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Entries tagged: Bicycle Federation Of Wisconsin

Bike valet is a valuable, visible and fun way to promote cycling at community events. But there’s one small hitch: How do advocates get all those bicycle racks to the site of the festivities?

Well, Saris Cycling Group teamed up with the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin and came up with a way to fit 200 bikes into the back of a single car.

Dave Schlabowske, the Bike Fed’s new communications director, suggests that bike valet is an important — and growing — asset for bicycle advocates. According to Dave, the top five benefits include:

• “LUXURY – Yes, luxury and bicycling can fit together! People LOVE the valet! For downtown Madison events where bike parking is limited, bicyclists are delighted to use the valet and have told us that it is so convenient and feels like a luxury.”
• “BICYCLE PAMPERING- For those bicyclists who have a shiny new Trek or a Schwinn that they adore… their bike is escorted to a secure parking spot with no worry about being scratched or dinged.”
• “THE HUB- We’ve been surprised to see the spontaneous bicycle community that grows around the bike valet… The valet becomes a gathering place for bicycle conversation and camaraderie. This type of community-building is critical to increasing bicycling and forwarding the mission of the Bike Fed.”
• “OUTREACH- A bike valet provides a targeted marketing opportunity. Not only are we encouraging more bicycling, but it also gives us the opportunity to bring bicyclists to us and begin to engage them in the work we are doing. While we are parking their bike, it gives us a chance to share our latest news and program updates.”
• “WE’RE EVERYWHERE! We try to place the valet in a high-traffic area near the event entrance, not just because it’s most visible and convenient for bicyclists, but also because of the reaction we receive from other event attendees. They are surprised when they see 200 bikes parked in the valet racks. This simple visual can be a powerful marketing tool: “Yes, many people do actually bike and you can, too!”

With so many benefits, the Bike Fed was looking to increase and expand its valet presence. But there was one pressing problem — transporting the bike racks. That is, until Saris stepped in with a solution.

“It was very important that Saris help us develop a bike valet parking system that we could easily provide without outside help and that would not be a strain on our budget,” Schlabowske wrote last month. “With this in mind, Saris designed a special rack that could be easily transported in a standard size car or on a fortified bike trailer. Each rack breaks down into three pieces and is very light weight. We’ve been able to haul 25 event racks that park 200 bikes easily and conveniently in the back of a Prius!”

Already this summer, he Bike Fed has parked more than 1,000 bikes at valet events and plans to serve at least 1,000 more cyclists before the season ends. Last week, the Bike Fed got big exposure when it provided valet at the opening home football game for the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

For more information on the Bike Fed program, contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Advocacy Advance is a dynamic partnership of the Alliance and the League of American Bicyclists aimed at dramatically increasing funding for biking and walking projects and programs.

In 2009, Wisconsin enacted a statewide Complete Streets policy, ensuring all roadways are designed and constructed with all users in mind. In 2010, its neighbor, Minnesota, passed a Complete Streets bill, too. But in 2011, when transportation officials started work on a bridge connecting the two states, they failed to include accommodations for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN), Active Living LaCrescent (ALL) and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin worked hard for the passage of Complete Streets in their respective states. Now they’re fighting to make sure transportation officials implement those policies on the Drebach Bridge.

To aid their urgent and immediate efforts, Advocacy Advance has awarded a $3,000 Rapid Response Grant to BikeMN and ALL for their Dresbach Bridge proposal.

Read more on the Advocacy Advance blog.

How many people can say that they turned $3,000 into $2 million? Kevin Hardman and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin can.

How’d they do it? With a little help from Advocacy Advance, the partnership of the Alliance and League of American Bicyclists that’s aimed at giving advocates, agency staff and public officials the tools and knowledge they need to tap into federal funding for biking and walking projects and programs.

The Bicycle Federation used a $3,000 Advocacy Advance Rapid Respond grant to support its campaign to restore dedicated bicycle and pedestrian funds cut from the state budget. They were successful. Instead of zeroing out the bicycle and pedestrian line in the budget, the state will spend $2 million over the next two years on bicycle and pedestrian projects.

Read all about it on the Advocacy Advance blog!

Advocacy Advance — the partnership of the Alliance and the League of American Bicyclists — is pleased to announce the first Rapid Response Grant recipient.

