
and should they be on the road or sidewalks and bike lanes? My bike is only
electric (not gas powered) and it does
have pedals although I keep them in the
storage under the seat and not on the
bike, it only goes 20 mph. It does have
head lights, tail lights, turn signals and
horn. It is a 500 watt electric motor. I
talked to the PBSO (Palm Beach Sheriffs
office) and they said I didn’t need to register it or a license but Palm Beach
Gardens PD says I do. The law is very
unclear in this gray issue.
Q
A
Actually, the law about your vehicle
is quite clear.
If you do not have functional pedals
and they are not in place for use to pro-
pel the bike, your bike does not meet the
definition of “bicycle” in the statutes and
does not have the advantages implied. It
is not a bicycle, moped or motorcycle. It
is not a legal vehicle for use on the
roads.
The Applicable statute is:
s. 316.003 – Definitions
(2) Bicycle – Every vehicle propelled
solely by human power, and every motorized bicycle propelled by a combination
of human power and an electric helper
motor ….
Licence Plate Visibility
S
cott asked: I had a police officer pull
me over the other day and tell me
that I could not have my bike rack on my
car unless I was actively carrying a bicycle. I am curious about the Florida law
regarding bike racks that obscure your
license plate.
A
There is no prohibition to having a
bike rack on a car without the bicycle. A roof rack, for example. I assume
the problem was the visibility of the
license plate, which would likely be
more obscured with the bike on the rack
than without.
I recommend that you ask the police
department to clarify the officer’s statement. The applicable statute is:
s. 316.605 – Licensing of Vehicles
(1) Every vehicle, at all times while
driven, stopped, or parked upon any
highways, roads, or streets of this state,
shall be licensed in the name of the
owner thereof in accordance with the
laws of this state unless such vehicle is
not required by the laws of this state to
be licensed in this state and shall …. display the license plate …. on the rear and
…. to be securely fastened to the vehicle
outside the main body of the vehicle not
higher than 60 inches and not lower
than 12 inches from the ground and no
more than 24 inches to the left or right
of the centerline of the vehicle …. and
all letters, numerals, printing, writing,
and other identification marks upon the
plates regarding the word “Florida,” the
registration decal, and the alphanumeric
designation shall be clear and distinct
…. so that they will be plainly visible
and legible at all times 100 feet from the
rear ….
As a part of the Bicycle Law Enforcement Program, a website exists to provide a place
to ask questions about the laws. This is a continuing series that addresses some of the
questions and provide updates about FBA’s Bicycle Law Enforcement Program.
*DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this column is to inform about bicycling laws. The material
provided here and through other means is for general informational purposes only and shall in
no way constitute or be construed as legal advice by the officers, directors, agents or employees
of the Florida Bicycle Association. If your experience in a court of law or on the streets differs
from that presented, we want to know about it, but George Martin and the FBA are not accountable for a ruling contrary to our interpretation of Florida Law or other consequences of cycling.
You should seek legal advice on a particular situation.
12
Program Director’s report...
ClubExpress means you manage your membership; outside experts can help bring change
by Dan Moser, Program Director
umans generally dislike
change so it’s no surprise it
rarely goes completely
smoothly.
As an example, at the
beginning of the year, when
FBA changed the way we deal with
membership, staff and members experienced a generally smooth transition, but
with a few glitches and some expected
resistance.
But now that we’ve got half a year of
the new having replaced the old, most
everyone seems accepting, at least to
some degree.
One of the primary reasons FBA
moved from our old management system
to ClubExpress was to give members
more control over their private information, with the added benefit of speeding
up the process whenever changes in
address or other information are necessary. Membership sign-up is exclusively
online and renewals and expiration
notices are automatically e-mailed
because the database is always current.
Every member has their own username
and password to login and to view member-only content.
The Profile screen allows you to
update your personal information, bio
and photo, and preferences for forums,
interest groups and other modules, and
to view a complete transaction and payment history.
By now, many people are used to conducting much of their business on-line,
so FBA didn’t make a move that’s too
advanced for most of our members. In
fact, we’re really just catching up with
the times.
Two abreast: safe? legal?
Persons riding two abreast may not
impede traffic when traveling at less
than the normal speed of traffic at the
time and place and under the conditions
then existing.
What does this Florida bicycle law
really mean? Let me give you some
examples:
Bike Lane or Bike Path: two or more
cyclists abreast is legal. If you are riding
in a bike lane or bike path, you are
allowed to ride two—or even more than
two—abreast within this designated area.
