May 2010
WHEEL PEOPLE |
VOL. 29 NO. 3 |
May 2010 |
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Newsletter of the Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association P. O. Box 9054 Eureka CA 95502 THANKS TO THE NEW AND RENEWED MEMBERS FOR 2010 New Members:
Renewed Members for 2010:
Those with a ** have made additional donations to the HBBCA. Those with *** have made donations of $25 or more. THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING TO BE HELD MONDAY, MAY 24TH IN EUREKA The next regular HBBCA meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m., May 24, 2010 at Chapala’s Mexican Restaurant, 2nd and C Streets in Eureka. Dinner is optional. Agenda items may be suggested by emailing Rick Knapp at info@humbike.org MAY IS BIKE MONTH—PLEASE PARTICIPATE ALL YOU CAN As reported in the last Wheel People, May is Bike Month, and the Humboldt Bicycle Coalition is working hard to bring you more and better events this year. Please check our website for the calendar of events at www.humbike.org. Don’t miss Bike to Work Day in Eureka on Thursday, May 13, with free fuel-up at the Co-Op between 6:30 and 9:00 a.m. and noontime rally at the Old Town Gazebo. There will be contests and free drawings for all kinds of things—T-shirts, helmets, light systems, and more. Almost everyone will win something! Thursday, May 20, is Bike to Work Day in Arcata. Times and events will be the same as listed for Eureka. The fuel-up will be at the Arcata Co-Op and the noontime rally will be at the Plaza. At both events, the organization/company with the most attendees at the rallies will receive a floor pump for use by their employees. Recognition certificates will also be issued.SHARE THE ROAD CAMPAIGN TO HAPPEN IN MAY The HBBCA is working with News Channel 3 to bring a Share the Road Campaign to your TV during Bike Month. The HBBCA has benefitted from generous contributions in order to be able to fund this effort. Friends and family of Dr. Jerome Lengyel donated over $1,000 to the HBBCA after he passed away of natural causes while riding his bike in the Safety Corridor. Another $500 each was donated by Greg Jennings father, Jim Jennings and Lisa Hoover, Greg’s widow. Greg was hit and killed by a reckless driver in August 2008. These messages will be dedicated to their memory. In addition to the donations, News Channel 3 has agreed to match the money we are putting up. As such, we should be able to produce the spots and air about 70 commercials. The ads will become our property and can be used on the Access Channel or by others with our permission.These ads are available on our website. Please click here to view the ads. PENALTIES MAY INCREASE FOR DRIVERS USING HAND-HELD DEVICES, INCLUDING CYCLISTS SB 1475, Simitian, would double fines for motorists using hand-held devices, from $50 to $100. In reality, the addition of various local and court fees can result in cell phone/texting violations costing over $250 for the first violation and over $450 for the second. The bill would extend the law to cyclists. According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the CHP has issued 204,000 citations since the initial law went into effect nearly two years ago. Maybe after 10 million citations are issued, the use of these devices while driving will go down and the fear associated with being confronted by distracted drivers will actually go down. We can hope!VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR BLUE LAKE BIKE RODEO, MONDAY JUNE 7TH If you can help with the Blue Lake School Bike Rodeo, please contact Patricia Falor, Coordinator – Blue Lake Community Resource Center, St. Joseph Health System, at 707-668-4281. The bike rodeo will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Monday June 7, 2010. They could use assistance with bike safety checks, pumping up tires, helmet inspection and adjustment, and with the obstacle course. HBBCA NOW ON FACEBOOK HBBCA is now on Facebook! To find us is easy, just login to your Facebook account and type HBBCA in the search window. Look for Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association and click on the link. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Rick, Thank you for holding down the fort. The newsletter is fantastic. Hope to see you on the road. Our bicycle problem is that our two dogs bug us for walks so much. Hope to make the next meeting (which they did). Smiles to you. Carol & Dan Stafford, Eureka Dear HBBCA, The other morning while driving my car to the store I looked both ways at my neighborhood intersection, twice to the right. As I began moving my car into the intersection, a helmet-less, fiftyish biker suddenly appeared in front of my car travelling the wrong way in the bike lane!? I missed him by inches. After he passed, I pulled into my lane and decided to tell him that "most bike fatalities are from bikers riding the wrong way in a bike lane." His idiotic response was: You must be a friend of Bush? There really isn't any more to say other than it brought to mind that I have to be careful of riders, even those who do not obey basic bicycle laws. Dick Wild ArcataHBBCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
If anyone is interested in filling a Board seat, or becoming more involved, please call one of the Board members above. WHO TO CALL WHEN YOU SEE A SAFETY CONCERN (Revised 1/09) The HBBCA checked with agencies in the Humboldt Bay region to determine appropriate contact personnel to respond to bike-related issues. If you see a condition that needs to be corrected in order to improve safety or convenience for cyclists such as a pothole in a bike lane, accumulated debris on a roadway shoulder, the need to re-stripe a bike lane, or the need to clear vegetation encroaching on a shoulder, call the responsible agency/person listed below.
PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2010 With you membership card, request the following discounts on bike parts and accessories: 10% (or more) at Henderson Center Bicycles; 10% at Revolution Bicycle Repair; 10% at Adventure’s Edge; 10% at Pro Sport Center and the New Outdoor Store, and 15% at Sport and Cycle. If you are already a paid-up member and would like to start receiving your newsletters by email, please advise us at: info@humbike.org Newsletter of the Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association |
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