PSA

The West Dowling Road extension project is currently taking comments.

At first glance, the schematics for the project look pretty good for bicyclists

and pedestrians. There is a 6 foot wide shoulder and a multi-use path.

The shoulder however WILL NOT be striped as a bike lane if DOT gets its way.

DOT is asserting that they will not paint bike lanes unless the Municipality

agrees to maintain the on-road bike lane painted striping and markings.

However, DOT has no such requirements for the other on-road stripings for

the motor vehicle lanes. This is a DOT project and a DOT maintained road.

Federal Department of Transportation policy set out by

Secretary LaHood that requires state DOTs to treat bicycle and pedestrian

transportation equal with motor vehicle transportation.

You can learn more about the project here and
http://www.dowlhkm.com/projects/wdowlingroad/home.htm

Submit your comments here. They can be brief. Just let them know they need to

include bike lanes. DOT has already stated that they haven’t heard from many

folks on this project. Lets change that!

http://www.dowlhkm.com/projects/wdowlingroad/Comments.htm .

Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage

{Note: Original message has been slightly edited by the ABC to be more informational in nature}

Just a reminder that next weekend is the Arctic Bike Club’s Annual Bike Swap.

It is at the AT&T Sports Complex behind Alaska Club South, in the building immediately north of the O’Malley Sports Center Hockey Rink (between the Hockey Rink and Alaska Club).

Addresss: 11051 O’Malley Centre Drive, Anchorage, AK

Arctic Bike Club 2010 Bike Swap

Alaska Randonneurs,

Rando-Info night will be at the Anchorage REI this Tuesday, 4/6 at 6:00PM.
http://www.rei.com/event/3777/session/4448

Bob Voris (PBP ancien ‘99) and I will introduce you to the basics of riding brevets. If you’re new to randonneuring, Rando Info Night will help get you started. We’ll cover all the basics, such as: Rules, French Words, History, Riding Styles, Contrôles, Brevet Cards, Equipment, Nutrition, Training, and more. There will be plenty of time for questions too.

The Kenai 200K brevet is coming right up. It’s a wonderful course, a great season-opener, and the flattest one on the calendar. It’s early in the season for Alaska riders, but if you can ride 100K at this point, you most likely can roll for 200K.

If you’ve never made the effort to ride the Kenai roads, you’re really missing out. The course is stunningly scenic and varied, and the roads are very low traffic; at least until the fish start running in July. If you’re aiming to ride the Clean-Air, the Eklutna Challenge, the Fireweed, etc. come join us for some high-quality training miles. Last year’s brevet attracted riders from Homer, the Mat Valley, and Anchorage, as well as local Kenai riders.

All the ride information for the Kenai 200K brevet, including links to the course map, cue-sheet, start time/location, etc., may be found at:
http://sites.google.com/site/alaskarandonneurs/Home/north-kenai-peninsula-200k-brevet

Last spring, the Redoubt Reporter did two nice articles about our Peninsula rides. Check ‘em out:
http://redoubtreporter.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/letting-it-ride-—-

this year’s 2010 brevet schedule. We’ve got more rides than ever this year! Remember, August 2011 is PBP.

RUSA’s advice to those aspiring to do PBP in 2011: Ride an full Super Randonneur (200, 300, 400, 600) series in 2010 if you can, or a part of one. It’s good training and will provide a fitness baseline for 2010 upon which you can build on in 2011. Try not to stress out, just do your rides, have fun with them and relax. Or, as the French might say, “Gardez vôtre sang-froid”.

4/17/10 Kenai 200K
5/1/10 Homer “End-of-the-Road” 200K
5/16/10 Matanuska Valley 200K
5/22/10 Anchorage/Palmer/Anchorage 300K
5/29/10 Denali Hwy 200K/300K (in conjunction w/ Alaska Endurance Association’s “Denali Classic”)
6/5/10 Anch/Seward/Anch 200K/400K
6/13/10 Bread & Water populaire 100K
6/19/10 Gakona/Delta Junction/Tok 200K/400K/600K
7/17/10 Denali Dirt Road Randonnée 200K/300K
8/7/10 “PBP” Nord populaire 100K
8/28/10 “PBP” Sud populaire 100K
9/11/10 Glennallen/Chitna/Glennallen 200K
9/18/10 Chugiak/Talkeetna/Chugiak 300K

Here’s the link to the Brevet Calendar on the website:
http://sites.google.com/site/alaskarandonneurs/Home/2010-brevet-schedule

And, we’re having 2 “Rando-Info” nights at REI:
4/13 6:00PM
5/11 6:00PM

Kevin Turinsky
RUSA RBA - Alaska
907-317-6030
http://alaskarandonneurs.blogspot.com/
http://sites.google.com/site/alaskarandonneurs/Home
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60334356017&ref=ts
rusa.org

The BCA Winter Bike Fest is only a few days away. This Saturday, March 6th from
6:30-8:30pm at the BP Energy Center, BCA will host its first annual Winter Bike
Fest. If you are not sure where the Energy Center is, this link provides a
helpful map: http://www.pnwis.org/Ch_AK/BP_Map.pdf.

The Winter Bike Fest includes:

- A screening of the award winning movie “Fat Bike” from Anchorage’s very own
Carl Battreall.

- A presentation by winter extreme cyclist pioneer Roger Cowles about his trips
to Nome on the Iditarod Trail. It’s a fascinating story of innovation,
adventure, and determination. It’s also a story about the impact of the
incredible powers of Mother Nature during our intense Alaskan winters. In 1989,
four men wondered if it would be possible to ride the Iditarod Trail by
bicycle, in the middle of the Alaskan winter. They decided the only way to find
out, would be to try. Now fast forward to 2010, where we can purchase snow
specific bikes at any one of a number of local bike shops. But twenty years
ago, if you wanted a snow bike, you had to build your own. And that’s just what
Roger Cowles did. A four wheeled snow bike. The quadracycle performed so well,
he built a six wheeled bike the next year, and raced skiers in the 1990 Nome
Odyssey. It was the precursor to the worlds longest winter ultra race, which
became an annual event starting in 2000. Since then, only thirty racers have
made it all the way to Nome. Come here more about his winter bike adventures.

- And a Most Visible Bicyclist contest. So come by bike and show us all how you
stay lit.

- We will also be given out door prizes and prizes for the contest winners,
thanks to kind donations from Chain Reaction Cycles, the Bicycle Shop, Sunshine
Sports,  REI, Paramount and Speedway Cycles. Prizes include Bike Glow lights,
blinkie bike lights, bike clothing and a gift certificate for $100 to the
Bicycle Shop.

Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage
www.bicycleanchorage.org
info@bicycleanchorage.org

Dear Bicycle Enthusiasts,

I apologize for multiple emails about the upcoming hearing and creating
confusion about the process. Unfortunately, developments today have resulted in
the Assembly continuing the hearing to March 23rd.

Around 2:00pm today the  e-mails started flying regarding last minute questions
raised by the Mayor’s office concerning the Plan. On Friday afternoon, the
Mayor had acknowledged that he supported the Bike Plan. This afternoon we
learned that the Mayor has new questions for the drafters of the plan and would
like to conduct further “senior staff” review.  Consequently, the Mayor has
requested that the Assembly continue the public hearing to March 23rd.  The
Assembly will still hold a public hearing on the Plan tomorrow but BCA will not
testify until the 23rd, so we can be fully apprised of the outcomes of the
“senior staff” review and respond as necessary. That said, BCA will attend the
hearing tomorrow and provide bicyclists with answers (to the extent we can).

We are disappointed by this latest development. To hear of this at the 11th
hour is disconcerting from a public process standpoint. It is sure to create
confusion and frustration with the public. It is unclear why the Mayor’s office
elected to wait until the 11th hour to continue the hearing to the 23rd.  The
Plan has been available for review for many months and all questions or
concerns could have been addressed in a timely manner to avoid this unneeded
delay that only frustrates the public and raises questions about how the public
can be meaningfully involved.   However, we still remain encouraged by the
support the Assembly has shown for the adoption of this Plan.

If you are unsure about whether you can make the 23rd Assembly meeting, please
come tomorrow and testify (you can only testify once). We will be on hand if
you have any questions.  Due to the change in events, BCA encourages any
interested party to testify before the Assembly to show their support for the
Plan and its implementation.

Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage
www.bicycleanchorage.org
info@bicycleanchorage.org