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]]> http://charlottebikes.org/2010/08/29/weekly-news-and-views-blog/feed/ 0 martinzimmerman8 http://charlottebikes.org/2010/08/29/caba-monthly-meeting-sept/ http://charlottebikes.org/2010/08/29/caba-monthly-meeting-sept/#comments Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:00:48 +0000 martinzimmerman8 http://charlottebikes.org/?p=2605 ]]> Monday Sept 13 – Come join us

LOCATION: Uptown Cycles on West Morehead, (but be very careful on Morehead just past stadium if riding a bike).

TIME: 6:30 – 8 pm.  Meet kindred spirits. You don’t have to be a CABA member to participate. Bike rack out front. Meetings start and end on time.

MEETING TOPIC: Ending Road Rage

GUEST SPEAKER: Marc Gustafson, a Charlotte attorney, will discuss an important community based effort that is just beginning called “Respect the Loop”. The idea is to find a way to ease tensions along the Booty Loop (and elsewhere in Charlotte). Marc has been working with Spencer Lueters, (founder of the 24 Hours of Booty and CABA Advisory Board member), the CMPD, Queens College, etc. to develop a spirit of mutual trust and cooperation between cyclists and others.

Do you have a guest speaker in mind or a topic to discuss ? Let us know via the  Comment bubble below.

By now, most of you probably know who Tara Servatius is. It was on her news-talk radio program in early July that she took aim at everyday cyclists labeling them as a band of social deviants, a rant she repeated in Creative Loafing and which touched off a fire-storm of response that lasted for several weeks. If you didn’t tune in by radio, or TV, you probably saw the great August 12 Observer editorial and the  provocative Kevin Siers cartoon.

In our 600 word rebuttal to Tara in Creative Loafing, CABA did its best (with Attorney Ann Groninger and bike shop owner Melissa Bell) to contribute a voice of reason amidst a very contentious process.  And if the many supportive emails and phone calls we got are any indication, CABA’s efforts were much appreciated.

What Tara failed to recognize was that we cyclists are no different from anyone else, including some of us who lack the means to own and operate a car. We know Ms. Servatius has it all wrong. We know that bicycling boils down to the very practical choice of connecting to work, shopping, school or a friend’s house. Or riding through the neighborhood to the nearest greenway. Or taking in a movie, a coffee house or pub. Or getting guaranteed free “bike valet” parking at the annual Quail Hollow Championship golf tournament (CABA volunteers parked over 200 cyclists this year!).

CABA is one of 160 local, state and national advocacy groups whose collective mission is no less than to redefine the role of everyday bicycling in American life. At a time when words like “green” and “sustainability” have taken on increased urgency, bicycling is simply the sensible and logical option for an individual or household to make.

By joining CABA you invest in this mission.

Your support can help us move forward on an array of projects all meant to make your next ride easier, safer and a lot more fun. Thanking you in advance for your commitment to a progressive bicycle agenda for our community – - and happy cycling ! – CABA Board of Directors / Dan Faris, Chairman

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Join at discounted individual rate of $15 by Labor Day. Receive a Planet Bike  flashing red bike tail light ($29.95 retail value) if you join at the standard $35 rate.

All new members also qualify for 10% discounts for as many times as they want at 14 area bike shops. This is a very popular incentive during these recessionary times.

TO JOIN BY CREDIT CARD – CLICK: How to Join tab at the top of this page.

TO JOIN BY CHECK – send to Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance, 1616 Bonnie Lane , Charlotte 28213 [pls. add your email address, snail mail address and phone # on your check].

From Clean Air Carolina: The EPA is expected to announce shortly its new standard for ozone pollution. And it is expected it will be stronger than the current standard of 2008.  The new standard will  probably be within 60-70 parts per billion (ppb).  Charlotte area has never met an ozone standard set forth by the EPA in the past 25 years.  Are we ready for an even tougher standard?  So far this Ozone Season, our region has exceeded 70 ppb 50 times with one of those days observed as a Code Red day (151 ppb) and 13 of those days observed as Code Orange days which exceeds 101ppb.  Charlotte region is ranked 10th smoggiest by the American Lung Association.

At Common Market Courtyard in S.End

Not quite Hollywood and Vine

“Pee Wee Herman’s Adventure” is coming in September ! - Last week’s feature fillm is “Quicksilver” starring Kevin Bacon brought 50 movie-buffs to the Common Market courtyard on a beautiful night.

Thanks to CABA Board member Keith Sorensen and the gang at Common Market for making this happening happen.

Taking away our freedoms ??

Colorado Tea Party candidate, Dan Mayes says beware of the bike share. Hey, there’s nothing bad about drinking tea, but this guy must have added waaaaaay too much sugar.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes has warned voters that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s efforts to boost bike riding, are “converting Denver into a United Nations community.“ “This is all very well-disguised, but it will be exposed,” Maes told about 50 supporters who showed up at a campaign rally a few weeks ago. Maes said in a later interview that he once thought the mayor’s efforts to promote cycling and other environmental initiatives were harmless and well-meaning. Now he realizes “that’s exactly the attitude they want you to have.”

“This is bigger than it looks like on the surface, and it could threaten our personal freedoms,” Maes said. To read more CLICK:  Denver Post story

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Renovation is underway - UPDATE: Espada is officially moving from behind the (former) Center of the Earth Gallery in NoDA to the front onto North Davidson street (in the current Beet shop space)! In the meantime check-out their weekly rides on Tues. eves. Congratulations, Nick and Steve.  For more info contact: steve@espadabicycles.com  (BTW: Espada is espanol for“sword”).

Win a  FREE CABA membership ($35 value) plus 10% discounts at 14 area bike shops and… a free USAir one-way trip to balmy Denver (NC that is). Includes all the Fat Tire drafts you can chug at Bubba Furgee’s Tap Room. Tell us who you are by clicking the comment cloud below.

HINT: We're talkin' Uptown Charlotte, folks.

Looking North - Panthers stadium beyond

Thanks to CDOT planning and engineering staff for a job well-done.  From Uptown they start just south of the I-277 underpass and go for several blocks almost to West Blvd.

A new national service – The idea is having a national network of bike shops where you can rent – over 300 shops (including Bikeline in University City) in 225 cities list their available rental bikes online so tourists and residents alike can easily find and reserve bikes 24/7. Everyone wins because the shop gets free liability insurance and  the consumer gets free roadside assistance.

Not a bad idea, wouldn’t you agree ?