November 1994 SPOKE-N Word

Newsletter of the Dane County Bicycle Transportation Alliance

Local Bicyclists Pedal onto Data Superhighway

The Internet is a global computer network that is probably the prototype for the National Information Infrastructure or Data Superhighway that is being widely hyped in the press these days.

Depending upon who you believe (and how you define access), between three and 30 million users worldwide have access to the Internet today, a number that is growing exponentially.

For local bicyclists with Internet access today, there are a number of services available. If you have email access to the Internet that includes every one who is a member of the University community and every one who buys services from a commercial provider such as Compuserve or America Online, plus many other people, there are these services:

bikies@gcg.com
This is a local mailing list for those interested in bicycle transportation. Mail sent to the address is echoed to all the subscribers of the list (there are currently about 30 of us). Send mail to bikies-request@gcg.com to request to be added to or deleted from the list.
wednesday@gcg.com
saturday@gcg.com
sunday@gcg.com
Mail sent to these addresses returns information about informal Wednesday night, Bombay Saturday, or Bombay Sunday bike rides, respectively. If you send mail without any body, information about the next ride is returned. For information about a ride on some other date, include a line in the body of your message with the requested date in this format: 
	Date: Jan 1, 1994

Another service is the Bicycling Community Page, which is on the World Wide Web (WWW). WWW is a kind of distributed hypertext document that is international in scope. Users employ a client program such as Mosaic or Lynx to access information provided by WWW servers. Besides text, there are graphics, sound clips, and movies available to those whose clients support them. Most users who purchase network services from commercial providers don't yet have access to WWW, although such access will probably be available in a few months. People in the University community, and many others, do have access to WWW.

The Bicycling Community Page provides such information as a list of bicycling events (including all the Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday rides, many with cue sheets), a list of bicycling-related organizations at the national, state, and local level, various documents of interest to advocacy, touring, and racing people, and links to other pages around the world that are of potential interest to bicyclists. To access the Bicycling Community Page, point your client at the uniform resource locator http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~condon/sd.html.

The services described here are maintained by the author of this article. I'd be pleased to hear any comments or criticism on them, and also welcome contributions of information.

-by Scott Rose (bcp@danenet.wicip.org)

Translinks 21 Deadline Nov. 7

The Department of Transportation's 25-year Draft Intermodal Transportation Plan was released in September. The mission statement on the inside cover declares: Working with DOT, the public will identify Wisconsin's transportation needs and help to make tomorrow's transportation choices.

Unfortunately, the DOT has provided very limited opportunities for public responseQonly two public hearings in the entire state: one in Milwaukee on October 20 and another in Wausau on October 27. A Town Meeting held in Madison on October 10 consisted of a video presentation followed by a brief question period. That meeting was picketed by local New Transportation Alliance members.

The Milwaukee hearing, which was held at the Zoofari Center on the outskirts of the city, was attended by Southeast Wisconsin NTA members, who report that the meeting drew few participants.

On October 27, a group of Madison NTA members, along with Marcia Miquelon of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, traveled to Wausau and gave testimony at the public hearing there. This meeting was very poorly attended. A response to the DOT's plan has been prepared by the statewide NTA (see yellow flyer enclosed). The deadline for written comments from the public is November 7. Write to the DOT demanding more funding for mass transit and pedestrian and bicycle projects. 

Charles H. Thompson, Secretary
Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation
Room 120 B
4802 Sheboygan Ave.
Madison, WI  53702-0001
Come to the next New Transportation Alliance meeting, Wednesday November 9 at 7:30 p.m. at 222 S. Hamilton #1. Contact Mary at 249-9016.

Welcome Marcia!

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin now has an executive director in Madison, Marcia Miquelon. From the new Bike Fed office on King Street, Marcia can make instant trips to the Capitol. Though she hasn't been here long, Marcia has already been to Wausau and Eau Claire.

No stranger to travel, Marcia's introduction to bicycle commuting came at age 12, when her family went to live in Stuttgart, Germany. There the bicycle was a common mode of transit and she could get around easily on her own.

As a student at the University of Virginia she began bicycle touring and after college she worked for Bike Aid, a San Francisco-based concern that organizes fund-raising rides across the U.S. to benefit sustainable projects for overseas communities . Marcia has ridden across the U.S. through her work with Bike Aid. Most recently, after spending a year teaching in Namibia she biked in southeastern Africa.

Join us December 1 for Marcia's slide presentation Africa on a Bicycle Chain, a fund-raiser for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (see notice below). If you want to help with event logistics contact Renee at 255-8494 or Marcia at 251-4456.

What the Bike Fed Can Do For You

The purpose of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is to serve as an educational and advocacy group for bicycling statewide. Its aims and activities include:

-by Marcia Miquelon

The Federation will be able to engage in these activities only if it has the financial support of concerned cyclists throughout the state. Please attend the December fund-raiser and/or become a member today! Memberships are: $15 for an individual, $20 for a family, $30 for a club, $50 for a business. Make checks payable to The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, 104 King St. #204, Madison, WI 53703

Campus Notes

Bicycle Numbers Soar on UW Campus

On the University of Wisconsin campus, there are 1,831 more bicycles than there were in autumn of 1991, a 24% increase, according to Tabitha Graves of the U.W. Transportation Demand Management staff. On Oct. 3, Graves and a dozen others conducted a Bicycle Demand Inventory and found more than 9,000 bicycles on campus. Surveyors counted every bicycle on campus and in Eagle Heights, and noted whether bicycles were locked to bike racks, trees or other structures. As a result, Transportation Services has ordered 700 new bicycle parking spaces for campus for spring 1995.