Sharing the Road with Motorists: up
to two bicycle riders across is legal,
depending on the road width.
There are two important components
of the law that apply to riding bicycles
on the road, sharing the road with motorists. First, motorists must give you three
feet when passing you. Second, you
must not impede motorists by riding two
across.
What does this mean?
On very wide roads, it is possible for a
motorist to pass two cyclists abreast, giving three feet, by staying in the lane.
Here the cyclists are not impeding the
motorist. Riding bikes two-across is perfectly legal in Florida.
On many roads, the lanes of travel are
narrower than 14 feet. Then bicyclists
are not “impeding traffic” if they ride
two abreast, as compared to one abreast.
In order to give the cyclists three feet
of passing room, the motorist needs to
take the opposing lane.
Because these roads are narrow, the
motorist would have to take part of the
opposing lane no matter if there was one
rider or two riders abreast, in order for
the motorist to pass and give 3 feet.
The fact that a second cyclist is present
doesn’t change what the motorist must
do—go all or partially into the opposing
lane—when no traffic is coming the
opposite direction.
The second cyclist does not impede
traffic any more than a single cyclist
does.
The motorist couldn’t pass with three
feet by staying in its lane even with one
cyclist.
There are some occasions when riding
two abreast would impede traffic.
Then cyclists should ride only one
across. This is where the lane of travel is
about 14 feet, allowing for a car to stay
in the lane to pass one cyclist with three
feet.
If two riders are abreast, the motorist
won’t be able to pass by staying in the
lane and giving three feet.
If there is opposing traffic, the 2nd
cyclist is then impeding traffic, because
the motorist must wait for opposing traffic to clear.
— Chris Burns has been a practicing
attorney for 27 years. He is a member of
the FBA, the North Florida Bicycle
Club, the League of American Bicyclists,
and sponsors the Jacksonville Racing
Club, Velobrew Cycling Club, and the
University of Florida Cycling Team. He
is currently the Vice President of the
Jacksonville Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory
Committee.
But like any change of such significance—at least for existing members
who never had to deal with FBA this
way—some folks weren’t willing to
jump in, at least initially. I want to personally acknowledge our Membership
Manager, Deb DeVoe, for the great job
she did of working with those who were
resistant, all while completing the
behind-the-scenes transition of our existing database.
If you are still not too keen on dealing
directly with our ClubExpress system, I
urge you to give it a try. Starting on the
front page of the membership website
(http://fbamembership.org/), you will be
walked through each and every step
you’ll take, making your experience
painless, I assure you. And you’ll find
features I think you’ll appreciate and that
we were not able to offer with our old
system.
Your cooperation and participation is
vital to keeping FBA’s costs down while
providing both you and your organization valuable tools to help us grow and
thrive.
Outside Experts May be Just
What’s Needed
Paul Zykofsky, an old friend and professional peer of FBA’s Executive Director,
came to a Southwest Florida community
recently as part of a team of experts
whose work will likely have a positive
effect on its walkability, bikeability, and
livability.
I’d heard good things about Paul from
Tim so I was excited to be part of the
project.
Tice, Florida, once a thriving and
important part of east Lee County that
lies partially within the City of Fort
Myers as well as unincorporated County,
had lost that reputation long ago. Some
residents, however, are convinced it can
regain its stature, so county government
provided community leaders with a
chance to make plans and create guidelines that can potentially lead to Tice’s
reemergence.
Beginning in 2011, county staff and
planning consultants worked with residents and business owners, developing a
plan for how everything from transportation options to redevelopment projects
will be addressed.
Then, as the Tice Historic Community
Plan (http://www.leegov.com/gov/dept/
dcd/Planning/CommunityPlanning/
Pages/PalmBeachBoulevard.aspx) was
getting close to becoming the formal
guide that will eventually become part of
our county’s Comprehensive Land Use
Plan, the effort was significantly
enhanced by additional expertise that
resulted in the very real potential of necessary resources being allocated and pol-
icies being implemented that would otherwise be only on a wish-list.
Lee County’s Office of Sustainability
was awarded a technical assistance grant
from Project for Public Spaces (www.
pps.org), who sent consultants from the
non-profit Local Government
Commission (www.lgc.org). Besides
Paul, the team included Tony Leonard,
also from local government commission,
as well as Kelly Morphy, Executive
Director of Walkable and Livable
Communities Institute (www.walklive.
org). Having FBA’s 2013 Professional of
the Year award winner, Billy Hattaway,
involved in the two-day effort was another plus, especially considering his expertise as both an engineer and professional
planner who’s worked in both private
and public sector, including collaborating with Paul and his team in the past.
