Tag: Group Rides

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Bike News Newsletter Weekly Update

Infra News; Bike Donations; BCycle Update

Revolution Cycles Hosting a Fall Bike-to-Work Commuter Station on 9/27

Welcome to this week’s newsletter! It was wonderful to see all of you who came out for the Bicycle Film Festival at the Barrymore last week. What an inspiring series of films and an awesome event! Here’s what you need to know about this week:

Campus Path Closed

Heads up to commuters and other path users near Campus Drive and the Vet School: the multi-use path will be closed from Monday-Friday (Oct. 7-11) for repairs. Those traveling through will want to take the detour to the North on Walnut St. and Observatory Dr. instead.

Donate Your Old Bikes

Saturday, Oct. 12th from 10am-2pm, Bikes for Kids Wisconsin is hosting a bicycle donation drive at their shop at 354 Coyier Lane, Madison, WI 53713. Bikes of all types and sizes will be accepted. Donation bikes should be gently used, although they will also help recycle bikes that are beyond repair with a small monetary donation. Check out the website, https://bikesforkidswi.org/2024-bike-donation-drives-oct-12-nov-23/, for more info and other donation options!

New Opportunities in Bikeshare

On October 1st, Bicycle Transit Systems (BTS) acquired BCycle from Trek. Prior to the acquisition, BTS ran the bikeshare operations (using BCycle bikes and software) in Philadelphia, LA, and Las Vegas. All of the employees of BCycle, including myself, were offered roles at BTS to continue to run and support the BCycle systems across the country. With more of BCycle unified under the BTS umbrella, the organization will be able to focus solely on bikeshare and product development to deliver the best possible bike rental process.

Among the changes, Helen Bradley was promoted to Director of Business Development for BTS, so Madison BCycle is looking for a new General Manager! If you love bikes and transportation, are a leader, problem solver, and have business aptitude, you are encouraged to apply. Check out the responsibilities and requirements and apply here.

Flock to State Ending & Feedback

Have you gotten a chance to enjoy the pedestrian mall on State Street this Summer? If you hadn’t heard, the city further restricted traffic on State Street by limiting the times that non-emergency vehicles can use the street, calling it “Flock to State.” While the street has be closed to private vehicles since 1974, in May the city decided to run a pedestrian mall experiment, where from Gorham to Hawthorne, State Street did not allow any non-emergency vehicles from 3pm to 4am on weekdays and 10am to 4am on weekends.

In addition to the traffic limitations, there were also events planned around that area of State Street such as the Concert Series in September, Science on the Square (upcoming on October 17th), and of course the Madison Night Market. The pedestrian mall is ending on October 30th, and the city wants your feedback on the experiment to determine the next steps. If you enjoyed having this space further dedicated to and prioritizing pedestrians, please consider filling out the super short survey and telling the city what you liked and didn’t like about it!

Mifflin Diverter Project

Looking ahead to next week, the Mifflin Diverter will be installed on Monday, October 14th. The test will add a motor vehicle traffic diverter to the Westbound lane of E Mifflin just past Breese Stevens Field. Vehicles traveling West on E Mifflin will have to turn onto N Paterson, but bicycle and pedestrian routes will remain unaffected. The project is focused on improvements to the bike boulevard on E Mifflin, a critical bicycle traffic artery North of E Washington. Traffic Engineering has been gathering data about traffic volumes before the install, and they will continue to do so throughout the coming months when the diverter is in place. They will also be looking for public feedback, so if you ever bike along this route, be sure to send them a note!

That’s all we have for you this week. Now go ride your bike!

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.

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Bike News Newsletter Weekly Update

Bikes, BRT & Regent Street

Bicycle Film Festival October 3

Do you have your tickets yet? Bicycle Film Festival is coming to Madison October 3, 6:30 pm at the Barrymore Theatre. 

Join us for a pre-show party at Working Draft Beer Company starting at 4:30. There will be NA beverage and vegan food options available. 

Bicycle Film Festival has been celebrating bicycles through art, film and music over the last 24 years. BFF spans the world in over 100 cities worldwide to an audience of over one million people. We’re excited to bring the festival to Madison for the first time!

