Bike Willamette Campaign for full bicycle access on south Willamette St. — Meeting two is this happening tonight, Friday, Jan. 27 at 6:00-8:00 P.M. Come join those working to make this important corridor more accessible and safe for everyone.

Tuesday, January 24th
6-8 PM
Countryside Pizza, 645 River Road

It’s mid winter in Oregon, 2011 and Jeff Sprague and his wife MaryAnne were “shopping” for a cycling vacation. They had concerns about the Euro/Dollar exchange rate and decided that the U.S. was a good destination. He scanned the ads in the back of Bicycling Magazine and the Adventure Cyclist also ran a nice article on a number of multi- day supported cycling tours in the U.S.

The ride from Moab to Cedar City is an amazing adventure through 5 national parks and several state parks. The route is fairly simple (go right or left at the national parks and mostly stay on Utah state highway 12). They also cycled in Zion national park as a bonus. The roads were lightly traveled for the most part and the scenery is amazing! Come and share this cycling experience with Jeff as he “rides” us through his trip!

Loaded Bike Touring in Zion via Flickr user Velaia

Starting in February 2012 the monthly GEARS Newsletter is going all electronic – no more printed newsletters.

Ruthy Kanagy has generously taken over the GEARS newsletter editor position (with Paul Adkins as the electronic wizard) and she would like to ask for your help in getting her off to a good start by sending her articles, poems, trip reports, news, photos, items for sale, best rides of 2011 reports, your cycling resolutions for 2012, and anything else you can think of, to:

ruthyk@bikefriday.com

Not a GEARS member yet?  Please join, so you, too, can enjoy the benefits of receiving the latest news, not to mention discounts all over town from our Bike Rewards Program  - for only $12 a year. http://eugenegears.org/membership

Update/Reminder: The general meeting of the Friendly Area Neighbors is tonight 7-9 at the Washington Park Cottage (2025 Washington). I heard from the City that they are presenting at 7:30 pm and there should be time after their presentation for questions/answers.

Now would be a great time to write a letter to City Staff & Elected Officials to support their proposed design for 24th Ave. (Friendly to Chambers) which will include consolidating parking to one side of the street, removing the small bulb outs, adding bike lanes, removing the painted center line (for greater traffic calming), and adding a marked crosswalk and school zone near ATA/Family School.

There have been two community meetings where city staff collected input and gave information to over 30 people at each meeting. No opposition was voiced at the meeting that the city showed their recommended design, however a letter from the Friendly Area Neighbors Executive Board (most of whom were at both meetings) has been written to the City opposing the design and asking the city to keep parking and the bulb outs and instead of installing bike lanes to add sharrows and signs to the street. Those measures will do nothing to make the street comfortable for anyone but the most confident and secure cyclists. Both TransPlan and the PedBike Master Plan call for bike lanes on the street for a reason! Write city staff and the City Council now and encourage them to move ahead with their recommended changes.

Here is a great letter from GEARs Advocacy Committee Chair, Sue Wolling, that should give you some ideas for your own letter (to mayorandcc@ci.eugene.or.us):

A final neighborhood open house has been scheduled for Thursday, January 5^th to discuss the street rehabilitation project for 24^th Avenue (from Chambers St to Jefferson St).

There will be a presentation and discussion on design alternatives for this street.  Alternatives discussed will include removing on-street parking on one side of the street, installing bicycle facilities, and changing the nature of existing traffic calming devices.

The Ped/Bike Master Plan calls for bike lanes on this section of 24th and it is the best East-West corridor for cyclists in the area. Come give your input on the importance of completing our active transportation network with safe and comfortable facilities for cyclists.