The consultants and Billy joined with
representatives from state, county, and
city transportation departments, law
enforcement agencies, human service
organizations, government planning divisions, private business, schools, and,
most importantly, citizens, to conduct
walking audits.
Once everyone had a chance to experience the streets, intersections, and other
elements of the community with a critical eye, evaluation and recommendation
sessions led by the experts took place.
A number of problems and solutions
were identified or reconfirmed, with
resources to make improvements to some
glaring ones committed on the spot, usually those involving law enforcement or
relatively modest transportation fixes.
It’s rewarding to see a community collaboration effort come together and
begin to pay off, especially when those
who usually don’t have a voice take an
active role.
Many who took part had never been
involved in something like this, usually
because they hadn’t been invited, whether they were members of the public or
government officials.
The proof of all the hard work paying
off will be what actually ends up on the
ground as well as the final policy document. In this case, there seems to be true
commitment from those with the power
and resources to make good things happen so hopes are high.
Maybe your community can benefit by
such an effort, so check out the organizations involved and see what might be
possible.
Note: A version of this article appeared
in Florida Weekly on May 22, 2013
(http://fortmyers.floridaweekly.com/)
Summer 2013
13
Will Florida’s new anti-texting law make any difference?
by Jay Anderson, Executive Director, Stay Alive…Just Drive!
here’s an often-repeated
quote, various versions of
which have been attributed to
Albert Einstein: “I fear the day
when technology overlaps
humanity. The world will have a generation of idiots.”
Regardless of who actually predicted
it, that day has arrived.
That technology is responsible for
Florida joining 40 other states as
Governor Scott recently signed SB 52.
SB 52 creates the “Florida Ban on
Texting While Driving Law.”
The bill prohibits the operation of a
motor vehicle while manually typing or
entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other text in a handheld wireless
communication device, or sending or
reading data in the device, for the purpose of non-voice interpersonal communication.
The bill makes exceptions for emergency workers performing official
duties, reporting emergencies or suspicious activities, and for receiving various
types of navigation information, emergency traffic data, radio broadcasts, and
autonomous vehicles.
The bill also makes an exception for
interpersonal communications that can
be conducted without manually typing
the message or without reading the message.
A first violation is punishable as a nonmoving violation, with a fine of $30 plus
court costs that vary by county.
A second violation committed within 5
years after the first is a moving violation
punishable by a $60 fine plus costs.
The bill allows for the admissibility of
a person’s wireless communications
device billing records as evidence in the
event of a crash resulting in death or personal injury.
In addition to the fines, a violation of
the unlawful use of a cell phone which
results in a crash will result in six points
added to the offender’s driver license
record and the unlawful use of a cell
phone while committing a moving violation within a school safety zone will
result in two points added to the offender’s driver license record in addition to
the points for the moving violation.
Unfortunately the new law will only be
a secondary offense, which means law
enforcement officers will have to initiate
a traffic stop based on another violation.
Then they will somehow have to
determine whether the driver was texting. I think we can all agree the average
driver if asked, will deny they were.
The most disturbing part of this legislation is the fact a compromise was
reached that allows drivers to text at traffic signals or while stopped in traffic.
Let’s start with the delays directly
attributed to the use of electronic devices
when behind the wheel.
Having observed thousands of drivers
at intersections I can safely say that just
because the signal turns green or traffic
begins to move will not make anyone
cease texting.
Here’s where the problem begins.
Allowing texting or the use of any electronic device at signals and/or while
stopped in traffic sets pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists, our vulnerable
road users up for increased risks especially at intersections.
Drivers turning right on red who don’t
stop, or stop their vehicles in the middle
of crosswalks are just the tip of the iceberg.
Now consider drivers who drift out of
their lane into the bike lane, turn left in
front of motorcyclists or threaten pedestrians in parking lots while driving distracted.
Throw the distracted vulnerable road
users into the mix and we have a deadly
combination.
As I explain to everyone, this is a start.
It can and will be improved. Much like
our seat belt legislation which was a secondary offense for years it can only get
better as we continue the effort to make
our roads safer for all users.
JH: So how did you sort it out?
CLD: The crash data point to the urban
areas and people who are commuting by
bicycles, actually there’s a spike in people that use bicycles for basic transportation.
I’ve been asked, “Why is DOT building all these multi-use trails out in the
woods. Why don’t you build more infrastructure in the city where I need it,
where I’m riding my bike?”
