Tahoe Cycling News

May 2011

Tahoe Bike Challenge 2 Work, School and Play

Challenge2011
Get your bikes out of storage, clean them up, inflate tires, check brakes, and get ready to participate in this year's Tahoe Bike Challenge.  It's time to gear up for cycling season and demonstrate your role in helping transform our community to be less dependent on the automobile for communting to work, school or recreating.

Challenge your friends, co-workers or classmates to either sign up as an individual or build a team to see how many trips or miles you can accumulate during the Challenge.  And, for some of you a challenge might be as simple as riding a bike to work or school for the very first time.

There are Energy Zones that you can visit for special offers and receive the Tahoe Bike Pin for stopping by.  The Zones will be listed on www.TahoeBike.org.  And, as registered participants you will have a chance to win very cool prizes each day (lift tickets, lights, etc.).

Signing up and logging your trips and miles is easy and all online.  You can track your progress and feel good in knowing that every mile your ride prevents 1.9 pounds of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere from a motor vehicle.

Bikes for Tahoe's Youth
As part of this year's Bike Challenge, a fundraising campaign called Bucks 4 Bikes is being inaugurated to raise dollars for the purpose of purchasing bicycles and helmets for Tahoe's youth who do not have the resources to purchase their own.

A bicycle can play an important role in a child's healthy development - independent mobility, fitness activity, appreciation of the outdoors, and playful socialization with family and friends - all of which are fundamental characteristics that can help build a foundation for positive Tahoe citizenship.

You or a team can simply go online at www.TahoeBike.org and follow the instructions on how to participate.  You can either seek Pledges from family, friends and co-workers at a $1.00 per mile ridden during the Challenge, or you can select to make a Donation of any amount.  All proceeds earmarked for Bucks 4 Bikes will go toward purchasing bicycles and helmets and given to leading youth organizations who have the family relationships that can most benefit from receiving a bicycle.

Remember what it was like to receive your first bicycle?


May Tahoe Bike Events
South Tahoe
May 6.    Film.  Joe Kid on a Sting Ray - History of BMX at Stateline Brewery, 7:00PM
May 12.  Spirit Bike Parade starts 4 PM from the "Y" to MontBleu Hotel
May 14.  Legends Bike Ride around the Lake (details at www.bikethewest.com)
May 15.  Olympic BMX Racing Demo & Bike Expo at the "Y" 10 AM - 3PM
May 15.  Start of Amgen Tour of California at Stateline 10:30 AM
May 23.  Start of Tahoe Bike Challenge, Bucks 4 Bikes to June 3.
 
North Tahoe
May 11.  Cycling Biomechanic Presentation (details at http://terc.ucdavis.edu/calendar/)
May 12.  How We Ride Bicycles (details at: http://terc.ucdavis.edu/calendar/)
May 14.  Kid's Fun Bike Race, Squaw Creek, 10:00 AM ( info at 530.583.6300)
May 15.  Stage One Finish, Amgen TOC, Northstar
May 16.  Stage Two Start, Amgen TOC, Squaw Valley USA
 
Regional
May 24.  NDOT Bicycle/Pedestrian Conference, Atlantis Hotel, Reno, NV     
              (details at:  www.bicyclenevada.com)
 
If your club, business or organization has schedule bicycle events and would like them posted on this newsletter or on our web site, please send a fact sheet to biketahoe@aol.com.
Tahoe Bike Patrol Seeking New Members
 
The Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park Backcountry Patrol organization is currently recruiting for new patrollers to serve in the 2011 season.  The volunteer patrollers offer a valuable service to all trail users as ambassadors to both the sport of mountain biking and the Tahoe area.

The Patrol operates primarily out of Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park on the east shore, including the world famous Flume Trail. The patrol also partners with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association to cover other areas of the Tahoe Rim Trail around the Lake.

Training for new patrollers has been scheduled for orientation on April 30 and field training on June 18.  There will also be First Aid/CPR training available for those that need it.

For more information on becoming a patroller or supporting the Patrol, please visit www.tahoebikepatrol.org or email info@tahoebikepatrol.org.

logoBecome a member of the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition & Help Build a Legacy.

 

 The mission of the Coalition is to promote liveable and sustainable communities by encouraging more bicycle/pedestrain-friendly facilities and promoting educational programs in which residents and visitors can safely and conveniently ride and walk on a more frequent basis.

 
Help us get the word out by sending this newsletter to family and friends to let them know more about Tahoe cycling in general and how the Coalition is specifically working to improve the bicycle friendliness of our communities.  Thank you.

 

Anyone interested in attending the Coalition's monthly meetings may do so. They are held on the second thursday of each month at Design Workshop Conference at 128 Market St, Ste. 3E, Stateline, NV from 5:30-7:00 pm. 
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Hey Tahoe Cycling Buddies,

You can see by some of the activities mentioned above that the Tahoe's Cycling season is definitely ramping up.  The Tour of California bike race has garnered a lot of attention on many fronts and will be exciting to see all the teams and colors in our region.  While there has been a wide range of forecasts about the race's value and impact to our region, I believe that at a minimum there will be captured and distributed more Tahoe cycling images and editorial comments than at any other time -- on a global scale.
  
This state-long race and festival is like a high speed traveling carnival on steroids passing each day through a host city on its way to the finish line in Southern California.  After the race passes by here what will still remain is the continued necessity to work on improving and building a network of bikeways connecting our communities and recreational resources around the Lake.  Anyone who has ridden here has experienced and reported to others about the poor conditions of some of our bike paths, the missing links in the network, and the feeling of danger and risk while riding on the highways - due to a lack of bike lanes, shoulders and obstacles on the side of the road.
  
While the tourist agencies and their constituencies awaken to what local bicycle advocates and promoters having been doing for decades, I am hopeful they will also realize the role they must play in helping invest in the building and improving of the product they are now so eagerly promoting - a safe and connected bikeway system. 
  
I'm delighted to see the large scale bicycles being placed throughout South Lake Tahoe as a sign of some of the businesses finally making a commitment to cycling and public art so needed to build a sense of culture and community.  Bravo!
  
Let the games begin and be sure to ground the hype into tangible action by participating in your own Tahoe Bike Challenge.  Also, please give every consideration to the value of your participation in the Bucks 4 Bikes fundraising campaign so that we can help Tahoe's youth learn and enjoy their own benefits from an active life on a bicycle.
  
I'll be looking for you on the trail and when we meet let's acknowledge each other for knowing how a pedal revolution moves us all closer to our destination - a more bicycle-friendly community and world-class cycling destination.

Keepin it real and rollin,
  
Ty Polastri
President, LTBC
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