Omaha Bikes' 2012 Meeting Dates

Omaha Bikes' next meeting is July 10 at 5:30pm in UNO's Mammel Hall room 228H. Mammel Hall is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of 67th and Pine in the Aksarben area.

Future Omaha Bikes meetings are planned for the second Tuesday of each month, same time and location. Mark your calendar for these dates:

July 10

August 14

September 11

October 9

November 13

December 11

Although we normally meet on the second Tuesday, there is no Omaha Bikes meeting tomorrow night, June 12th. However, if you'd like to join Mode Shift Omaha they will be meeting tomorrow night in Mammel Hall room 228H at 7:00pm.

Bike the Border 2012 - A Great Cycling Tour in North Dakota

Omaha Bikes is posting this announcement on behalf of Greg Yates of Bellevue, Nebraska:


I am a bicycling enthusiast in Bellevue and am helping the organizer of the "Bike the Border" bicycling tour spread the word to other cyclists/runners here in Nebraska.  Please forward/distribute this message to your members and customers to make them aware of this cycling tour.  If your bike shop has a bulletin board, please post a copy of this email or the home page from the tour's website listed below.

Event:  Bike the Border 3-day cycling tour
Dates: June 15-17
Location Bottineau, ND (north central part of the state) and surrounding towns - route changes every year
Tour Distance:  Approx 145-160 miles, depending on route option
Registration fee:  $75 (website's Registration Instructions details what is included)
Registration date:  Register by June 1, 2012, to ensure getting the t-shirt (you can also register later)
Website:  www.biketheborder.com

This biking tour (not a race) has been going on for about 10 years, normally has around 100 riders, and the organizers would like to increase registration up to 150 riders.  I did it in 2010 and 2011 and am registered to do it again next month.  The terrain is mostly flat and I have seen riders less than 10 years old and over 75 years old on the route, so it's meant as a recreational ride for anyone.  The event organizers and volunteers really do provide exceptional hospitality and there is usually a contingent of Canadians on the tour, and they are a very sociable group.

See the event's website (above) for detailed info that will answer the majority of your questions.  If the website info still leaves your question(s) unanswered, you can email event organizer Barb Otto at biketheborder@yahoo.com or myself, Greg Yates, atRetiree604@hotmail.com.  I have avoided including any attachments to this message in case your email messaging software program might erroneously perceive this message as spam.

Nebraska Women Cycling 2,000+ Miles For Charity

Two cousins, students, and members of the University of Nebraska Cycling Club are pedaling their bikes from Omaha to Boston to raise money for charity. Yesterday the duo reached Niagra Falls, New York.

Audrey Vacha and Maddy Vacha are riding 2,000 miles in 6 weeks with a goal of raising $5,000 to build a safe drinking water well in Africa. They are on schedule to reach Boston by June 28, 2012.

For more information, call (402) 660-9988, visithttp://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign/?campaign_id=23884  or catch them on their Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/278422205585277/

Pottawattamie County Trail Plan Announcement

There is an opportunity to learn more about the upcoming Pottawattamie County trail system next Saturday, June 16:

Saturday, June 16, Pottawattamie County's proposed trail system will be unveiled at a public announcement at Arrowhead Park near Neola. This is an exciting event for trail enthusiasts in Southwest Iowa and Greater Omaha, and we would like to have a lot of people attend to show their support. You can find more on the trails website or the attached document.

If anybody would like to bike to Arrowhead Park, it's about two miles from Neola on a paved county road. It's also a relatively flat 7.5 miles from Underwood and a more hilly 5.5 miles from Minden. I am planning to ride my bike, and it would be great to have a large group of cyclists in attendance. Please forward to anyone you know in the area who might be interested. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me (lanceDOTbrisboisATgmailDOTcom or FOUR02-THREE50-9267). 

For easy sharing, here's a shortened link to the invite: http://ow.ly/bqyQI

 

Hope to see you there!

