February Club Meeting

The Helena Bicycle Club (HBC) is working hard to make Helena a very bicycle friendly community. In partnership with the Helena Bicycle Club (HBC), the Non-Motorized Travel Advisory Council (NMTAC) is asking for cyclist comments on the proposed network of signed and striped bike lanes at the Helena Bicycle Club’s February 28 meeting at 7 PM in room 207 at Helena College of Technology. The City Commission passed a Complete Streets resolution in 2010, directing City staff to incorporate complete street principles into existing City Code and rules. The resolution’s goal is, over time, to ensure that all Helena streets are safe and functional for all that use them. Melinda Barnes, a member of NMTAC and Gail Beckner, a staffer for NMTAC will give a brief overview of what complete streets are, why they are important, and how they are being incorporated into Helena City Code and regulations. Helena’s bicycle community has an opportunity to come together and make a difference by speaking out for safer bike routes, complete streets and comment on the city’s proposal for bike routes in Helena. Make a difference by coming to HBC’s Meeting and make Helena a safer bicycle friendly community.

2012 Survey Results

Forty-six HBC members completed our 2012 Survey, and the results reveal a membership with some definite, if far-ranging cycling interests. The full results are posted here on the club’s web page (in Excel format), but here’s a summary. Thanks for taking the time to fill this puppy out. Now that we better know who we are and what we want, it will be easier to shape the coming years programs and rides to fulfill our cycling desires.

Draft HBC Communications Strategy

Rob and Bruce met today and discussed the club's various communications channels. As of now we have a web presence (this page), a printed newsletter, a Yahoo listserv, and we use MailChimp for broadcasting short messages to members. Rob and I feel that this leaves some room for simplification. Here are the elements we'd like to end up with:

1. A listserv or mailing list that is easy to use, that allows any HBC member to post or reply to posts (for show-and-go rides, want ads, etc.), and low headache, one that works with any flavor of email;
2. A printed newsletter, about 9 issues a year; and
3. A web presence that combines and archives (sort of) relevant material from the listserv and newsletter.

We recommend discontinuing use of MailChimp, and either teaching all willing HBC members how to use Yahoo Groups, or, replacing Yahoo with a generic, simple, but flexible listserv service from a commercial vendor.

Going forward, Bruce commits to exploring our options for a simpler listserv, and Bruce and Rob will report on this at our upcoming HBC Board meeting.

Three-foot Passing Laws -- Editorializing

Nineteen states have a laws requiring motorized vehicles to pass cyclists leaving at least a three-foot gap. There's a wide variety of language used in statute to protect cyclists (extracts linked below), but here's a typical one from New Hampshire: "... the distance shall be deemed to be reasonable and prudent if it is at leat 3 feet when the vehicle is traveling at 30 mph or less, with one additional foot of clearance for every 10 mph above 30 mph." 


[From the Biking Biz blog]


"The 19 states with 3-foot laws are: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia (July 1), Illinois, Louisiana, Kansas (as of July 1, 2011), Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.  (Connecticut, New Hampshire enacted in 2008; Colorado and Louisiana in 2009; Maryland and Mississippi in 2010.)"


I wonder if this might be an appropriate law in Montana? Or is this another example of passing a law made unnecessary by usual courtesy?

January 24, 2012 Meeting

John Umstead will speak about his participation in the 2011 Tour Divide at the Helena Bicycle Club Meeting, Tuesday, January 24^th, 7:00 P.M. at UM Helena, Room 207.

Helena’s own John Umstead tackled the most difficult mountain bike race in the world, the Tour Divide. A cross-country mountain bike race that follows the Continental Divide from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, N.M.. John Umstead rode his bike self-supported along all the 2,745 miles Mountain Bike Route. He finished 32^nd out of 84 starters and completed the 2,745 mile in 24 days, 1 hour. Come and hear his story.

Much of What Appears New, Isn't

The 1946 Alex Singer (an all-road bike, fenders, lights, racks) weighed a little over 17 pounds fully equipped. Or so, more or less, writes Jan Heine, Editor, Bicycle Quarterly in a recent blog entry. The Singer was steel, robust, festooned with useful goodies, and had (by today's standards) fat-ish tires. How can this be? Read all about it.


I am not a retro-grouch, but this makes me think.

Cycling Eight

A heartwarming story of eight pioneering women cyclists, Michigander teenaged girls!, from one of my favorite cycling blogs:

http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2011/09/cycling-eight.html

They touring in style, on a shoestring, but they sure enough toured!

Recommended during this holiday season.

B.