BerksMontNews.com

Berks County Residents Bike to Work
By Heather Tassmer; News Editor

Dealing with today's "tough" economy, people are always looking for a way to save a buck or two where they can. Gas prices were on everyone's minds this summer during the prime travel season.
But Keith Karlson, a street foreman for the Borough of Birdsboro, didn't have to worry about gas prices. Karlson bikes to work.
Karlson said he's been riding a bicycle to work for the past two years.
"I used to walk but now I bike," he said. "I work outdoors so I'm used to being outdoors."
.....
Our very own Board member is part of this story:
Jeremy Slonaker, treasurer of the organization Walk Bike Berks and an employee at Baldwin Hardware, Reading, also rides his bike to work from Exeter Township about three days a week.
It's about a seven and a half mile ride and takes him about thirty minutes.
Slonaker said that he started biking to work in March 2008, Slonaker uses the Schuylkill River Trail for part of his trip.
...
He added that he's an experienced cyclist and has endured 30 degree weather before.
"You just have to wear the right clothing," he said.
Some people ride bikes to save money. Slonaker said his reason was so he could get exercise and spend more time with his family.
He said instead of coming home from work and going on a bicycle ride, he can get his exercise finished early and have more time with the family.
....
We're in the story too...
Walk Bike Berks
Walk Bike Berks is an organization committed to promoting walking and biking and encouraging lawmakers to make the roads safe for people to do so.
In May, WalkBikeBerks members teamed up with Baldwin Hardware to encourage people to bike to work.
Several people had a great experience biking to work, according to the organization's blog.


You can find the full article here: http://www.berksmontnews.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Weekly?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_wk_article&r21.pgpath=%2FBMN%2FNews%2FThe+Southern+Berks+News&r21.content=%2FBMN%2FNews%2FThe+Southern+Berks+News%2FTopStoryList_Story_2467684

BikeSafe

Nearly all things that make great biking and hiking in Berks County are done through hands-on volunteer efforts. When a tree falls across a trail, it's often a volunteer who gives up time and materials to remove the hazard. When new trails are opened, volunteers maintain it. When concerns are addressed, it's because volunteers work together to make things better.

WalkBikeBerks is comprised of people who simply love walking, hiking, biking, and enjoying our gorgeous county. We want to make biking and walking accessible and safe for everyone because we also want it safer and more accessible for ourselves. We are willing to give up time and resources -- our own funds -- because we think everyone should have the same opportunities we want for ourselves.

We also want to be sure that we are doing everything we can to make sure not one single new pedestrian or bicyclist is hurt or killed in our county. We want pedestrians and bicyclists to learn how to keep themselves safe when traveling our roadways and trails system as well help drivers become more aware and patient with other users of shared streets and intersections.

PennDOT has so many really excellent resources that are free and easy to access to help us all learn more -- to keep us all safe as we travel.

Check out this great resource: http://www.dot.state.pa.us/BIKE/WEB/index.htm.

Pennsylvania's Bicycle Driver's Manual: http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdBikePed.nsf/infoAcknowledgements?OpenForm

WalkBikeBerks would very much like to be able to provide quantities of the PennDOT Bicycle Drivers Manual when we attend events such as International Walk to School Day on October 8. PennDOT provides the manuals for free upon request, but asks that we cover the cost of shipping. For just twelve dollars we can distribute a case of 200 manuals. Consider donating today so that we are able to order several cases to distribute to bicyclists and children throughout Berks County.

You can mail your contribution or pay online with PayPal. See the payment button to the right of this post.

Thanks so much for helping make a difference.

SUCCESS!

Our Sundae Sunday Ride was a resounding success. We packed Scoupe DeVille at about 3:30 on September 21 after a gorgeous ride on the Schuylkill River Trail from the Brentwood Trailhead.

In total, about 25 riders -- as young as one year old and, well, much older than that -- strapped on helmets and pedalled together on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

The question was asked: Will you be doing this every year?

The answer: God willing. With donations, volunteers, and advocacy hard at work, we'll not only be able to repeat this event, but make this Sundae Sunday ride "the thing to do!' If you love bicycling and want it to be accessible to everyone, join us now as we begin to set our goals and plan events for the new year. We'll meet this Saturday (and the last Sat. of every month) at the Holy Cross Church on 5th Street in Reading, PA.

