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School Track & Field Day + Bike Ride = Success in Pasadena |
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Education
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Cyclist and SuperCyclist-Certified PE teacher Oscar Torres noticed something very fundamental missing from the Annual Track and Field Day at Williams Elementary School in Pasadena. Bicycling!
So Oscar and fellow PE teacher David Garza fixed that problem this past May 12th when they organized the first annual Williams Track and Field Day Bike Ride. But first, they prepped the students with three weeks of bicycle safety lessons, using the 15-unit SuperCyclist curriculum. By the day of the ride, the kids knew their hand signals and the seven bike laws cold!
Helmet fitting was especially emphasized in the three weeks prior to the event. Assistant principals, Linda Flores and Wendy Wiseburn, also did a helmet fitting check just before the kids mounted up for to the ride.
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Bike Petition Garners Attention for Cyclists |
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Advocacy
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Petition update - submitted by BikeDFW
"I feel that now it is up to us to really beat the bushes, so to speak, and get that average non cyclist to pay attention and help with our cause," says BikeDFW president Eric Jackson. "If we can get the average person to accept cycling in greater DFW as a good thing and a viable means of transportation, we will have accomplished more than enough to say this organization matters." Luckily, we've had the assistance of several local news stations who have covered our petition in light of the recent string of cyclist-related crashes in the past few months, including Channel 11 KTVT, CW33, and at least two articles in the Dallas Morning News.
While this has made quite impact on our petition, word of mouth will continue to be our greatest ally towards gaining signatures. This means metroplex cyclists need to make sure that friends, family, and other acquaintances know what riding a bike means to us, and why we want to keep it safe.
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Cy-Fair PE Teachers Nail First of Three Scheduled SuperCyclist Trainings |
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Education
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Forty-three pumped-up elementary school PE teachers gathered at Ramona Bang Elementary School in the Cypress-Fairbanks (Cy-Fair) ISD on June 4 for the Texas SuperCyclist Curriculum certification training. Up to 11,094 Cy-Fair elementary and middle school students stand to receive bike safety education in the coming school year, based on 2007 SuperCyclist survey results of average number of students taught by PE teachers actively implementing SuperCyclist lessons. (258 students per active teacher.)
The larger-than-usual size of enrollment in the SuperCyclist training was not a problem as Texas Bicycle Coalition contract SuperCyclist instructors, Regina Garza and KC Jones, moved through the classroom and active portions of the six-hour training, guiding the teachers through the key aspects of the 15-unit curriculum.
Texas Bicycle Coalition staff members Brenda Chuleewah and Mark Stine and Cy-Fair ISD PE Coordinator Loretta Bourn managed the logistics to keep the training on a smooth course.
The teachers jumped into the Hang-Tag, Seven-Rules, Decision Course,
and Skills Course gym exercises, truly enjoying the rare chance to all
come together from their schools and have a great time before heading
off to their summer lives. With their SuperCyclist certification, they
also carry off six continuing-education credits for their professional
development.
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Texas Bicycle Coalition Response to Bicycling Magazine |
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Community Successes
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Texas Bicycle Coalition has sent the following letter to Bicycling Magazine. (If you are using Firefox, click on the image of the letter to the left and then choose "Maximize" to read the content.)
When speaking to journalists or reporters about cycling in any Texas community, Texas Bicycle Coalition board members and staff speak in terms of what has been accomplished as well as what challenges remain to be faced. Like many other cities and towns in Texas, Dallas has made tremendous strides in recent years. The comprehensive region-wide and local plans currently in the works for the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex will take years, still, to accomplish, but are truly visionary.
Texas Bicycle Coalition board members and staff do not provide negative information for Bicycling Magazine or any other publications to use in reviewing the state of cycling in Texas cities. We have and will continue to take a positive and long-range view of cycling in our very unique state.
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Texas Bicycle Coalition receives Austin Certificate of Appreciation |
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Advocacy
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The Honorable Will Wynn, Mayor of Austin, presented a Certificate of
Appreciation to Texas Bicycle Coalition on May 22, 2008 on behalf of
the Austin City Council.
The certificate recognized many years of effort in areas such as
trails and bikeway funding, developing bike safety curriculum training
programs for elementary school PE teachers, and building support across
the Texas Congressional delegations for Safe Routes to School funding through
the federal transportation bill. Benefits for these efforts have been
measurable in dollars in cities and regions across Texas, including the
Austin Area.
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Texas Trails Network Solicits Trail Info for Database at TRAPS Conference |
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Advocacy
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Do you have a favorite off-road or on-road bike trail that you want to share online? Texas Trails Network (TTN) gave a live demonstration on how to submit trail info online to add to their 620+ trails database at the 2008 Texas Recreation and Parks Society (TRAPS) Conference in San Angelo this past March 27.
The online database currently carries 150+ off-road and 130+ on-road cycling opportunities in parks, greenbelts and private properties across Texas. TTN Administrator John Rath walked an audience-member through the process, taking less than 10 minutes.
The trail entries feature driving directions, maps, photos and other graphics. All registrations are previewed by TTN staff prior to publication. Once geo-oriented and published, full descriptions, trailhead maps and driving directions are available to TTN website visitors.
TTN depends heavily upon input from trail providers, such as Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, City and County Parks departments and trail enthusiasts for current information. The TTN link is at www.texastrails.org.
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TBC/BikeTexas Named Finalist for Regional Planning Award |
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Advocacy
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Texas Bicycle Coalition / BikeTexas has been named a finalist for a 2008 Envision Central Texas (ECT) Community Stewardship Award. ECT is a regional non-profit planning organization established in 2001 which brings together a broad array of elected and public officials, neighborhood advocates, business leaders, land developers and transportation groups together into one process to develop a solid foundation for transportation and other planning decisions over a five-county area.
Texas Bicycle Coalition was nominated by Dick Kallerman, ECT Board Member and Save Our Springs Alliance Chair. “Texas Bicycle Coalition has played a pivotal role in making Central Texas a better place for cycling,” said Kallerman. “Their efforts resulted in tens of millions of dollars for trails and bicycle facilities in the region. They have played a key role in bringing Safe Routes to School monies to Texas. I am pleased that they made the finalist list.”
The awards jury making the finalist selections consisted of leaders in urban planning from around the nation. From a pool of 47 nominees, Texas Bicycle Coalition joins 17 other individuals and organizations selected for five different categories and faces stiff competition from five other finalists in the Pioneer Category, including State Representative Mike Krusee, Chair of the Texas House Transportation Committee.
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