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

Arctic Bicycle Club Members,

There will be a public hearing of the Anchorage Bicycle Plan on Tuesday, March 2^nd, 6:00 p.m. at the Loussac Library.    The goal of this plan is to make Anchorage a more cycling friendly city.

It will be CRITICAL to have hoards of cyclists come to the hearing and to contact the Assembly members to encourage their support of the plan. The link to the plan is included below as well as talking points from the Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage (http://www.bicycleanchorage.org/wordpress/).

Janice Tower

ABC Board Member

THE PLAN:  http://www.muni.org/Departments/traffic … t_0809.pdf

Download and Reprint the Flyer : 2010bikeswap_flyer

PO Box 230130, Anchorage, AK 99523-0130 www.arcticbike.org

Dedicated to promoting bicycling safety, education and sporting activities

BOARD MEETING

February 17, 2010

ATTENDANCE:  Ed Sniffen, Tom Peichel, Janice Tower, Jim Baker, Tim Berntson, Christopher Souser, Rose Lahti (guest)

Website:  Christopher chose 4 local and 3 out-of-state web designers to be considered for the design of the ABC website.  The board set a budget of $X,X00 to $X,X00 for the web design.  Christopher will investigate the options further and report back at the next meeting.

Ed will contact Tony Reynolds and see if we can transfer ownership of the arcticbike.org domain to the ABC.

The Board discussed the online membership feature and whether it would be possible to have one system in place to sell memberships.  Currently the Road Division’s website can take memberships.  Ed and Christopher will meet with Bill Fleming to find out how best to set up online membership to anyone wishing to join the club.

Club Jerseys:  The board will look at producing a club jersey for the 2011 season.  Tom Peichel offered to take on the project.

Bike Swap:  Christopher will design a poster to advertize the bike swap which will be on Saturday, April 10^th from noon to 4:00 p.m. (setup 12:00 to 1:00; sales 1:00 to 4:00) at the AT&T Sports Pavillion, 11111 O’Malley Centre Drive.  Janice will contact the media to get it advertised in the paper.  Janice will post announcements on various forums and notify the bike shops to come.

ABC Event Poster:  Ed will coordinate an overall ABC poster which will include all ABC events:  road, mountain, recreation, cyclocross.  Special events such as the Fireweed and the Cyclocross race clinic may be included.

Directors and Officers Insurance:  Ed is looking into purchasing D&O insurance to protect ABC board members from liability.  The premium will probably be $X,X00 to $X,X00.

Sticker:  Janice will get off her butt and order stickers to be given to ABC members.  White background, rounded edges.

Next Meeting:  Thursday, March 18 6:15p.m. at Guido’s.

December 7, 2009
Alaska Guard transporting bicycles to Afghanistan

Guard and community members work together to help Afghan youth

KULIS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Alaska - More than 20 disadvantaged
children in Afghanistan will get new bikes this month thanks to a
groupof Anchorage volunteers and an assist from the Alaska Air
NationalGuard.

The bicycles, together with parts and tools, were donated by the
Anchorage Community YMCA, The Bicycle Shop, Paramount Cycles, Chain
Reactions and REI, Inc. They were then refurbished by Off the Chain, a
non-profit, all-volunteer bicycle collective in Anchorage. Funded
purelythrough donations and grants, Off the Chain offers bicycle
education and maintenance to the community of Anchorage. Their
services are aimed at providing mobility to those whose only
transportation are their bikes and who cannot afford maintenance
elsewhere.

A group of Off the Chain volunteers came up with the idea of giving
bicycles to underprivileged Afghan children. The big obstacle was
getting them there. A couple of months ago, organizers approached Lt.
Col. David Glick, a pilot with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 144th
Airlift Squadron. The squadron routinely flies personnel, equipment
and supplies into the remote, war-torn country.

Chris Himes, a long-term Off the Chain volunteer, said “I can’t
imagineany other way it could have happened. It’s a perfect confluence
of interests and abilities … the Air Guard being on the way anyway
and being able to distribute the bikes, which we would never be able
to do.”

On Dec. 5, a group of Air Guard members arrived at Off the Chain with
a flatbed truck to pick up the bikes. On Dec. 8, Guard members at
Kulis Air National Guard Base, deploying to Afghanistan in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom, will load them onto a C-130 tactical
airliftplane for the three-day flight. Once there, they will be handed
over to a local U.S. military unit at Bagram Airfield for distribution
to Afghanchildren.

“With our Guardsmen rotating in and out of Afghanistan throughout the
holiday season, it was the perfect opportunity to support a worthy

causeand provide a little cheer for Afghan youth,” said Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Katkus,

adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard.

Alaska Air Guardsman Master Sgt. Tess Walsh hands Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Martin a bicycle from the truck bed on December 5, 2009

Media: For more information or to request interviews, contact 1st Lt.
John Callahan at 306-8665 or Maj. Guy Hayes at 382-5189. Hi-res photos
are available for download via the web at www.176wg.ang.af.mil
<http://www.176wg.ang.af.mil> .