Bike Month In the Lone Star State

We know that for BikeTexas members, every month is bike month, and so May is nothing unusual for us. However, for many Texans, Bike to Work Day or similar events may be the only time they ever think of getting on a bike. And that's when Bike Month gets exciting!

Ask your coworkers, neighbors, or friends to join you for a bike ride this month. Plan out a safe route and ride with your child to school. Join a challenge to push yourself to ride more than usual. Get pictures for your social media accounts from the League of American Bicyclists.

Events are happening across Texas and across the nation this month. Here are some highlights that we've heard about:

National Bike Challenge: Starting on May 1 and lasting until September 30, NBC is a fun way to challenge yourself and have a friendly competition with those around you to rack up the most miles. The leaderboard on the site is updated daily for the sake of bragging rights and extra motivation! Texas managed to break into the top 30 before the end of last year's challenge, which is extra-remarkable since we have a large population but not as many cyclists as some smaller states. Join today and let's show America that nobody messes with Texas!

Bike Month Proclamations: Check out San Antonio, Frisco, Little Elm, and The Colony events.

BikeTexas KidsKup: Still two spring races left! Join us on May 4 in Dallas and May 18 in Warda.

Festivals and Open Streets:
Irving Bike Fest, Edinburg Walk-and-Rolla, and Austin Viva Streets are all happening in May!

Global Women's Cycling Day: Sponsored by CycloFemme, this worldwide event on May 12 includes three Texas rides (so far): Austin, Houston, and Richardson. Join up with your bike-loving sisters for a fun ride!

Bike to Work Day: Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, and Sugar Land all have city events planned. Does your city have one?

Whether you join in the Bike Month festivities or May is just another month of riding for you, get out and enjoy May on two wheels in the Lone Star State!

Bike Month Proclamation

Bike Month is nearly upon us! Cities, schools, and bike clubs across Texas are gearing up for a great month of riding. Is your city ready?

Below is a sample proclamation you can customize to declare that May is Bike Month in your city and across Texas. Let’s make Texas a great place to bike and walk!

The City/County of ____

Proclamation

Whereas, the bicycle is an economical, healthy, convenient, and environmentally sound form of transportation and an excellent tool for recreation and enjoyment of [insert city/county]’s scenic beauty; and

Whereas, throughout the month of May, the residents of [insert city/county] and its visitors will experience the joys of bicycling through educational programs, races, commuting events, charity events, or by simply getting out and going for a ride; and

Whereas, [insert city/county]’s road and trail system attracts bicyclists each year, providing economic health, transportation, tourism, and scenic benefits; and

Whereas, creating a bicycling-friendly community has been shown to improve citizens’ health, well-being, and quality of life, growing the economy of [insert city/county], attracting tourism dollars, improving traffic safety, supporting student learning outcomes, and reducing pollution, congestion, and wear and tear on our streets and roads; and

Whereas, BikeTexas, [insert local bicycle club/ organization/chamber/tourism bureau/regional planning organization], the League of American Bicyclists, schools, parks and recreation departments, police departments, public health districts, hospitals, companies and civic groups will be promoting bicycling during the month of May 2013; and

Whereas, these groups are also promoting bicycle tourism year round to attract more visitors to enjoy our local restaurants, hotels, retail establishments, and cultural and scenic attractions; and

Whereas, these groups are also promoting greater public awareness of bicycle operation and safety education in an effort to reduce collisions, injuries, and fatalities and improve health and safety for everyone on the road; and

Now therefore, I, _____, Mayor/Executive of [insert city/county], do hereby proclaim May 2013 as

Bike Month

in [insert city/county], and I urge all residents to join me in this special observance

Signed this ___ day of May, 2013

Mayor/Executive _______________

Many thanks to the Bicycle Alliance of Washington for making the sample text available on their website!

Riding 24/7

By Anne Gorman

Liam Musgrove, a 27 year-old Houstonian, expresses his love of cycling by offering a whole new level of convenience and luxury to Houston’s most dense urban neighborhoods.

Clutch Delivery, the city’s first full-service bicycle delivery company, rides around the clock to provide the most time-savvy individuals with what they’d like to have, be it to-go food, groceries, farmers’ market items, prescriptions or normal courier packages. Clutch Delivery was built out of Liam’s commitment to pedal power as a way to reduce the carbon footprint that the delivery industry tends to create. He sees cycling as the best option for deliveries, making the erasure of miles driven a reality in a town so closely linked to the perpetuation of car culture. His business model provides affordable delivery options to locally owned restaurants and other small businesses. Since his list of spots to pick up from is flexible, he offers local workers and residents a larger variety of options for lunch and dinner. As his goals are fulfilled, he hopes to have built a utopian cycling life, which will support him and four to eight individuals.

Through high school, Liam rode the MS150 with members of the school swim team. Since then, he decided to give up driving an automobile and has developed and maintained a car(e)-free urban lifestyle. He enjoys bike polo and has a knack for masterminding bike scavenger hunts.

These days his bicycle sports a cargo rack and, occasionally, a trailer with a maximum load ability of 150 pounds. His business is growing, but is only a fraction of what it could be a decade from now.

See www.clutchdelivery.com for more details.

Progress on Houston's Bayou Trails Network

By Charley Olena

Houston is about to be a nation-wide leader in off-street, safe, shared-use paths. That’s right, Houston—the town usually known for its freeways and traffic—has approved a major bond initiative aimed at completing a 100-year-old idea to unite its bayous with parks and trails.

This is the biggest parks project in the state, and one of the largest in the nation. Currently, Houston has 75 miles of trails along the major bayous throughout the city, but will expand the trails to 150 miles in the city, connecting 77 parks with linear greenways along the banks of its bayous and filling in the major gaps in the system. The project, now known as Bayou Greenways 2020, is a public/private partnership with the city and area non-profits like the Houston Parks Board. Bayou Greenways 2020 will not only vastly increase the areas available to Houstonians for recreation, but will also create an alternative for transportation by uniting many of Houston’s major employment centers for bikes and pedestrians. Indeed, nearly 60% of all Houstonians will live within 1.5 miles of one of these parks or trails. The project is expected to be completed in seven years.

This spring, Houston Parks Board is bringing together community members, students, businesses, organizations, and biking groups to get involved and speak up about what this project means to them. We’ve already organized multiple bayou bike tours, collected over 2000 petitions, and we’re just getting started. If you’re in the area and want to get involved, or would like more information about the project, check out our website for more information. We can get these trails built here in Houston, but only with your help. See you on the trails!