Bike/Walk Central Florida

Thank you, volunteers!

Brad — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:09:48 +0000

The forecast called for thunderstorms and for some reason that kept people from riding their bicycles to Earth Day – go figure. Still, it’s nice to be remembered, and Ms. Nature must have approved, despite the big-old carbon footprint, because the weather, though breezy, was beautiful. Our volunteers outnumbered our customers, but we were conveniently located next to the Aveda beauty school and at least one volunteer availed herself of the opportunity to get a salon-quality cut for only $10. Thanks to all of our great volunteers: Anna McCambridge, Andrew Harrell, John Randle, Keri Caffrey, Darlyn Kuhn, and Diana Steele. Big ups to our new friend, diabetes warrior Cesar Cesareo, of the Tour de Cure, for loaning us bike racks that met Orlando Parks & Rec requirements prohibiting sprinkler-killing stakes. Special mention, as well, to Andrew, who went above and beyond to pick up the bike racks and drop them off. The weather held until about 5 p.m., when we saw the big green blob on the weather radar and packed it in. We were all home, high and dry, when the weather hit.

West Orange Trail

Brad — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:04:35 +0000

Just a few miles from metropolitan Orlando and Walt Disney World, the West Orange Trail is a central Florida attraction of a different sort. This world-class rail-trail, which travels through the communities of Winter Garden and Apopka, offers a rewarding experience and excellent facilities for the visitor. Among the highlights along the trail are a xeriscape/butterfly garden about a mile east of the Oakland Outpost, the Winter Garden Historical Museum and some picturesque views of Lake Apopka. The trail also provides access to and from Clarcona Horseman’s Park, offering equestrians a staging area for their visit. The constant changes in scenery and the relaxed atmosphere of the towns along the way make this a great ride. This trail will eventually be a part of the 250-mile planned regional connection known as the Heart of Florida Greenway Loop. Read more …

Can you see me now?

Brad — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:55:09 +0000

Here’s one solution to raise pedestrian visibility at night. Perhaps not the most practical, but you gotta admit, it’s darn effective.As we prepare to roll out our Best Foot Forward community coalition on pedestrian safety, we’d love to hear your ideas on ways we can get our message out into the community.

I think this one might actually work on I-Drive, or someplace where we’re looking to get our message across in a positive, but effective way. If nothing else, I think I’ve found my Halloween costume for this year.

Florida law says drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing with a walk signal, or trying to cross at an unsignalized intersection. In Orange County, the fine for failure to yield is $164 and 3 points on your drivers license. And yet, our baseline data shows that, on average, only about five percent of drivers obey this law.

OPD and the Orange County Sheriff are going to be looking for violators, starting this summer. Statistics show that in the Orlando Kissimmee Metro, we kill one pedestrian each week and injure two a day. Bike/Walk Central Florida, and our community partners — MetroPlan Orlando, Winter Park Health Foundation, Orlando Health, Lynx, Orange Cycle, David’s World Cycle, Track Shack, the mayors, police chiefs and engineering departments of the Cities of Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Eatonville, other cities, plus Orange County, are going to change that.

On May 30, we plan to launch a county-wide initiative in Orange County, aimed at increasing the percentage of drivers yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks and encouraging pedestrians to use those crosswalks. This so-called “Triple-E” approach combines low-cost engineering with education and high-visibility enforcement, to fundamentally change the crosswalk culture in support of ongoing efforts by cities, counties and the Florida Department of Transportation, to make our streets safer.

At our first law enforcement training operation, Orlando Police issued warning fliers to drivers failing to yield at problem crosswalks around the city. More than 400 drivers were stopped over the course of three hours. Research has shown that those drivers will tell at least six people each, for a total reach of 2,800 drivers. Orange County Sheriff training will begin in June.

The Orange County School Board plans to review our pedestrian education curriculum this summer for possible use, districtwide, in the fall. This is a significant development. Fingers crossed.

When was the last time you saved a life? Your contributions of $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, or more, can make a big difference. Checks should be made out to the Florida Bicycle Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and mailed to: Betsy Holl at: P.O. Box 916715, Longwood, FL 32793-6715. Please specify that you are donating to Best Foot Forward.

