For the first time ever, three cities in Rhode Island will be holding Bike To Work events during Bike To Work week, and several other bicycling related events are scheduled.

Wednesday, May 16

Pawtucket Bike Committee is joining Newport and Providence in having it’s first ever Bike To Work Day. It will be held at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater (Exchange St. and Roosevelt Avenue) at 8:30AM, with light refreshments available and an address from Mayor Grebien.

Friday, May 18

Providence will be holding a complementary breakfast, community fair and more throughout the morning (6:45 to 10:30AM, World War 1 Memorial)

Newport has a full slate of events throughout the day, including a complementary breakfast, community bike ride and much more.

Other events during bike to work week:

May 14th – RIBIKE will be holding it’s monthly advocacy meeting on at 6PM at the Brown University Book Store.  Join us to learn what how RIBIKE is working to make cycling in Rhode Island better, and learn how to get involved.  If you haven’t had enough of bike love during the meeting, an informal dinner and discussion is usually held afterward.

May 16th – The International Ride Of Silence will be held in Providence at 7:00pm.  The ride is a silent procession of bicycles intended to mourn and remember those who have been killed in collisions with motor vehicles while bicycling and tries to raise awareness for drivers that bicycles are on the roads.  Arrive at 6:30

May 17th – Gallery Night Providence is bringing back it’s guided bicycle tours of the galleries open.  Meet the guides on Greene Street at 5:30.

May 19th – Recycle A Bike will be participating in the West Broadway Neighborhood Yard sale on Saturday May 19th, 8:30AM to 1PM.  Check in with WBNA HQ to find out where RAB will be stationed, selling inexepensive, refurbished bicycles and a fleet of new folding bicycles.

May 19th – US Open Cycling Foundation Rhode Island Women’s Ride.  A bike ride designed to show off the beauty of Rhode Island, raise money to support bicycle education and bicycling for health programs.

And Much More:

More events are planned for the rest of the month, remember to check our National Bike Month page and RI Cycling Events Calendar.

Once again, National Bike Month has arrived, and everyone is getting in the spirit of things by hosting, planning and celebrating the freedom and fun of riding a bicycle.

As part of this years National Bike Month, in partnership with the League of American Bicyclists, RIBIKE is participating in the National Bike Challenge, and invites all bicycle riders to log their rides.  Monthly prizes will be awarded based on accumulated points and competitions  between groups, companies, teams and states are possible through an automatic ranking system  During the “Warm-Up” event, Rhode Island ranked 18th out of 50 states (based on points earn divided by total state population).

Here’s what we know of going on so far in Rhode Island this month to support the call to get up & ride:

May 5th and 12th, 10AM to 4PM. Bike Sale @ Recycle A Bike 12 Library Court, Providence OLNEYVILLE. RAB 2012 Bike Sale Flyer  RAB volunteer mechanics have been working on a huge fleet of refurbished, recycled bikes all winter and they are ready to hit the road! There will be signs pointing in the right direction, music, bike blended smoothies and Recycle-A-Bike folks to talk to to. Bicycles range in price from $30-$250.

May 8th, 6:30PM, Women’s Only Bike Maintenance Basics @ REI in Cranston.

May 9th, Bike To School Day.  Check with local school districts or parents to see if there is an event for your school.  If you know of one, let us know in the comments!

May 13th.  CycloFemme, International Day of Women’s Cycling.

New May 16th, 8:30am.   Join Mayor Grebien and the Pawtucket Bike Committee for a celebration at 8:30am at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater (corner of Exchange St. and Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket). Light refreshments will be provided.

May 16th, 6:30PM. International Ride of Silence, Nelson Fitness Center(Hope and Cushing St), Brown University.  More information in the Press Release.

May 18th, 6:45 to 10:30AM.  Bike To Work Day from RIBIKE, Providence, World War 1 Memorial, College and South Main.

May 18th, All Day, Bike To Work Day events from Bike Newport, Newport

May 19th, Rhode Island Women’s Ride from US Open Cycling Foundation, Roger Williams Park, Providence.

May 22nd, 6:30PM. Bike Maintenance Basics @ REI in Cranston.

May 26th, @ 10AM,  Bike the Independence Trail, Providence – Guided bicycle tour of Providence’s Independence Trail, more details forthcoming.

Through the work of the Transportation Advisory Committee, it’s subcommittees and the Technical Committee the TIP for the 2013 to 2016 funding years has reached the draft phase.  At this point, Statewide Planning is holding two public hearings on April 26th and offering a comment period for submission of written comments.  Comments deadline is 4:00PM, May 29, 2012.  Hearings will be held at the 2:00PM and 6:30PM in the William E. Powers Building, Conference Room A, 2nd floor, One Capitol Hill, Providence.  Address written comments to Kevin Flynn, Secretary, Rhode Island State Planning Council, One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI 02908.

The full draft of the TIP is available from the Statewide Planning Website.  The draft covers investment in bridge replacement, mutli-use path development, public transportation enhancements, highway infrastructure maintenance and pavement management among many others.  Share your opinions regarding prioritization and investment in transportation, this is the opportunity to influence what projects are a priority for the next 4 years.

Projects not listed in the TIP will be at an extreme disadvantage for accessing funding all will most likely be postponed at least until the next TIP is developed, or beyond given fiscal constraints at both the state and federal levels.

