League announces Spring 2012 BFC

League Announces Spring 2012 Bicycle Friendly Communities

Cottenwood joins the ranks of BFC cities at the bronze level, and Tucson maintained Gold.

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Bike Safety Class offered in Flagstaff

Bike Safety Class

Wednesday, June 6, 2012
5:30 to 6:30 pm

Flagstaff Medical Center, McGee Auditorium
1200 North Beaver Street

Be a Savvy Cyclist! Please join us during Bike to Work Week for this interactive presentation on safe, legal, and smart cycling:

.. Learn to ride safely and legally

.. Bike with confidence in any traffic situation

.. Understand basic principles of on-street cycling

.. Discover tips and tools for bicycle commuting

This class is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 928-773-2080

Jim Thompson Spins Again

The following letter was submitted for publication in the Ahwatukee Foothill News,
Jim Thompson “Spins” Again

Dear Editor,

In response to Jim Thompson’s letter of May 9, I have the following to say. In bicycling circles, “spin” has to do with high RPM training…with Jim Thompson it is just the political-type “change what someone else said to suit my argument” version:

• Jim, do you expect people to take seriously a viewpoint based on totally misrepresenting what someone else says and believes? I never said that “ bicyclists own the highway” and I don’t advocate that position. If you want to debate a viewpoint, at least do it honestly without misrepresenting the other party.
• The Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists advocates sharing the road and simply wants all road users to exercise care. Asking drivers not to use GPS, cell phones, etc., while driving (which numerous studies show is equivalent or worse than even low level DUI/drug impairment) isn’t unreasonable, in my opinion. And, enacting laws that put unsafe behavior, whether created by alcohol or inattention, at the same standard and set equivalent punishment for equivalent results makes sense to me. What part of injuring or killing someone by driving unsafely seems OK to you?
• If Jim was honest about his “wonderful world”, I suspect that he would admit that many more motorists aggravate him than bicyclists. I both drive and ride, and I don’t have selective memory. I notice violations and “failure to share the road” by both groups. In my “real world”, many more vehicle drivers violate laws and offend other motorists than bicyclists. The difference is that I am fact-based, while Jim just “spins” other people’s comments and exercises selective memory to create a foil for his anti-bike attitude.

When a guy like this takes a situation where three people simply exercising/training on their bikes and following the law are critically injured by an inattentive driver and tries to twist it into something it isn’t (referring to a totally different situation), it just shows us his stripes. The CAzB doesn’t defend riding three-abreast, Jim. In fact, we educate bicyclists (adults and kids), motorists, and law enforcement on AZ laws and safe cycling and driving.

If Jim did his homework (web site and/or Facebook) he would know what we stand for and advocate. He wouldn't have to mischaracterize. So, to make it easy for Jim: We advocate enforcing the laws for both drivers and bicyclists. And, we also (the main point of my commentary) advocate requiring a higher standard of care for motorists than currently exists, because a motor vehicle that weighs 2,000+ pounds combined with inattentive or impaired driving can be quite deadly to other car/truck drivers, motorcyclists (think Carefree Highway), bicyclists, pedestrians, and law enforcement officers at traffic stops (how many of those sad stories have we seen in the last ten years, Jim?). Technology allows many more distractions to be present in vehicles than ten years ago, but societal expectations and AZ laws, for the most part, have not kept up with this change.
Jim, I don’t expect to change your attitude toward bicycling as a legitimate form of transportation, athletic/exercise activity, health and wellness and good clean fun, but I’m not going to let you get away with mischaracterizing my views and that of the organization/community that we represent.

Bob Beane,
President, Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists

Bob Beane is an economics graduate of the College of Wooster and an MBA accounting graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is also a bicycling advocate and has been a resident of Ahwatukee since 1992

Traffic Skills 101 offered in Tempe May 24 and 26

T.B.A.G. is offering TS101 at Landis Cyclery at their "north" Tempe location, in two parts: May 24 evening, and May 26 moring. Visit biketempe.org for full info and to register. The cost is $20.

Traffic Skills 101 is our nation's premiere street bicycling program taught by instructors certified by the League of American Bicyclists. Learn the basics of bicycle and helmet fit. Learn state bicycle laws. Learn how to predict and prevent crashes, and how to bail out as a last resort! Learn how to operate your bicycle in a skillful and confident manner, in any traffic -- any time!

