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The prominent placement of this sign that I noticed for the first time on my daily ride to work, noting BYU’s designation by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bicycle-Friendly University, on the main entrance road into campus speaks volumes to the university’s increased valuation of bicycling as well as walking (this road no longer serves as a thoroughfare through what is a now much more pedestrian friendly campus) and transit (evidenced by an expanded shuttle system and the administration’s clear support for a robust mass transit system around BYU).
Yes, BYU can do more but it is headed in the right direction thanks strong, forward-thinking leadership and members of the campus community who are concerned about campus and the wider community and the air we all breath. Let’s celebrate these developments and bike, walk, and make sure we create the best transit system possible with the Provo-Orem Transportation Improvement Project.
Y-Bike? Bicycle for health, for the environment, to not waste money on gas, to not worry about parking and being able to park much closer, for pure enjoyment. Have your bike inspected and serviced by Outdoors Unlimited, win some bike swag, and learn how to bicycle safely. Learn about the newly installed bike fix-it stations around campus and how BYU is becoming more bicycle friendly. There will be a bike ride for students new to commuting on bikes. Please pass the word along.
Organizations that will be there to answer your biking needs:
Provo Bicycle Committee
BYU Police Department
Provo Police Department
BYU Bicycle Club
Utah Transit Authority
Utah Highway Safety Office
Outdoors Unlimited
BYU Sustainability: Bike Sharing Program
Utah County Health Department
Last week BYU installed four of these DIY maintenance stations on campus–south of the law school, south of the Clyde bldg, between the ASB and JKB, and between the RB and Fieldhouse.
Funny back story: BYU of course wanted the stations to be blue but Park Tools has the trademark on any bike related tools that are blue so this bike station company cannot make stands that are blue. One option was red, but for BYU that of course would not do so they ordered green ones.
Thanks to the administration for taking another step in making campus more bicycle-friendly. Now for more covered bicycle parking and bike lockers.
BYU has not always been known for being the most bike friendly campus around. There have been movements and proposed movements over the years that would actually suggest that the campus was unsupportive of bicyclists and bicycles in general but, that is all about to change. BYU has announced two incredible projects that will increase the ease in which students can use bicycles not only on and around campus but also in and around our wonderful little city (Thank you Phil for the tip off). The first announcement has been in the works for a while and was fist officially announced yesterday. BYU will be closing Campus Drive to cars and opening it up entirely to pedestrian traffic! The plan is for the campus to piggy back on the construction that has been on 900 E starting this spring. The whole process is planned to be completed in 2015 and will yield a more ‘beautiful’ and ‘unified’ campus not to mention more options and reasons to walk/ride to campus. There are also potential plans of expanding student housing and making it car free! Do not worry if you use the bus as BYU is working closely with UTA to keep everything flowing smoothly.
To add to this incredible new environment that BYU is producing they have also begun a Bike Sharing program on campus! Students at BYU are now able to contact Outdoors Unlimited and rent bicycles for a term or a full semester. The rentals are very affordable at $15 or $30 a semester, and include a lock as well as maintenance when ever it is needed. The only thing I can add to an already awesome deal is that the students renting the bikes also get some sort of how to ride in Provo information so they obey the rules to the road. This rental program will be a great benefit for students who do not bring cars to campus and want to test out the waters or riding around before they commit. It will also help students get on a little bit nicer bike than they may be able to afford letting them enjoy and appreciate riding around instead of dreading it or having to worry about riding around on something that is broken and squeaky. If you can not tell from all the exclamation points I think that both of these programs will enhance student life by increasing transportation options and promoting healthy alternatives as well as our city in general, by setting great models in road design, and by getting more people on bikes. Way to go BYU!
Boy did you miss out if you were not on the last Monday Night Night Ride. A short ride from Joaquin Park led us to Kiwanis Park, and their incredible play grounds. Fun and feats of strength followed as the group of bicyclists played on the monkey bars, swings, and climbing rocks. I was having so much fun I only snapped these two pictures, which were the brain child of the Andrew U. As he said all our bikes, “Were just hanging out.” Make sure to not miss the next ride by joining the group here. See you next Monday!
(We were not sure how to move onto this post after the last one. We decided just to jump into it, but please do not take that as light mindedness concerning that very serious situation.)
