• Bike lanes coming to Uptown at S.Tryon overpass – Yes, for sure. The connector over I-277 should have lanes on both sides of the street and a widened sidewalk by the end of 2012 !
  

• New Chairperson for BAC committee – Jane Cacchione, CABA Advisory Board member and a key player on the local bike scene has  replaced CABA member Dick Winters. The Bicycle Advisory Committee advises the Mayor, City Council and County Council on bicycle policy and related isssues. Chris Gladora, also a CABA member, is the latest appointee to the BAC. Welcome aboard Chris !

• CABA to meet Paul Morris in Raleigh - In case you didn’t know, Mr. Morris is the new Deputy Director of NCDOT (that’s about as good as it gets) and reportedly a friend of bicyclists. We hope to team up with others across the state to talk seriously about how to deal with the crisis in bike funding in the U.S. Congress.

• Solar panels at IKEA – Not only does IKEA in University City have a huge set of bike racks and off-road pedestrian and cycle connectivity through their parking lot to their front door sidewalk, they are now going even further to address the challenge of a new green economy. Congratulations IKEA !

• WANTED: Additional members to CABA Board of Directors – This is a real opportunity to contribute to the cause of safe and fun cycling for our community. We are especially interested in diversifying the board – women, minorities, and under 35 candidates. Graphic design skills to help with website and special design needs, public relations skills to help with CABA volunteer coordination and promote the CABA brand, and someone to bring the CABA  successful bike valet service to the next plateau would be a great match to our mission and needs.

Contact us and tell us who you are: charlottebikes@gmail.org.

• Councilman John Autry – a true friend of cyclists – John, a loyal CABA member and newly elected District 5 Councilperson has been appointed chairperson of the Environmental Committee and member of the Transportation and Planning committee by Mayor Foxx. Both committees can have a huge impact on bicycling and walking in the Queen City.

There were 350 goofy and gaudy riders the first year... and 598 last year. But we can do much better this year ! So flutter your wings. It's all about the buzz.

It’s been moved to April Fool’s Day !

CABA will be a recipient of event day proceeds again this year  compliments of New Belgium Brewery.

………………………………………………..

CABA needs 9 volunteers

Get a FREE CABA memberships, a  FREE organic T-shirt, FREE Fat Tire Ale, and FREE grub for 3-4 hours of your time. To volunteer on-line, CLICK: CABA 2012. NOTE: Use this link instead of the UAR website to volunteer.

Francisco Montero, expert mechanic now with TrySports teaching bike fundamentals / august 2011

]]> http://charlottebikes.org/2012/01/06/a-typical-caba-monthly-forum/feed/ 0 martinzimmerman8 2 CABA Forum Francisco 8.8.11 http://charlottebikes.org/2012/01/05/caba-monthly-forum-sept-6/ http://charlottebikes.org/2012/01/05/caba-monthly-forum-sept-6/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:30:22 +0000 martinzimmerman8 http://charlottebikes.org/?p=7917 ]]> Come schmooze with us 

View this YouTube video..

…then pass it on.

A brilliant analogy – presenting the thesis that “the computer is the bicycle for our minds“.

A younger Steve Jobs speaks on memory and the imagination for a Library of Congress documentary

Thank you to Treehugger online and others for letting us know.

And his more recent comments at the commencement exercises of Stanford University:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.

Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

*                 *                *

Steve Jobs’  inventive genius, commitment and profound passion to causes larger than himself will be sorely missed.

]]> http://charlottebikes.org/2011/10/15/in-memoriam-steve-jobs/feed/ 0 martinzimmerman8 steve jobs http://charlottebikes.org/2011/10/01/catawba-lands-conservancy/ http://charlottebikes.org/2011/10/01/catawba-lands-conservancy/#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:05:56 +0000 martinzimmerman8 http://charlottebikes.org/?p=8092 ]]> Thomas W. Okel -  new Executive Director

From the Conservancy’s press release: “Tom joins the Conservancy after a twenty year successful career with Bank of America, where he most recently served as the Global Head of Bank of America’s Syndicated Capital Markets division….Tom officially assumes his position on October 3.”

Tom succeeds Davis Cable, with whom, along with Ann Browning and others of the Carolina Thread Trail staff, CABA has had a close and productive working relationship.

Welcome aboard Tom !

• CABA at Sustainability Fair at Belk headquarters – CABA recently participated along with allied organizations to demonstrate how and why living and moving green is the wave of the future. Met some folks who bike to work even though Belk is in a business park way out on Tyvola ! Thanks to Mimi Crumrine for the invite.
• “Get Well”, Ed Moyers –  We hear that Ed is recovering from a broken left shoulder in a mishap commuting to Duke Energy in Uptown. Ed has been at the helm of the Bicycle Commuter Mentor Program for the past 6 +/- years, and he is a former member of the CABA Board of Directors. We wish you a speedy recovery Ed ! Click the icon on the right column of this page to find out more about BCMP.
• Bike racks galore ! –  update –  We now have racks at Dilworth Neighborhood Grille, the Music Factory, Common Market,  15 Harris Teeters, 22 BofA branch banks, several office buildings in the UNCC Research Park and many other locations. Funds for all racks are provided by the Charlotte Dept. of Transportation under contract to CABA for marketing and installation. We’re getting closer to our goal of 100 racks on commercial sites in the Queen City. Looks like more will be coming soon to Dilworth Drug shop at Kenilworth Commons on East Blvd. Any suggestions ? We still have a some available. Let us know by clicking the comment bubble below.
• UNCharlotte Cyclists - They are now officially a CABA community partner – Thanks to UNCC student and CABA member, Ray Atkinson for sending us their logo so we can (belatedly) add to the CABA website. We intend to keep working closely with Ray and his student,staff and faculty colleagues to make the voice for bicycle advocacy on this campus of 25,000 students is loud and clear. For more information: CLICK: Bikes on Campus.
• First Flight Bikes of Statesville wins Top 100 bike shop award from Bicycling Magazine -This may seem like old news to some of you, but to us it’s brand new. Bumped into owner Jeff Archer at a recent Trailblazers monthly meeting and he told us. First Flight  has the distinction of housing the Museum of Mountain Bike Art &  Technology where you can see hundreds of vintage mountain bikes on display.
  CLICK: www.mombat.org …or CLICK: Top 100.

Hit and run death 

Ghost Bike memorial gathering - photo courtesy of: Weldon Weaver

A private reward in the amount of $1,000 has been established by CABA through the Charlotte Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers to be used as a reward for tips leading to the arrest of the hit and run driver who killed Edward “Carl” Hedrick early a.m. on May 14 on Poindexter Road near South Boulevard.  Crime Stoppers will pay up to an additional $1,000 for information leading to the closure of this case.  For details on the crash see: Charlotte Velo. Contact CMCS anonymously at 334-1600.

Read more details including map showing crash location see  Charlotte Velo website.

Photos by Weldon Weaver

8 p.m. Sept 14 - “2 Seconds”  - showing at Common Market courtyard in the South End 

Director Manon Briand brilliantly offers a glance …as she captures what it means for a champion mountain-bike racer to embrace life after she is forced to end her career and move to the city to be a bike courier. 68 minutes. Make sure to come on time. Vintage 1932 film; a rare find indeed..

Thanks to Keith, Chuck Barger and the urban grunge gang at this unique venue for making this happening ….well, happen !