The big news is Thursday’s Town Hall meeting. The recent deaths of two cyclists has galvanized the community to take steps to make Fort Collins safer for everybody. Try to attend. And if you can’t, watch for feedback from those who do go. A good place to hang out to get a sense of what’s going on in the cycling community in FoCo is the Coalition for Infrastructure Facebook page. I suspect there will be post-Town-Hall discussions there starting late Thursday evening.
If you ever bicycle through or to the downtown Fort Collins area, please take this survey that the city is hosting. There are a lot of questions about buildings and parks, but there are also some about bike facilities and parking. The survey takes about 15-20 minutes to complete, but it’s a great way to let the city know what you think about improving bicycle safety and accessibility in our downtown area.
There’s also a survey on the W. Elizabeth Enhanced Travel Corridor Plan. This is a chance to give input that could lead to some significant changes and improvements along that street.
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Events – Bike News and Views
– August Events –
Town Hall Meeting – Thursday, August 6, Agave Room above the Rio, 6:30-8:30pm.
Bike Fort Collins and Your Group Ride will be hosting a town hall meeting on Thursday, August 6, 6:30-8:30 pm in the Agave Room above the Rio (on W. Mountain). This public meeting will bring the cycling community together with representatives from state and local agencies to begin a discussion around how we can make our roads safer for cyclists. The goal is to focus on 1. Education 2. Enforcement and 3. Infrastructure. Police, government officials, and others will be on the panel. Everyone is welcomed.
Women & Trans* Wrenching Night: Bottom Bracket – Thursday, August 6, FC Bike Co-op, 6:30-9pm
Always wanted to know how to fix a flat, adjust your brakes, or re-grease your hubs? Come learn how in this women-led, 6-class series. No registration necessary. Just bring your bike!
This week we’ll cover bottom bracket. If you’re thinking, “I have a bottom-what?!” then you best make it to class. Hint: your pedals and crank attach to this piece.
The Bike Co-op is located at 331 N. College Ave. See the event page on Facebook for more info.
Adult Learn to Ride Class – August 6 & 13, 6-7:30pm.
Regardless of your age, it’s not too late to learn to ride a bicycle! Adult Learn to Ride is a free class by the City of Fort Collins for adults (+14 years) interested in learning how to ride. Through a safe, easy, and effective method, Students learn how to balance, pedal, start, stop and steer a bike. You will also learn how to properly fit a helmet. Many learn to ride a bicycle while taking this class, and we’re confident you will too! You will leave with a new set of skills and access to resources to continue to improve.
If you do not have a bike or helmet we can provide them for use during the class. Contact jgaskill-fox@fcgov.com or 970-221-6987 if you need a bike and/or helmet.
Register for Adult Learn 2 Ride through the Recreator
USA Pro Challenge Celebration – Wednesday, August 19, 5:30 – 8:30 pm, 1601 W. Drake Rd.
Join FC Bikes for a fun-filled, family-friendly evening to celebrate the 2015 USA Pro Challenge. The evening will feature a bicycle rodeo, helmet giveaways, food and more!
Women & Trans* Wrenching Night: Drive Train – Thursday, August 20, FC Bike Co-op, 6:30-9pm
Always wanted to know how to fix a flat, adjust your brakes, or re-grease your hubs? Come learn how in this women-led, 6-class series. No registration necessary. Just bring your bike!
This week we’ll cover the drivetrain…that’s all those messy metal bits around your chain. We’ll learn about chain and cog maintenance and, if you’re up to the challenge, some more fine tune adjustments.
The Bike Co-op is located at 331 N. College Ave. See the event page on Facebook for more info.
9th Anual Tour de Farms – August 22 – Loveland to Fort Collins
Join the Sustainable Living Association on August 22nd for the 9th annual Tour de Farms. Riders will be able to join on a leisurely 8 mile tour to various farms and gardens and greenhouses. Visit cutting edge urban agriculture projects, hear presentations from farmers, gain useful tools and knowledge for your own garden, find out ways you can support area efforts to strengthen our local food system.