BFF Madison presents a new short film program. These stories will appeal to a wide audience from film connoisseurs to avid cyclists and everyone in between. Curated documentaries, narratives, animations, award-winning directors, and emerging talents – all share equal billing. For lovers of gravel, road cycling, mountain biking, and bike packing, and the advocates who are pushing the bike movement forward in their communities.

This program will take you on a journey around the world featuring: 

  • Kailey Kornhauser and fellow “fat cyclist” Marley Blonsky are on a mission to change the idea that people with larger bodies can’t ride bikes
  • A family gives up everything to be together in their motorhome, traveling from bike park to bike park across Europe
  • The 1900 mile bicycle journey by Erick Cedeno (Bicycle Nomad) retracing the original route of the Buffalo Soldiers
  • A charismatic Ghanaian immigrant in Amsterdam teaches refugee adult women how to ride bikes
  • Cycle sport as relief from genocide (Oscar nominated director)
  • A Diné mountain biker hosts the first ever Enduro race in the Navajo Nation
  • And more…

Check out the trailer here!!: Bicycle Film Festival Madison – Trailer on Vimeo

Get your tickets here: https://barrymorelive.com/event/bicycle-film-festival-madison/

This Week

BRT Service Flyer
BRT Service Flyer 9/22 – Daniel Villegas

Rapid Route A Service Launch

Madison’s first ever Bus Rapid Transit route, the Rapid Route A, started its first full week of service on Sunday, 9/22. The route stretches roughly from East Towne Mall area to Junction Road at Watts Road on the Far West Side.

For those of you inclined to bring a bike on the bus, bike racks are now located inside the bus accessible using the rear doors of each sixty foot bus.

Learn (with me in the video) how to travel with a bike on Metro Transit’s new 60 foot, articulated buses being used on Routes A, B, and F here.

Public Evaluation of Regent Street

Regent St at rush hour
Regent Street – Madison Bikes

Regent Street will be up for reconstruction soon. Documenting its current condition and its shortcomings for people walking and biking is an important first step. Madison Bikes seeks your feedback to share with the City of Madison for when that reconstruction eventually takes place.

We will conduct a casual audit of Regent Street meeting in front of Budget Bicycles (1124 Regent St. location) at 5:30 p.m., followed by a social hour at Camp Cantina at 6:30 p.m.

We will have printed bike audit tool-kits available for everyone and we will provide guidance on how to use it. At the social hour, we can discuss how to best use the observations to advocate for improvements.

Madtown Monday Ride

GPS Mapped u003ca href=u0022https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48451885u0022u003eRideu003c/au003e – u0022Unfairportu0022

Join Cap City Cyclists Madison for their “Mad Town Monday” ride on Monday, 9/23. As always, the group meets at Orton Park, at 6 p.m. – party pacing at about a 12 mph pace for the 15 mile route. A bike light, helmet and a flat kit are highly recommended.

West Waubesa Trail open

Dane County Parks opened another beautiful trail. The West Waubesa Trail connects Lake Farm County Park to Goodman County Park and provides a safer alternative to biking on Lake Farm Road. Our board member Harald made a short video about the trail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmC3ofG6Xjc

Shorewood Detour Sep 30

Beginning next Monday Sep 30, the path behind the Shorewood Hills pool will close. (sewer construction has had several false starts since August, but they’re confident that Sept 30 is the date). This is a major disruption to the University Avenue path, breaking connectivity between Locust Drive and University Station.

The detour for the next few months will be on Harvard Drive through Shorewood Hills. Once winter sets in, they hope to have a shorter detour using the path on the north side of the pool. The work should be complete in the spring.

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.

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Bike News Newsletter Weekly Update

Housing Week; Board Elections; Advocacy Woes

Bicyclists cruise down John Nolen Drive at Ride The Drive

Welcome to this week’s newsletter. Here’s what you should know about in the Madison biking-for-transportation world this week.

Housing Week is Here

It’s Madison Housing Week! As the population in Madison continues to rise, Madison Housing Coalition is thinking about what can be done to increase access to housing for those who want to work and live here. Going on now, from August 17th-22nd, is a series of events to learn, discuss, and advocate for solutions to the housing shortage. Some events you may want to check out are:

  1. Housing on Tap on Monday, August 19th from 5:30pm – 7:00pm at Vintage Brewing Company
  2. Housing Environmentalism on Wednesday, August 21st from 6:00pm – 7:30pm at the Central Library, room 301
  3. Dane County Exec Debate & Social on Thursday August 22nd from 6:00pm – 9:45pm at The Tinsmith

To see the full list of events, their details, and to RSVP, check out the site at madisonhousingweek.com.