If you are interested in helping us organize next year's weekly ride, call or write to us today. We'll be happy to have your help. If you represent a business who would like to participate, we also welcome your call. We can make your business one of the stops on our route next season -- and bring bicycling business to your front door! We do ask that you consider biking - and add bicycle parking and racks to attract our riders to you.

For a map of the trail we rode, visit: http://www.schuylkillriver.org/Resources/590/BRENTWOOD_TRAILHEAD_REV.pdf

Tonight: take a minute to write a little thank you note to Spokes Bike Shop owner Mike Myers for being so very generous in donating the great bicycle that was given away today. The website: http://spokesbikeshop.com/

Many thanks as well to the wonderful owners of Scoupe DeVille, Sandy and Doug Paris. They were extraordinary hosts of our weekly event. Their website: http://www.scoupedeville.com/1701.html.

WIN A FREE BICYCLE TODAY

If you need to find us, we'll be at the Brentwood Trailhead at 3:00 today. You can ride or walk with us to Scoupe De Ville where we'll share ice cream and draw a winning ticket -- for a brand new bicycle from Spokes Bike Shop.

If you need a map, check this out:

http://www.schuylkillriver.org/Resources/590/BRENTWOOD_TRAILHEAD_REV.pdf

If you'd like specific driving directions, visit: http://www.schuylkillriver.org/DrivingDirections.aspx?id=590

If you bring a new friend to ride (or walk) with us today, I will personally buy you an ice cream treat from Scoupe De Ville.

See you there!

WIN A FREE BIKE!

Spokes Bike Shop
and
Scoupe De Ville
have generously partnered with us this summer for
SUNDAE SUNDAY RIDES
but sadly, the time has come to end this event.
We aren't going to let our Ride end without a BANG!

Meet us at the
Brentwood Trailhead at 3:00
on Sunday, September 21

for our Final Ride. We'll ride together along the trail towards Gibraltar where we'll park our bikes and our hiking shoes at Scoupe De Ville. We'll meet the media, take some photos, celebrate with ice cream, and
GIVE AWAY A FREE BIKE!*
*Write to walkbikeberks for more details about how to enter to win!

Bike Drawing: 3:30 (tentatively)

Who's Walking in PA?

International Walk to School Day is now less than three weeks away. If you have not yet registered your local event, register today!

The list of participating schools in Pennsylvania is growing longer every day.
32 events happening in:
Archbald
Bethlehem
Brockway
Charleroi
Doylestown
Erie
Everett
Harleysville
Harrisburg
Lansdale
Milton
Montandon
Mount Carmel
New Columbia
Paxtang
Pittsburgh
Plum
Reading
Ridley Park
Royersford
Souderton
Tioga
Towanda
Wallingford
Warrington
Windber

http://www.walktoschool-usa.org/who/seestate.cfm?st=PA

Trails and Other Things

I completed the Schuylkill River Trail count and survey today. It was a beautiful, hot summer day. There were folks out for a long run, a causal ride with a child, and others running errands to the store, etc. One trail user was actually in his car...but brought his family to see where he runs almost daily. They stopped to talk and share their comments about the trail and the work they are seeing all over Berks County.

My favorite responders were those coming/going to work! I love the commuters on the trails. The runners are fun to watch...but I didn't get to chat with many of them. They are so committed to keeping their stride and heart rate up that they didn't get a chance to tell me their opinions about how we are meeting their needs. So: If you're a runner who uses the trail system in Berks -- write to me to let us know what we can do to better serve you. Your input is important -- and we can't meet your needs without your voice in the process of advocacy.

Wonderfully, almost everyone I spoke to was happy to answer questions to help support our trails and to thank us -- advocates, organizations, and funders for making bicycling and walking so much better. They each were eager to share their ideas about how to make biking and walking better as well.

It was fun to see our own Emily Weidner coming back from a Girl Scout training today. She took a small group of Scouts on a ride today. It's always a pleasure to chat with Emily. She is so excited about the application for Bicycle Friendly City status through the League of American Bicyclists. She is so positive -- and determined to see the project through to completion.

We are likely to make good progress if my dreams come true. I am hoping that funding is available to place more bicycle racks in the city. A new member, David, shared some excellent resources: http://www.dero.com/custom_racks.html. Check out all of those designs...but as you are searching through the site, don't miss the Bike Bike Racks -- actual bicycles that serve as functional street art -- for bicycle parking. They can manage up to four bikes -- two on each wheel. Really lots of fun. Of course, a good online search for 'custom bike racks' gives lots of excellent, really neat designs.