Bike with Buddy

Brad — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:53:16 +0000

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s 2012 Bike-to-Work day is May 25th. Join Bike/Walk Central Florida, Cycling Savvy, and a couple hundred of your friends and neighbors for a fun ride from Dartmouth Park in College Park, to Orlando City Hall. Round up your co-workers, put together a team. This is a fun, healthy way to rediscover how much fun it is to ride your bike.

Orlando Urban Trail

Brad — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 07:16:47 +0000

Clearing and paving has begun on a 1.2-mile segment of the Orlando Urban Trail from Magnolia Avenue mostly along the old Dinky Line rail bed to Lake Formosa, where the trail already circles the lake and heads north along Mills Avenue to Winter Park. The new segment should be complete by May, a construction worker said. (read more)

Yield For Pedestrians

Brad — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 20:27:11 +0000

Counting down the days until May 15th. That’s our current target for the public unveiling of this juggernaut we call “Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety.” In the past few days, we’ve met with several more cities, and the Altamonte PD. Want to be a hero? When was the last time you saved a life? Right now, in Central Florida, we’re killing a pedestrian a week and injuring two every day. We know we can do better, and we’ve got the data from other markets that have tried, and succeeded. Your contributions of $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, or more, can make a big difference. Checks should be made out to the Florida Bicycle Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and mailed to: Betsy Holl at: P.O. Box 916715, Longwood, FL 32793-6715. Please specify that you are donating to Best Foot Forward.

Climb every mountain

Brad — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 20:19:31 +0000

To say that the view was spectacular would be an understatement. Even though there were at least a dozen people at the top, everyone treated this area like a shrine – not a word was spoken, everyone was taking in the splendor before them. It was utterly peaceful. The brief looks that were exchanged with others told volumes in the shared experience. We had each done something very special that day. (Read more)

Volunteer: Earth Day Bike Valet!

Brad — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:31:26 +0000

Come on down to the Earth Day celebration at Lake Eola, April 21st, help us park bikes and spread the word about Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety, our community-wide coalition to save lives and reduce pedestrian injuries. Need 20 volunteers to work in pairs – 10 1-hour shifts. Also need help setting up and breaking down. Setup starts at 8:30. Event runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Stop for her, or stop for him . . .

Brad — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:27:51 +0000

Momentum is building. The Best Foot Forward team is hard at work developing the educational and promotional materials we’ll be using to raise community awareness of the Florida Statute that requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. As the illustration above suggests, enforcement will play an important role in helping us get more drivers to yield, but education and public awareness are also important.

As we enter the “Fair Warning” phase of the project, we are looking for community leaders to help us get the word out. Community groups, social service organizations, churches, anywhere we can find large groups of people interested helping us make our streets safer, we’ll be there, spreading the word, until it will be hard to find anyone who isn’t aware of the law. Hopefully they’ll join the cause and proudly post their promise with one of our: “I Yield 4 Peds” stickers.

We’ll be posting more of our materials as we get them. Let’s start with a pop quiz. Which side of this intersection is considered a legal crosswalk where drivers must yield to pedestrians under Florida law?

Trick question: ALL sides are legal, enforceable crosswalks. Unless a driver has been granted specific permission to proceed — such as with a green traffic signal, drivers are required to yield to pedestrians at all intersections, whether or not a crosswalk is marked.

March 1st – Movie Night to benefit BWCF

Brad — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:46:43 +0000

Join Bike/Walk Central Florida (BWCF) at the beautiful Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, 7 p.m., Thursday, March 1, for the Central Florida premiere of Bicycle Dreams, the award-winning documentary about the Race Across America (RAAM). The screening is a benefit for BWCF, and is co-sponsored by Winter Garden Wheelworks bike shop.

The film, which has won numerous awards at film festivals all over the world, “is an up-close look at what RAAM riders go through,” says Stephen Auerbach, the director and producer of Bicycle Dreams. “They deal with se

aring desert heat, agonizing mountain climbs, and endless stretches of open road. And they do it all while battling extreme exhaustion and sleep deprivation. It’s a great subject for a film.”

