05.16.09
Posted in Advocacy, Bike Commuting, Bike-to-Work Day
by Eric at 6:41 pm
What a great day! Yes, it started out drizzly – but that was expected. (It just wouldn’t be B2WD without some precipitation.) But it quickly dried out and turned glorious. Throughout the course of the day, hundreds of people came by. The award for the longest bike commute goes to the hero from Westerly whose name I don’t remember… for everyone else, If you were there, here’s what you saw:
In the morning, speeches from Mayor Cicilline, Councilman Lombardi, Chris Wilhite (Sierra Club), RI Housing Director Richard Godfrey, RIDOT Director Michael Lewis, and the PBC’s own Mark “P Diddy” Dieterich. Plentiful coffee and food courtesy of Whole Foods and Starbucks. Free bike safety checks courtesy of East Providence Cycle.
In the afternoon: vendors and exhibitors including Recycle-a-Bike, Legend Bicycle, Providence Bicycle, Dash Delivery, REI, Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living, East Coast Greenway Alliance, RIPTA, Narragansett Bay Wheelmen, Groundwork Providence, and Keepspace. Killer music from DJs Nick de Paris and Tim O’Keefe featuring Cliff Wood on sax. Food provided by the amazing United BBQ.
The carpet rolled up at 6 pm.
Special thanks to
- Dick Durishin of U.S. Open Cycling Foundation for providing 4 pop-up tents and general organization
- Sally Turner, Rhode Island’s Queen of Public Relations, who must do it for love ’cause we sure didn’t pay her much
- Steve Church. Unsung hero. ‘Nuff said.
- Frank DiPrete, one of RI’s important yet underappreciated bicycle boosters, helped with setup and breakdown
- The Providence Foundation and RIDOT for providing funding.
See you next year – but remember, the PBC oh-so-humbly suggests that EVERY day can be Bike-to-Work Day! To make it easier to start, we will continue to have “Bike Trains” headed into the city every week! Find the pertinent info elsewhere on this website.
Happy riding!
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05.14.09
Posted in Bike-to-Work Day
by Mark Dieterich at 1:56 pm
Thanks to our awesome volunteers, we are now able to offer a sixth Bicycle Train for B2WD tomorrow. A number of people requested some help getting in from Pawtucket and now we will do just this. If you are coming from this direction and don’t want to head farther west to join our Blackstone Bikeway Train, then hop aboard our on-road train heading into Providence.
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05.08.09
Posted in Advocacy, Bike-to-Work Day
by Eric at 11:18 am
Bike to Work Day is just a week away. Your help is needed to spread the word around town(s)! You can download and print a copy of the B2WD poster and handbill or they can be picked up at Legend Bicycle on Brook Street for you to distribute at your regular (or irregular) haunts. When Legend is closed on Monday and Tuesday, you can get posters and handbills at Red 5 Sports Group, 269 S. Main, 2nd floor, between 10 am and 4 pm.
Thanks for your help!
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05.06.09
Posted in Announcements, Bike-to-Work Day
by Mark Dieterich at 2:58 pm
According to a press release on the RIDOT website, another section of segment of the Blackstone Bikeway was completed this past Monday:
This section, approximately 2,000 feet long, is on the northern end of the path in Woonsocket.
While short, this new segment is vital in that it connects the former northern end of the path at the Woonsocket Water Treatment Plant on Manville Road (Route 126) to a 1-mile path segment through the River’s Edge Recreational Complex, a new park built by the City of Woonsocket. RIDOT provided funding for the bike path through the River’s Edge park.
The path is now 11.6 continuous miles in length, from Valley Falls Heritage Park near Cumberland Town Hall on Broad Street (Route 114) to the northern end of the River’s Edge park at Davison Avenue in Woonsocket.
This was completed just in time for cyclists to use for Bike-to-Work Day.
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Posted in Bike-to-Work Day
by Mark Dieterich at 11:23 am
We’ve added another bike train heading in from the Smithfield area. So if you will be leaving from Smithfield, climb aboard and join our train. We’ve continue to update some of our time estimates. If you are planning to join one of the trains, please be sure to check the map and schedules prior to May 15th.
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05.05.09
Posted in Bike-to-Work Day
by Mark Dieterich at 9:53 pm
Bike to Work Day is just over a week away, I hope everyone is getting excited!
We’ve added another bike train heading in from the Warwick area. So if you will be leaving from Warwick, climb aboard and join our train. We’ve also updated some of the time estimates. If you are planning to join one of the trains, please be sure to check the map and schedules prior to May 15th.
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04.30.09
Posted in Bike-to-Work Day
by Mark Dieterich at 9:13 pm
Started in 2008 and back by popular demand, the Providence Bicycle Coalition will be leading Bike Trains into the city on Bike to Work Day, May 15th! For those who may be unfamiliar with the term, a bike train is one or more experienced bicycle commuters who follow a published route with predetermined meeting points. Other cyclists can hop on and off the train at any point. It’s a great way for new cyclists to give bicycle commuting a try in a safe environment!
Please note… we’ve done our best to estimate times at which these trains will be passing certain points on the maps. We’d encourage everyone to get at specified locations a bit early, to ensure you don’t miss the train. We’ve also tried to indicate places where it would be safe to wait, not necessarily where there is parking available.
This year, the PBC is sponsoring three bike trains following predetermined routes:
View Bike To Work Day 2009 in a larger map
Read the rest of this entry »
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05.24.08
Posted in Bike-to-Work Day
by Mark Dieterich at 9:38 pm
Thanks to Dick, we have a bunch of B2WD photos online now!
If you took some pictures at B2WD and want them posted, let us know.
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05.21.08
Posted in Bike-to-Work Day
by Mark Dieterich at 10:12 am
RIPTA/Commuter Resource and the Hub bike shop, would to congratulate Brian Haseltine on winning the raffle (Jamis Commuter1bike) on bike to work day. Brian bikes to work regularly to his job at Fidelity Investments in Smithfield. Commuter Resource had 17 cyclists commit to bike 52 days a year to work, making them eliglbe for a commuter bike bag. A number of people demonstrated the RIPTA rack and ride system and now feel more confident in using it. We look forward to next year!
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05.16.08
Posted in Bike-to-Work Day
by Mark Dieterich at 2:02 pm
For the second week in a row now, the weekly Providence City News publication has featured an article on Bike-To-Work Day. In addition for Bike Week, they ran a feature that grew out of an interview I had with them earlier this week. It’s great to see the increased press B2WD has received this year!
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