Promoting the Bicycle for Everyday Transportation
mediaactionsrides_eventsresourcesaboutmembershipvolunteerdonatestoresearch
SFBC Biker Bulletin

August 2, 2011

"This week I rode The Wiggle. It only reinforced the inevitable conclusion: Bikes are the future. We need to do a better job of dealing with it,"
-- C.W. Nevius, Bicycling the Wiggle in S.F. points way to future, SF Chronicle, July 28, 2011.

Biker Bulletin News

  1. Members Invited to Help Shape our 2017 Strategic Plan
  2. Coming Together to Fix Three Blocks of Fell and Oak Streets
  3. Join Team SF Bicycle Coalition on the Climate Ride this Fall
  4. Save the Date for Tour de Fat: September 24
  5. Love Sunday Streets? Give Back by Volunteering
  6. Volunteers Earn a Free Outside Lands Ticket
  7. Interns Needed: Bike the Vote and More
  8. Video: The Connecting the City Vision
  9. Upcoming Events

Slow and steady keeps folks rolling --
  Slow Bike Movement: Not all Cyclists are in a Hurry

Members Invited to Help Shape Our 2017 Strategic Plan

The SF Bicycle Coalition's priorities are guided by our Strategic Plan, our roadmap for advancing our mission to promote bicycling for everyday transportation. As we wind down on our current five year plan, we are thinking about how to set ambitious, achievable goals for the next five years.

To that extent, current members are invited to help shape the Strategic Plan for 2012-2017 at one of our upcoming member meetings, Wednesday, August 17, 6-8pm or Saturday, August 20, 10am-12pm. Both will be held at the Women's Building at 3543 18th St. between Valencia and Guerrero Streets (complimentary bike valet will be provided). You must be a current member to attend. Please RSVP at sfbike.org/rsvpstrategicplan.

Coming Together to Fix Three Blocks of Fell and Oak Streets

Thank you to the Panhandle Park Stewards, North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association, and Alamo Square Neighborhood Association for hosting forums on the SFMTA's plans for three blocks of Fell and Oak Streets between Scott and Baker, and the larger Connecting the City vision of the SF Bicycle Coalition. These groups have joined many others over the years in advocating to improve these three blocks, and we're excited this project is gaining traction.

SF Bicycle Coalition volunteers have been out talking to all the businesses and residents on these blocks about this project and it is great to see support from the neighborhood continuing to grow.

If you bike through this part of the popular Bay to Beach route, live in the neighborhood, or simply want to see safer streets where everyone can feel safe on a bicycle, save the date for the SFMTA's Community Meeting to discuss separated bikeways on Fell and Oak Streets from Scott to Baker: Tuesday, September 13, 6:30pm at the SF Day School (350 Masonic at Golden Gate). Email Neal to get on our campaign list to get direct updates for this important project.

Getting from the Bay to the Beach comfortably depends on major improvements to these three blocks of Fell and Oak Streets!

Join Team SF Bicycle Coalition on the Climate Ride this Fall

"The California Climate Ride was everything I had hoped for, times 10. It really was a peak life experience. It was extremely well organized, it was a gorgeous route through the redwoods and down the California coast, with wonderfully down-to-earth, interesting, funny people to ride and hang out with. As a bonus, each night in camp I gained new and important information from listening to preeminent climate change scientists, nonprofit leaders, academics and entrepreneurs give talks." -- Deb Janes, SF Bicycle Coalition member.

Here's how you can enjoy an incredible five-day bicycle ride through Northern California while supporting San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. The Oct 2-6 Climate Ride is the nation's largest environmental bicycling event and 'green conference on wheels.' Enjoy an intimate, fully supported five-day bike tour with fantastic scenery, great people and a good cause all while raising money for your local bicycle advocacy group, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

You can support the cause in several ways:

  1. Join Team SF Bicycle Coalition today. There are still spots left on our team. We are aiming for a team of 10 riders.
  2. Make a contribution to Team SF Bicycle Coalition! Collectively we'll raise $24,000. Every donation counts.
So join our awesome team and make it a smashing success again this year! Whether you ride or donate, everything helps the SF Bicycle Coalition continue our daily work making San Francisco streets safer and more inviting for everyone.

