2011 Austin Bike Summit

Last weekend, Please Be Kind to Cyclists took part in the 2011 Austin Bike Summit.  This is an annual event that allows all Austin bike advocates and staff to get together and talks bicycle promotion, education, and strategy.


The mission of the Austin Bike Summit is:

An annual gathering that fosters collaboration and bridges gaps between Austin’s various bicycle endeavors, movements, and efforts and provides new volunteers with avenues for involvement.

The summit is open to anyone to attend and we were happy to take part by presenting along with a variety of other great Austin advocates.  Al Bastidas was part of a presentation on Bike Programs at Schools and informed attendees on all that Please Be Kind to Cyclists is doing to promote safe biking for everyone.  Also included in the presentation was:


Bike Programs at Schools
A comprehensive look at bike programming at schools including after-school programs, Safe Routes initiatives, PE 3, and the Boltage Program. The Austin Safe Routes to Schools Project will present an update on their progress to improve the health of kids and the community by enabling and encouraging children and the parents to walk and bike to school. The Yellow Bike Project will present their unique initiatives and their impact on kids who are biking to school. The Boltage and Pe 3 Program will share their current Kid Commute initiatives and expand on the impact they are making in Austin, and throughout the state.

We applaud the volunteers and organizers of the Austin Bike Summit and look forward to being a part again next year.

Thank You

Everyone at the Please BE KIND to Cyclists organization would like to send out a great big Thank You to everyone who participated, volunteered, and was a part of our Round Rock Express ride held over the weekend.


Austin has been in the wind tunnel this past week and yesterday was definitely no exception.  The intense winds made the ride a little more challenging, but the riders toughed it out and cycled through to help benefit our cause.


We are very pleased with the turnout and media coverage that we received.  Thank you to YNN Austin for airing this story on the event:  http://austin.ynn.com/content/top_stories/277718/cyclists-ride-to-promote-harmony-on-austin-s-roads.

Following the rides (27 and 77 mile courses), everyone enjoyed the BBQ and Beer while watching the Round Rock Express baseball game.  Our own Al Bastidas threw out the first pitch and this capped off one incredible day of cycling, awareness, and good times.


Thanks to everyone for their attendance and contribution.

New Hanover County

When your mission is to "promote safe cycling for all and to contribute to a global social change...and share the road safely and with respect", we just can't let instances like that which happened in New Hanover County, NC go un-noticed.

This week a 47 year-old cyclist, Ronald Doolittle II and his 17 year-old son, were struck down when a vehicle swerved into the bike lane and collided with these two riders.  Ronald Sr. didn't survive and Ronald Jr. was left suffering with severe head injuries, only to pass the next day.

We are saddened to hear of yet another un-necessary event and will continue our fight to prevent future instances from happening.  Safe roads are all of our responsibilities and we encourage you to join us in our fight.

This Sunday we'll be riding in the Round Rock Express Ride to gather riders and speak out to our cause.  If you're in the Austin area, we hope you'll join us.  Please help us fulfill our mission.

City of Austin Bicycle Safety PSA

A few weeks ago there was a casting call put out to all local cyclists to appear in a Bicycle Safety Public Service Announcement here in Austin.

The purpose of the PSA is to promote bike safety through a series of television commercials and they called out to Austin cyclists to help them out.

They knew that they couldn't have a public safety announcement without involved Al Bastidas from Please BE KIND to Cyclists, so they asked....and Al was happy to participate.  There was a lot of fun and excitement as everyone felt like TV stars while they posed with their bikes and promoted bicycle safety.  The PSA's are currently being edited and will be airing on local TV stations in the near future.

Congratulations to the City of Austin for putting together a great promotion.

The Round Rock Express Ride

It's that time of year when many parts of the country are launching the 2011 ride season.  Here in Austin, there are a lot of great cycling events and rides happening almost every single weekend.


They are all great events and we definitely encourage people to take part in as many cycling friendly activities as they can.  But there is one that is very close to our heart and we hope you'll consider participating in The Round Rock Express Ride.


Jack & Adam's Bicycles,  Round Rock Express, and High Five Events are holding this inaugural ride in an effort to raise interest and awareness in Please BE KIND to Cyclists.  Cyclists can choose from a distance of 27 and 77 miles and each participant gets tickets to the minor league baseball game happening following the ride.  There is also lunch and a pool party so it's a great event for the whole family.


The event takes place on Sunday, April 10.  Please Register for the Round Rock Express Ride and get set for an incredible day of cycling, fun, and support.


Thanks to all of you who have already registered.  For more information, please visit www.rrexpressride.com.

Two Wheels: A Documentary

The "Please BE KIND to Cyclists" story is not unique.  Unfortunately there are similar occurrences and tragedies happening all over the world.  But as part of our mission, we are here to help spread the word, and prevent future occurrences from happening.
A new documentary just surfaced online last week and comes from a story that happened very close to our home here in Austin, Texas.  "Two Wheels" was put together by Jacob Ramon, a 14 year old from McAllen Texas.  He began putting together this documentary in November 2010 following the death of Roy Carlson, and just completed it a couple weeks ago.  Jacob has put together an moving film that exposes the life-and-death conflicts between drivers and cyclists in the Rio Grande Valley.
He has done this to help spread the message: Share the Road.
Below is a short trailer to the documentary, but I encourage you to take 25 minutes out of your day, and watch the full film at http://vimeo.com/20857096.

Gangs

When you think of the Please BE KIND to Cyclists organization, odds are you instantly think of cycling safety among vehicles and the people who drive them.  But if you're Scott Rust, it is bike safety from gangs that worries you most.

This past November, Scott bought himself a road bike with the intention of using it to commute the 7.5 miles between his home and the high school in which he works.  After 6 weeks of loving the commute, he found out that he was being targeted by a local gang that several of the students in his school belonged to.

Two years ago a teacher at the school next to his was severely beaten, bike destroyed, and his money and laptop stolen.  This teacher had been left for dead during his morning commute.

Scott isn't about to give up on his dream of commuting by bike and has looked into his options.  The problem lies in the fact that the only other route for him to take is a 14 mile ride that takes him through an even worse neighborhood than he is presently commutting through.  This alternate choice is bottlenecked through gang territory and there is no way around it.

Desperate to figure out a way to continue riding to work and keep himself safe, he's turned to just about everyone he can find who'll listen.  He's searched websites, asked friends, and just recently brought the question to #bikeschool for some answers.

He has been told by his wife, the school-based gang expert, the school-based sheriff's deputies, and his school vice-principal to stop riding to work.  He's talked to the teacher who was severely beaten two years ago and he's told him that he'll never ride to work again.  Other responses have been "carry a gun", "carry a knife", and "get pepper spray" to which Scott say's "no thanks".  He is not about to fight violence with weapons (and besides, it would be illegal for him to carry such items and have them on school property).

So what does he do?  Last week's #bikeschool provided a bunch of suggestions and we'll see if any of them are able to deliver what Scott needs to maintain his safety.
 
If any of you have a suggestion for him, we all would welcome your comments.  We're all in this together, and we'll always do whatever we can to help support and protect our fellow riders.