Author: Heather Pape

Photo Credit: Jeff Steele

Happy Tuesday everyone. Sorry for the delay, please enjoy your weekly update.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday

Bombay Bicycle Club Ride & Social at Lakeside St. Coffee House

All are welcome to join BBC for their first Ride & Social on Tuesday, May 21! This will be a great opportunity for members to socialize as well as to introduce non-members to Bombay. They will share club info, ride experiences/plans and be available to answer questions post ride.

Show up at 5:45, quick briefing then roll at 6:00pm from Lakeside St. Coffee House (402 W. Lakeside St., Madison, WI). They’ll take the Capital City Trail south then transition to road toward Lake Kegonsa (purchase a trail pass prior to ride). This is a casual paced ride (approx. 25 miles). It’s an out and back – you choose your distance by turning around at any time.

Riders should be returning around 7pm.

Wednesday

Transportation Commission will meet from 5:00 –⁠ 7:00 pm at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd Room 207, Madison Municipal Building. There will be updates on BCycle, and Madison Metro.

Bike to Brunch Week Starts
Ride your bike to Short Stack May 22-27 and receive the following stuff: FREE Kickapoo Coffee, FREE Madison Bike Bingo Card, name entered into raffle to win great raffle prizes, x2 Bicycle Benefits Madison (20% off your bill with BB sticker on your helmet).

There is a bunch of other great stuff happening, so check out their Facebook event
https://www.facebook.com/events/355524975092209/

Pop-Up Bike Bar

Short Stack is partnering with Wheels for Winners again this year for a Pop-Up Bike Bar from 4:30 pm – 7 pm. Volunteer mechanics will be offering FREE safety checks and tune-ups for riders OUTSIDE of Short Stack Eatery! Meanwhile…there will be cold beer and mini sweet & savory pies for sale INSIDE!

There will also be FREE Madison Bike Bingo cards for attendees!

Friday

Bike Your Brat to Work

We will gather at the Southwest Bike Path Beltline Bridge at 5 AM. We will take a moderately paced ride through Madison (Route to be posted) ending at Brat Fest grounds at 6 AM. Thanks again this year to Saris, they will be providing two free brats to the first 200 bike riders. After stuffing our backpacks with brats, we try to pose for a group picture. Then everyone leaves on their own path.

Sunday

Cargo Bike Shop Social Ride
Join us for the weekly social roll on the Lake Monona Loop. You’ll make friends, enjoy the lake views, and finish off at a local establishment for drinks, and more socializing. Feel free to pack a post ride snack. All People & Bikes are welcome. This is a No Drop Ride which means we ride as a group and take care of each other along the way.
Meet at the shop between 5-5:30 pm for a casual Meet and Greet. Ride Starts at 5:30 pm.
(Riders under 18 must be accompanied by an adult)

What happened last week?

Free Bikes 4 Kidz gave away 1,400 Bikes

Over the weekend, Free Bikes for Kidz gave away 1,400 bikes with the help of partner organizations.

Bcycle Bikes are back!

Bcycle is slowly adding bikes back to their bike share system here in Madison. Keep an eye on their map to see if your favorite stations are back online and stocked with bikes.

What’s up this week?

Monday

The Madison Bikes Development committee will meet at the Barriques on W Washington (just off the square) at 6:00 pm. Everyone is always welcome. We will continue setting our goals and talk about what membership to Madison Bikes should look like. We will also be discussing how we can foster relationships with other organizations and businesses. We would love for you to join us.

Wednesday

Vilas Park drive will be closed to make emergency repairs to failing culverts. The closure will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The closure will be within the “one-way” portion of Vilas Park Drive. Bikes and pedestrians will be detoured through the park.

The Transportation Commission will be meeting at 5 pm in room 207 of the Madison Municipal Building. On the agenda is an introduction of Vision Zero. You can find slides about Vision Zero here.

Saturday

Capital Off Road Pathfinders will be holding a fundraiser at Machinery Row Bicycles from 6 to 9 pm. $20 gets you in, refreshments, and one door prize ticket. More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page.

This Week

Monday

Development committee is back! Join us tonight at 6 pm at Barriques on West Wash (127 W Washington Ave). After a hiatus, this committee returns. We will be reviewing previously set goals, as well as discussing what we hope to accomplish in 2019. Volunteers are encouraged to attend to help get this committee going again.