Save the Date for Tour de Fat: September 24

Tour de Fat, your favorite bicycle festival with beer returns to Golden Gate Park on Saturday, September 24, 10am-5pm, and you are not going to want to miss out on the ballyhoo. Enjoy the morning bike parade through the park and stay for the bicycling circus of sensory splendor, featuring sideshow acts, a DIY booth and the Extra Action Marching Band -- and we're just getting started.

Love Tour de Fat? Hundreds of amazing SF Bicycle Coalition members and volunteers like you help make this bicycle party and fundraiser for the SF Bicycle Coalition happen. Earn a Tour de Fat t-shirt and a free beer for your efforts! Secure your favorite volunteer spot today.

Love Sunday Streets? Give Back by Volunteering

Experience Civic Center and the Tenderloin in a whole new way -- on your bike, walking, roller skating, hula hooping and more. Sunday Streets heads to the Civic Center and Tenderloin neighborhoods on August 14 from 11am-4pm. The SF Bicycle Coalition is proud to partner with Livable City and the SF Municipal Transportation Authority for Sunday Streets by recruiting and training 100+ volunteers for every event.

Four ways you can help make the Civic Center and Tenderloin Sunday Streets a success:

  1. Street Teams: Have a few daytime hours August 10-12? Help hang hundreds of No Parking signs along the route to keep it clear for event day. Sign up by emailing sundaystreets@sfbike.org.
  2. Volunteer at Sunday Streets: Volunteers get a free lunch and t-shirt, as well as the pride of knowing that you helped make Sunday Streets possible for thousands of San Franciscans. Sign up now at sundaystreetssf.com/volunteer.
  3. Help the next generation learn to bike: Teach kids to pedal at the Freedom From Training Wheels Workshop at Sunday Streets. No experience necessary for this fun program. Email Grace to volunteer.
  4. Talk about our work to people at Sunday Streets: Join the SF Bicycle Coalition under the orange tent at Sunday Streets and talk to people about our work! If you are a trained Bicycle Ambassador, email Tessa.
The Sunday Streets Volunteer Team is hiring! If you are interested in gaining experience with event planning or volunteer management, we are now hiring a Sunday Streets Volunteer Program intern to assist with volunteer program coordination, logistics and volunteer training. If you have great organizational skills, and are a people person who wants to make an impact with Sunday Streets, see sfbike.org/jobs for details.

Volunteers Earn a Free Outside Lands Ticket

Are you a current SF Bicycle Coalition member and a trained Bicycle Ambassador? If the answer is yes, you are awesome and your trained volunteer skills come with the opportunity for a free one-day ticket to Outside Lands the weekend of August 12-14. You will be a Bicycle Ambassador alongside the popular Bike Valet, talking to concert attendees about projects like Connecting the City and the benefits of SF Bicycle Coalition membership, and attend one day of the concert for free! See your favorite bands like Arcade Fire, MGMT, The Roots and Muse and do your part to help make San Francisco a better place to ride a bike! Email Tessa to find out more information about volunteering. Volunteers must be a trained Bicycle Ambassador and Current member.

Shifts:
Friday, August 12: 5-11pm
Saturday, August 13: 5-11pm
Sunday, August, 14: 11:15-5:15pm, 5-11pm

Interns Needed: Bike the Vote and More

With the November Mayor's Race heating up, the SF Bicycle Coalition is gearing up to Bike the Vote! We plan to engage and activate members all across the city to help elect a bicycling-friendly mayor and we need an energetic dedicated intern to help coordinate this campaign. A member vote and a Board of Directors vote in early September will determine whom we will endorse. Then, hundreds of SF Bicycle Coalition members will hit the streets and phone lines helping to get out the vote for our candidate or candidates. Elections work is a fast-paced, exciting way to help achieve a better San Francisco and we are looking for a skilled Political Intern to help coordinate our efforts and make sure San Franciscans Bike the Vote in 2012. Read more and learn how to apply.