The National Bike Challenge is an opportunity to challenge yourself to ride more often.  Record your rides, and add up the miles you’ve ridden, the calories you’ve burned, and the gas money you’ve saved. You can connect with other riders in the challenge, or embrace the spirit of competition by winning points for your employer, your community, or your state. You also become eligible for prize drawings after you’ve logged just three days on your bike.

You’ll be part of a team of more than fifty thousand riders logging over ten million miles, demonstrating the power of the bicycle to build healthy people, healthy communities, and a healthy planet.

Participation is free, and open to anyone in the United States, or who is employed by a participating U.S.-based company.

Everybody wins when we get people riding more, but hundreds of participants will win gear in our monthly prize drawings, including:

Early Bird Prizes: Join before May 1, and you could be 1 of 12 winners of a National Bike Challenge Commuter Kits, including a National Bike Summit tote bags, a Planet Bike taillight and bell set, a Bikes Belong water bottle, League of American Bicyclist socks, and more.

Monthly Prize Drawings: With just three days of riding, you become eligible for monthly drawings, and as you ride more, the prizes get better.  Bronze level prizes include hats, water bottles, and multi-tools.   Log more miles, and you could win a helmet, jersey, or event a bike.  The Grand Prizes, drawn from the riders a the top tier, are bike trips in Napa or Moab.

Take Home a Trophy: There are National Challenge plaques for the businesses, individuals, communities, states, and teams that rack up the most points.  Compete against Facebook, Trek, Specialized, Mars, and other businesses of all sizes.

Join now, start logging your miles, and become eligible for earlybird prizes!

The committee meeting will be held in Room 203 of the State House, with the committee agenda starting sometime after the approximately 4:30pm end of the general session.

Currently, RIDOT is governed by Title 31, Chapter 18, Section 21 which requires considering the needs of pedestrians and bicycle users in specific road projects.  The existing law says that DOT should consider accommodations, but are not required to install or make any adjustments to a road plan if it would increase the cost of a project beyond available financing.  Originally enacted in 1997, it stands as one of the first laws of its kind in the United States.

The new bill is more binding, as it encompasses all state offices that build public ways and lays out a list of amenities and accommodations deemed beneficial to pedestrians and bicycle users.  It would also expand the applicability of this design consideration to all roads projects that use State or Federal monies for construction.  However, it still allows for situation specific designs for all projects, such that bike lanes in rural areas or low speed/low volume roads are not mandated.

RI Bike Coalition is working with other advocates and supports the passage of this bill and thanks Rep. Peter Martin for sponsoring.

The next general advocay meeting will be on held on April 9th, 2012 @ 6:00PM.  This months meeting is being hosted by Bike Newport at Empire Tea and Coffee, 22 Broadway, Newport, RI.  Anyone interested in discussing bicycle advocacy or other issues facing cyclists in Rhode Island is welcome and encouraged to attend.

On this months agenda are the following items:

• Legislation update (Vulnerable Roadway User, Complete Streets)
• Commuter Guide Project Update
• Road Projects/Construction updates (Elmwood Ave, Washington Bridge, East Bay Bike Path, Coventry Greenway)
• Bike To Work Day Providence
• Bike To Work Day Newport
• Bike To The Beach
• Bike to America’s Cup
• Bike Tours coming through
• Discussion of working with local businesses/Chamber of Commerce

Meeting Location

There is a challenging, 100km loop through the rolling hills and pine forest of Rhode Island’s northwest quadrant, a fairly flat 50km loop through farmland to the bay in our southeast and a bicycled tour of Providence architecture of 5-7km.

Before each group begins, National Park Ranger and actor, John McNiff will present a dramatic interpretation of the story of Jane Verin and Roger William’s argument for a woman’s right to liberty of conscience.

Following the ride, lunch will be served under a tent.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island.

Online registration and more information, including route maps here.

This version of the Vulnerable Roadway User bill defines a Vulnerable Road User as essentially anyone who is not inside a vehicle, but is using a roadway in a legal manner, including construction workers and police officers.  The bill sets out a set of responses for striking one of these classes of people without exercising due care to avoid a collision that causes injury or death.  The sentencing guidelines for this bill provide that a person found guilty will complete a traffic safety training, community service, temporary license suspension and a fine from $85 to $5,000.

RIBIKE thanks Representatives Tanzi, Handy, Martin, Winfield and Tomasso for sponsoring this bill.

The City of Pawtucket, Healthy Places by Design, and Pawtucket Citizens Development league are holding a meeting on Thursday March 15, 2012 for residents and bicycle users in Pawtucket to come together and participate in the Pawtucket Bicycle Committee.

The meeting will be held at the Pawtucket CDC offices from 3 to 4pm.

Also included with the announcement is a link to YouTube video about the Pawtucket Bike Assessment:

Full announcement:

Calling all bicycling enthusiasts in Pawtucket!  Come and be a part of the newly formed Pawtucket Bike Committee!  This is our first time to meet to share ideas and discuss ways to make our city more bikeable.

Light and healthy refreshments will be available.

Thursday, March 15th  

204 Broad Street, Pawtucket

3:00-4:00 p.m.

On the agenda for this month’s meeting:

• TIP status
• Legislation update (vulnerable road users and others)
• Bike To Work Day Providence
• Commuter Guide