May 2010 News from BikeWalk Virginia

[Dave Levy]

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: BikeWalk Virginia <kperry at bikewalkvirginia.org>
Sent: Mon, May 3, 2010 3:50:18 PM
Subject: May 2010 News from BikeWalk Virginia


 


Biking and Walking News
 from BikeWalk Virginia  
MAY 2010: IN THIS ISSUE  
May is Bike Month!  
Bike to Work Day Webinar  
Bikes, Bands & the Bay Festival  
Virginia: Bicycle Friendly Communities  
Women Bike Less, Why?  
Extreme Obesity in Children   
Become a Member Today
 
 
Membership Information  

 
Report from the Road: Bike Virginia Planning Ride


Excerpt from a trip review by Randy Salzmanbegin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting who took part in a 5 day planning bike ride that helps BikeWalk Va. prepare for our 5 day bike tour. 


The June 25-30 
route is stunning in its vistas and occasionally overpowering in its cattlearomas as it weaves along almost exclusively farm-to-market blacktops.
Cycling the same tracks where Stonewall Jackson's 17,000 men defeated over100,000 Union soldiers in 1862, bicyclists will understand why two yearslater U.S. Grant ordered the burning of the bread basket of theConfederacy.²  This is a land nothing like Western corporate agriculture,
but a land where many mailboxes proclaim not just the farmer's, but his
wife's too, dedication to cattle, chickens, wheat or hay.  You flash by theboxes too fast on the downhills but feel like you've known the farm familiesyour entire life when you finally crawl past on the ups. 
 Besides massive barns, towering silos and the occasional
antebellum home (the Shenandoah has always been primarily small farms), you
get stunning views of the Blue Ridge in the East and Appalachians in the
West in an area where both the llamas and dogs have gotten bored with
bicycle tourists.  

Learn more about our event at www.bikevirginia.org
   May is Bike Month!
 

All around the country cities and states are celebrating the bicycle and the joy of biking. May is official "Bike Month". 

There are lots of ways we can celebrate as individuals or groups. Here are some suggestions: 

Community Activities: 

~Show a bike related movie and ask your friends to ride over. 

~Ask a local official to take a bike ride with your riding group to showcase the good and the opportunities for improvement to cycling in your community. 

~Organize a clean up crew to pick up litter on a bike path or trail. 

~Plan a Bike to Work Day event. Suggestions at our Bike to Work Day site. 

~Organize a "Bike Drive" to collect bikes for those who need or want to ride. 

Individual Activities

~Take a friend riding. Share the joy of biking with someone new. 

~Give your bike a check-up using the ABC Bike Check

~ Vow to ride your bike more this month. Take short trips by bike, or just get out in the evening for a spin. You'll be happy you did. 

~Visit the www.sharingtheroadinvirginia.org website to learn about 
  Virginia bike law and tips. 

~Donate a bike to a local community group or organization like Bikes for the World

We'd love to know more about your plans for Bike Month. We are happy to share group and community events on our website. Just submit them by email. 
 Free Webinar May 4 on Bike to Work Day Planning  
 
 Join BWVA for a free webinar about Bike to Work Day Events on May 4, from 2:00-3:00pm. In the webinar, Dick Elder, Chairman of BikeWalk Virginia's Board of Directors will discuss ways to plan an effective and fun bike to work day in your community. 

You will need an internet connection and telephone to participate. 

Sign up for "Making Bike to Work Day Exciting in Your Community" here. 
 
 
 
  
Deadline for Bikes, Bands and the Bay Festival today 5pm
 
 Pre-registration for our all new Bikes, Bands and the Bay festival closes today (May 3) at 5pm. 
Join us in this Bike Month celebration of beautiful Mathews County and the Bay. 

This year we're offering new bay specific activities, visit the event website for details on the water activities included in the 2010 event.

We'll also be selling t-shirts and proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in support of their work. 

For more details on the event visit www.bikechesapeake.org and don't forget to pick-up raffle tickets. Some lucky person will win a return trip that includes a stand-up paddle board trip for 4 with Chesapeake Board Sports and an overnight for 4 people at the Inn at Tabbs Creek

You can still join us at the event in May if you miss the May 3 deadline. Walk up registrations will be accepted. (Lunch not provided for walk-up registrants).

 Virginia: Bicycle Friendly Communities 
 
The League of American Bicycles (LAB) offers a special recognition program for communities that support biking through planning, infrastructure, and services. 

According to LAB, "the Bicycle Friendly Community program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress and work toward improving their bicycle-friendliness." The program began in 1995. 

Communities must apply through a process that is rigorous. There are four award levels, platinum, gold, silver and bronze. LAB states that the award levels "provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve."

Virginia was ranked as 23rd in the country when compared to other states for bike friendliness. Only three communities in Virginia have attained the LAB Bicycle Friendly Community recognition: Alexandria- Bronze, Arlington- Silver, and Charlottesville- Bronze. 

BikeWalk Virginia challenges communities across the state to consider applying for the LAB recognition program and to begin working toward the standards that the LAB has set forth. As a state we can move toward safer and more plentiful places to ride. The benefits will not only improve our collective health but also stand to improve our economy and our environment. More details at http://www.bikeleague.org




 Women Bike Less, Why?  
  
The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals is "opening a dialog on why women and girls are cycling less (than men) and what would encourage them to cycle more." The Association is collecting information through a survey of women (riders and non-riders) to help increase understanding of the phenomenon. 


Take the survey (open until May 15, 2010 - women and girls only please) http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/womencycling. The organization would like to hear from non-cyclists as well as current and past cyclists.  

  Extreme Obesity Becoming More Common in Children  
  
More children are obese now than ever before and frightening numbers are being recognized as extremely obese. National Public Radio writer, Patricia Neighmond, called attention recently in her article to recent research that found that many of today's obese kids at even worse risk for health problems because they've reached morbid obesity. 

Neighmond provided the following example of morbid obesity: "a ten year old girl measuring 4 feet 6 inches tall should normally weigh around 71 pounds. The extremely obese girls in the study at this age and height weighed nearly 130 pounds. A 5 foot 3 inch teenage girl whose normal weight is about 119 pounds -- weighed in at over 220. A 5 foot 6 inch boy the same age weighed more than 230 pounds." 

In the US, one in five children are obese. According to the CDC, Virginia childhood obesity reached 25% of kids in 2008.

BikeWalk Virginia Board Chairman, Dick Elder commented on the article, "It's sad that children who are overweight or obese today are likely to lead less healthy and even shorter lives as adults. We need to do everything we can to create more opportunities for children to be more physically active and biking and walking are affordable and can be enjoyed by everyone."      


  Email Marketing by  
BikeWalk Virginia | Virginia SRTS Network | 4801 Hermitage Road | Suite 101 | Richmond | VA | 23227  


      
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://Bicycle.Alexandria.VA.US/pipermail/bsc/attachments/20100504/f59a9b33/attachment-0001.htm>