Posted By Christopher on July 29, 2010

We’re coming to the end of our July Membership Drivetrain, and though we’ve gotten some good response and given out a good handful of free shirts, we’re still a little shy of our goal. And, since we didn’t launch the Drivetrain until July 7th, we’re going to extend it to August 7th.

If you’ve not yet registered as a member of INDYCOG, now’s a great time to do so! We still have shirts to give away for the 42nd and 52nd members, and if we get to Obree’s gearing, the 67th member gets a hat and shirt!

Along with the benefits of membership such as discounts on INDYCOG merch and events and upcoming discounts to stores around Indy, your support as a member helps to grow INDYCOG from a small voice to a barbaric yawp for promoting cycling in our city.

We have grand plans and hopes as an organization, but it takes support from the community for them to move from plans and hopes to realities. If you like what we’ve created here so far and believe in the impact the INDYCOG community can have on cycling in Indianapolis, please consider membership.

Category: Action Alert | No Comments »
Tags: July Drivetrain, Membership, Obree

Posted By Benjamin on July 27, 2010

Bicycling Magazine’s BikeTown is coming to Indianapolis! In 2003, the editor of Bicycling Magazine wondered if a bicycle could change someone’s life.

After giving away thousands of bicycles to people all over the U.S., the answer is clearly YES! People have lost weight, connected with their family, been able to beat diabetes, saved money, overcome depression, renewed marriage vows and dozens of other stories.

For 2010, BikeTown is going to eight cities: Cleveland – Indianapolis – Denver – Boston – Minneapolis/St Paul – Los Angeles (with Best Buddies) – New Orleans – Charleston. BikeTown, MetLife and Jamis Bicycles will be giving away 31 new bicycles on Saturday Aug 14 at the Mass Ave Crit in downtown Indy. Submit a 50-word essay about how a bicycle could change someone’s life at http://www.bicycling.com/enter-biketown.

Category: Public Interest | 2 Comments »
Tags: Mass Ave. Crit

Posted By Benjamin on July 26, 2010

Saturday, August 14th, 11:30am-9:30pm

See European-style racing up close and personal as cyclists race by at 25-30 mph competing for $10,000 in cash and prizes!

Volunteers Needed for Race Course and Pedal & Park
(11:30am-2pm, 2-4:30pm, 4:30-7pm, 7-9:30pm)

Duties will Include:
- Setting up Criterium course
- Monitoring traffic and intersections on the course to ensure cyclist safety
- Assisting attendees and residents with parking needs

All volunteers will receive a FREE Criterium t-shirt and FREE food provided by Pita Pit!

Promote your neighborhood or organization while interacting with your community, enjoying the festival, and watching the state championships right in downtown Indy!

To Volunteer, please contact:
Sarah Myer
Promotions and Marketing Manager, NUVO
Email: volunteer@nuvo.net
Direct: 317-808-4615

Category: Public Interest | 3 Comments »
Tags: Mass Ave. Crit, NUVO, volunteer

Posted By Christopher on July 23, 2010

At last month’s Bicycle Advisory Council meeting, I sat down with Andy, the Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator at the DPW, to get a list of some of the upcoming bike lane developments, and I thought I’d share them with you here.

• Broad Ripple Ave bike lanes
  Currently, B. Ripple Ave. has sharrows from the Monon west to College, and the city is currently waiting for federal approval to stripe the proposed bike lanes from the Monon east to Keystone.
• Multi-use path along 62nd St. from Keystone to Allisonville
  Slated to begin construction later this summer.
• Bike lanes on 46th St. from College to Keystone
  Part of a resurfacing project happening later this summer.
• Bike lanes on 52nd St. from College to the Monon
  Resurfacing project already underway. 
• Extending the bike lanes on Illinois and Capitol north to Westfield
  Provides a connection to the Canal Tow Path; slated for late autumn-winter.

There’s also been some work and proposals for a protected, on-street multi-use path along Shelby that would connect the eventual Fountain Square spoke  of the Cultural Trail with the Pleasant Run Trail. SEND is heading up this initiative in partnership with the city. I plan to get ahold of Jeff Miller at SEND to get together a more detailed post about this proposal when I get the chance.

As always, we’ll keep you posted!

Category: Bike Lanes | 14 Comments »
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Posted By Benjamin on July 20, 2010

The city has asked us solicit feedback from cyclists on the “Blue Lane” at New York & Pennsylvania. Do you think this lane works? Do you see a way it can be improved?

In addition they are also looking for any other input that can be provided from cyclists to improve the function of the New York & Michigan bike lanes. Portions between College Ave & White River Parkway will be resurfaced and re-striped in the near future and any concerns from citizens are welcomed.

We ask that you leave your opinions in the comment section of this post or if you want, please email them directly to: report@theindycog.com

Category: Bike Lanes, indycog | 23 Comments »
Tags: Bike lanes

Posted By Jamison on July 19, 2010

About a month ago, fellow Cogger Ben Hunt and I decided to investigate Minneapolis, which was recently declared by Bicycling magazine as the #1 city for bicycling in the country. I didn’t really know what to expect, but with the promise of a few Twins games, hailed bike infrastructure, and a visit to a good friend, I think we had high hopes.

Our trip turned out to be a truly multimodal vacation. I managed to catch a pedicab on Central Ave. as they were heading back downtown from Talbott St. Art Fair, which dropped me off at the Megabus stop, where I met up with my partner in crime, Mr. Hunt. After a connection in Chicago, and an overnight bus ride to Minneapolis we hopped on the recently launched bike-sharing program, Nice Ride, which delivered within a block of our destination.

