News

An “Adventurous” Offer for GEARs Members

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Are you a GEARs member? I certainly hope so. At only $12/year it’s a steal!  By being a member you  not only help our work, you also receive our newsletter, e-mail alerts, invitations to events, and discounts at an increasing number of bicycle friendly businesses (Bike Rewards) around the greater Eugene area.

As another bonus of GEARs membership we are excited to offer 50 free Adventure Cycling trial memberships to our members.

Adventure Cycling has been dubbed “America’s bicycle travel experts” and is a great resource for thousands of cyclists. Adventure Cycling Association’s nonprofit mission is to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle for fitness, fun, and self-discovery. Founded in 1974 as Bikecentennial, Adventure Cycling is the premier bicycle travel organization in North America with 44,500 members nationwide.

For a limited time Adventure Cycling is offering complimentary trial memberships (a $40 value) to members of select clubs, and GEARs has been chosen as one. Sign-up now!

Your free membership will include:

This free trial membership is valid only to new Adventure Cycling members and must be sent to a U.S. mailing address.

Use this special link to sign up for the free trial membership: http://tinyurl.com/ACGEARS

If you’re not a member of GEARs yet and would like to join and take advantage of this great offer you can sign up here first.

Downtown Bike Parking

Posted on by RideCoordinator

With the removal of over 200 parking meters downtown GEARs has been working with the City of Eugene to improve the bike parking situation in the downtown area. Richard Hughes and Sue Wolling did a walk about survey of parking issues to determine the bicycle parking needs in the area and have been working with Jeff Petry, the Parking Services Manager.

New bike hoops that arrived last week will be installed on posts that previously held meters. The bike hoops will be installed after the city determines locations for the new hoops. The 2 hour parking signs placed on several old meter poles already serve as a locking location.

The City is also working with the South University Neighborhood on a big project to convert unregulated parking in that neighborhood to 2 hour permit parking. The unregulated parking pockets in the area are hunted for each day by UO visitors, creating more vehicle miles traveled south of 18th and more opportunity for bike/ped – vehicle interactions.  Once that project is complete the Parking Program will start work on the downtown bike hoops as well as on three different bicycle corrals at Morning Glory Cafe (450 Willamette St.), Cornucopia (207 E. Fifth Ave.) and the Kiva grocery store (125 W. 11th Ave.).


Eugene's meter rings will look like this, but in black (and less fuzzy)

This article originally appeared in the Dec2010/Jan2011 GEARs Newsletter. Become a GEARs Member to receive your copy.

City of Eugene Receives $707,000 Grant (Originally posted on WeBikeEugene)

Posted on by RideCoordinator
The yellow line shows the project area
Yellow lines are the project area

*This article originally appeared on WeBikeEugene

As we reported back in March (twice), April, May and August the City has some great plans for completing one of the ‘missing links’ in the Eugene bicycle transportation system, the connection of the Alder St. ‘bikeway’ to the river path system. The city received official word on November 16th that they were awarded a $707,000 grant from the ODOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant Program and can now move forward with those plans.  The City decided to piggyback the grant application with their Pavement Preservation Program which is slated to repave Alder from 19th 18th to Franklin in the summer of 2011.  At the end of October the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (OBPAC) met in Seaside Astoria to decide which of the 90 communities that applied for over $37 million in projects would receive the $5 million that was available. Five  Eleven communities were awarded funds including Eugene plus two alternates if extra funding comes available.

Key components of the project include the construction of a new south AND northbound bicycle facility on Alder Street, a new signalized crossing at Franklin and Alder, on-street parking reconfiguration on 13th Avenue, increased bicycle parking capacity, and significant pedestrian enhancements in the small business district. Continue reading “City of Eugene Receives $707,000 Grant (Originally posted on WeBikeEugene)” →

News Bits from the Newsletter

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Our monthly newsletter (Dec./Jan. this month) should be arriving in your inbox or mailbox today.  Here are a few pieces from it.  Become a member to get the full scoop!

Swap Meet

It’s become a great annual tradition and an anticipated event by the community, the GEARs Fall Swap Meet.  This years Swap brought several dozen folks in out of the rain to sell their used wares and to score some good deals on everything from retro bike shoes to new hand-built wheels.  There seemed to be even more bikes for sale this year with the great diversity of Eugene bikes shining through: tandems, recumbents, folding bikes, folding recumbents, BMX, mountain, cruisers, retro 10-speeds, and more.  The mix of bike styles was as broad as the type of GEARs members we have.

Before the Swap started we held a short general meeting where Sue Wolling, the outgoing President, gave a “Year in Review” for the club and Gary Cook passed the “Volunteer of the Year” award onto this years winner, Paul Adkins.  The meeting was wrapped up with the introduction of the new board (see below) and the selling, bartering, and buying began.  Thanks to everyone who came out we look forward to growing and improving the event next year.

Elections

Elections for the GEARs Board are held annually at our November General Meeting. This years election was held at the Vet’s Club as part of our annual Swap Meet and General Meeting.

Here is the new GEARs Executive Board. Thanks to everyone who voted and participated in your local cycling democracy.

President: Richard Hughes
Vice President: Garry Swanson
Treasurer: -To be appointed by new Board
Secretary: Duncan Rhodes
At Large: Howard Shearer
At Large: Paula Erickson
At Large: David Gizara

Monthly Meetings

We hold our General and Board meetings separately.  Everyone is welcome at either or both.
Get More Details online www.eugenegears.org

Upcoming Board Meetings:
 Tuesday, Dec. 7th & Monday, Jan. 3
 6-8 p.m. Keystone Cafe

Upcoming General Meetings:
Saturday, December 11
Take Me to Cooky’s: Riding Solo from Eugene to DC
3-4 p.m., Bascom Room of the Eugene Public Library
Tuesday, January 18
Bob & Linda’s Presentation
6-8 p.m. Countryside Pizza & Grill (645 River Road)

Take Me to Cooky’s: Riding Solo from Eugene to DC

Posted on by RideCoordinator

The next GEARs General Meeting will be special presentation and discussion titled  “Take Me to Cooky’s: Riding Solo from Eugene to DC.” One woman, 3500 miles, two front panniers, and a wave of good tidings.  Join us for a slide presentation followed by Q & A of Heidi Beierle’s ride across the country. Beierle scored the best place to stop for pie, negotiated simultaneous attack by swarming mosquitoes and a red tail hawk, and accepted the comfort offered by a Missouri family in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave. Along the way, she delivered window decals to businesses along the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail and interviewed a hundred people about bicycle touring and living rurally. Ride with us through a story of enthusiasm, the unexpected, and concern for others that pictures the people, places, and chance encounters that put the adventure in cycling.

Please bring a seasonal tea time treat to share with others. Friends, family, and children are encouraged to attend.

Take Me to Cooky’s: Riding Solo from Eugene to DC.

Saturday, December 11, 3-4 p.m., Bascom Room of the Eugene Public Library

Heidi heading out out to Cooky's

General Meeting & Elections PLUS a Bike Swap

Posted on by RideCoordinator

GEARs will hold its annual meeting and Bike Swap on Tuesday, November 30, from 7 to 9 pm at The Vets Club (1626 Willamette St., Eugene).

The GEARs Annual Meeting will take place from 7-7:30pm, when club members will elect the 2010-2011, GEARs Executive Board.

Following the Annual Meeting, a Bike Swap will offer cyclists an opportunity to sell and exchange bicycles, bike parts and accessories. Each “seller” who is not a GEARs member will be charged $5. Memberships are available starting at $12/year at the event or online at http://eugenegears.org/membership

Both events are open to the general public.

FrankenBike via flickr