Madison Bikes Board Elections

Madison Bikes board elections are coming up this Fall, and we want to know if you are interested. Have you volunteered with Madison Bikes in the past and want to take your involvement to the next level? Are you interested in helping promote bike advocacy and put on awesome community events? Would you be interested in writing this newsletter? While you don’t need to be on the board to do any of those things, we always welcome and encourage anyone to let us know if they’d like to join. What is it like to be on the board? Well, that’s up to you. Some members focus mostly on planning events, some specialize in the website and social media, and some focus on educating the community on important bike advocacy issues. We all meet to discuss these topics with the goal of making Madison a better place to comfortably ride a bike. If that sounds like your jam, board elections are coming up soon and we would love if you reached out to us at info@madisonbikes.org.

Cannonball Extension Disappointment

In July, Wisconsin’s Commissioner of Railroads rejected a proposed extension to connect the Cannonball Path and Wingra Creek bike paths. On Friday, August 16th, Madison officials decided not to appeal the decision. The proposed route would have crossed Fish Hatchery Road and the Wisconsin and Southern railroad tracks, but was deemed unsafe by Commissioner Don Vruwink, who cited risks such as train derailment and potential bike accidents. The issue with the decision is that it overlooks the dangers of biking on the heavily trafficked Fish Hatchery Road. Despite the frustration of yet another bike infrastructure conflict with the railroad, the city is planning to explore alternatives, such as expanding sidewalks, to address the lack of safe connection from the Cannonball to Wingra Creek.

The approximate location of the path extension that was rejected by the Railroad Commission

West Washington Crash

A cyclist was struck by a driver on West Washington on Saturday, August 17th at the Southwest path crossing. Not much is known about the crash at this time other than the motorist stayed at the scene and the bicyclist was taken to the hospital and is alive.

This intersection is notoriously dangerous and has seen several crashes involving drivers and cyclists this year alone. Despite having a Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon (RRFB) there are multiple potential reasons for the level of danger at this intersection. Path users have to cross 4 motor traffic lanes to get across W. Washington, with a refuge island in the middle. In addition to the issue of crossing multiple lanes at once, often times the driver in the first lane will stop to yield for a pedestrian or cyclist and the driver in the next lane will not. Speeding and driver inattentiveness can also play roles in making this area more dangerous.

What could be done to reduce the risk? Some have suggested a pedestrian bridge. While that would help avoid conflict, it is still a car-centric design. It would be very costly and likely require cyclists to make a significant climb to clear the minimum height of a bridge. Pedestrians would also have to travel a much longer distance to get across, and would likely opt to cross the road directly instead. Another option would be to implement a road diet by narrowing it to one lane in each direction or create other traffic calming measures such as making the path a raised crossing. Personally I would love to see one or both of those changes implemented, as they would be much more cost-effective and have been proven to slow down drivers and make crossing the road safer, often without reducing traffic volumes. What kinds of changes would you like to see?

That it for this newsletter. Stay safe and thanks for being a part of the Madison Bikes community.

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.

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Bike News Newsletter Weekly Update

Volunteer Op; Group Rides; Best in the State

“Bike Week Path Awesomeness” event, 2024

Welcome to this week’s newsletter! Summer is in full swing and it’s a great time to ride your bike to get where you need to go, or just ride for fun.

It’s a light week in terms of biking advocacy. Here’s what you should know.

Volunteer Opportunity: Ride the Drive

As we mentioned last week, Parks is looking for volunteers to help with Ride the Drive on August 11th. They need help with things from setup to photography to intersection guides and more. If you aren’t familiar, Ride the Drive is a form of Open Streets celebration where select major streets around town are closed to cars and open to walking or rolling. Vendors will be set up along the route for food and drinks and other exciting things. Volunteers will also get a free Ride the Drive T-shirt. You can read more about the various roles and sign up to help here.