Bike Fitchburg’s Monthly meeting will take place at Fitchburg Public Library starting at 6:30 pm.

MeatHEAD Ride, this ride starts every Monday at 7:00 PM November through March regardless of the weather. The ride starts at Ford’s Gym, 2114 Winnebago St in Madison. Read more about the group on their Facebook page.

Wednesday

The Transportation Commission will meet at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd Room 206, Madison Municipal Building. On the agenda is the new diagonal crossing at Blount and Willy as part of their signal priority list. This intersection has the potential to be a great alternative to the hairball intersection.

Remember, if you have an event for our Madison Bikes Community Calendar, send it to us so others can find it. And all the details about all the events are up on, or linked from that same calendar, so make sure to visit often.

Subheadings for Last Week/This Week/etc should be Level 3

Italicize the day of the week and bold the important words so that people can skim the post: On Monday, the Separated Bike Lane Commission discusses banning cars from University Ave on odd-numbered days of the month.

Don’t forget to change the author of the post (just start typing the name in the field).

Be careful when copy-and-pasting things: Sometimes it’ll copy wacky formatting. Formatting can be deleted by clicking the button in the toolbar.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

The update last week may have been a bit premature to announce the snow, but now it is here. That is no reason not to get involved this week, just add a few more layers, like you learned at the Winter Bike Fashion Show. There are a lot of ways to get involved: 2 opportunities for advocacy, 2 committee meetings in one, 2 social rides, 2 other social events, and a Cyclocross race.

Monday

Meathead ride departs from Ford’s Gym (2114 Winnebago St) tonight at 7pm.

Tuesday

It’s a committee meeting extravaganza! Events and Communications committees will be joining forces to plan out the events for 2019, and get the ball rolling on some of our winter events. Everyone is welcome. Meeting will be at Rockhound Brewery (444 S Park St) and starts at 5:30 pm.

Wednesday

The Madison Area Transportation Planning Board (the MPO) will be receiving a presentation on the Fish Hatchery Rd project in Fitchburg. The MPO does have some say over the plans, and they have adopted a Complete Streets policy, so maybe we can get them to make the design better for those traveling along and across the road by foot or bicycle. The meeting will be at the Water Utility Bldg, 119 E Olin Ave, at 6:30 pm.

Thursday

Wilson Street Public Information Meeting
Madison Municipal Building Board Room 7 – 9 pm

This will be the 2nd meeting where alternatives will be presented for feedback. This is a really important meeting for people that care about bike accommodations to attend. The first meeting (focused on goals and objectives of the project) was attended primarily by neighbors that are focused on speeding cars, parking, and street trees; there was not good representation of the many people that would value a comfortable bike connection. Please attend this meeting if you are able.

We worked really hard to try to get eastbound lanes on E Wilson to facilitate access in this corridor. The Board of Public Works and the Council passed plans for the reconstruction of E Wilson without those lanes, but the resolution it include a guarantee that there would be safe and comfortable accommodations for all modes in entire corridor by the time the Judge Doyle Square was opened, including the Bike Center. So speak up at this meeting about the need for have two-way bike traffic.

This is from a budget amendment (the city is going through its budget process right now), so this a quick heads up. Here’s the language from the budget:

Wilson Street, from Broom Street to Henry Street, is scheduled for reconstruction in 2019. The City of Madison will use this opportunity to study the full Wilson Street corridor from Broom Street to Blair Street and how it functions for all modes of transportation. The first public involvement meeting on Thursday November 8 will present existing conditions as well as goals and objectives for the corridor. The second public involvement meeting, scheduled for Thursday December 6 will review alternatives for the corridor.

Friday

Sunny Social: A Conversation on Clean Energy will return Friday, December 7th at 6:00 pm at the EVP Coffee West in Madison hosted by Wisconsin Beyond Coal. They will be enjoying appetizers, meeting each other and talking about Madison’s electric sector and ways we can better advocate for clean energy!

The event a few months ago on the East Side was so popular, folks on the West Side were requesting a repeat! Kids and families are a huge part of the team, and so they are welcome at this event. There will be activities for people of all ages to enjoy! RSVP at https://bit.ly/2DFK2as

Revolution is having their 4th Annual Chili Cook Off and will be featuring some of their favorite winter products. Bikes, gear and chili! This will be part of the Atwood Winnebago Winter Festival.

