Tag: Group Rides

Bike Week Volunteering

Bike Week 2023 is fast approaching! Madison Bikes is looking for volunteers to help with a few activities. We’re hosting a volunteer open house at Working Draft Brewery on Monday, May 22nd from 6-7:30PM. Come hang out and eat pizza on us. Link here for more details and to volunteer during Bike Week. If you use Facebook, RSVP so we know how much pizza to bring. Make sure to check out the Bike Week page as new events continue to roll in!

Volunteering for 2 hours will also get you a “good deed” stamp for Bike BINGO. You can buy a BINGO card at local Bike Benefits locations.

Freewheel Fundraiser

Madison Freewheel Bicycle Co is a local nonprofit bike shop focused on transportation justice. Donations and sales help provide free and low-cost bicycles to individuals in need, while also subsidizing bike building, repair, and maintenance classes. Freewheel was not able to cover operating expenses after the pandemic squeezed their ability to safely keep their doors open and offer in-person classes. They recently had to move out of the Madison Bike Center and are fundraising to find a new physical space. For more information and donation options, you can find their GoFundMe here.

Path Fixing

Lately we noticed a few conversations on our Facebook community page discussing path closures. It can be very frustrating to find what is sometimes the only low-stress route to wherever you are riding is closed (although who doesn’t love a freshly resurfaced path)! It part of our mission to work towards a city where there are multiple safe, low-stress bike routes to any destination. For now though, you can check the city’s path resurfacing schedule to be aware of resurfacing schedules (updated regularly as resurfacing progresses).

Youth MTB Informational

Monday from 5:30-7PM, the Madison East / Lafollette Mountain Bike Team is hosting an informational meeting at East High for students in grades 6-12 interested in joining the team, as well as adults interested in becoming a coach.

Schwinn Bike Drive

Saturday from 12-4PM, Schwinn is hosting a bike drive at their HQ to support FreeBikes4 Kidz. Your donations help give bikes to kids in need! More info here.

Spring Group Rides

Monday evening you can join the Monday 40 social ride. Tuesday evening is looking great for the Madison Women’s Cycling Club and the Slow Roll Ride. Saturday morning is looking nice for Brazen Dropouts’ morning Row Ride.

Saturday evening, don’t miss Black Saddle Bike Shop’s bike ride and overnight campout! Ride leaves from the shop (601 N Sherman Ave) by 5:15pm on a 9.1 mile leisurely ‘no drop’ ride to McCarthy Youth & Conservation County Park. More info and RSVP here!

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.

Election Results

Thank you to everyone who voted last Tuesday. Local elections determine how invested cities are in safe infrastructure and supportive policies for people walking, biking, or using mobility devices. Your vote is very impactful in these races, as evidenced District 14’s alder race being decided by one vote!

Voters also gave Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway a second four-year term, elected a number of new alderpersons, and approved a referendum to stagger two-year alderperson terms. Take a look at the full results from Tuesday and look back to responses from our February candidate questionnaire.

Transportation Commission

The Transportation Commission is meeting on Wednesday. The agenda includes a discussion of survey results for the John Nolen Drive reconstruction project scheduled to break ground in a few years. Polling from last month showed support for narrowing the roadway as much as possible, widening the path, and improving intersections.

In case you missed it, MadisonForAll has a very well-made video describing the North Shore Dr. part of this project, including frustrations over the city’s reluctance to make any substantial safety and accessibility improvements if they impact driver convenience. The most ambitious option offered by the city for this intersection would increase peak hour vehicle travel time by 35-80 seconds. In the video, city engineering describes this delay as “a pretty significant [negative] impact to the traveling public.” Madison recently committed to prioritizing safety for people walking and biking over driver convenience as part of Complete Green Streets, yet the possibility of a delay lasting less than half of a pop song on a driver’s commute is still described as “significant” in a way that fixing a deadly, heavily utilized pedestrian and bicyclist crossing with no grade-separated alternatives is not.

Recently a new alternative design was included by city engineering that is remarkably similar to the idea proposed by MadisonForAll. The city does not have public feedback for this option (Alt 4b) currently, but you can give it in their survey here. You can also use the comment box to voice opinions about improvements you would like to see presented as alternatives going forward.

Group Rides

It’s Spring! Monday evening you can join the Monday 40 social ride for its second ride of 2023. Tuesday evening is looking great for the Madison Women’s Cycling Club or the Slow Roll Ride. Wednesday evening features the Madison Queer Bike Ride, reach out to their instagram page for details. Saturday is looking nice for Brazen Dropouts’ morning Row Ride. Bombay Bicycle Club is hosting a Spring Member Meeting on Sunday, details here.

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.