And I said, “Well, that’s because 15
years ago, that’s who showed up.”
There’s nothing wrong with the paths
but they address just one segment of the
bicyclists. It doesn’t address the commuter.
I said, “If you want the infrastructure
for the type of riding that you do, you
need to show up. Your voice needs to be
heard.”
JH: What benefit did you get from
taking CyclingSavvy?
CLD: I gained a better understanding
of the dynamics—how motorists and
bicyclists interact, from both on the road
and excellent graphics. It reinforced
ideas, like taking the lane to avoid the
right hook.
Most motorists don’t understand why a
bicyclist would move into a general traffic lane like that. If they understand why,
they’ll tolerate it better.
— Stay Alive...Just Drive (sajd.org) is a
501(c)(3) corporation formed to actively
educate the public about the dangers of
unsafe and distracted driving.
Chris LeDew interview, part two...
Designs engineered for safety
to use alternate forms of energy and people powered is one of those. I think transit—walking, biking—are gonna be part
of that. So we have to design our system
to accommodate that.
And number two is the tremendous
crash problem here in the state of
Florida. We’re the number one state in
the union for bike/ped injuries and fatalities.
Safety engineering is a big part of
being a traffic engineer. In the past, the
DOT has been trying to address this in
their own way, by building more bike
lanes and sidewalks and considering
them in their design. However, it’s hard
to do that when the volume of bikes and
peds is relatively low compared to that
of automobile users—the squeaky wheel
gets the grease—I guess I started looking
at things a little bit differently. From the
safety aspect, what we have been doing
isn’t working.
Many publications have called
Jacksonville the worst city in the United
States for walking and biking. They have
different metrics that they use to score
us, that really got my attention and
frankly, it embarrassed us.
Lastly, right around that time is when
The City of Jacksonville was starting up
its Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory
Committee under (City Planner) James
Reed’s leadership. So, instead of sending
somebody from my staff to go to that, I
said, “I’m going to go myself,” I want to
figure out what’s going on and that was
really the impetus. That was the starting
point, just in the last couple years, when
I got involved.
JH: What did you first find that surprised you?
CLD: My attitude as a traffic engineer
about bicyclists had been that there are
two types of cyclists—those that ride in
the road and those that ride on the sidewalk—basically, that’s it.
At BPAC, I was thoroughly confused,
because there were like, eight different
kinds of cyclists, they spoke with eight
different voices. At one extreme were
vehicular cyclists who didn’t want signs,
pavement markings or bike lanes, just
motorists’ respect.
Ha! At the other extreme were those
who believed, it’s inherently dangerous
to have bikes and cars riding next to
each other: “I want multi-use, totally
separate paths, be like Copenhagen, a
separate network just for bicycles.”
And then in the middle, some people
said, “Oh I want more bike lanes...I want
sharrows...I want to ride on the sidewalk
with my kids.” The logistics of retrofitting a city to get that put in is nearly
impossible.
Add your voice
for the future
of bicycling
in Florida.
JOIN FBA
TODAY
JOIN ONLINE at www.fbamembership.org
Membership includes the FBA Messenger!
14
Upcoming Bicycle Touring Events in Florida
This printed version is ABRIDGED from promotional material provided by tour organizers. We’re not responsible for accuracy of information or quality of these rides. Use the contact information for more details about each ride. Ask your friends. Data are from an online calendar database maintained by Roger Pierce. To add an event to his (and our) calendar, e-mail to [email protected] or go online to post your own entry. See complete calendar, including many out-of-state rides we don’t have room to print here, and much of
the hype we edited out in this here version, at www.floridabicycle.org/fbtc/.
July
July 6 (Sat) Punta Gorda
Wheels and Wings IV
One Event - Five Rides 15/32/50
Mystery Ride and a 10 mile
Gentleman′s Race - Another Freakin
T-Shirt (but really cool!) - SAG Stops A Dozen Wings - And TWO Cold
Beers or Beverages - Race Winner
Presentation - Air Conditioning - Stage
8 Tour de France on the Big Screens 50/50 Drawing. Oh yeah, Speed Trap
Alley is BACK! Makes one want to
sign up right now! Well you can... at
Active.com. www.peaceriverridersbicycleclub.com
July 6 (Sat) Jupiter
Hungryland Back 40 GRAVEL
GRINDER
Join Valor Sports and Valor Cycling
Club for the 1st Annual Hungryland
Back 40 Gravel Grinder on the
Culpepper Ranch in Jupiter, FL. It′s a
40km/24.8 mile gravel road race over
non-technical hard packed gravel and
sand roads closed to traffic. Mountain,
cycle-cross, hybrids or road type training bikes are recommended. This ride
benefits the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary
in Jupiter, FL. Go to Active.com to register.