The map of streets and hub locations for Ride the Drive

Machinery Row Rides

Are you interested in riding 100 miles? It sounds like a huge amount, but you may be capable of more than you think! Machinery Row is hosting a series of Century Training Club rides designed to help you train for a century ride by the end of the Summer. It’s not too late to join and get in some longer rides and make some cool new friends! They meet at Machinery Row every Sunday at 8 AM through September 1st. Join soon, since the longer you wait the longer the rides will be!

Riders line up to begin a Century Training Club ride

Are you an e-biker and want to meet other fellow electric bike enjoyers? Consider joining Machinery Row’s other option: Lunch Bunch E-Bike Rides, which go down every Friday from 12-2 PM. The rides are a casual pace and include a lunch stop! Rental options are available though the store or through Madison BCycle.

Best WI City for Biking?

If you didn’t catch PeopleForBike’s city ratings yet, here’s what they found. According to their latest rankings for 2024, the best city for biking in Wisconsin is Washburn, located in Chequamegon Bay, about 50 miles East of Duluth, MN. Washburn also ranked 5th out of the 2579 cities evaluated across the country. Madison is rated 13th in Wisconsin and 86th in the country.

Why is a town of 2,025 people a better place to bike than Madison with all of our paths and great bike infrastructure? Well, to understand that, we have to understand how it’s scored. The score is a “Bicycle Network Analysis” and it is intended to measure how well the bike network gets people to where they need to go. In further detail:

A low score (0-20) indicates a weak bike network, meaning the city lacks safe bikeways or there are gaps in the network. A high score (80-100) indicates that most common destinations are accessible by safe, comfortable bike routes that serve people of all ages and abilities.

https://cityratings.peopleforbikes.org/about/how-city-ratings-works

So my interpretation is Washburn is highly rated because it’s easier to get all your basic needs by bicycle for most of the people living there. The town is about two miles end-to-end and almost all residents live in safe biking distance from school, groceries, the doctor, or any of their other basic needs. Most importantly, the safe, bikeable areas are well connected so more people feel comfortable getting to their destination by bike.

Washburn, WI’s Bicycle Network Analysis score map.

Compared to Madison, Washburn is much more connected. Madison, especially farther on the outskirts (like West/South of the Beltline or East of Stoughton Rd.) would be really tough places to live without a car. While we have some great trails for commuting and recreational riding, there are still lots of areas where it’s very uncomfortable to ride due to high traffic speeds. Furthermore, due to the design of some suburban neighborhoods, traveling only by residential or slow traffic streets is mostly impossible. Washburn, on the other hand, while admittedly much smaller, is a grid of mostly low speed streets.

The grid system also makes a city more walkable. No winding, sprawling suburban streets that take you nowhere (except around the block). Yes, I realize there are some large lakes in Madison that prevent it from being a perfect grid. No, a grid is not impossible in Madison and more grid-based design would make the city better for biking, assuming it were combined with some hefty rezoning, but that’s another story.

Madison’s Bicycle Network Analysis score map.

It’s not all bad for Madison, though. PeopleForBikes recognized it as a “2024 City on the Rise” due to the city staff’s recognition and participation in bicycling and bike-related projects. The total score rose from a 50 in 2020 to a 60 in 2024, which is a really great improvement considering the average score across all US cities measured is only 28.

What are your thoughts on the PeopleForBikes city ratings? Are there any areas of Madison you bike in that you wish were better connected?

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.

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Bike News Newsletter Weekly Update

Metro hits 1M+ ride mark again; Healthy Communities Summit; and biking events this weekend

Bus rider walks up to bus stationed at stop on campus
Metro Transit bus, by Lauren Graves – UW Transportation Services

Metro Transit hits 1M+ rides in February

Metro Transit once again hit a post-pandemic milestone of providing over one million rides in February 2024. The agency reports having provided 1,019,324 rides in February ’24, a 12.5% year-over-year increase over February ’23. This is the second non-consecutive month Metro has had more than 1 million rides in a month since before the pandemic, with October 2023 being the last seeing roughly 1,075,500 riders.

