Bike Traps Coming to a Road Near You

Listen to the Broadcast from KSL NewsRadio 1160: "Five Utah police agencies will be participating in a state-sponsored crackdown on motorists who aren't sharing the roads with bicycles"

Bicyclists, state officials gather to honor Lucinda Means

"Despite an unusually dry spring, a steady rain settled into Lansing on Thursday, coloring the day a respectful shade of gray.

In most circumstances, such weather would be far from perfect for a long bicycle procession and public ceremony.

But the honoree that day was Michigan's foremost proponent of bicycling, Lucinda Means, head of the League of Michican Bicyclists, who had died of a stroke at the age of 49 just two weeks before. To many of the participants, anything other than rain would have seemed frivolous." Read the article.

"The Early Show" Covers Bicycling

The Early Show on CBS did an interesting spot on bicycling during their Consumer Watch segment. Check out the VideoCBS News | Bike Advice From The Big Wheels | May 20, 2005�12:00:18: "It is National Bike Month as designated by the League of American Bicyclists, and May 16-20 is Bike to Work Week. But before you go out and purchase a bike, there are safety issues to consider."

Email from a League member...

Greetings,
In an effort to show all the support I could the attached photos are the bikes I rode to work this week. My Saturday and Sunday bikes are a Record equipped Merlin Solis and a hot-rodded Trek Madone 5.9 SL! Should I seek therapy?
James Hessler
Cyclist at Large
p.s. these bikes are my therapy.

Yesterday a League member sent in an interesting email:

Try bicycling for a sense of outdoor freedom - May 13, 2005

Try bicycling for a sense of outdoor freedom - May 13, 2005: "May is National Bike Month, and I can�t think of a better way to embrace its objectives and enjoy the outdoors than to cruise along on a bicycle. Rising gas prices and a national trend for carrying extra body weight might be the nudge you need to dust off the bicycle that has been sitting idle in your garage."

Sessions Amendment Threatens Core Bike Funding

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is offering an amendment today, Monday May 16, which would slash funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects in the Senate transportation bill. Although the measure is not expected to pass, The League of American Bicyclists is urging its supporters to contact their Senators to ask them to oppose the Sessions Amendment (646).

A strong show of support for bicycle and pedestrian project funding will help us in the final stages of negotiation: the conference committee between House and Senate members that will convene after the Senate has passed its bill (SAFETEA). The Senate is expected to end debate on SAFETEA as early as Tuesday.

Action!
Contact your senator by e-mail, visit http://www.senate.gov/ and then go to your senator’s individual Web site to find contact information.

Background
Senator Sessions’ amendment seeks to reduce the overall funding level in the Senate transportation bill by $11bn (to bring it in line with the funding level approved by the Budget Committee on which Sessions serves) – and proposes to do it by slashing funding for two of the primary funding sources for bicycling and walking projects.

The amendment will cut funding for public transit by $5 billion, clean air improvements funded by the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program by $4 billion, community building and transportation options funded under the Transportation Enhancements program by $1.1 billion, and smart transportation strategies funded under the TCSP program by $100 million. These changes and some others total $10.7 billion.

The amendment singles out these funding programs from the dozens of programs in the proposed Senate legislation, and chooses this approach over across the board cuts. This gratuitous attack on some of the core transportation programs established by ISTEA in 1991 must be soundly rejected in order to send a message to members of Congress who will be negotiating the final bill in conference committee. They need to know that cutting these programs is simply not an option.