July 14 (Sun) Boca Raton
Frank Stark Celebration Ride
Starting and Ending Location: Boca
Raton City Hall, 201 West Palmetto
Park Road corner of Palmetto Park
Road and Boca Raton Blvd (2nd Ave.
REGISTRATION BEGINS AT 6:30
AM 62 mile RIDE BEGINS AT 7:00
AM 30 mile ride begins at 8:00 am
Ride Support Ends at 1:00 pm Register
Early (Before July 5th) and get a FREE
T-shirt (or other valuable gift) $35.00
online (closes July 12 at 11:59 P.M.)
$35.00 By Mail postmarked no later
than July 5 $40.00 Late Registration/
Day of Ride WE RIDE RAIN or
SHINE NO REFUNDS Helmets are
required The Frank Stark Ride features
a scenic ride along the Atlantic coast as
well as a tour through Boca Raton. Well
stocked rest stops along the way and
full Sag Support during the ride. Rest
stops will have themes that will bring
smiles to those that partake. The postride meal will hit the spot after the ride
and there will be an additional treat.
The Boca Raton Bicycle Club is a
501(c)3 not for profit club. Proceeds
from this unique ride benefits bicycle
advocacy groups on a local, state and
national level. Contact info for registration: www.BocaRatonBicycleClub.com
or club info line at (561) 391-6109.
August
August 24 (Sat) Fleming Island
Rotary Bike Ride
5th Annual Rotary Bike Ride for
Charity, hosted by Rotary will stage at
Hibernia Baptist Church on Hwy 17.
there is plenty of parking and a local
bike shop to get the last minute items
needed for the ride. This ride will consist of either a 25 or 65 mile rural route
through southern Clay County along
safe roads. All the money raised will go
toward the local charities which the
Rotary Club of GCS supports (scholarships, food pantry, local schools, Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts and more). All
money raised stays in local charities.
Fully supported SAGS with restroom
facilities along the route, Fresh cooked
day of the ride BBQ lunch at the end of
the ride. T-shirts, and water bottles for
participants (while they last). Early registration is $30 with $35 day of: Go to
www.RotaryBikeRide.com for registration, route map, times and details.
Aug 31 - Sept 2 Sebring
31st Annual Tour of Sebring
Labor Day Weekend. Enjoy one, two or
three days of cycling in the gently rolling hills of Highlands County, excellent
buffet lunch meals by Chef Mac, Ice
Cream Socials, Door Prizes, etc. Riders
will especially appreciate our lightly
traveled back roads, friendly motorists,
citrus groves, cattle ranches, and small
towns typical of rural Central Florida.
Fully supported routes with cue sheets
and maps, on-road route marks, excellent rest stops, bicycle mechanic, and
dispatched SAG service vehicles. Daily
rides ranging from 11 to 62 miles plus
our Sunday Bok Tour Century (100
miles). A massage therapist will be
available after the rides for those who
push too hard. Meals: Registrants enjoy
a daily expended continental breakfast
including scrambled eggs & home fries,
cereals, yogurts, fruit and a deluxe buffet lunch that includes salad, carving,
vegetable and desert stations as well as
an entree buffet line. For example main
entrees on Sunday include: Carved
Turkey Breast & cranberry sauce,
Grilled Mahi Mahi & pineapple relish
or Grilled Chicken Veracruz. Other
Things to Do include: The Pub, socializing, swimming, games, golfing, shopping for cyclists at Sun Cycle’s Festival
Trailer or the Legacy Bicycle Shop
(next door), or visit Henscratch
Vineyard & Winery or Hammock State
Park.
http://tourofsebring.com/index.php
September
September 8 (Sun) St Augustine
Annual Endless Summer
Watermelon Ride
34/72/105 miles. A classic well supported one-day bicycle ride perfect for
all levels of cyclists. This year′s
Watermelon Ride departs from and
returns to the exciting Renaissance
Resort at World Golf Village. It traverses lightly traveled country roads featuring scenic Atlantic ocean and St Johns
River views with some routes passing
thru historic St. Augustine, America’s
oldest continuously occupied city.