Graph displaying Metro's monthly ridership from 2020 to February 2024, with a callout showing the 12.5% year over year increase in rides provided
Metro continues to make progress in recovering post-pandemic ridership

Coming this week

Healthy Communities Summit

4/29 at 8a – 5p

The Healthy Communities Summit returns to Madison this year on Monday, April 29. The summit is scheduled to occur at UW-Madison’s Memorial Union in the Great Hall on Monday, April 29th, 2024, running from 8a to 5p. Featured programming topics for this year include Education Empowerment, Changemaker Inspiration, and Trail Development Toolbox. Attendees can anticipate various breakout sessions led by both local and national experts, covering these themes and additional subjects.

North/South BRT Public Meeting

4/29 at 5:30p

Metro Rapid Route B will be the second bus rapid transit route in the Madison area, following a North to South route from the North side of Madison to Fitchburg. At the next round of meetings on Monday, April 29 at the MainStay Suites in Fitchburg from 5:30-7:30p, the public can provide feedback and see changes that have been made based on input we received, including updated station locations and routing. Attend the meeting in person or watch it here.

Women’s Mountain Bike Day Group Ride

5/4 at 9:30a

Celebrate Women’s Mountain Bike Day on Saturday, May 4th with a Women’s Group Ride! Meet at the Pavilion by the Quarry Ridge parking lot at 9:30am for a 1-hour beginner-friendly ride. Bring your mountain bike, helmet, water, and a flat kit. There will be an instructor present to help you learn and improve your mountain biking skills. Stick around afterwards for coffee and donuts.

A woman on a mountain bike on a dirt path, Machinery Row Bicycles

Cinco de cuatro ride with @Cap.City. Cicylists

5/4 at 11a

Join @Cap.City.Cyclists and others for a “Cinco de cuatro” bike ride this May 4 to get burritos and drinks. Ride starts at 11a and leaves from Orton Park.

Poster for May 4 bike ride from Orton Park to Habaneros restaurant at 11 a.m.
Join @Cap.City.Cyclists and others for a burrito ride.

No matter how long you ride this week, ride safely! Cheers.

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Ride For Your Life, Bike Drive, Underpass Funding

Photo: Harald Kliems, Bike Parking at Great Taste of The Midwest at Olin Park

SUNDAY: Ride For Your Life

Ride for Your Life Madison is finally here this Sunday, October first. The ride has been discussed quite a bit in previous blog posts this summer. It is being held in memory of the tragic death of Sarah Langenkamp, as well as countless other cyclists and pedestrians killed by drivers in a country that has long prioritized motor vehicle convenience over public safety.

The ride is Sunday, October 1, 2023. Bicyclists will ride 5-6 miles at a slow pace, and pedestrians will walk 1 mile through Madison to the steps of the State Capitol. A rally to raise awareness of the need for pedestrian and cyclist safety will then be held. Ride staging begins at 2:00pm at Brittingham Park, and riders will depart at 2:30pm. The ride will end on the steps of the Capital with the rally ending at 4:00pm.

Please pre-register for the ride, and donate or volunteer if you can. All are welcome to join for the ride or the rally.

Underpass Funding

The city Finance Committee will vote on capital budget amendments on Monday. Alder Verveer has proposed two amendments that would significantly improve the John Nolen Drive project for bikes:

  • Amendment 6 would extend the project’s scope, allowing construction of a new multi-use path on the north side of North Shore Drive, from JND to Bedford
  • Amendment 7 would allocate $1M for design and another $4M for construction of a bike/walk underpass of John Nolen Drive at North Shore Drive, connecting to the path from Amendment 6, creating a safe route between downtown and the lakefront path that doesn’t rely on the bike elevator.

Send comments to financecommittee@cityofmadison.com

The Bassett neighborhood has several overlapping path projects, all of which create a network much more connected to downtown. See a map of all existing and proposed projects below, courtesy of board member Craig Weinhold.

FB4K Bike Drive

Free Bikes 4 Kidz Madison is hosting its first Fall bike drive Saturday, September 30 from 9am-2pm, with a goal of 400 bikes donated. They will spend the winter refurbishing them before giving them to folks unable to access their own. Please also volunteer to help unload bikes at the drive if you can. Gently used bikes of all sizes and styles are accepted. Bikes that cannot be saved can be dropped off with a $20 disposal donation. Bring bikes to 354 Coyier Lane, Madison, WI 53713 near Rimrock and the Beltline Highway. If you are unable to donate on the 30th, drop off Monday-Friday between 9:30-3pm at the same location. If you live in an apartment complex and see unused bikes at your bike rack, FB4K suggests asking your property manager to donate them before throwing them away!

