Category: Bicycle Advocacy

A hard-luck bicycling family history

Bicycling has had fatal consequences for a North Carolina family.

Three members of the Hedrick family have died while riding their bicycles. Now a fourth is hospitalized after being struck by a hit and run driver in the Salisbury area, about halfway between Charlotte and Greensboro.

Tommy Hedrick, 58, is in fair condition in the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte after being struck by a light-colored, four-door Malibu or other GM car. Like his father before him …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/02/02/a-hard-luck-bicycling-family-history/

Oh la la! Free bicycle use in Paris

When it comes to using bicycles to solve the problems of traffic congestion, pollution and dependence on foreign oil, I'd say Europeans are on the right track.

While President Bush mentions plans in the State of the Union address to make the US less dependent on foreign oil (without ever mentioning bicycle use), Paris decided to put up to 14,000 free bicycles on the streets by this summer.

The city has chosen a French advertising firm to set up a free bicycle service with between 14,000 and 20,000 bicycles available at more than 1,000 bike stations …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/02/01/oh-la-la-free-bicycle-use-in-paris/

New bicycle route for tragic fund-raiser in South Carolina

Organizers for the 2007 Breakaway to the Beach MS150 bicycle tour are changing the route for the first time in 12 years.

The Breakaway — touted as the largest bicycling event in the Southeast with 2,500 riders — ended tragically last year when 15-year-old Rachel Giblin and her brother, Tommy, were struck by a passing pickup truck pulling a trailer. Rachel died.

Instead of taking a two-day route from Columbia to North Myrtle Beach, this year the Breakaway to the Beach starts, overnights and finishes at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The fund-raiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society is scheduled for Sept. 15-16.

Anne Marie Forbes, president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter, told me about the change of plans …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/30/new-bicycle-route-for-tragic-fund-raiser-in-south-carolina/

Opposition to 3-foot bicycle buffer bill in California

Newspapers in California are beginning to pick up on the proposed legislation that would require motorists to give bicycles three feet of space when they drive past.

A story, “Cyclists like push for safety in bill” (that unfortunately quotes just one cyclist), printed by several MediaNews newspapers around the state reports that the same opponents to an earlier version of the bill that was defeated last April are lining up again.

From what I read, here's the major argument posed by the opponents: …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/29/opposition-to-3-foot-bicycle-buffer-bill-in-california/

Wisconsin bike group removes director

Looks like the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin might be searching for a new executive director.

The Wisconsin bicycle advocacy group's executive committee has removed Darwin Ward, executive director since the fall of 2002, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. No explanation was given for the removal.

Members were surprised by the action and some were disturbed by the way it happened….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/27/wisconsin-bike-group-removes-director/

Can bicycle and motorcycle groups make roads safer?

Bicyclists and motorcyclists have more in common than just their desire to tool around on two wheels. Along with pedestrians, both types of bikers are extremely vulnerable to mistakes motorists make.

The American Motorcycle Association has taken a leading role in pushing for traffic justice through state capitols across the nation. When the League of American Bicyclists meets in Washington DC for its annual National Bike Summit March 13-16, representatives from the motorcycle association will be on hand to discuss their efforts.

The motorcycle group's Justice for All Campaign focuses on inadequate sentencing of drivers who injure or kill others on the road. They seek 3 changes in state laws …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/18/can-bicycle-and-motorcycle-groups-make-roads-safer/

No charges in September charity bike ride death; parents react

UPDATED: Jan. 16 — South Carolina police said Monday that no charges will be filed in the bicycling death of Rachel Giblin, a 15-year-old girl who was struck by a pickup truck during a MS 150 bike ride last September.

Rachel and her brother, Tommy, were riding a tandem bicycle in the Breakaway to the Beach fund-raiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on Sept. 16, 2006, with their parents.

In the months following the fatality, Highway Patrol investigators determined that Rachel and her brother fell and were hit as the pickup truck passed.

Rachel's parents dispute that version and want the case reopened. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/16/no-charges-in-september-charity-bike-ride-death-parents-react/

California and Texas wrangling over 3-foot clearances for bicycle riders

Bicycle advocates in California and Texas are lobbying for state laws that would require passing vehicles to give at least 3 feet of clearance when passing bicycles.

Efforts to pass 3-foot legislation have failed in both states before.

The California bill, entitled AB 60, was introduced by Assemblyman Pedro Nava of Santa Barbara in memory of a cyclist killed by a passing truck on a narrow road. The Texas bill has yet to be filed. If the bills pass, the two states would join seven others that currently have similar laws …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/09/california-and-texas-wrangling-over-3-foot-clearances-for-bicycle-riders/

Bike group appeals decision to support driveways over trail

Where is it that a main thoroughfare has stop signs, but private driveways have none? At car crossings for the Burke-Gilman trail in Lake Forest Park near Seattle.

For years, bicyclists on the heavily used paved trail have had to stop at numerous driveways and minor street crossings that access waterfront properties on Lake Washington. At times, police have even issued tickets to cyclists who didn't come to a full stop.

Now that Lake Forest Park has upheld this law in Ordinance 951, the Cascade Bicycle Club is appealing that decision …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/04/bike-group-appeals-decision-to-support-driveways-over-trail/

Jobs for bicycle advocates

If you're looking to take your interest in bicycling to a professional level, here are some advocacy jobs I've stumbled across recently. The positions in Burlington, Vermont, Napa County, California, and Washington DC all require an interest in cycling, as well as experience in other administrative duties….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/12/12/jobs-for-bicycle-advocates/