Support includes pre-ride light breakfast, SAG and bike shop mechanical
support, well stocked rest stops and a
post-ride box lunch supplied by the
Renaissance Resort. On-line registration fees are $45 for non-members and
$30 for members. Those who register
by August 29th will receive a complementary T-shirt with a brand new
ESWR logo. Late on-line registrants
through September 7th may sign up for
the same prices but will not receive a
complementary T-shirt. Day-of-Ride
registration ($55 for everyone) opens at
6:30am on Sunday. The Century riders
depart at 7:30am, the 72 mile riders
depart at 7:45am and the 35 mile riders
go at 8:30am. To remember the tenth
anniversary of 9/11, participants who
wish to make a voluntary contribution
the Wounded Warriors Project in honor
of our military personnel who have
given so much, may do so at time of
registration, or day of the ride.
www.nfbc.us
September 28-29 St. Augustine
Bike MS: PGA TOUR Cycle
to the Shore 2013
One or two-day route options include
46/86/93/150 miles. Registration/
Check-in begins at 6am and the ride
begins at 7:15am. Cyclists will experience all of North Florida’s beautiful
scenery, from historic towns to sandy
beaches, during the Bike MS: PGA
TOUR Cycle to the Shore two-day
event from St. Augustine to Daytona.
The ride is fully supported with SAG
vehicles, motorcycle patrols, rest stops,
medical volunteers and bike shops
along the route. All meals are provided
to cyclists throughout the weekend.
Shuttle service is available for one-day
route options. Register and view more
information at www.BikeMS.org. St.
Augustine Airport, 4900 US Highway 1
North, St. Augustine, FL 32095.
(904)332-6810 (Christine).
www.BikeMS.org
October
October 6 (Sun) Lake Mary
CF Cycle For Life
Ride begins at 8AM. Fundraising
Minimum is $150 The CF Cycle For
Life is a one-day tour where hundreds
of men and women will come together
to participate in an event to find a cure
for cystic fibrosis. Participants have the
choice of 35/62/100 mile routes through
Seminole and Volusia Counties. The
bike tour is a fully supported journey
with stocked rest stops every 12-15
miles, support and gear (SAG) vehicles,
on-site medical services, and much
more. This unique event empowers participants to take action and demonstrate
their fight in finding a cure in a tangible, emotional and experientially powerful way. Participants under the age of
18 are not permitted to participate in
the Aptalis CF Cycle For Life. Bike
helmets required. www.cff.org/
Chapters/orlando/index.
cfm?id=23855&event=23855
October 14-18 Cross City
Gulf Coast Highlight Tour
Tour package consists of 5 days and
four nights; cycling on Florida′s beautiful Gulf Coast, other attractions include
a visit to Historic Yulee Sugar Mill, see
the Mermaids perform at Weeki
Watchee Springs, and see the Manatees
at Crystal River. www.gulfcoasteventstours.com/
October 19 (Sat) Gainesville
Orthopaedic Institute Santa Fe
Century
A tour through the lush forest and pasture land north of Gainesville up
through the Santa Fe River valley.
Rides start at 8:30 am from the North
West Boys and Girls Club at 2700 NW
51st Street in Gainesville. Enjoy a 100
or a 55 mile road ride, or the 18 or 28
mile Millhopper Ramble family fun
ride, with well stocked rest stops.
http://gccfla.org/gcf/
October 19-20 Gainesville
Gainesville Cycling Festival
Two centuries in two days! (Or enjoy
the shorter options for a weekend of
bicycle touring.) See details in the listings for the Santa Fe Century and
Horse Farm Hundred. Full info is available on the web site.
October 19 (Sat) Polk City
Van Fleet Trail Cycling Challenge
The Van Fleet Trail Cycling Challenge
is an opportunity for cyclists to get out
and learn more about the premier
cycling trails of Central Florida. These
include the General James A. Van Fleet
Trail, the Polk City extension of the
Van Fleet Trail, the TECO/Auburndale
trail, and the newest trail, the Florida
Polytechnic University Extension. This
is not a race, but a personal challenge,
whether you desire to ride five miles or
one hundred miles, Five trail heads/
snack stops will be staffed during the
ride for your convenience. www.vanfleettrailcyclingchallenge.com/
October 20 (Sun) Flemington
Horse Farm Tours
The Horse Farm Tours start in
Flemington on CR 329 (Interstate 75
CR 318 exit). Registration will be open
till 9 am. If you want to start with a
group, we′ll send you off at 8:30 am.
Otherwise, you can start whenever you
wish. With 25, 30, and 45 mile routes
to choose from, there should be a distance to satisfy everyone in the family.