Agenda:

• Presentation of alternative street configurations
• Questions and answers
• Discuss project timeline

Location:      Adams Elementary School (Cafeteria/Multipurpose Room), 950 West 22^nd Avenue, Eugene, OR 97405

Date:                 Thursday, January 5^th

Time:                7:00 to 8:30 pm

Questions? Please contact Reed Dunbar at reed.c.dunbar@ci.eugene.or.us or (541) 682-5727

If you’ve ever wanted to tour Japan by bicycle, but didn’t know how, here’s your chance:

October 10-20, 2012: Kyoto & the Inland Sea Islands of Japan

Explore ancient Kyoto’s World Heritage temples, shrines and gardens on 2-wheels and ride the premier cycling route in western Japan – the Seto Inland Sea Islands. Fall is an ideal time to visit Japan and you’ll see first hand how bicycle-friendly a country it is. Experience the old and new, urban and rural settings – including citrus farms and fishing villages on 10 islands linked by a series of spectacular bridges. Ride the bullet train with your bike, take a hot spring bath, and stay in a traditional inn.
Tour begins and ends in Osaka, 500km west of Tokyo.

Your Personal Guide: Ruthy Kanagy, GEARS member and owner of Japan Cycle Tour LLC.
For details, email info@japancycletour.com

For more inspiration see this series of photos on Picasa of the tour.

Monday November 28th 2011

GEARS will hold its annual meeting and Bike Swap on Monday November 28th from 6 to 8 pm at Hilyard Center, 2580 Hilyard St.  All GEARS members are invited to join for free Pizza and a soft drink ($5 for non members)!  We will vote on a By-Law change, have a presentation about the bRamble and elect and present the Executive Board. A Bike Swap, from 7-8pm, that will offer cyclists an opportunity to sell and exchange bicycles, bike parts and accessories, will follow this. Each “seller” who is not a GEARS member will be charged $5. Memberships are available starting at $12/year at the event or online athttp://eugenegears.org/membership

Both events are open to the general public.

Recycle Your Bicycle

Work has been completed on a $1.6 million extension of the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path
in the River Road-Santa Clara area, and the multi-use path extension is open for public use.

Knife River Corporation, working under contract to the Eugene Public Works Department,
began work early this year to extend the path from River Avenue, under the Randy Pape’ Beltline,
along Division Avenue to Beaver Street. The primary source of funding for the project was a federal
transportation enhancement grant administered by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The project extends the existing West Bank trail to connect the River Road and Santa Clara
neighborhoods. Previously, bicyclists and pedestrians wishing to cross the Beltline corridor had to
use River Road, a busy arterial street with five lanes of traffic moving approximately 32,000 vehicles
a day. The extended trail provides a safer option that reduces the number of vehicle conflicts with
pedestrian and bicycle movements. The project also provides a connection from Eugene’s Bascom
Riverbank Trail System to the street system north of Beltline.

The new 12-foot-wide, concrete path is about 3,200 feet long and includes pedestrian-scale
lighting, a retaining wall next to the Willamette River under Beltline, and an undercrossing at the
main truck entrance to the Delta Sand & Gravel yard on Division Avenue.

The extension to the West Bank Path segment brings the total length of the Riverbank Path
system to approximately 14.5 miles: 2.7 miles on the West Bank Path, 4 miles on the South Bank
Path, 2.8 miles on the East Bank Path, and 5 miles on the North Bank Path. The path system is
named for former Mayor Ruth Bascom, who was an avid cyclist and a strong advocate for bicycling
facilities in Eugene.

Also this summer, the segment of the South Bank Path was reconstructed from Greenway
Bridge to the RiverPlay Discovery Village Playground in Skinner Butte Park using voter-approved
bond measure funds.

As Lee Shoemaker, the cities Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator states:

“We realize it ends just short of the neighborhood to the west of Beaver Street.  Lane County had a project in their capital improvement program to upgrade Beaver and Hunsaker to urban standards and add bike lanes and sidewalks.  The project was removed from their CIP due to funding constraints.  The project is included in the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan.”

This is an exciting extension that when connected with a new Beaver/Hunsaker will really improve connectivity and safe/comfortable cycling in that region of town.