Madison Is For People Ride

After a very well-attended first event, Madison Bikes is again co-hosting a group ride with Madison is For People. Both of our organizations believe in a Madison where safe and equitable car-free transportation is accessible to all. See the event page for more details.

The ride is roughly 7.5 miles, starting at Law Park off John Nolen Dr., near the B-Cycle station at 6pm. We’ll go counter-clockwise along the Lake Loop and end at Garver Feed Mill where we can hang out, chat, eat and drink. The pace will be leisurely, around 10 mph. Nobody will be left behind. This is a great opportunity to meet your fellow housing and bike advocates and have fun!

Sunset will be at 6:45pm, so you must bring bike lights!

Group Rides

Tuesday evening is Madison Women’s Cycling Club or the Slow Roll Ride. Friday is the Bi-Weekly Ride for Trans Rights. Saturday you can check out Brazen Dropouts’ morning Row Ride.

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Bicycle Friendly University; Future Rides; Join the Board

The boardwalk bike path on Lake Waubesa
The Lower Yahara River Trail – A great place to ride a bike | Christo Alexander

Welcome to this week’s update! Here’s what you need to know this week about bike advocacy in the Madison area.

Campus area commuters needed

If you bike around the Madison campus, your help is needed to evaluate how bike friendly it is! UW-Madison has applied to renew its status as a Bicycle Friendly University and The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) is sending out the survey to students and any other users of the bike infra around campus. If that’s you, please take the survey here! The input received will help the LAB award their final decision and will anonymously be included in feedback to the university. Your feedback is appreciated. To learn more about what it means to be a Bicycle Friendly University, check out the LAB website. Note: the survey closes Tuesday, Oct 10th at 11:59pm PT.

September Community Ride

Not this week, but next Friday, September 29th, we will be co-hosting another community ride with Madison is for People! The ride will meet at 6pm at Law Park near the BCycle station, take the lake loop counterclockwise at a casual pace, and end at Garver Feed Mill for food and beverages. The days are getting shorter so remember to bring lights!

In addition to riding your bike and having a great time, it’s a good opportunity for anyone interesting in joining the Madison Bikes board (see below) to chat with current board members and get your questions answered. Check out the event on Facebook and let us know if you can make it. We’d love to see you there!

Ride For Your Life

rideforyourlife.org

Looking ahead to October 1st: The “Ride For Your Life”, a 5-6 mile advocacy ride will be taking place. The ride is in memory of Sarah Langenkamp, and any cyclist who has needlessly lost their life on the road. It’s long overdue that everyone stands up and demands safer places for biking and walking. The ride will meet at Brittingham park at 2pm, with a departure time of 2:30 and end at the Wisconsin State Capitol, to rally for congress to fund safer infrastructure. If you can make it, be sure to register on the website. The ride is free and open to all. Volunteers are also needed to help with crossings and other support. We hope you can participate. If you do, you’ll be helping make biking safer in Wisconsin and standing up for something you believe in, which is pretty cool.

We want you to join the board!

Yes, you! If you enjoy biking infrastructure, advocacy, volunteering for a good cause, or you just want to see fewer cars in your life, consider filling out an application. The application is not a commitment. It’s just to let us know you’re interested in getting involved.

We’re seeking members from all areas of the Madison community. We want your perspective and ideas on how to make Madison a more comfortable and safe place to get around!

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

School and UW back

There are no big meetings this week, but there are some interesting events happening. Classes start at the UW on Tuesday, so the streets, sidewalks, and paths should be back to their busy state. 

One member of our Facebook community was surprised by the massive crowds of Badger fans around Camp Randall as she returned from a ride on Saturday. Those of us who have been here awhile know not to attempt to use the SW Path before and after games, but it’s kind of a shock for newcomers!

And kids are back at K-12 classes as well, so we will probably see younger kids riding to and from school with their parents, and older kids riding in groups and going to after-school activities. Be patient if you see these less-experienced bicyclists sharing your route. Slow down and give them a little extra space. We had requests from kids during Bike Week to please slow down near the schools, yes even on your bike. 