We are wanting to revive the music and art scene in Provo and put it on the map of art friendly cities starting off with this event! ALL genres of music will be played for your listening pleasure AND there will be art for sale at multiple locations. EVERY artist and musician that will be featured has roots in Utah AND the proceeds from this festival will go directly to AFLA (Artists for Local Agriculture) and The Provo Bicycle Collective, so come on out and show some support for your community!
Wrist bands will be $10 (sale locations coming soon!) One wrist band gets you into EVERY show!
Venues:
Provo Bicycle Collective
-1100 west 49 North
Muse Music Cafe
-Provo 151 North University Avenue
If you are interested in playing, displaying art work, or sponsoring please contact us at: fusionfestutah@gmail.com
Get STOKED!
Best part is that this event is still two months out so you have no excuse to not make time for it :). I also hear that a good chunk of proceeds are going to the Collective. Not only will you get some awesome music/art you will also be helping keep the Collective’s doors open. Here is what you need to put on the calendar;
What: Fusion Fest 2012
When: August 10th and 11th
Where: Muse Music, and the Provo Bicycle Collective
We will keep you updated on all the details as they unfold. ps The organizers are still looking for sponsors if you are interested shoot them an email.
As all of you know the Provo Bicycle Collective is up and running. I was at the open house and it was a blast! If you have not stopped by the shop you should make it a point to do so, even if it is to say Hi. In lieu of the grand opening fellow Provo bike blogger Tucker Johnson has put together some videos to introduce the Collective as well as get the word out to all of you BYU students/friends of BYU students reading this. Make sure to share these all over and with everyone so that this great new resource will be put to good use. Now we need some videos for all you Wolverines out there.
Head over to the BYU Transportation Symposium for some great discussions on making Provo more bicycle friendly (and friendly for all road users). Provo Bicycle Committee Chair Zac Whitmore will be speaking, as will Mayor Curtis, Council Person Sterling Beck, and a several other city and county leaders concerned with transportation and bikeability. Here are the full details from the Transportation Symposium Facebook Event:
The symposium will feature speakers from the local government, as well as local businesses and agencies concerned with transportation in Salt Lake and Utah Valleys.
Speakers will include:
John Njord, Executive Director of Utah Transportation, Member of Governor’s Cabinet
Provo Mayor John Curtis
Hugh Johnson, Utah Valley Regional Manager of UTA
Sterling Beck, Provo City Councilman and Chair of Provo Transportation Committee
Shawn Seager, Senior Transportation Planner, Mountainland Association of Governments
Steven Call, Program Development Leader, Utah USDOT
Zac Whitmore, Chair of Provo Bicycle Committee
Don Jarvis, Utah Valley Earth Forum and Provo Sustainability Committee
It is that time of year again, Rivalry Ride time. What is the Rivalry Ride you ask? The Rivalry Ride is a bike ride challenge between the Mayors of SLC and Provo. The challenge is based on the BYU vs U of U game that is played in the fall. The losing city’s Mayor rides the 60 miles to the winning Mayor’s city. Since the last game between these two teams did not go so well for Provo we will be riding to SLC. However, and as always, bicycles are going to make our loss a win, but not without your help. In the past the ride has been a straight shot with no other distances to choose from, so if you were not a super biker, or at least a confident rider, it would not be very easy for you to participate. This year all of that is going to change. The City and the Provo Bicycle Committee have worked together to create a short version of the ride so everyone can come out and show the city that we (bicycle riders) really exist, and that riding safety is important to us. In fact the Provo Bicycle Committee is asking that all of us who are able to be at the event be there on our bicycles even if we can not ride the 6 mile short version of the ride. Here is all the info from the official Facebook event,
More Info
This year, bike six miles or 60. Your choice!The Utes won this year’s rivalry game, so Provo Mayor John Curtis (because BYU lost) and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker (because he’s nice) will bike approximately 60 miles from Provo to Salt Lake City, starting at the Provo City Center, 351 W. Center St., in Provo. There will be an opening ceremony on the north steps of the City Center at 9 a.m. with the bike ride starting at 9:30 a.m. It will end when all participants arrive at the Salt Lake City and County Building, 451 S. State St., in Salt Lake City.The public is invited to participate in the opening ceremonies and/or the ride at no cost. View the map of the route athttp://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/53901706.Those interested in a shorter route are invited to join in the first three miles of the ride to Lakeview Park, 2825 W. 1390 N., in Provo, about three miles from the City Center, for a total of six miles to the park and back.Participants are required to sign a waiver. Cougar fans should wear jerseys, shirts, or other articles of clothing in the color blue to show support for BYU. For more information at www.provo.org. Mad Dog Cycles will provide bike checks at the City Center prior to the opening ceremony and other support for the ride. (Thank you, Mad Dog Cycles.)Both mayors want to use the ride to encourage participation in the upcoming BYU v. U of U food drive that will take place November 12-26. Watch for more information about how to donate to Community Action Services and Food Bank.