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin has been awarded $3,000 for it’s “Restore the Wisconsin Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Program” proposal. Established in 2009, as the first dedicated state funding source for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in Wisconsin, this program provides $2.5 million each year to supplement federal Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Program and Transportation Enhancements grants.

Read all about it on the Advocacy Advance blog.

The first time was impressive. The second time was gigantic.

The third time? Off the charts.

In June 2009, the City of Madison hosted the inaugural Ride the Drive, with lead sponsorship from Trek and plenty of help from the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. Closing off major roads for car-free fun, the open streets extravaganza drew 10,000 participants. A year later, in June 2010, the second event turned out nearly 25,000 bicyclists and pedestrians.

So what happens when you add Lance Armstrong to the mix? An eye-popping crowd of more than 50,000 riders.

“Every time we hold it, it doubles or triples,” says Amanda White, the Ride the Drive coordinator for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.

This past Sunday, the cycling celebrity addressed the gigantic crowd and led a loop on the six-mile course through the heart of Madison. Dressed in gym clothes, Armstrong mingled with the thousands of bicyclists. “I led a bike parade after the big ride with Lance and he stopped by and signed our Feet in the Street, where kids were stenciling their feet with sidewalk chalk,” White says.

But the Tour de France champion isn’t the only reason the Bike Fed’s open streets events have taken off. According to White: “The messaging for the event is very inclusive: ’Come out with your kids, with your friends. Whether you want to wear spandex or blue jeans, come out and enjoy the day.’”

“And we’re very focused on a more mainstream crowd,” she adds. “We have a lot of unique activities along the route. We have kite flying. We have a bike parade. We have the wheelmen group with huge old bikes, and an art bike group with all these beautifully decorated bikes. And there are different areas along the route, like the Family Drive area, which is a little festival in itself directed at families.”

A well-chosen course has also enticed participants. “The roads we have closed off — or, as the mayor says, have opened up — for bicyclists are six-lane streets with very heavy traffic volumes,” White says. “They’re streets most people would never think to bike on, so to be able to bike on those streets is such an amazing thing.”

Click here to check out some amazing pictures from the University of Wisconsin cycling team.

When folks in Madison, Wisconsin, buy a Trek bicycle this month they’ll wheel out of the local shop with more than a simple receipt. Even before they hit the street, they’ll be card-carrying members of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.

For free.

Sure, residents of the Badger State are a bit more inclined toward cycling than the rest of the nation, but Trek and a handful of enlightened retailers aim to spike the ranks of the state advocacy organization by picking up the tab for every buyer’s first-year bike fed membership. Kathryn Kingsbury, communications director, says the idea didn’t come from the federation; it originated with the folks at the Madison shop Machinery Row.

“We’ve been selling Bike Fed memberships for several years and weren’t really making the giant increases we had hoped for,” says Luke Bachelor-Clark, store manager at Machinery Row. “Right now we have a great opportunity in Wisconsin to improve cycling infrastructure. The Bike Federation is the group that will navigate the political scene and make things happen.  Their success rate will improve greatly if they can say they represent more people.  There are tens of thousands of people who are interested in better biking and just don’t know how to get involved and have their voices heard.”

So, this month, anybody who buys a Trek becomes a member of the bike fed, courtesy of the Wisconsin-based bicycle company. At Machinery Row, anybody who buys any bike before the end of the year gets a free membership, courtesy of the retailer, too. And the initiative is spreading: Earlier this week, Willy Bikes, another Madison retailer, committed to purchase a complimentary membership for any bike buyer through the end of July.

The heat is on the Bike Fed to inspire the complimentary members to renew once their free ride expires, but the partnership between retailers and advocates has the Bike Fed pumped. “We’re pretty cranked (excuse the pun),” Kingsbury writes on the group’s blog.

Read more about the initiative here.

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (BFW) celebrated a victory for cycling on November 19th, when the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors passed a measure to put bike racks on all Milwaukee buses. Milwaukee County will provide the local match for Milwaukee’s Bike Racks on Buses Program. The project will be in full swing this spring and completed by the fall of 2010.

BFW has been working with the Milwaukee County Transit System for nearly five years on various measures. The campaign for bike racks on buses has been running for two and a half years. According to Shea Schachameyer of BFW, “I view the campaign’s success as yet another example of the power of grassroots organizing; it was because of the broad base of support which the campaign attracted and the BFW’s ability to mobilize those supporters on a dime’s notice which has led the program to be implemented this spring.”

Read more on this victory from Shea here (http://www.bfw.org/advocacy/index.php?category_id=4027). To read more about the bike racks on buses program click here (http://www.bfw.org/advocacy/index.php?category_id=4170).

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is working with the Door County Silent Sports Alliance towards better bicycle planning and facilities throughout the Door County, a popular Midwest vacation area. According to the Bike Fed, they are “developing the first Comprehensive Bicycle Plan for Door County’s Town of Gibraltar. This plan will steer the development of bicycle facilities throughout the area and will help make Gibraltar safer and more accessible to cyclists for recreation and transportation.”

For more information on the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, click here.

For more information on the bicycle plan, click here.

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin spoke during the Milwaukee County Transit System’s launch of the Bikes on Buses program in Milwaukee. According to the Bike Fed, “After five years of working on the campaign, Shea Schachameyer from the Bike Fed was pleased to load her bike onto one of the two buses and enjoy the ride to O’Donnell Park where others where able to try loading and unloading their bikes from the racks. Throughout the summer the Bike Fed, MCTS and 91.7 WMSE will collaborate on promoting the program through on-site demonstrations like those which took place during Milwaukee’s Bike to Work Week.”

For more information on MCTS’ Bikes on Buses program, click here…

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin and the entire Wisconsin bicycle community is excited to report major legislative successes from this past month. According to the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, “On June 8th, Governor Doyle signed the “Dooring” legislation in to law. On June 29th, lobbying efforts from April became fully realized when the Governor signed the Wisconsin state budget. The budget contains Complete Streets legislation and an additional $5 million for bicycle infrastructure. The 2010-2011 Wisconsin state budget contains the first-ever state funded source for bicycle infrastructure.”

For more information, click here…

To learn more about WI’s new “dooring” legislation, click here…

Kevin Hardman became head of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin just a month ago. It’s a big change from his executive experience in business and real-estate development, but Hardman’s business and marketing skills will be very handy in growing the organization. Hardman has special expertise in shepherding large teams of public and private partners towards common goals. “I was attracted to the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin because of their commitment to all types of cyclists, their broad membership base, and their momentum in advocating for the integral role that bicycling plays in the creation of rich, interesting communities.” Welcome Kevin!

Click to read more…

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (BFW) announced today the appointment of its new Executive Director, Mr. Kevin Hardman, following an extensive and thorough executive search.

“As a statewide nonprofit serving the needs of Wisconsin’s diverse and vibrant bicycle community, the BFW required a combination of vision, management expertise and a proven consensus building in its leader,” said Chick Veenstra, the Chair of the Board of Directors.  “Kevin has just this mix of talent.  His depth of community-building experience, his successes as a businessperson and his love of cycling will be a tremendous asset in our continued effort to make Wisconsin the nation’s best place to be on a bike.” 

Hardman joins the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin with over 15 years of business and real-estate development experience.  He has diverse expertise in sales, marketing and finance, and has led many large and small teams.  He has also managed the development of a diverse real-estate portfolio valued at over $125 MM.
“I was attracted to the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin because of their commitment to all types of cyclists, their broad membership base and their momentum in advocating for the integral role that bicycling plays in the creation of rich, interesting communities.”  “I am very grateful and honored at having been selected as the BFW’s next Executive Director from a pool of qualified candidates, ” adds Hardman.  “I’m excited to work closely with the Board of Directors, our talented and dedicated staff, our enthusiastic members and the many communities around the state to continue making Wisconsin a great place to ride a bike.”

Previously Hardman was the Vice President of Kimball Hill Urban Centers, a developer of large-scale, urban communities.  He oversaw all aspects of development including site acquisition, finance, sales, marketing and construction.  He has special expertise in shepherding large teams of public and private partners towards common goals.  Kevin led the transformation of one of the country’s largest redevelopments of former public housing.  This community sits on nearly 20 acres and is the first on-site redevelopment of Chicago’s notorious Cabrini-Green housing project.
Hardman is a member of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), an organization that promotes walkable, human-scale development, and is past national chair of CNU’s Development Task Force.  He is also on the board of directors of the Village of Wauwatosa Business Improvement District (BID).
Hardman holds a bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.  He lives with his wife Jen and their two daughters a short walk from the historic village center of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.