Monday 

You can enjoy dance on several area bike paths via the Shifting Gears Festival that will take place in Brittingham Park, McPike Park, Wirth Court Park, and the Timekeeper Sculpture at the Monona Terrace from noon-6:00 pm. 

Tuesday 

The Council will consider an experimental closure of the 400-600 blocks of State Street to motorized traffic. Presumably, this won’t impact bicycling in the area, except that there will probably be more pedestrians in the street. You can read the discussion of the Downtown Coordinating Committee for more details. 

Wednesday

The city Street Use Staff Commission will meet at 10 am. One topic is Park(ing) Day, which takes place on September 15. The UW student chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects has requested that they be allocated two stalls on Langdon St next to Memorial Union to turn them into a parklet. Park(ing) Day used to be a big deal here in Madison, but now it seems that everyone has forgotten about it. Maybe because we are indeed reallocating parking spaces for other uses, such as outdoor seating for restaurants in commercial districts, bike parking corrals, and bike lanes.

Also Wednesday, the Parks Commission will meet at 6 pm, and on the agenda is authorization to apply for a grant from Dane County to build a recreational biking project in County Grove Path. It’s unclear to me what this would be, but it looks like there are mountain bike trails planned for the park. (See pages 9 and 17 of the document for the meeting.) 

Wisconsin Bike Fed is holding a training from 12:30-4:30 pm at Oak Park Manor for those who would like to help with the Cycling Without Age program. Although their website says that you need to register by Sept 3, maybe they will still accept registrations if you call. 

The monthly Ride for Joe will meet at the Fitchburg Senior Center at 10 am. These are ride-and-learn events that cover basic bicycling topics and then go for a leisurely ride. They are geared to seniors, but anyone can join.  

These rides are in memory of Joe Imilkowski, long-time Fitchburg resident and avid bicyclist and senior center patron. These rides are geared for seniors, but all are welcome. At the request of those riding in previous months, two longer distances will be offered, about 12 and about 20 miles, principally on multi-use paths. Helmets are required. Rides will start with the topic of the month, short safety briefing, and ABC Quick Checks of bikes. The topic for September will be cool weather riding. On line registration and liability waiver are required, but can be done at ride time.

Sunday

The Bi-weekly Ride for Trans Rights will meet at Law Park at 9 am. 

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.

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Newsletter Weekly Update

Get out and ride

People gather before the Madison Bikes and Madison is for People social ride on Friday, August 25, 2023
Photo by Beth Skogen

In case you missed it last week…

Social Ride with Madison is for People

After a stretch of weather that made any physical activity — or even being outside — extremely uncomfortable, if not dangerous, the weather cooled just in time for our social ride in partnership with Madison is for People. It was a great ride, with more than 50 people joining us, far more than we expected. After meeting at Law Park by Machinery Row, we rode counterclockwise around the lake and ended at the East Side Club for socializing and beverages. 

Madison is for People has geared up in the last year to push for more housing and better, denser land use in the city. This makes walking, biking, and transit use easier as well, and gives more people an opportunity to live where car-free or car-lite living is practical. There is a lot of overlap in our messages, and it was great for the two groups to learn a bit more about what the other was doing.

In addition to learning about each other and enjoying a relaxed ride, this event made clear that there is a real desire for rides that make everyone feel welcome, rides where we take it slow and just enjoy the company.

What else should we do at community metings?

We’ve been looking for ideas on what we should do at our monthly community meetings, and these rides are one idea. What else would you like to see at the community meetings, especially when the weather is less accommodating to being outside? Talks and information? Movies? Social opportunities? Let us know what you’d like to see, or maybe if you have an idea that you’d like to present. You can email us at info@madisonbikes.org

The week ahead

There aren’t any city meetings that directly affect bicycling, but if you are ever interesting in seeing what committees are doing, you can access the weekly city meeting schedule and then click through to agendas on the city’s website. For instance, you might want to know what the Plan Commission or the Sustainable Madison Committee is up to this week. 

There are a couple of bike-related events this week. We won’t be holding our usual community meeting, because we just had the social ride. 

Monday, Bike Fitchburg will be meeting on at 7 pm at Oasis Café, 2690 Research Park Dr E, Fitchburg. 

