Join Austin Cycling Association for the regular membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, at the Veloway in Southwest Austin. We'll gather for some brief but important business when the current ACA Board of Directors will accept nominations for board members for 2011 and present its slate of nominees to the membership. Following the business-portion of the meeting, a League Cycling Instructor will host a ride designed for riders new to cycling or those who want to hone their skills on the Veloway. A second ride option may be available if some attendees prefer an on-street ride.
by Wes Robinson, Director of Education - Austin Cycling Association The first and only Freiker student bike participation program in the state of Texas debuted Feb. 5, 2010 at Sommer Elementary School in far Northwest Austin.
ACA joined Bicycle Sport Shop, BikeTexas, and Trek Bicycles in kicking off the program at the school. More than 300 children attended the kickoff, which also featured bike and helmet safety inspections, a bike rodeo, helmet fittings, and a bike parade attended by local offiicials.
by Wes Robinson, Director of Education - Austin Cycling Association
Austin Cycling Association, in coordination with the League of American Bicyclists, Bicycle Sport Shop, and the National Bicycle Dealers Association, rolled out two new bicycle instructor programs on Nov. 21, 2009. Twenty youth instructors and two skills instructors were certified to teach basic bicycle safety to children and adults. Students included individuals from the YMCA, the City of Austin Child Safety Program, the City of Leander Fire Department, Safe Kids Austin, the Texas Office for Prevention of Developmental Disabilities and Bicycle Sport Shop's mountain bike racing team. ACA hopes to offer youth and skills certification courses every quarter beginning in 2010, subject to enrollment minimums
For the list of 2010 board meetings look under the menu about -> ACA Meetings
Note: The Feb. 23 board meeting has been canceled because of inclement weather and rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 3, at Bike Texas.
Want to learn to be confident when riding in traffic?
Check out the new fun-size Traffic Skills 101 mini clinics.
It's the Traffic Skills 101 course taught in a series of small bites, goes good with coffee, which is good since it meets in a coffee shop. Register Here
by Preston Tyree, Director of Education - League of American Bicyclists Door zone crashes may be responsible for 7 percent of the crashes that cyclists encounter. But they are responsible for a larger percentage in urban traffic, as much as 17 percent of the fatal crashes, as reported in one New York City report.
Cyclists who consistently ride in the "door zone" (that space that is next to a parked car that can be obstructed by an opening door) are setting themselves up for a case of road rash at best and possibly a serious injury or death. So, how far away from a parked car is far enough?
Hello, everyone. The ACA Board and the webmasters would like to introduce the new website. The site is much more than a new look. We are putting in place the framework to provide you with more up-to-date information, rides and opportunities to get involved.
I got my first bicycle as an adult at the age of 21 from a high school girl in Baton Rouge who was “too old” to ride a bike anymore. Since I grew up on a ranch in Southwest Texas, my cycling had been confined to riding on dirt until a mesquite thorn punctured my tire, waiting till my brother Jerry had time to fix it and then taking off for another day of riding. I knew it was fun, but didn't really “get it” till I saddled up and rode to work on my “new” used three-speed racer!
Stanton and I didn't belong to any club and used our bikes for commuting and shopping. When we left Baton Rouge to live in Tampa, we realized that we had not become a part of any community except the university, so we decided to change that. In Tampa we immediately joined the bike club. We met a few friends through the rides, but still didn't feel part of the club until we volunteered to help with a race that the club was putting on. THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING! By the end of the weekend, we knew scads of people and they knew us! Even though it has been 27 years since we left Tampa, we still have friends from those cycling days.
re. Since I grew up on a ranch in Southwest Texas, my cycling had been confined to riding on dirt until a mesquite thorn punctured my tire, waiting till my brother Jerry had time to fix it and then taking off for another day of riding. I knew it was fun, but didn't really “get it” till I saddled up and rode to work on my “new” used three-speed racer!