Providence Bicycle Coalition (PBC)
Our Providence Bike-to-Work Day event has been added to the League of American Cyclists B2WD event listing. If you haven’t already done so, I would suggest you take some time and peruse the league website. They have a lot of good information about cycling advocacy and just cycling in general. If you are looking for something more specific about B2WD events, you might want to read over their 50 ways to celebrate bike month (large pdf) article.
There is a fairly new Bike to Work Week site online. They are attempting to collect information about all the various Bike Month and B2WD events happening around the country. Our events have been added to the list, currently the sole event listed in the CT, MA, RI area.
Just a reminder. We have a lot going on this year. You can read about what’s happen at our event or find out if there is a bike train passing through your area. Hope to see YOU on the road May 16th!
An article in this morning’s Projo discusses the approach a variety of people are taking to deal with increasing gas prices. The majority of the article focuses on alternate cars, carpooling, bus ridership, etc. However, it does conclude by mentioning our upcoming B2WD event.
New for Bike-to-Work day in 2008!
To help encourage more people to participate in Bike-to-Work Day this year, we are organizing bike trains to and from the Providence event. 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 two bike trains following predetermined routes on this map.
The East Bay Bike Train is denoted on the map in blue. It is probably the most friendly route there is for those new to bicycle commuting. The majority of the ride is on the East Bay Bike Path, with only the last part heading into Providence on roads.
The inbound train will originate at Independence Park in Bristol at 6:00am and arrive at Kennedy Plaza by 7:30am. See the map for route details and all time estimates along the ride. The outbound train will leave Kennedy plaza at 6:00pm, for an anticipated arrival back at Independence Park in Bristol at 7:30pm.
If you have any questions or plan to join the train, you can email the organizers of the East Bay Bike Train.
The South County Bike Train is not for the faint of heart. It is denoted in violet on the map. The entire ride covers 33 miles with the first part goes through some rolling hills, the middle on a bike trail, and the last part on Providence roads.
The inbound train will originate at the Park and Ride on Kingston road at 5:30am and arrive at Kennedy Plaza by 7:30am. See the map for route details and all time estimates along the ride. The outbound train will depart from Kennedy Plaza at 5:30pm, arriving back at the terminus around 7:00pm.
If you have any questions or plan to join this train, you can email the organizers of the South County Bike Train.
The Glocester Bike Train will bring you in from the more rural setting West of Providence. It is denoted in red on the map. The entire ride covers just over 12 miles with only one significant hill. The ride in is generally down hill, which does mean you will work a little harder going home. The entire route is over roads, but we try our best to keep the train off roads where cars are moving quickly.
The inbound train will originate at a parking lot near Phillips Ln in Chepachet at 6:30am and arrive at Kennedy Plaza by 7:30am. See the map for route details and all time estimates along the ride. The outbound train will depart from Kennedy Plaza at 3:45pm, arriving back where the ride started around 4:45pm.
If you have any questions or plan to join this train, you can email the organizers of the Glocester Bike Train.
The Blackstone Bikeway Train covers just over 15 miles. It is denoted in green on the map. The majority of the ride is on the Blackstone Bikeway, with the last part traveling on roads into Providence.
The inbound train will originate at the North end of the Blackstone Bikeway at 6:30am and arrive at Kennedy Plaza by 7:30am. See the map for route details and all time estimates along the ride. NOTE: as large parts of this bikeway are relatively new, this map may be a little more rough than the others. The road/satellite data was not complete, so we had to make some estimates when laying the route. The markers are correctly placed.
If you have any questions or plan to join this train, you can email the organizers of the Blackstone Bikeway Train.
If you are an experienced bike commuter who will be riding to and from the Bike-to-Work day festivities please contact us and we can work out the route details and publish another route.
I just posted a copy of the official press release for the 2008 Bike to Work Day festivities!
As you can see, there is a lot more happening this year and I would encourage all RI cyclists to make an effort to stop by the event. A more detailed listing of the event participants and presentation times will be posted shortly.
In advance of National Bike to Work Week (May 12-16), the Sierra Club presents a workshop on how to effectively use your bicycle as transportation to and from work, school, or errands. From outfitting yourself and your bicycle, to safe riding practices and route planning, the evening promises to deliver timely and useful information.
Date: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Providence Bicycle, 725 Branch Ave., PVD
Free and open to the public.
Contact Maggie McCormick, dwyht@verizon.net, (401) 855-2103 for more info.
If you are interested in helping with the B2WD preparations, please be sure to sign up for our B2WD email list. We will be using this list as our primary means of communications as we prepare for the event. If you’ve been looking for a way to become involved in bicycle advocacy, this is a great way to get started!
May is just around the corner and this means Bike Month! PBC is working with the Providence Foundation and US Open Cycling Foundation to help organize Bike to Work Day, May 16th. Keep an eye on the site, we will be posting more updates as the date gets closer.
In the mean time, take a look at the League of American Bicyclists, list of 50 ways to celebrate bike month publication. Here are some of my favorites: