Recently we reported on another crowdsourced mapping project in Blacksburg, but now some Virginia Tech students, and free culture enthusiasts, have a mapping project of their own — putting all the campus bike routes into Open Street Map. To make it more of a party, there will be a raffle with some nice prizes, including an Android G1 phone. Here are the details, from Christopher Covington:

In order to improve and publicize untethered community infrastructure, an OpenStreetMap mapping day is being held tomorrow (Saturday) from 11:00am to 4:00pm with 1020 Torgersen Hall as a base camp. We would love to see you there. An Android G1 phone and several *nix books will be raffled off amongst interested participants.

See http://vtluug.org/osm for details. Longer descriptions of OSM and
the event goals follow.

OpenStreetMap is the Wikipedia of maps. Everyone can freely use, copy^, add to, and edit OpenStreetMap. Furthermore, while OpenStreetMap began with just streets, it has grown to include almost everything map feature imaginable.

Specific goals for Saturday’s event include:

• Complete coverage of campus paths
• Complete coverage of University Mall
• Parking and addresses in major apartment complexes
• Additional bicycle and pedestrian ways and points of interest
• Additional street updates (new roads, closed roads)

If you cannot make the event but are still interested, we encourage you to make additions and edits to OpenStreetMap independently. It is an open project that anyone can edit at any time.

OpenStreetMap is “copyleft” meaning copies and derivative works (such as OpenCycleMap) must allow others to copy and make derivative works of them, too, under the same terms.

This event is hosted by Free Culture at Virginia Tech and the Linux and
Unix Users Group at Virginia Tech.

Here’s a glimpse of the New Trail at the Massanutten Four Seasons Resort, built by volunteers from the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition. Virginia has a thriving mountain bike culture, and this video shows what it’s all about!

This trail is on private resort property, but you can ride it legally with a Massanutten trail pass.  You can also get a trail pass through the SVBC, by doing 3 days’ worth of trail work, or by paying $50 in addition to your membership.

Video by our own Chris Scott of Shenandoah Mountain Touring, featuring Kyle Lawrence and Thomas Jenkins from the Shenandoah Bicycle Company.  Edited by SMT intern Tyler Spurlock from James Madison University.

Blacksburg is abuzz with bike planning these days. The New River Valley Bicycle Association, Town of Blacksburg, and Geospatial IT Dept. at Virginia Tech have teamed up to create a web-based interactive bike map, where cyclists can document their everyday trips. The data collected will help identify which roads and other infrastructure should be improved to accommodate cyclists. Most needed are continuous, contiguous routes through downtown, to make commuting and errands by bike more appealing. The NRVBA has the story.

Join the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as we host a bike ride on the Mount Vernon Trail. The ride will not only highlight sights such as the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, and historic Old Town Alexandria, but as we pedal along the Potomac River we will also learn more about water quality issues, CBF’s Cyclist for the Bay program, and our current Federal initiatives to help restore the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay downstream.

When: Saturday, November 14th 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Where: Mount Vernon Trail

RSVP: Space is limited; please RSVP with Jess Barton at Jbarton@cbf.org for more information and to let us know you are coming.

Bike route: North end of the Mount Vernon Trail from Roosevelt Island to Old Town Alexandria. This section is about 8 miles one way for a 16 mile round trip. We will pedal at a leisurely speed of 10-12 mph, with plenty of time for photo opportunities. We will ride to Old Town Alexandria where there will be a chance to grab a coffee, snack, or use the facilities before turning around.

For more on the trail go to http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/mtvernontrail.htm

And for more on CBF’s Cyclist for the Bay program please visit our website www.cbf.org/cyclist.

Hope you can join us!

Jess

If you’re wondering what The Alliance for Biking and Walking is all about, Susie Stephens in the above video gives a good explanation, along with a brief history of the organization — and conveys its spirit with a song! The Alliance’s mission is to help local advocacy organizations become more effective. Help your organization become more effective by attending the Winning Campaigns Training at our Fall Retreat, Nov. 13-15.

Susie died in 2003, but her spirit lives on in the work of the Alliance (formerly known as the Thunderhead Alliance), especially in cities like Victoria, BC. Victoria has the highest bike modeshare of any sizable city in North America, surpassing even Portland OR. Susie will be honored there with a tree planting ceremony this Monday, Oct. 26. Below is an email about the event, with more about Susie, from Victoria bike-ped advocate John Luton. This was posted to The Alliance mailing list:

A memorial tree to American bike advocate Susie Stephens will be planted Monday, October 26th at the Atkins Rd parking lot access to the Galloping Goose regional trail in View Royal. The location is a crossroads of the new and the old where a paving project on the Goose, to support the E&N rail with trail project, is days from completion. The event is a waystation in the long journey for Stephens’ family, who have been traveling the world planting trees in memory of the Washington state advocate who brought her message to the capital in the late ’90s and helped energize local cycling advoactes. Susie always had a special affection for Victoria. The ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. and people who knew Susie and cycling supporters are invited to intend.

Stephens was killed in a St. Louis bus accident in 2003 while she was in the city training U.S. National Parks service staff on better planning for bikes and pedestrians. An insurance settlement left her mother Nancy MacKerrow, with a settlement she has since been investing in Susie’s passions of bike advocacy and the urban forest. McKerrow has funded scholarships for biike advocates to attend training with the U.S. based Alliance for Biking and Walking, which was co-founded by her daughter as the Thunderhead Alliance. The Alliance brings together local and regional advocates from across North America and her electrifying speech to delegates of the 1998 Pro Bike conference in Santa Barabara encouraged local advocate John Luton to invite her as a keynote speaker at that year’s AGM of the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition.

Stephens then helped connect Victoria advocates with the National Center for Bicycling and Walking in the U.S. who brought the 2004 Pro Walk – Pro Bike conference to Victoria, an event that again focused attention on cycling and walking for transportation in Victoria. More than 600 attended.

Working out of Seattle and then eastern Washington, Stephens had many occasions to bring her bike to the Island and was a big fan of the Goose. Luton, who has organized the tree planting, is expecting numbers of cyclists in the community who met Stephens to join the planting. Cyclists will also be able to look in on the new paving project, expected to open within days.

Stephens speech and an improptu singing performance showing off a beautiful voice and a knack for inspiring lyrics can be seen at: http://blip.tv/file/2730954

Luton has been working with CRD staff to set up the planting with a location and species that will act as a local memorial. MacKerrow, along with Stephens’ brother Jack Stephens, have made a special trip to Victoria to attend and make a local donation for the tree.

For more information:

John Luton
22 Philippa Place
Victoria, BC V8S 1S6
johnluton@shaw.ca
Executive Director, Capital Bike and Walk Society
Coordinator, Vancouver Island Cycle Tourism Alliance

Winning Campaigns© Trainings are for leaders of grassroots bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations: board members, staff, and super volunteers.

This fall, the Alliance for Biking and Walking is partnering with the Virginia Bicycling Federation to bring their signature Winning Campaigns© Training to Richmond, VA. Join your fellow bicycle and pedestrian advocacy leaders to learn from expert coaches and each other through the Alliance’s proven curriculum on choosing, directing, and winning campaigns to increase bicycling and walking. After three days of fun and inspiring work with the country’s leading experts in advocacy, you’ll come away with the tools and confidence to not only advocate for improvements, but win them!

You’ll learn how to:

• Choose the right issue;
• Set realistic but visionary goals, choose the best strategies and tactics, and stick to timelines;
• Map out the power structure in your community, support and leverage allies, neutralize and convert enemies!
• Communicate effectively, reaching the right audience with the right message through the right media, …and
• Raise money, to strengthen your organization for the next bigger victory!
• In the end, you’ll have a detailed campaign blueprint that will assure a victorious campaign and set up your organization for greater victories in the future.

Location: Richmond, VA
Dates: Fri, November 13, 2009 through Sun, November 15, 2009

Pricing Information

Early registrations must be received by Mon, November 02, 2009 and cost $50 for Alliance Members; $100 for Non-Members

Regular Registrations cost $75 for Alliance Members; $125 for Non-Members

A limited number of scholarships are available from Virginia Bicycling Federation for Virginia advocates who are not supported by the organization they represent. Scholarship recipients must be a current Virginia Bicycling Federation (VBF) member or a designated representative of a VBF member organization. Contact Allen Muchnick (muchnick@CapAccess.org) for further information.

Scheduling Information:

The training begins Friday afternoon from 5PM to 9PM. The training continues Saturday 8am to 4:30pm, followed by a bike ride or walk, and a social gathering out on the town. Finally, Sunday’s schedule is 8AM to 2PM, allowing a participant over 18 hours of training devoted to developing a winning campaign.

Registration includes snacks Friday evening, and breakfast and lunch Saturday and Sunday. A bicycle or walking tour Saturday evening is also included.

Click here for more information and to register.

Racers from Richmond Pro Cycling visit a school

A professional cycling team based in Richmond, Virginia has taken a new approach to professional level racing. Founded in 2008 by Craig Dodson, Richmond Pro Cycling (RPC) is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. Their mission is to race competitively at the professional level, but do more than win races.  Dodson hopes that cycling can change lives.

During the race season, the team competes across the United States. But between races and a rigorous training calendar, Dodson demands much more than time in the saddle. Each of his racers, all in their twenties, are required to work toward three key goals.

“First is education. Each member has to be working on a four-year degree.” said Dodson.  His undergraduate riders maintain a 3.4 grade point average.  ”Second, each has to give around 150 hours of community service. Third, each must race at a professional level.”

RPC racers’ activities have ranged from tutoring inner city youth — seventeen at-risk students this year — to working with elementary and secondary school children on the benefits of exercise, fitness, and bike safety.  Dodson estimates that they’ve touched over 2000 youth lives since the team was formed, and has participated in dozens of school and community events.

RPC even found time to work with a local bike club to teach advanced group riding skills, after a rash of pace line accidents during the year.

One of RPC’s chief sponsors is The Faison School – Autism Center of Virginia (ACV), a nonprofit autism center dedicated to providing resources for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and their families.  The school is a public-private partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University, a major research center. RPC taught 9 of the school’s students how to ride bikes, and continued their hands-on development with the students over a five month period.

RPC has a unique business model, and with corporate sponsorship down in tight economy, supporting their programs has been a challenge.

Richmond Pro Cycling is kicking off a new fund raising effort to support their mission.  They  hope to have 1000 individuals contribute $50 to support their mission.

If you would like to learn more about their organization, or make a donation, send your tax deductible contribution to:

People Cycle
P.O. Box 14533
Richmond, VA 23221

or  visit:

http://www.richmondprocycling.com/

Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Is Hiring two State Network Managers to Work from Home

The non-profit Bikes Belong Foundation seeks two organized, enthusiastic, and motivated professionals with proven management and statewide policy change experience to work as state network managers for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) National Partnership, a network of more than 400 organizations that are working to make it safer and easier for children to walk and bicycle to schools.

Each state network manager will be responsible for managing and providing technical assistance to contracted state network organizers in 8 to 10 states to bring together state-level stakeholders to research policies and develop and implement a state-level action plan that will increase safe physical activity for children through walking and bicycling to school. The project will help to reverse childhood obesity by assisting states with spending federal Safe Routes to School funds on good projects, leveraging additional funds to improve the built environment, and changing policies to remove barriers to walking and bicycling to school. Some of the policies that state networks will improve include: complete streets, school siting and joint-use policies, school wellness policies, preventing crime, and ensuring that funds serve low-income communities. The full job description is available at http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/about/4058/324847

The place of employment will be your home office in the United States. A computer, telephone, internet service, and PO Box will be provided. The state network managers will work full time (40 hours per week) and receive health and vacation benefits. The starting salary is between $55,000 – $65,000/year, depending on experience.

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and three writing samples in one PDF file to: Robert Ping (robert@saferoutespartnership.org), state network director of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, who will supervise the state network managers. Applications must be received by November 4 at 5 PM eastern standard time to be considered for interviews, which will take place November 12 and 13. Both positions start January 4, 2010. Currently there is funding for two calendar years (2010 and 2011) for both positions. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted, but the receipt of all applications will be acknowledged with an email.

Visit www.saferoutespartnership.org for more information about the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and the State Network Project. Bikes Belong Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.

Please forward this to others who may be interested in this exciting career opportunity.

In the wake of the Distracted Driving Summit comes this excellent video report from SoCal Connected, which clearly demonstrates the danger of cell phone use while driving. They even compared it to driving drunk, with surprising results.

Distracted drivers are an increasing threat to cyclists and pedestrians. We support further restrictions on cell phone use, such as a hands-free requirement like California’s (we already have a texting ban in Virginia). Resistance from cell phone companies is to be expected, but the biggest political hurdle may be legislators themselves, who aren’t willing to give up their own cell phones.

The much-ballyhooed Bikestation DC opens tomorrow, Friday October 2, with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at 10:30am, in conjunction with the League of American Bicyclists. (Please RSVP to Steve Mathis at ((877) 572-2453.) Bikestation DC is at 50 Massachusetts Ave., appropriately at Union Station.

The concept, location, and design of Bikestation DC have generated a lot of discussion and press attention. Examiner.com has a great page of links to media highlights. This is a great addition to our nation’s capital — for the city itself, and as a nationwide example of how things can be done. Bikestation has been operating successfully in other cities for over a decade.