So, the first reflection should be of Nice Ride, and the follow-up should be…will it work here? I thought the system worked quite seamlessly. We had to swipe a credit card and after a $250.00 hold on the card (debit card users be aware) and a receipt with a code on it, the bikes were released from the locking brackets at the kiosk. After using the rental bikes a few times,  I believe that something similar would be a great asset to our city. Our host Greta (yes, Ben has two great friends of the same name) kindly found loaner bikes for the majority of our transportation needs, so we were not on them for the whole trip.

In my opinion a bike share program would flawlessly integrate with the ever-coming Cultural Trail, our growing network of bike lanes and the upcoming bike station that will be coming to the City Market in the spring. Imagine if all the people who come to the city for events like the Super Bowl, Final Four, or any other event at the the ever-growing convention center could hop on a bike to get where they want to be in the city. This would be a great option for people who might get downtown via bus or *grimace* car, but want to get to different destinations via something a bit more fun and efficient. I do, however think this would need to start out small, like Chicago’s is currently, and expand as people get used to it and the demand increases.

I have decided to turn this into a series that will look at different aspects of Minneapolis’ bike infrastructure and culture. I will work on a few more pieces looking at on and off street infrastructure, the bike community/culture, and other topics. I just don’t want to bore you all with my ramblings all at once.

So stay tuned for insights on bike facilities, an event with the mayor, transit advocates, and a certain rock and roll superstar (hint: Remain in the Light).

Go ride.

*And yes the picture is supposed to be yellow. It was taken from a room in the Guthrie Theater that had yellow-paned windows.

Category: Public Interest | 4 Comments »
Tags: Minneapolis, Nice Ride

Posted By Christopher on July 17, 2010

My uncle talked about this numerous times on our century last week, and I’m not sure why it completely spaced my mind to post about this week, but luckily Southside Johnny was watching out. Here’s a comment from him yesterday:

You missed a mention of the Ride Across Indiana (R.A.I.N.), which is tomorrow [today]. They ride from Terre Haute to Richmond mostly following US 40 until they hit Naptown. They start trickling through Indy around 9:30AM and packs of riders ranging from dozens to 3-4 will be passing west to east through much of the day. They make a lunch stop at Franklin Center High School so the route dips down into the south part of the county.

They do tend to roll through stop signs, not signal and sometimes spill over into opposing traffic lanes as they wind through the southside streets. So if you are driving, expect lots of folks on two wheels to be out there.

Thanks for looking out, Johnny. Sorry for missing this, considering it’s one of the biggest cycling events in Indiana. Keep an eye out everyone, and best of luck to all those riding!

Category: Local Rides, Public Interest | 6 Comments »
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Posted By Christopher on July 16, 2010

I crack up every time I get one of these emails from Anna:

Marvel as Brooke “Might Morsel” Crumm plays Leading Lady in the Women’s 1’s, 2’s, 3’s! 
 
David “Maser the Laser” Morse will be there rocking the block and creaming the field. 
 
And for the ladies:  Masi Mark will be there in all his Joe’s Cycles kit Glory!
 
NEWS FLASH!  RUMORS OF KEIRIN RACING ABOUND!!!  This dramatic motorpaced race format can produce speeds up to 40mph and is infamous for its riders aggressive riding styles.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keirin)
It’s huge in Japan but rare in central Indiana.  Take this rare opportunity to check it out!
 
As Always:  The velodrome is as cheap as free!  Bring your lady/dude/spawn!  Arrive around 8pm!

*******************
 
THIS JUST IN!  The fabulous Sara from Joe’s Cycles Fountain Square will be leading a no-drop ride to (and from) the Velodrome.  The ride leaves at 6:30pm from Joe’s Cycles.  It’s a beautiful ride.
 
Meet new people!  Enjoy the evening weather!
 
*******************

(Photo compliments of Jeremy Albert.)

Category: Major Taylor Velodrome | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Posted By Christopher on July 15, 2010

This article in IndyStar, posted by Oran in the comments of the last post, gives a bit more info and highlights some positive action being taken by the IMPD:

Duhamell said park rangers regularly patrol the trail, as do bicycle police and undercover officers on foot. Public Safety Director Frank Straub has mentioned the possibility of using mounted patrols as well.

“It’s a safe place, but it’s also very long,” Duhamell said of the 10-mile stretch of trail in Indianapolis that IndyParks officials often refer to as the nation’s largest linear park. More than 1 million people use it each year.

Clark said he saw the three men, about 18 to 24 years old, walking south on both shoulders of the trail as he approached them. As he passed, one of the men hit him and knocked him off his bike.

*

Also, I’d like to just say I’m really proud and glad of the community that has become a part of INDYCOG. The comments here are of such higher quality and caliber than anywhere else you read about these stories.

Whereas elsewhere commenters are fearmongering, calling for signage that the Monon is dangerous beyond a certain point, and trying to spin this incident for their own political agendas for gun control or whatnot, our commenters here are simply looking for more and better information, and  not being deterred from continuing to ride and commute on the Monon.

In general, thanks for being awesome, everyone.

Category: Monon | 10 Comments »
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Posted By Christopher on July 14, 2010

Southside Johnny posted this in a comment thread, and it’s been making its way around, but I just wanted to get it up on here for those not privy to message boards and such.

A 60-year-old man was assaulted yesterday on the Monon near Kessler Blvd yesterday afternoon. The attackers fled the scene and have yet to be apprehended. The most detail I’ve been able to find on any of the local media outlets is that it was 3 men. If any more info becomes available, I’ll be sure to update here.

Update: WTHR lists the location as near Canterbury Park, just north of the 54th Street crossing, not at Kessler Blvd. They also write that anyone with any information regarding the incident should call Crime Stoppers at 262-TIPS.

Category: Monon | 10 Comments »
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