The SF Bicycle Coalition is also seeking outstanding Summer/Fall interns for the Grassroots Organizing Internship or Event Planning Internships. Help gear up for Tour de Fat, organize important neighborhood Bicycle Ambassador events and get us rolling towards Winterfest in December. This is a great way to bolster your resume and work with volunteers and staff to help make San Francisco a better place to ride a bicycle!

Video: The Connecting the City Vision

If you haven't seen our latest Connecting the City video then be sure to take a moment now. See how 100 miles of continuous, crosstown bikeways will make getting around San Francisco by bike comfortable and safe for everyone from an 8 year-old to his 80 year-old grandmother. Hear from a dozen San Franciscans how we can keep this bold initiative rolling forward!

Upcoming Events

Check out our online calendar of events. To add your bike event to our calendar, simply email the details to calendar@sfbike.org.

** Tuesday, August 2 **

SF Bicycle Coalition Phone Bank
5pm-8pm | SF Bicycle Coalition HQ, 833 Market St., Floor 10

Chat up the SF Bicycle Coalition! Join the volunteers who keep the SF Bicycle Coalition membership strong. No cold-calling, just calls to friendly lapsed members offering an easy way to renew. Plan to stay for the thank-you dinner afterward and get to know your fellow volunteers. You must be a current or former member to volunteer. Contact juli@sfbike.org.

** Thursday, August 4 **

Urban Bicycling Workshop: Intro to Safe Biking (Day 1)
5:30-9:30pm | 3rd Street Youth Center, 5190 Third Street

This introductory course is perfect for anyone who wants to be more comfortable riding. The four-hour, in-classroom course will cover the basics on how to choose the right bike and properly fit a helmet as well as tips for the safest ways to ride in traffic. You'll also learn techniques to avoid or handle street hazards and emergency maneuvers along with the best way to lock up your bike and how to use a bike in combination with public transit, and biking rights and responsibilities. This free class, hosted by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, is open to adults and anyone over 14 years of age; preregistration is required. Sign up at sfbike.org/edu.

** Saturday, August 6 **

SF Bicycle Coalition Valet Bicycle Parking at the Ferry Building Saturday Farmers Market
8am-2pm | Harry Bridges Plaza

Pedal to the Ferry Building to fill up your panniers with local bounty and park your bike with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. All 52 weeks a year, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition will be providing complimentary valet bike parking in Harry Bridges Plaza (look for the orange tent).

Urban Bicycling Workshop: Intro to Safe Biking (Day 2)
10:00-2:00pm | Meet at the Park Station Police Department

If you've already completed Day 1 of the Urban Bicycling Workshop and want to gain some on-street experience, this Day 2 course is a great way to put your knowledge into practice on the streets of San Francisco. The six-hour course will reinforce the skills learned in the in-classroom portion and will continue with an organized bike ride with instructors and students riding together to help you feel comfortable riding in traffic. This free class, hosted by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is open to adults and anyone over 14 years of age who has completed Day 1. Sign-up for Urban Bicycle Workshop Day 2 at sfbike.org/edu2.

SF Bicycle Coalition Rec Ride: Southeast Bikeways Survey Ride
10:30am push-off | Meet at Atlas Cafe, 20th St. and Alabama

San Francisco's southeastern corner has great neighborhoods and waterfront open spaces -- how can we do a better job of connecting them by bike? Come out and explore ideas for bikeways from the Mission to Islais Creek and southward, ride the Bayview Wiggle, and check out other opportunities to connect the southeast by bike. Expect a two hour ride, maybe longer, more leisurely than athletic but you'll get a workout for your imagination as you help visualize the future of bikeways in the southeast.

SF Bicycle Coalition recreational rides are free for SF Bicycle Coalition members (a $5 donation from non-members is appreciated); rain cancels rides.


(Events not sponsored by the SF Bicycle Coalition are marked with an *)

You're reading the SFBC Weekly Biker Bulletin

Get this sent directly to your inbox by signing up here.

Join the SFBC and add your voice to thousands demanding a city-wide network of bike lanes, traffic calmed streets, better access to transit and secure bike parking. Together we can make San Francisco the most bicycle friendly city in the country!

top