THE WINTER CYCLIST

A wintry chill is in the atmosphere,

As from the heaving lake the storm wind blows;
And weak-kneed brethren of the cycle fear
That brings the riding season to close.

Jack Frost assails us with his wicked thrusts;
Our polka-dotted mufflers are on guard
And many a good wheel in the basement rusts
Which should be speeding down the boulevard.


And shall we join the patient, suffering throng,
Which crowds the rumbling street cars to the door?
Which kicks against the service loud and long,
But keeps on riding as it did before?


Nay! Perish such a thought. On every street
The hardy wheelman has the right of way;
No ancient female comes to claims his seat;
No cable breaks, no lumbering teams delay.


Our hearts beat high, our life-blood dancing flows,
Though ice-flakes sparkle in the biting air;
While street-car heaters, every patron knows,
Are but a vain delusion and a snare.


The steed that bore us through the woods aglow
With sunshine, where the morning glories creep,
Will bear us safely through the mud-streaked snow
Until it lies at least five inches deep.


~PETER GRANT

The lack of a safe passing bill is one reason Pennsylvania only rated 25th for bicycle friendliness by the League of American Bicyclists. PA's legislative grade was a C.
Pennsylvania is on the brink of joining ranks with those 18 states and there is now an opportunity for you to take action to urge passage of a state-wide safe passing bill.
Our friends at PA Walks and Bikes have let us know that at long last, Pennsylvania's House of Representatives recently passed a 4 foot safe passing bill, HB170. HB 170 will amend PA's motor vehicle code to provide the following protections:

Every car that passes a bike must give a minimum of 4-feet of clearance

It will be against the law for a motor vehicle driver to pass a bicyclist and then veer sharply in front of forcing you to jam on your brakes to avoid injury

It will be legal to ride a bike on the public road at less than the minimum speed

It will be legal for a driver to pass a bicyclist when it is safe to do so by crossing over a double line.

It's now up to the Pennsylvania Senate to pass HB170 with no amendments. If you are a Pennsylvania resident, please send a letter today to your state senator and follow up with a phone call to their office. Take action to help make Pennsylvania's roads safer for bicycling.

Annual Appeal

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/News-from-Walk-Bike-Berks.html?soid=1102617254371&aid=C3W1kjAjf9M

Since 2008, WalkBikeBerks has been committed to improving walking and bicycling in Berks County. With the support of community members like yourself, we have achieved a number of accomplishments. I've listed some of those achievements on the left bar of this letter.

This year we are especially proud of the fact thatyour financial gifts and volunteer efforts helped more schools and parents celebrate International Walk to School Day on October 5 than ever before. We look forward to sharing an even more successful 2012 with you.

In order for WalkBikeBerks to continue our successes and to continue our work for you, we need your support.

Please consider making a donation or become a member for $35.00. By doing so, you will be helping us make walking and biking practical, convenient, and safe in Berks County.

Click Here to make a donation and become a member.

BREAKING NEWS: Governor Corbett signs ban on texting while driving in Pennsylvania

Governor Corbett signs ban on texting while driving in Pennsylvania

Put down your cell phone! The Governor has made our streets a little safer today!

From RAILS to TRAILS....

Thank you!


This past Tuesday, Nov. 1, the U.S. Senate voted 60-38 against Senate Amendment 821. The amendment, introduced by Senator Rand Paul (Ky.) and which we notified you about late last week, would have eliminated the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program—the nation's largest funding source for trails, walking and bicycling.

The bipartisan vote signals, yet again, the tremendous support for TE in communities of all shapes and sizes around the country.

For more on the amendment and the vote, please see Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's "Breaking News" story on this victory.

Thank you,

Kevin Mills
Vice President of Program
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

ALERT: Walking and Bicycling Safety are under attack!

Federal funding for bike and pedestrian safety
is once again on the chopping block.
Senator Rand Paul has seized upon the very serious T4 America reports examining the woeful condition of our country’s bridges to force Americans to make an unnecessary choice: safety in our cars while crossing bridges or safety while walking or biking in our communities.

Tell your Senators that we don’t have to choose. Protect bike and pedestrian funding against this misguided attack.

Senator Paul’s amendment would also change the TIGER program — competitive grants awarded to all kinds of transportation projects — so that projects to make walking or biking safer won’t be eligible. The amendment would also redirect a relatively small amount of funding — 10 percent of the TIGER program — into bridge repair. At the cost of safety for everyone who uses a road, states would gain enough money to repaint a few bridges.

And there would still be no real plan to fix bridges. Here’s what you aren’t being told about bridge repair:

States can already take up to half of their money for bridge repair and spend it on new highway capacity, no matter the condition of their bridges. And states can already spend most of what’s usually the biggest pot of transportation funding on almost anything they want. They could fix bridges, build transit, highways, bridges, sidewalks; it's all eligible, and totally up to the states. No mandates from Washington.

This amendment will be offered on the floor of the Senate tomorrow (Tuesday).

Write or call your Senators and tell them that this proposal will do almost nothing to fix our bridges while making us less safe.

Thank you again for stepping forward to help.
Stephen Lee Davis
Deputy Communications Director

Transportation for America