| NewsWalk n’ Roll Wednesdays
Wednesday, September 12, Orange County Public Schools kicked off their Walk N’ Roll Program. This is a program designed to encourage students and parents to find alternative transportation to school and work, especially travel by bike and on foot. Thanks to BWCF Board member Jody Lazar, Co-creator of Walk N’ Roll Wednesdays, and Laurie Brown, also a BWCF board member, who invited us to join her at Audubon Park Elementary School, Marianne Popkins and Darlyn Kuhn handed out more than 100 “i Yield 4 Peds” bumper stickers and fliers at the first stop on their Walk N’ Roll tour. Walk N’ Roll recurs every second Wednesday throughout the year at Orange County elementary schools. Click here to read more abou the Walk N’ Roll program. We need volunteers to wave “i Yield 4 Peds” signs and distribute fliers to the parents. Contact Marianne at 407-412-5980 to sign up today!
Buying a New Bike?
Are you in the market for a new bike? Not sure what to look for? How do you know if the bike frame fits you? Click here to read Bicycle Magazine’s tips for buying a new bike.
Rainy Day Tip
 Here is an interesting idea from our friend Diana over at Commute Orlando: shower caps work great as cheap alternatives to saddle covers to prevent your bike seat from getting soaked. While you might spend $10-$20 on a cover, you will only spend a dollar or less for a pack of 3 shower caps from Publix. They are just as effective too! Click here for the full story.
Successful First Friday Ride
Thanks to all of you who came out to the September First Friday Ride last week. It was a lot of fun, and great to see new and familiar faces. Thanks to Mighk and Carol Wilson for finding the perfect shelter when a sudden shower hit. It was great to meet and mingle while waiting for dry skies. Join us for October’s First Friday Ride on October 5th. We will meet at the parking lot of the Menello Museum of American Art, across from Loch Haven Park, at 6:00 pm. See you there!
Cycling Savvy: More Classes Posted
Cycling Savvy is back! Sign up now for either of the two classes listed: September 28 or October 13. Cycling Savvy is a course on bicycle safety that teaches you how to drive your bike in traffic confidently and safely. It is especially useful now-a-days for people who are trying to cut back on car usage, either as a student or just to economize. Either way, this course will teach you all you need to know about driving your bike.
Ride-4-Ronald 2012
Do you enjoy cycling? Want to ride for a good cause? Well Ride-4-Ronald is for you! Ride-4-Ronald is an annual bike ride hosted by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida and sponsored by McDonalds and David’s World Cycle. It is an enthusiast-level biking event with 30, 60 and 100 mile bike routes. Last year, over 600 cyclists helped raise nearly $120,000 for the 1,500 families with seriously ill or critically injured children who stay at the two Ronald McDonald House Central Florida locations each year. Their goal is to raise $150,000 this year. Sign up now to participate in this fun event for a great cause! It will be on Sunday September 23, 2012.
Bicycle Parking Map
From our friends at Commute Orlando: Peter Martinez has created a collaborative Bike Parking map, designed to help Bicyclists plan their routes and park their bikes on secure racks, rather than a stop sign or a tree. This can also help us advise business of the need for a rack, better placement, or even reward them for doing it right! Read more . . .
Calling all HOAsThe Best Foot Forward community outreach campaign is in full swing. Over the fall we will be contacting every homeowners association registered with Orange County and the City of Orlando to enlist their help in getting our pedestrian safety message out to their membership. Big thanks to the Grovehurst Homeowners Association in Winter Garden for being one of the first to embrace the cause. See their post here. Also on board are the Lee Road and Apopka Safe Neighborhood Associations, who invited BFF’ers to speak at their September meetings about pedestrian safety.
Next steering committee meeting, 9 a.m., September 25
The Best Foot Forward Steering Committee will meet at 9 a.m., Tuesday, September 25th, at MetroPlan.
About Best Foot Forward
State law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and pedestrians to yield to cars when crossing outside of a crosswalk. In Orange County the fine for failure to yield is $164 and 3 points on your drivers license. Even so, our baseline data shows that, on average, only about five percent of drivers obey this law.
The five-year initiative is currently focused on Orange County and will expand into Seminole and Osceola counties as resources permit. Five cities, two towns, and Orange County have passed resolutions supporting the initiative. Orlando Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol, police agencies in Winter Park, Maitland and Eatonville, and police chiefs from throughout Orange County, have pledged their support to the initiative, launched by Bike/Walk Central Florida and the Florida Bicycle Association, with financial support from the Winter Park Health Foundation, MetroPlan Orlando and the Orlando Police Department.
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.
Events
Community Calendar Link
http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/community-calendar/
Recurring Rides(The next First Friday ride is October 5th)
First Fridays: Take it to the streets bike ride to promote civility: 6 p.m. on the First Friday of each month. Check our Facebook Fan page for start locations.
UCF Bike Bus: Downtown Orlando to UCF, then UCF to Downtown Orlando. Follow bike bus in real time via GPS at http://commuteorlando.com/bikebus/
Ride With Steve: Beginner ride. Meet at Winter Garden Wheel Works in Downtown Winter Garden, 8 a.m., Saturdays. – Sponsored by Winter Garden Wheel Works .
See our Calendar for other family rides:
www.bikewalkcentralflorida.org
S-Cargo farmers market rides featuring utility bikes and trailers
Ice Cream Socials: night rides through Downtown Orlando
Unless specifically designated as a trail ride, our rides take place on public streets. Headlights and red rear flashers are required for night rides. Helmets are encouraged, and are required for children under 16.
We observe all traffic laws and traffic signals.
Our rides are typically 10 to 15 miles, roundtrip, and average 10 miles an hour, a comfortable pace for most adults and teens. May be too fast for younger children and adults with health issues.
These rides are social in nature.
For longer, more aggressive group rides, subscribe to Hal Downing’s group ride newsletter by emailing [email protected] .
If you have a social ride you would like us to help promote, please email me at the address below.
Brad
Brad Kuhn
Executive Director
[email protected]
Bike/Walk Central Florida Would like to thank our sponsors:
|
Transforming Central Florida into a Premier Biking and Walking Community! 