Friday, the Bi-weekly Ride for Trans Rights will meet at 6:00 pm at Law Park. More information can be found at their Facebook event.

Watch out for your bike

There has been an uptick in stolen bikes posted on our Facebook Community page. Maybe this is due to all the new people in town and thieves taking advantage of people not locking their bikes, or maybe all the moving in and out has allowed unauthorized people into buildings and garages. Either way, be especially careful to lock your bike if you are in a new apartment or aren’t sure about the security of a location. And remember that you can register your bike or report a stolen bike at the BikeIndex, a national database. 

And watch out on the streets too

With all the new people in town, as well as dorm move-in Aug 30 and Sept 1, there are a lot of people that aren’t used to seeing bicyclists everywhere. And people may be lost, frustrated, tired, or generally unaware of how things roll (and walk) in Madison. Bike crashes go up significantly every year in late-August and early-September, so take it easy, and have some patience with all the new folks.

Join our board!

If you would like to help with our mission, consider joining the Madison Bikes board of directors. We are an all-volunteer organization, so the board both shapes policy and the activities we undertake as well as often doing the day-to-day work. We are always looking for people to join the board, as people step down, move, or need to change their time allocation. Everyone has a talent and skills we can use, but most important is probably enthusiasm to move bicycling and policy forward in Madison. Fill out the application by September 29. Terms start in January.

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.

Categories
Newsletter Weekly Update

Ride For Your Life, MPO Updates, Move In/Out Season

Photo: Harald Kliems, Bike Parking at Great Taste of The Midwest at Olin Park

Ride For Your Life Madison

Sarah Langenkamp was a mother of two and a US diplomat. She provided assistance to Ukraine in the early days of the Russian invasion before being forced to evacuate to Bethesda, Maryland with her husband and two sons. Last August, Sarah was riding her bike home from her son’s elementary school when the driver of a flatbed truck struck and killed her.

In the wake of Sarah’s tragic death, her family organized Ride For Your Life in Washington D.C. to advocate for infrastructure, technology, and policy changes known to prevent crashes that kill vulnerable road users like bicyclists and pedestrians.

Sarah’s sister Alicia, along with the Wisconsin Bike Fed, Madison Bikes, and Trek Bicycles, are hosting Ride for Your Life Madison. The ride will be held in memory of Sarah and countless other cyclists and pedestrians killed by drivers in a country where transportation policy and infrastructure choices continue to prioritize motor vehicle convenience over public safety.

The ride is Sunday, October 1, 2023. Bicyclists will ride 5-6 miles at a slow pace, and pedestrians will walk 1 mile through Madison to the steps of the State Capitol. A rally to raise awareness of the need for pedestrian and cyclist safety will then be held. Ride staging begins at 2:00pm at Brittingham Park, and riders will depart at 2:30pm. The ride will end on the steps of the Capital with the rally ending at 4:00pm.

Please pre-register for the ride, and donate or volunteer if you can. All are welcome to join for the ride or the rally.

Madison is For People Ride

As mentioned last week, we are co-hosting a ride with Madison is For People. Both of our organizations believe in a Madison where safe and equitable car-free transportation is accessible to all. We now have a Facebook event page for this ride.

Move In/Move Out Days

Be careful riding this week, as tomorrow is the day leases end for many people in Madison, which means lots of traffic, including potentially many drivers unfamiliar with the area. This issue will increase once UW campus housing has its move in at the end of the month. Unfortunately, it’s best to assume drivers are totally ignorant of your existence when you are alongside, in front, or behind them. This is especially true at intersections. Be aware of your surroundings, ride defensively, and be sure to have lights at night.

MPO Updates

The MPO issued a press release last Wednesday with a list of approved funding for projects significant to safe and accessible bike transportation. Link here if you missed Ben’s MPO explainer for those not familiar. Exciting details include a new multi-use path on the West side of Rimrock from John Nolen to the Beltline slated for 2026, as well as funding for one of the last links connecting the Cap City to the Glacial Drumlin. Link here to look at all that was approved and timelines for implementation.

Group Rides

Tuesday evening is Madison Women’s Cycling Club or the Slow Roll Ride. Friday is the Bi-Weekly Ride for Trans Rights. Saturday you can check out Brazen Dropouts’ morning Row Ride.

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.