“Bicycle Dreams is a spectacular and heartfelt film that offers a riveting portrait of extreme courage in the face of inhuman obstacles,” writes TheLoveOfMovies.com. “It is an artistic triumph that renewed my belief in the power of desire and the strength of the human will.”

“We are very excited to be able to bring Bicycle Dreams to so many locations along the route that have never had access to the film before,” says Auerbach. “Viewers will be overwhelmed by the amount of pain and suffering these riders go through.”

To capture the mammoth scope of the race, Auerbach worked around the clock with a complement of 18 cameras. Embedded camera operators traveled inside the racers’ support crew vehicles, gaining unprecedented access to the cyclists and their teams. Their footage captured emotional and physical breakdowns, late-night strategy sessions, and great moments of personal triumph, all in intimate detail. Auerbach then took on the enormous task of editing hundreds of hours of material and forming it into a powerful and ins

piring look inside the most difficult race on the planet.

Bicycle Dreams has won major awards at the Fallbrook and Breckenridge film festivals, as well as the Yosemite, Grand Rapids, Red Rock and All Sports LA film festivals, among many others.

Most recently the film added the Best Foreign Film trophy from the Krasnogorski International Festival of Sports Films in Moscow and was also invited to be included in the 2011 World Cinema Showcase in New Zealand as well as the Mountain Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey. And before that it made its Australian debut at the Big Pond Film Festival in Adelaide.

Critical acclaim for the film continues to pour in from all sources.

“An astonishing documentary,” declares Pez Cycling. “This film is a ride of many stark contrasts; when it ended I felt both shattered and triumphant. I realized I was experiencing its genius. A central theme of Bicycle Dreams is the profoundly inspiring strength of the human in facing monumental challenge and tragedy. Bicycle Dreams is a race of truth.”

“This film isn’t for those who want to shy away from the tragic side of the human experience, unwilling to risk the cracking of their shell of denial, not willing to risk their coping mechanism,” writes Cycling-Review.com. “Bicycle Dreams captures the human condition like few other films. Bicycle Dreams moves us to break through the barrier of the fear of death. I have seldom found a film that captures this ‘life drama’ as powerfully as does Bicycle Dreams.”

Adds Podium Café, “Bicycle Dreams is the ultimate inner journey. If you thought the life of a cyclist was an internal struggle, wait until you see what Auerbach unearths in this film. Bicycle Dreams is an unprecedented exploration of the subject of the suffering on the bike.”

About.com writes, “As we fall deeper and deeper into Bicycle Dreams, what we witness grows more terrifying, yet more compelling. Auerbach’s masterful direction exposes the raw lessons that drive people to push beyond the limits of human endurance. Revealing what lies at the heart of every impossible human endeavor is what Bicycle Dreams is all about.”

And finally, Bicyc
le Touring Pro comments, “If you’ve ever dreamed of challenging yourself to a place far beyond what you previously thought was possible, Bicycle Dreams is a film you must see. It’s beautiful, thought provoking, exciting, emotional and scary. The experience of watching this film will leave you with a new perspective on life that will remain with you for a very long time to come.”

Bicycle Dreams also has been named one of the top 10 adventure films of all time by both The Matador Network and Playground Magazine, calling it the best bicycle film since “Breaking Away.”

Tickets will be $11 in advance and $15 at the door the night of the show. To purchase advance tickets, order online at www.imathlete.com/events/bicycledreams. The Garden Theatre is located at 160 West Plant St. in Winter Garden.

Bike/Walk Central Florida, created in 2010 through a grant from the Winter Park Health Foundation, is a community-supported nonprofit that promotes bicycle and pedestrian safety, the development and maintenance of recreational trails, and roads designed for all users. Although chartered as a chapter of the Florida Bicycle Association, all donations earmarked for Bike/Walk Central Florida are spent on Central Florida initiatives. To make a donation, or register for our weekly e-newsletter, visit www.bikewalkcentralflorida.org.

Winter Garden Wheelworks is located at 101 W. Plant St. in Winter Garden.

For more information on the film, go to www.bicycledreamsmovie.com, or visit us on Facebook.

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Media contact: Garry Harrington 603-209-5010 gharrington3165@hotmail.com