Transportation Services will also be working on a policy to address illegally-parked bikes. Under such a policy, bikes parked on ramps for the disabled or otherwise inappropriately parked might be ticketed or even confiscated.

What you can do:

Campus Bicycle Tours

As part of Welcome Week, Renee Callaway, Arthur Ross and Lisa Goodman fielded new students' questions about biking in Madison and led a Saturday morning ride featuring the Lakeshore Trail and the Zoo. Thanks to Ann Zanzig of the Student Orientation Program for inviting us to participate. We look forward to more tours next year.

Bike Safety Week

Mike Bernier of University Health Services Health Promotion Program reports the first Campus Bike Safety Week was a success. Coupons in campus papers offered discounts on helmets and lights at area bike shops. During the week of Sept. 12-16 there were information tables on Library Mall and Williamson Bicycle Works and Budget Bicycle Center offered free tune-ups. Thanks to Budget, Criterium Cyclery, Haack's Cycle, Michael's Cyclery, Trek Company Store, Yellow Jersey and Williamson for sponsoring the coupons. Contact Mike at 265-4163, bernier@facstaff.wisc.edu to join the UHS Bike Safety Committee. Next meeting Tuesday Nov. 15, at 3:00 p.m. Location to be announced.

Mark Your Calendar

Repair Classes for Women

Ever wonder how to keep your derailleur from skipping? Have a flat tire that you need to fix? Mechanics and experienced instructors, Linda Olson and Laurel Green are offering a bicycle tune-up class for women. Bring your bicycle to this two-part class and learn how to clean the drive train, fix flat tires, true wheels and adjust brakes and derailleurs. Classes will be held on Sundays November 13 and 20 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at Williamson Bicycle Works. Stop by W.B.W. and get your name on the sign-up sheet for this class. Limit five participants. Cost $35. Linda and Laurel may be able to schedule additional classes, contact them at the shop at 255-5292.

The Solstice Schlep Winter Ride

Time to mingle. Let;s gather for a short ( 1 hour) recreational ride around town. Afterward we'll find food, get warm and discuss the benefits of various winter garments and gadgets. Bring your helmet and lights and meet outside Memorial Union (near bike racks at southwest corner of building) at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18. All are welcome, snow or shine. In the event of major snow, we may park early and head for munchies. Contact Lisa at 255-4721, or Renee at 255-8494.

BTA Steering Committee

Meetings are open to every one. The next one is Wednesday, Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m. at 1407 Chandler St. Bring your ideas about governance, or a copy of your favorite organization's constitution. We will plan for elections. Starting in 1995, steering committee will meet on the 4th Wednesday. For more info contact Renee at 255-8494, Mark at 274-9367 or Lisa at 255-4721. For meeting info contact BTA@macc.wisc.edu, or phone one of the above numbers.

BTA Mission Statement

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance of Dane County advocates the use of bicycles as a sustainable mode of transportation and recreation. We work for recognition and support of bicyclists and bicycle issues such as bicycle safety, inclusion of bicycle routes in transportation and land use planning, and increased access to existing commercial and residential districts. We pursue our goals through community education, legislative action, and working with like-minded groups.

How to Join

Send a check for $15 (individual) or $20 (household) to the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, 222 S. Hamilton St. #1, Madison, WI 53703.

BTA Begins Its Second Year, Seeks Officers

With one year of bicycle advocacy work under our belts, we are looking forward to electing some official coordinators. If you care about bicycling and can spare about ten hours a month, we'd love to hear from you. Please submit a letter of interest if you'd like to fill one of these positions. For now, these people are filling the following positions:

Renee Callaway, Campus coordinator & acting program coordinator
Heather Putnam, Database manager
Mark Shahan, Political action coordinator
Lisa Goodman, Newsletter coordinator & acting treasurer/membership coordinator

The program coordinator lines up speakers and publicizes monthly BTA meetings. The data base manager keeps the mailing list current and facilitates mailings. The treasurer/membership coordinator keeps track of finances and enrolls new members. The political action coordinator functions as a spokesperson and coordinator for issues we take on. The newsletter coordinator works on producing and distributing this publication. We could also use a secretary to record and send out meeting minutes. This is your chance to get involved. Job-sharing is fine if you want to take on a smaller share. Send letters of interest by Dec. 31 to BTA at 222 S. Hamilton St. #1, Madison, WI 53703, or email BTA@macc.wisc.edu.

Membership Benefits

Although many people with computer access communicate locally via bikies email, this newsletter is one way all of us can connect. With everyone's input this is an effective way to share ideas and interests and publicize events. Your contributions are always welcome. Please submit your articles, ideas, commuting and maintenance tips and calendar items for the next newsletter by Dec. 31. Submissions should be typed or on computer disk (3.5" disks, Mac or PC, WordPerfect or MS word) or sent via email to BTA@macc.wisc.edu. If you wish to receive this newsletter via email only (saving us postage and printing costs) please let us know.

Join us for a newsletter meeting on Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. 1407 Chandler St., Madison 53711, 255-4721

Special Event: Africa on a Bike Chain

On Thursday, December 1, Marcia Miquelon presents slides of her bicycle travels in Africa. 7:30 p.m. at the Pres House, 731 State St. in a benefit for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. Meet the new executive director of the BFW, enjoy dessert, support a good cause.

Contributors to this newsletter: 

	
	Mary Sabatini- NTA field correspondent
	Scott Rose- BTA computer resources bureau
	Marcia Miquelon- BFW guest columnist
	Lisa Goodman- odds and ends coordinator, printer's devil, postal crew

Go to the Bicycling Community Page.