We will make sure to keep you updated on the ride and keep you stocked full of reminders so that you can make sure to be there with us in support of our Mayor, and a lot of city staff, riding bicycles. For now make sure to head over to Facebook to invite your friends and let them know you are attending. Save the date, and see you there.
There are a lot of rides going on and a lot of people putting in hard work so that you have something to do on your bicycle even if it is getting a little chilly. We here at BikeProvo are going to be riding along and reporting on all the weekly happenings in Provo so you are in the know and the how.
It was a a chilly evening, the kind that are getting more and more common as the season rolls on. All I wanted to do was have some hot chocolate and polish up some reading I had. There was something that was nagging at me though, it was Monday night which meant that it was a Monday Night Night Ride. I had not been on one of these rides for awhile due to scheduling and family obligations, but tonight I was more or less free, and wanting to get another ‘BikeProvo Rides With’ segment out for all of you to read I threw on a light sweater, got my lights, and jumped on my trusty steed. With lights flashing and a bit of a chill in the air I rode over to Joaquin Park on 400N and 400E where the rides meets up.
Upon arriving I was the only one present, and was not sure if the ride was going to still be on or not, however one by one riders showed up out of the night like white and red blinking fireflies. As the group gathered my reluctance about taking a break from my reading began to melt away. Once we were all assembled we started devising a route to ride. The Monday rides have always been about fun rides and a slow pace, as a result many of the rides end at parks around Provo. As we chose a route one of the riders spoke up and said he thought he knew a secret route to Bicentennial Park! If you do not know, Bicentennial Park is one of the most awesome parks in Provo. This park has a pond, an awesome play ground, wide open spaces, a wetlands boardwalk, and for those interested a pretty awesome Frisbee golf course; and all though it is only 2.5 miles from my house I never get to go there because riding your bike on State Street in Provo is a death wish (the city and Bike Committee are working on that problem). Needless to say I was now very excited to be at this ride and had completely forgotten about my reading which was waiting for me at home.
I love riding with people I have just met. Bikes set such a great pace for conversation and, if you run out of things to talk about you can always talk about riding. The ride made its way to a secret road which dumped us out into some windy (the direction not the weather) neighborhood streets. Everything was on the up and up and then… psssssssss…the sound of defeat. Ridge, one of our riders, had picked up a thorn and gotten a flat tire. As we all assessed the situation Logan, one of the other riders, felt the same way I did and did not want the ride to end so he offered his handle bars (hence the picture above). With Logan riding Ridge the rest of the way we arrived at the park.
We played on swings, and ziplines, we road a slippery spooky boardwalk, and discovered a flock of sleeping ducks, in short we had a ton of fun. On the ride home we picked up Ridges flat bicycle, we also ended up getting that hot chocolate I had so badly wanted. Upon dropping off Ridges bike high fives and contact information were passed around and I cruised home happy that I took an hour out of my day to get to know my city, and some great people in it, a little better. Upon arriving home I also noticed that my reading went a lot smoother after stretching my legs for a little while.
If you can not tell from my write up I highly recommend joining the Monday Night Night Ride group on Facebook, as well as taking some time out of your schedule to come out and ride. Every ride is different and every ride is an adventure. Best of all if you have a ride you really love, or some awesome secret we should all know about you can come lead the ride! And, if you were wondering, the ride does ride in any weather all year so plan on a sweater or jacket as it gets cooler. The rides leave from Joaquin Park every Monday at 9pm sharp. See you there.