--

Lance Brisbois

Western Iowa Development Association

http://www.wida.org/

Omaha Bikes is posting this information on behalf of the Western Iowa Development Association.

Omaha Bikes Meeting, JUNE 5

The next Omaha Bikes meeting is next Tuesday, June 5 at 5:30pm in Mammel Hall room 228h, located at 67th and Pine in the Aksarben area. Thanks to Angie Eikenberry for finding us a nice meeting room!

We originally had moved this meeting from the second to the first Tuesday because we expected the City Council to have its public hearing for the Transportation Master Plan on June 12th.  Now the public hearing is on June 26th.

At this meeting, we will continue our conversation about setting priorities for Omaha Bikes for the coming year, as well as wrap up some existing business.

Meeting Agenda:
1. Update on the TMP
2. Omaha Bikes' website (hope to demonstrate at the meeting)
3. Valet Bike Parking Program development
4. "Ciclovia Omaha"
5. Where to take Omaha Bikes in the future
6. Post-meeting group ride (any suggestions?)

Cyclist in ICU, Result of Keystone Prankster

If anyone saw suspicious activity Saturday night near RR bridge (south of Q st) between 8-10pm please call Omaha Police.

A log was maliciously placed on the Keystone bike bath, a cyclist crashed and is in the hospital in serious condition with multiple face/jaw fractures as a result. Be wary as you ride through this section of Keystone trail.

Matt Martin Send-Off Pot Luck

The Omaha bicycling community will be losing a tremendous asset next month when Matt Martin, the executive director of the Community Bike Project, moves to Portland, Oregon. Omaha Bikes is co-sponsoring a "going away" pot luck to say thank you to Matt and his contributions to bicycling in Omaha.

The pot luck will be behind the Community Bike Shop (525 N. 33rd Street) on Thursday May 31, from 6:00 to 8:00pm. Since Matt is a vegetarian, we're going to make this a vegetarian pot luck: Bring salad, chips, dessert, or something vegetarian for the grill. The more the merrier!

"We are ALL traffic!"

Omaha may not be as big as Brussels, but we have a lot in common. Omaha has a VERY car oriented traffic design and most of the design decisions currently made, regarding our city streets, promote car traffic over ALL OTHER forms of transportation. We know this needs to change if only to enable Omaha to continue to grow without strangling itself with the cost of road development, expansion, and repair.

The last quote does a great job of clarifying the issue.

It's not that it's ME and traffic.  I AM the traffic.  You are the traffic.  Somebody who walks there, somebody who drives a car there, and somebody who drives with a bike.  We are ALL traffic.

Enjoy and feel free to send a link to this video to all of your "traffic" friends.

Handlebar Happy Hour - J.Coco's

This month's HHH will be hosted by:
- J.Coco 
- 5203 Leavenworth St.
- Tuesday, May 22nd, 5:00 PM

OmahaBikes schedules Handlebar Happy Hours (HHH) typically on the 4th Tuesday of every month for cyclists to gather, share information, make new friends and socialize. We strive to select businesses that are friendly to bicyclists, and are located in different regions of the city. 

One of the goals of the HHHs is to relax and have some fun, but the HHHs are also intended to strengthen the cycling community. As we become better acquainted, we hope to tap into the collective energy and talents of the cycling community to help us continue to make Omaha a more bicycle friendly city.

OmahaBikes representatives will share information from 5:00 to 6:00 PM on our vision, mission and objectives. HHH participants are welcome to stay as long as they like and are responsible for their own purchases.

http://jcocoomaha.com/ja.html

THE RIDE OF SILENCE

The Ride of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph, wear helmets, follow the rules of the road and remain silent during the ride. There are no sponsors and no registration fees. The ride, which is held during National Bike Month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for and honor the lives of those who have been killed or injured. See http://www.rideofsilence.org/ for more details.

Wednesday, May 16 at 7:00 PM. Motorcycle Escort provided by city and county police. Meet at the West Papio Trail Head, located at 3602 Raynor Parkway, Bellevue, NE, just north of Culver's Restaurant.