Driving is not a right...it is a privilege AND a responsibility!

The following letter was published last week in the Ahwatukee Foothill News,

Dear Editor,

Recently, three competitive bicyclists training in the far East Valley were run into and critically injured by a driver who was reportedly adjusting her GPS device. As a bicycling advocate, I’m very upset by this. But, this story and situation is much larger than cycling. It’s about attitudes and behavior behind the wheel.

Three good guys, competitive athletes and family members are possibly alive today only because another group riding behind them included four medically-trained bicyclists (a doctor, EMT and a couple of dentists was the story I heard…it’s probably mostly correct). It took more than 15 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

But, the main point I want to make is that these guys were riding single file in a bike lane and/or at the far right of the road. They were “Sharing the Road” and respecting motor vehicle drivers’ space MORE THAN required by law (riders can ride two abreast, legally).

With all the technology moving into cars and cell phones, there are a multitude of distractions for drivers that didn’t exist five or ten years ago. Yet, our expectations of drivers, as codified in our laws and as reflected in societal behaviors, have not kept pace. It is inexcusable, in my opinion, that a driver is doing ANYTHING in a car (other than having an uncontrollable medical event) that causes them to drive off the road into a bike lane or shoulder where bicyclists are riding, a couple is walking their dog (narrowly missed in this particular incident, I am told) or young children are walking.

If you are “anti-bike”, think about having your child or grandchild in the same space that these cyclists were riding. Or, think about your parents or grandparents walking there…or you being there with your pet in front of you and being run over.

Again, this is not solely a bicycling issue. However, I will remind our readers that current law specifies penalties and fines for killing a bicyclist or pedestrian which are substantially less than marginally exceeding BAC limits for alcohol, but injuring nobody. I’m not suggesting any lowering of DUI limits, and I fully support what MADD has achieved. I’m simply suggesting that pedestrians and bicyclists don’t have the same “lobbying strength”, but common sense and humanity should provide our legislature and local communities the impetus to create penalties for such behavior at a comparable or higher level…so that drivers begin to get the message. It is beyond time to send a message that driving a potentially lethal vehicle is serious business.

It is not OK to treat driving as a casual endeavor. People’s lives, health, livelihoods and quality of life are in danger of a driver’s lax attitude and inattention. Let’s get people refocused on the concept that driving involves the responsibility of keeping other road users safe, be they other drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians or pets/animals. When you drive, you do not own the road…you share it with others.

Bob Beane,
President, Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists

Bob Beane is an economics graduate of the College of Wooster and an MBA accounting graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is also a bicycling advocate and has been a resident of Ahwatukee since 1992

Cottonwood 2012 Bike Month Proclamation

Members of Cottonwood Community Development and the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition are presented with the Cottonwood City Council's 2012 proclamation of May as Bike Month. L-R: Nikki Arbeiter (Community Development), Randy Victory, Devin Dix, Deb Smith, Jim Smith, Mayor Diane Joens & City Councilman Tim Elinski

Federal Transportation Bill Update

On April 4th, the U.S. Senate approved a two-year blueprint for transportation that gives states greater spending flexibility allows the federal government to set minimum safety standards for subway systems and buys time to find a solution for a funding system teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.

This bipartisan bill was approved 17 days before current transportation funding and authority to collect the federal gas tax that support it, will expire. During the 2012 Bike Summit, our marching orders were to request a clean extension of the current bill. And, we were to ask for approval of the Petri amendment that would have maintained all transportation enhancements. Ultimately, we wanted the Senate to approve the House Bill but the Arizona senators would not see us and furthermore, we learned from insiders that that was highly unlikely to happen.

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Place that Pic contest!

Be the first one to correctly identify the location of this picture -- and win a 1yr membership (or extension) to the Coalition. The Maricopa Association of Governments wants to use this photo on the new MAG map, but they need to know where it is.

There's a rumor that it's on AC/DC somewhere.... but you never know!?

Submit cross streets on facebook, or leave a comment here, or email cazbike@cazbike.org

Thanks!

Great Arizona Bike Festival; April 14

The Great Arizona Bicycle Festival is a celebration of all things bike.
We are celebrating the return of the El Tour de Mesa to Downtown and combining it with a host of attractions from the Downtown Historic Bicycle Tour to the Great Arizona Bike Swap and live music .... full info at azbikefest.org