25 Feb - a busy day in the office

Good evening,
Between naps to sleep off a cold I decided to stay in the office today and clean out old emails and follow up on leads that have been piling up for the past few weeks.  Here's a sample of what transpired;
Allliance for Biking and Walking is offering to donate a van to a bike/ped non-profit who makes the best case for needing it in their operation.  Turns out today is the deadline, our application is IN and has been acknowledged.  No guarantees on this, but I think we have a good case.
Rock Forge Neighborhood House has had us over to give bike/ped safety classes in the past, now that we have a new curriculum and need to try it out we've scheduled tentatively for Monday March 15.  We could use volunteers for this, especially if you have a truck or van to cart bikes to the site.  They have an indoor gym where we'll set up the course.
The Green Riders of Palo Alto will be passing through Morgantown in June on their continent-crossing electric bike ride and they  contacted us today to feature us on their blog and in their video when they are in town.  We will probably be presenting at Mon Cty Library's Green Night when they are here.
WV Safe Routes to Schools - On Monday we met with  coordinator Becky Davisson, she informed us that the many schools in the state who have gotten funds to build sidewalks are now looking for a way to provide the bike/ped safety instruction required by the grant.  Since we have the only instructor in the state (and possibly region) this means lots of opportunities to present classes and certify new instructors.  I set up one class in Charleston and have been asked to do another in Martinsburg.  Volunteers will be needed to support these trips.
Morgantown High School Young Democrats  - Lastly, Josh called to invite us to exhibit at their green night at the school on Friday March 26.  This is bike drive week so we may ask attendees in advance if they can bring out bikes to donate.  We'll bring our bike generator to power bike videos - we'd like to have one made about us if there's anyone out there who would do that.
More tomorrow.
Nick

19 Feb - Velomobiles for the 21st Century

Good morning,
This article was written by a friend of mine, more eloquently than I could ever put it.  Check it out.
http://urbanmobilityproject.blogspot.com/2010/02/velomobile-21st-century-eco-solution.html
Nick

16 Feb - Welcome to Winter

It's good to remember at times like this when the snow starts piling up, that the roads were built and paid for by all people - not just the ones in cars.  That means that everyone is has a right to use them, not just the ones in cars.  The legal "right of  way" means that when there's a way to get somewhere, everyone has a right to safe use of it.  This is a shared right  - not an exclusive one.  If you're driving it means that if the sidewalks are impassable on a given street, if they don't exist or haven't been shovelled for example, pedestrians have a right to use the road and motorists have a responsibility to give them safe room and slow down if necessary to give everyone time to react and adjust to each other.
Of course motorists should drive at or BELOW the speed limit.  Apparently it isn't obvious to everyone that a posted speed is an UPPER limit, not a lower one.  Also, bikes have the right of way on public roads at this time of year just like any other.  Every public road is already a bike lane.  This may mean it takes a few seconds longer to get where you're going, take the time to relax a little.  That will benefit everyone too.
Nick