October Meeting Minutes

We had a FANTASTIC Omaha Bikes meeting this month - lots of new faces at the table, and lots of great news to report!  Thanks again to the Aksarben Village Courtyard Marriott for being a great host for us!

Omaha Bikes Meeting Minutes

October 12, 2010

In attendance: Dave Kennedy, Bob Brindamour, Tony Wilderding, Julie Harris, Matt Martin, Tammie Dodge, Sarah Johnson, Andy Pedley, Rich Wilson, Jean Duffy, Joe Simoens, Mark Siepker, Joel Zimmerman, Mike Grubbe, Craig Niedbalski, Patrick McAtee, Jolene Holland, Chris Seitzer, Kurt Goetzinger, Mike Wagster, Lamont Spencer, Carlos Morales, Craig Kelly, Sean Weide

News/Announcements:

Sarah Johnson reports that the 10/10/10 ride in Elkhorn resulted in $312 for Omaha Bikes!

Omaha Bikes officer elections will be held in December or January

LCI training class is coming next weekend – have 15 signed up. These folks will be eligible to teach the Traffic Skills 101 classes that will be organized by Stuart Shell for 2011.

Kurt Goetzinger is our Social Media coordinator; please take photos at any/all of the cycling events and meetings you attend and forward them to Kurt so that they can be used!

Omaha Bikes Strategic Planning session will be held on November 6 from 10a-3p
RSVP is required (omahabikes (at) gmail (dot) com
Please try to read the book Pedaling Revolution by Jeff Mapes before the 6th for background info.
Lunch will be provided

The Community Bike Shop will be holding a series of bicycle maintenance classes on Tuesday nights. $100 for 12 classes, or you can take them ala carte for $10 per class. Check http://communitybicycleshopomaha.org/ for more info.

Omaha Bikes will be hosting a Winter Bike Commuting clinic on October 28 at Barley’s in NoDo. This event will be free and will feature several OB members sharing tips on gear, technique and other wise notions.

Matt and Julie are crafting a questionnaire on behalf of Omaha Bikes for Lee Terry and Tom White to complete regarding their views on active transportation issues. We will provide the information from each candidate so that cyclists can be informed as they go to the polls.

Jolene Holland is organizing a monthly bike ride under the theme of Ladies and Gentlemen’s Bicycle Club – wear your best tweed (no spandex allowed!) for this most civilized slow roll through downtown on October 29. Meet at Greenstreet Cycles at 1pm.

Existing Business:

Bike Friendly Destinations: Sarah Johnson reports that several BFD’s have already been identified and that many of them are willing to offer discounts to anyone who arrives via bicycle! A new tab will be created on the OB website soon with all of the information. It was also recommended that all BFD’s provide (or be offered) a floor pump for cyclists to use if necessary. Please contact Sarah (sarah (at) greenstreetcycles (dot) com) if you have nominations for other BFD’s; the fee is $5 to cover the cost of the decal/sticker.

Bike Parking:  The temporary bike parking racks were used recently at the Emerging Terrain event, where 10% of the 500 attendees arrived via bicycle. Bob suggested that we form an official subcommittee to coordinate 2011 bike parking efforts at community events. Contact us if interested (omahabikes (at) gmail (dot) com)

Youth/School Committee:  Julie and Kurt recently did a bike rodeo at Western Hills Elementary; the school is also interested in developing some bike skill curriculum for their students. Several schools in the Benson area are currently being mapped for safe routes to school, and we anticipate more rodeos/skills sessions in that area in 2011.

Handlebar Happy Hour:
October 26, 5:30pm, Daily Grub. See the website for more info on upcoming events.