Plus, you can stay connected to your new gardening and biking community with a discussion forum only available to tour participants. Tour de Farms highlights important elements of sustainable communities and our local living economy. Enjoy the future of food! Cost $25 per person, tour limited to 50 people includes lunch. Get more info on their event page.
USA Pro Challenge – Stage 6 – August 22 — Loveland to Fort Collins
Pedal Fort Collins is a blog that focuses on transportation, which means races and rides aren’t usually included here. But this is a national level bicycling event and it’s going to be taking place, in part, right here in Fort Collins – which means bike parties galore. So I’m including it in the calendar on behalf of its overall cycle-fest attributes.
For general information about the race in Northern Colorado, check out the USA Pro Challenge NoCo page on Facebook. Or take a peek at the timeline of events that the city has put together.
Volunteers are needed to help make the Pro Challenge run smoothly through Northern Colorado. If you are interested in volunteering, sign up here. The will be a volunteer meeting on Monday, August 10 from 6 pm-8 pm at McKee Building Exhibition Hall A at the Ranch (5280 Arena Circle, Loveland, CO). The meeting will be recorded for those that can’t make it.
– September –
Tour de Fat – Saturday, September 5th, Civic Center Park, 9am.
The 16th annual Tour de Fat starts at 9am with registration. The parade begins at 10am. And festivities begin in Civic Center Park as the parade ends. Register now! And if you’re interested in a free t-shirt and a couple of free beers, consider signing up as a volunteer.
Tour de Fat – time to get your crazy on!
Open Streets – Sunday, September 20, on Remington between Mountain and Lake, 10am – 3pm.
Open Streets is a family friendly event where the length of a street is shut down to motor traffic so that pedestrians and cyclists can enjoy having the road to themselves. There will be booths with vendors, games, food, freebies, and lots of cycling related activities for adults and kids alike.
Volunteers are needed for the fall Open Streets event. Please consider giving a little of your time to help make this event run as smoothly as possible. For more information on Open Streets, as it becomes available, check out the city’s Open Streets page.
Traffic Safety 101 – Saturday, September 26, 8:15am – 4pm, Westbridge Medical Suites
Traffic Skills 101 is a course for beginners, returning and seasoned cyclists alike that will give you the confidence to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. You will learn how to conduct bicycle safety checks, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques. We recommended this class for adults and youth above age 14. Participants should be prepared to ride their bicycle as there is a riding portion to this class. A helmet and bicycle in good working condition are required. A water bottle is recommended. Sign up through the Recreator. More information and a link to the Recreator page on the city’s website.
– November –
Traffic Safety 101 – November 14, 8:30am – 4pm.
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– Bike News and Views –
The Keys to Designing Cities With Fewer Traffic Fatalities: Reduce urban sprawl, for one thing. By Sarah Goodyear on the CityLab website. (July 27, 2015) After looking at several major cities the world over, the author concludes that the more compact a city, the safer it is to bicycle in.
Fort Collins police take education over 3-feet bike device, by Katie de la Rosa, of the Coloradoan. (July 27, 2015) Police won’t actually use the device shown in the photo, and they don’t plan to enforce the rule. They’re just going to educate motorists about giving 3 feet of cushion space.
10-Foot Traffic Lanes Are Safer—and Still Move Plenty of Cars: The case against 12-foot lanes in cities, in 3 charts. By Eric Jaffe on the CityLab website. (July 28, 2015) Shrinking lanes causes motorists to drive more slowly, significantly reducing the number of accidents on the street.
End of the car age: how cities are outgrowing the automobile, by Stephen Moss of the Guardian. (August 28, 2015) “Cities around the world are coming to the same conclusion: they’d be better off with far fewer cars. So what’s behind this seismic shift in our urban lifestyles? Stephen Moss goes on an epic (car-free) journey to find out, Have we really reached ‘peak car’?”