The terrain that you will encounter as
you wind through the horse farms is
rolling. If you are from the coast, it will
be a different challenge than just riding
over the odd canal bridge. But many of
you will want to make frequent stops to
take in the scenery, and perhaps have a
conversation with a horse.
October 20 (Sun) Gainesville
Horse Farm Hundred
The Gainesville Cycling Club′s tour
through the picturesque horse farms of
northern Marion County. We have the
best stocked rest stops in Florida! The
102 mile ride (and a 55 mile option that
doesn′t get into horse farm territory)
starts at 8:30 am at Loften High School
at 3000 East University Avenue. Bagels
and muffins will be available before the
start. http://gccfla.org/gcf/
October 25-27 DeLand
Share the Road Celebration of Cycling
Bike Florida, Share the Road and FBA
present the first annual, Share the Road
Celebration of Cycling, a multi-day
event focused on advocacy, education,
networking and riding on October 25,
26 & 27 of 2013. Presentations will
include a program to help you or your
local government take steps to become
a League of American Bicyclists,
Bicycle Friendly City. We’ll also have a
basic bicycle repair clinic, a Cycling
Savvy class, information on the Florida
Traffic and Bicycle Safety Education
Program and a bicycle art contest and
parade. Saturday’s programs will conclude with an industry appreciation
banquet. Low mileage rides will be
available on Saturday with longer mileage rides on Sunday. Ride lengths will
vary from 40 to 100 miles. Visit our
website for more information.
www.sharetheroad.org
November
November 2-3 Daytona Beach
RAAM Florida Cycling Challenge
A weekend of fun: 3 non-competitive
rides (30/60/120 miles), 2 endurance
races (200/400 miles), an expo and
post-event party with awards, entertainment, food and drink. The 120-mile
ride is a “Gran Fondo.” The one-time
spring break party capital of the U.S.
has been quietly re-making itself into
the healthy outdoor sports capital of the
South. The Lake Country of Central
Florida offers some of the best cycling
in the state. The Daytona Beach
Cycling Challenge is the last race event
in the RAAM Challenge Series. You’ll
want to be here! http://florida.raamchallenge.com/rs/index.php?N_webcat_
id=282 [email protected]
Active.com Online Registration
November 3 (Sun) Sunrise
Follow the Leader Adopt-a-Bike Ride
RESCHEDULED from November 7.
Markham Park. Registration $30.
Raffles & Continental Breakfast included. Register & details on the web site
below. Six Ride Levels starting at
12mph - 22+mph. Helmets required.
All donations to Adopt-a-Bike
Foundation are tax deductible.
www.southbrowardwheelers.com/
adopt-a-bike
November 9 (Sat) Tallahassee
Annual Spaghetti 100
Multiple options for cyclists of all
backgrounds and levels. Road riders
will have the choice of a 100 mile, 100
kilometer, or 35 mile route. Those partial to dirt will have the choice of the
Dirt Metric Century Epic (65 miles)
and Dirt Epicette (42 miles). All rides
include rest stops, route marking and
SAG support. The Spaghetti 100 leaves
from the Miccosukee Community
Center, and ride north through scenic
North Florida and South Georgia . The
road routes take riders through historic
Thomasville and Boston in Georgia and
then through Monticello in Florida. The
dirt routes are non-technical, following
the beautiful canopied clay roads
through the heart of classic Red Hills
plantation country.
www.cccyclists.org/spaghetti100/
November 15-16 Miami
The SMART Ride
2 day, 165 mile ride from Miami to
Key West to raise funds and awareness
for HIV/AIDS. Orientation November
14, Day 1 (100 miles) November 15,
Day 2 (65 miles)November 16. Fully
supported ride with rest stops and
lunch, and overnight accommodations
at Hawk′s Cay Resort. $95 registration
fee and $1,250 fundraising commitment
with 100% of the fundraising dollars
given to the benefiting agencies.
www.thesmartride.org
November 16-17 Clermont
Horrible Hundred and Cycling Expo
35/70/100 routes. For 33 years, this has
been the most challenging ride in
Florida. Hills/rain/sun/wind/great rest
stops. Food after the hills. Cycling
Expo both days. Major bike manufacturers, local bike shops and other vendors will be there. Several rides scheduled for Saturday a.m. Lunch on
Sunday included in registration.
Saturday food trucks available.