The Winter Festival is a tremendous night where the Atwood Winnebago neighborhood comes alive with holiday cheer. Shop & dine local and help support two tremendous organizations: Underdog Pet Rescue of Wisconsin, Inc. and Operation Fresh Start.
See Facebook event for more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/336352173824000/

Saturday

Santa Cycle Rampage Madison Get your Santa suit (or any holiday suit) ready and join in for the Santa Cycle Rampage Madison community event at 9 am. Check out the link for more information.

2018 USA Cycling Midwest Cyclocross Championships (13 State Regional Championship)
Pre-Reg. and discount closes at midnight Wednesday December 8th. Race Reg. Beer, Awards, Warm Up, will be located at The Nitty Gritty, only 100 yards from Start/Finish. Kids race happening at: Noon! All kids receive an award! Dress for the weatherAll registered racers will be included in a raffle for prizes from our various sponsors!!!

Please go vote on Tuesday, if you haven’t already.

You can find more information about polling places and what is on your ballot here.

This week

Monday

Events committee will be meeting to put the final touches on our Winter Bike Fashion Show 6 pm at Rockhound Brewery.

Tuesday

Go Vote!

Roll to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 6 with a free daily pass from Madison BCycle! Promo codes will be posted on all kiosks on Election Day as well as Madison BCycle social media accounts.

Communications committee meeting has been moved back to next week so that everyone is able to go vote.

Thursday

N. Fish Hatchery Rd. Reconstruction –⁠ Public Meeting
Leopold Elementary School 5:30 pm
Join the City of Fitchburg and project consultants for a presentation and discussion of the preliminary corridor design for the north Fish Hatchery Road reconstruction. The preliminary design will be informed by data and design analysis, and community input to-date. Feedback on the preliminary design will be used to inform the final design, which will be presented in spring 2019. The north Fish Hatchery Road reconstruction is anticipated to begin in late 2019, with the bulk of construction occuring during 2020.

Wilson Street Public Information Meeting
Madison Municipal Building Board Room 7 – 9 pm

We worked really hard to try to get eastbound lanes on E Wilson to facilitate access in this corridor. The Board of Public Works and the Council passed plans for the reconstruction of E Wilson without those lanes, but the resolution it include a guarantee that there would be safe and comfortable accommodations for all modes in entire corridor by the time the Judge Doyle Square was opened, including the Bike Center. So speak up at this meeting about the need for have two-way bike traffic.

This is from a budget amendment (the city is going through its budget process right now), so this a quick heads up. Here’s the language from the budget:

Wilson Street, from Broom Street to Henry Street, is scheduled for reconstruction in 2019. The City of Madison will use this opportunity to study the full Wilson Street corridor from Broom Street to Blair Street and how it functions for all modes of transportation. The first public involvement meeting on Thursday November 8 will present existing conditions as well as goals and objectives for the corridor. The second public involvement meeting, scheduled for Thursday December 6 will review alternatives for the corridor.

Saturday

2018 Sun Prairie Cup Cyclocross Race
This is your chance to hoist ‘The Cup’! The Brazen Dropouts are excited to host the 2018 Sun Prairie Cup Cyclocross Race! They’ll be bringing another fun, fast, and technical course (perhaps some new features?!). The Nitty Gritty will be on-site cooking up hot food, and there might just be some beer on the hill (for those of age). Additionally, a kids race will be held in the middle of the day.
http://www.brazendropouts.org/sun-prairie-cup/

November MadTown Unity Ride
10 am – 1 pm Meet at Villager Mall on Park Street

Upcoming

Nov 17, 1:00 pm at the High Noon — Our Winter Bike Fashion Show is fast approaching. We are looking for volunteers to help with various aspects of the event. And there is still time to apply to be a model for the show. Email Pepe@MadisonBikes.org is you would like to help out or be a model.

Don’t forget, you can find times, locations, and more details of these meetings and events on the Madison Bikes Community Calendar. If you’d like to submit an event, send it to Grant@MadisonBikes.org

Bucky on Parade wraps up this Wednesday. If you haven’t gotten to see all of the Bucky statues yet, it’s time to plan out your route, and make it happen. Or perhaps you have a favorite Bucky you pass on your commute every day, make sure to grab a picture of your bike in front of Bucky before they are gone. The statues will be auctioned off later this month, and hopefully some will become permanent fixtures around the city.

