Friday, December 23, 2011

Progress in the Santa Cruz Valley

The Santa Cruz Valley Bicycle Advocate Committee (SCVBAC) has had another successful year. This year's Highlights and Objectives for next year are shown below. We appreciate the continued support and encouragement of Pima County, Sahuarita, ADOT, and the Green Valley Council to make all this happen. For updates to our "Master Plan" and "Projects Completed and Underway" since 2004, pls refer to our website, www.scvbac.org.
Thanks for continuing to make our region a real paradise to live and bike.
-Bill Adamson, Co-Chair SCVBAC

Friday, December 16, 2011

Cottonwood Gets Sharrows

Cottonwood, AZ – December 16th, 2011, 12:00 – Bike shop owner Aaron Ruda was the first cyclist to use the sharrows painted on 12th Street in Cottonwood on Friday. The Public Works crew that had just painted the new roadway markings and can be seen driving away.  Shared-use lane markings, or "sharrows", are used on roadways which are too narrow for bike lanes. They help remind motorists to share the road with bicycles, and indicate to cyclists the lawful direction of travel. Sharrows were adopted into the Federal Highway Administration's Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) December 16th, 2009 – two years ago. The new shared-use lane markings in Cottonwood are the first to be installed in the Verde Valley. More info on sharrows can be found here.

photo/text Randy Victory

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Meet Mary Kaye Black

Mary Kaye is the Coalition's Eastern Arizona Representative, and currently serves on the Board of Directors. 
I currently live in Gilbert, but I grew up in Graham County. Since I spend a lot of time in Eastern Arizona, I cover that area of the state for the Coalition.
I started cycling a few years ago when I had to use a bike as my means of getting back and forth to school after wrecking my truck. I realized that I just loved the feeling of being able make the bike move faster or slower depending on my effort. One day as I was riding home after class at Mesa Community College, a road cyclist sailed by me with little or no effort, and I realized the cyclist that had just passed had given me a goal.
A few years later I got even more serious about cycling and started tracking my miles, and realized that one of my favorite things about cycling is that it a huge, "humbler." You can ride the same course several days in a row and not have the same experience. Some days are hot, some days you have a head-wind, and some days are cold. The days that keep me cycling and keeping my wanting to learn how to ride better the days are typical sunny Arizona days when the pedals seem to have more than just the power that I give them to turn around, and I feel like I am flying.
I got involved with The Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists when I had progressed enough on my own that I wanted to explore roads / highways outside the metro area and saw changes that needed to be mad to make cycling safer for everyone.
Arizona has some incredibly gorgeous scenary and great places where all types of cyclists, be they mountain bikers, road cyclists, those who participate in BMX, or those who are just out for a short ride on a cruiser can relax and have fun. We simply all need to work together and with our state and local governments and communities to make sure we keep cyclists in mind and make thing safer for all of us.

Ride the Vortex: Sedona Verde Valley

April 14/15, 2012

http://bikeaza.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BIKE_AZA_homepage

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Meet Ed Beighe

Ed Beighe
Ed is the Coalition's Webmaster. 
Ed has been riding primarily for transportation, and to enjoy the health benefits, from his home in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix on a daily basis for over 10 years. Ed also enjoys recreational MTB riding on the many trails of nearby South Mountain Park, the "largest urban park in the United States".
A twenty-year computer industry veteran, Ed handles the Coalition's website and technology needs, and also writes a personal blog at azbikelaw.org, covering transportation safety, justice, engineering and other issues, as well as monitoring legal issues of particular interest to Arizona's bicyclists.
Ed was named the Coalition's "Volunteer of the year" in 2009, and currently is serving on the Board of Directors.
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