Registration opens August 15. Updates
online. Twitter: @horriblehundred
www.horrible-hundred.com/
November 18-22 Cross City
Gulf Coast Highlight Tour
Tour package consists of 5 days and
four nights cycling on Florida′s beautiful Gulf Coast, other attractions include
a visit to Historic Yulee Sugar Mill, see
the Mermaids perform at Weeki
Watchee Springs, and see the Manatees
at Crystal River.
www.gulfcoasteventstours.com/
Summer 2013
15
Share the Road funds available...
Mini Grants available
by Ken Foster
ike Florida and Share the
Road invite your organization to apply for a Share the
Road Mini Grant.
Through the sale of “Share
the Road” specialty license plates, and
sponsoring partners like BILL BONE
BIKE LAW, Bike Florida and Share the
If your Safe Routes to School program needs event funding, we might be
able to help! Infrastructure projects may
also fit the funding parameters.
Road can make these funds available to
cycling organizations, city or county
governments and school parent teacher
organizations (PTOs) or just about anyone actively promoting safe cycling or
cyclist and driver education.
Some of the most common awards
fund new bicycle purchases or repairs for
organizations administering education
programs, especially those teaching the
Florida Traffic and Bicycle Safety
Education Program.
We have also funded requests to purchase Share the Road signage in communities around the state.
o When can you apply?
Applications are received continuously
o What is the funding range?
$2,000.00 maximum
o Who can apply? Non-Profit
Organizations and Government Agencies
o When are grants awarded?
Quarterly
Visit ShareTheRoad.org for an
Application and Terms of use.
Share the Road welcomes BILL
BONE BIKE LAW as our newest Mini
Grant sponsor.
Like Bike Florida and Share the Road,
BILL BONE BIKE LAW is dedicated to
the bicycle safety message.
It is rare to see an organization with
this much passion for cycling.
Decisions are better when based
on experience continued from page 1
with a bike rental service or bike shop
that may see the benefit of providing the
bikes at no charge or significant discount. And as is the case for helmets,
requiring everyone to sign an appropriately crafted waiver is something highly
recommended.
And before taking off be sure to conduct a quick check of the bikes and
review the rules of the road and pathway
with all participants (since there are frequent interpretive stops, a reminder to
refrain from blocking the path or intersection is necessary, something you may
need to do both before and during the
ride).
Some final thoughts: Prior to the ride
and while underway, be aware if participants’ cycling skills and physical limits
and have various options available to
match your audience.
Be sure the ride leaders know their
community, and the facilities and features being visited. Since you’ll be dealing with politicians and upper-level staff,
know how to effectively mix earned
praise with constructive criticism and
don’t come off as too bike-centric. And,
most importantly, make it both fun and
informative so you’ll make it an experience they’ll remember in a positive way.
Support Education and Advocacy
Florida Bicycle Association Messenger — Summer 2013
Support Education
and Advocacy
Join us at these
2013 events:
• Endless Summer Water
Melon Ride in St. Augustine
• Spaghetti 100 in Tallahassee
• Withlacoochee State Trail
Ride in Inverness
• Mt Dora Cycling Festival
• Gainesville Cycling
Festival, Horse Farm 100 &
Flemington Horse Farm
• Share The Road Celebration
of Cycling in DeLand
• Horrible Hundred in Clermont
Good News, Mr. Smith! The IRS now allows your employer to give you a tax-free reimbursement of
up to $20 per month for reasonable bicycle related expenses as a qualified bicycle commuter.*
We can keep you up to date with the latest rulings affecting cyclists everywhere, offering quality tax and financial accounting services with
the confidence and solid reputation that comes from more than 30 years of quality service to the Central Florida business community.
We're proud to support FBA and its mission to promote good health and well-being in our communities through bicycling.
Scearce, Satcher & Jung, P.A.
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
Kenneth L. Scearce, CPA
David A. Satcher, CPA
Carla M. Hansen, CPA
243 W. Park Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 647-6441 Office
(407) 645-0099 Fax
*See Publication 15-B at www.irs.gov for more information.

Summer - Florida Bicycle Association

Transcription

Similar documents

Visit a Navy AutoSource Representative on-board

survey - Bicycling

Customer`s recommendations using the SCI technology:

REDMOND Bicycling Guide Regional Map

BIKE CARE - Ballistol

BIKE LAB - Orbis Institute

Knox County Bicycle Map

WHAT: 4th Annual GEICO Motorcycle HOT BIKE TOUR ®

WHAT: 4th Annual GEICO Motorcycle HOT BIKE TOUR ®

Cycling Quiz - CYCLE FOR GLORY, CHANGE LIVES