Our annual party is almost here. It will be Saturday, September 29th from 4 to 7 pm. We will be in a new space this year, and the events team has a lot of cool stuff in store for you. We are asking that you please buy your tickets in advance. You can find out more information and a link to buy tickets here.

This week

Monday

Madison Bike Events Committee will be meeting at Bariques on Park Street tonight at 6 pm. They will be handling final preparations for the annual party. It is not too late to get involved to help make the party a great success.

Saturday

Tour de Latina Familia – More info will be available later this week.

Sunday

Back Lot Bike Swap – Hosted by The Cargo Bike Shop. Buy, sell, or trade bike stuff, drink coffee, test ride cargo bikes, hang out. It’ll be a good time. Admission is free. They will also be collecting donations for the WilMar Neighborhood Food Bank, so bring along some non-perishable food items to help them out. Every donation gets a raffle ticket. The more you bring, the more tickets you get!

Bike the Barns – A day of biking, farm tours and live music – all fueled by gourmet, local meals! This year’s route will be in the gorgeous Driftless area, starting and ending at Nishan Park in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. We’re biking to make healthy food accessible for all; every dollar raised by Fundraiser Riders supports our Partner Shares program.

The ride includes a short (26 miles) or long ride (56-61 miles) option. They will visit Wormfarm Institute, Orange Cat Community Farm, Jumping Jersey Dairy and Meadowlark Community Farm (Long Route Only). Perks include a gourmet lunch, event After Party, commemorative water bottle, and fundraising prizes!

Visit csacoalition.org/bike-the-barns for more details and to register!

SEND US YOUR EVENTS!

Remember, if you have an event that you’d like us to include on the Community Calendar, send it to us.

Last Week

Winnebago Update:

The Common Council met this past Tuesday and passed a variant of Option 1 for Winnebago this week. This is the cross section that provides 13′ for parked cars and bikes and 10′ for cars, trucks, and buses with no buffer. It will function similarly to how it does today, although with a narrower travel lane (10′ instead of 11′). Alder Kemble was the sole alder to speak against adoption and for the need to make Winnebago a street accessible by bike for riders of All Ages & Abilities. All the other alders that supported Option 2 previously, seemed to have tired of the debate and voted instead to prioritize on-street car parking over All Ages & Abilities bike facilities. Construction is expected this fall.

This week

Monday

The Madison Bikes Board will have their monthly meeting from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Monday, July 16 at the Madison Public Library, 201 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703. Please attend and learn what we are up to and how you can get involved!

Wednesday

Madison Bikes Advocacy Committee will meet from 6:00 pm –⁠ 7:30pm at Bendyworks, 106 E Doty St #200, Madison, WI. The committee is always welcoming new people, if you’d like to help us out with our work on advocacy issues, feel free to stop by.

Madison Area Transportation Planning Board will meet at 5:00 pm in Room 103A of the City-County Bldg. The new application for the low stress biking network is on the agenda.

Saturday

Tour de Familia Latina/Latino Family Tour hosted by BiciClub Latino de Madison will be from 10 am to 1 pm, check out the Facebook event for more information. This is a great ride for the whole family.

Bike For Boys & Girls Club brings family, friends, coworkers and neighbors together for a fun-filled ride through picturesque Dane County one summer morning every year. Pledges raised support the ongoing mission of Boys & Girls Club of Dane County to provide programs that inspire and enable our youth to realize their full potential. Hundreds of riders will pedal their way across the finish line and into the post-ride party of cold drinks and even colder custard. You can get involved as an individual rider or join a team. Cyclists of all ages and abilities can join in on one of three planned routes. Sign up today and help empower Dane County kids.

Mountain Bike Demo The best way to find the bike that’s right for you is to spend time riding a few different models. Join Trek at Quarry Ridge to test ride a variety of all-new Trek mountain bike models! All you need to bring is a helmet, an ID, and your own pedals if you prefer something other than standard flats. Expert technicians will be onsite to help with fit and to answer questions.

Send us your events!

Remember, if you have an event that you’d like us to include on the Community Calendar, send it to us.