Last Monday evening at its regular City Council meeting, Salisbury's elected leadership boldly underscored their support for making Salisbury a more Bicycle Friendly Community.

First, Mayor Ireton authored a Proclamation declaring May 13 through 17 "Bike to Work Week" in Salisbury.  This first-of-a-kind proclamation was presented by City Administrator John Pick to Bike-SBY's Matt Drew, Heather Towers, and Lainey Garrison.

Next, after much anticipation, the City Council unanimously accepted grants from Maryland Department of Transportation, Salisbury University, Sea Gull Century Foundation, and Bike-SBY for the Phase 1 (Orange Route) bike lane improvements!  Bike-SBY has worked with the City for over a year to make this happen.  Individual donations made to Bike-SBY during its fund drive last October will be used to meet this grant to the City.

With the grant package formally accepted by the City, Salisbury Public Works can now move forward with the installation of striping, signage, and storm drain upgrades for this initial bike lane route connecting Salisbury University to the Down Town Plaza.

What a great way to start Bike to Work Week!

See you on the road!

Matt

Next week, Bike-SBY is pleased to join the League of American Bicyclists and Bike Maryland in celebrating National Bike to Work week. 

If you are planning to ride your bike to work this week for the first time and your bike has sat in the corner of your garage for a while, show it some love before the ride.  Head over to your Local Bike Shop this weekend and ask them to give your bike a good inspection.  Change out that cracked tire, lube the chain, and make sure your brakes work when you need them to so that your first ride to work goes smoothly.

Local events planned for this week in Salisbury:

I love to ride my bike in Salisbury.  I also love to eat, drink coffee, enjoy a good beer and support my neighbors.

Starting today, a group of local businesses wants to make it easier for all of us to do both.  I am proud to announce the beginning of Bike-SBY's Bicycle Friendly Merchant program today!



Bicycle Friendly Merchants are reaching out to make Salisbury a more Bicycle Friendly Community in two important ways:

 - Each Bicycle Friendly Merchant offers an incentive to its customers (i.e. YOU) who choose to ride a bike to their business instead of driving a car.

 - Each Bicycle Friendly Merchant provides a safe, visible, and secure place for you to lock your bike while visiting their business.

Participating businesses will display the Bicycle Friendly Merchant in their storefront window.  When you see this logo, you know that supporting this business not only benefits you but will help make our bike community stronger.

So who are these businesses? Click here to read more!

Make sure to bookmark this link.  We will be adding more names and updating the incentives periodically, so make sure to check this page from time to time to get the latest information.

See you on the road!

Matt

Last Saturday, Bike-SBY hosted its first Bike Commuter Workshop at Salisbury University's Henson Hall.  Warm weather, fresh bagels, and an interest in learning how to become a better bike commuter brought Joshua Hales, Heather Towers, Matt Drew, Sally Irwin, Karen Waggoner, Alex McRae, Joe Howard, and Laney Garrison together to listen and share their thoughts and experience.

The session was lead by Mr. Joe Piette (pronounced P8), of Bike Advocates of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County and Bike Maryland.

Mr. Piette is an experienced cyclist who holds the League of American Bicyclist's League Certified Instructor certification.  Mr. Piette proved a wealth of knowledge and everyone who attended came away with greater knowledge about how to ride safely and respectfully in traffic.

See a short video of Joe's excellent instructions on being predictable in traffic!

A huge THANK YOU goes out to Joe for taking time on Saturday and driving to Salisbury to make this work shop possible.  We also would like to thank Salisbury University for making Henson Hall available for us and Bike Maryland for organizing outreach efforts.

Interested in attending a future bike commuter workshop?  Send an email to request@bike-sby.org and we will add your name to the list.

See you on the road!

Matt

Bike-SBY and Evolution Brewery teamed up yesterday to hold the Spring Bike Swap and Evolution Revolution bike ride in Salisbury.  

Gorgeous weather, free coffee from Rise Up, and several interesting bike vendors coaxed over 110 people out of their winter hibernation to buy and sell new and slightly used bikes and accessories.  Many deals were made, and several satisfied buyers and sellers said they were gladly return for future swaps. Several great swap photos are posted at our Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.265412243595630.1073741830.250916221711899&type=1

We concluded the swap at 11, and immediately departed as a mass group on a 6.6 mile, low-key bike ride called the Evolution Revolution. All riders returned from the slow-paced ride through rural Salisbury and the City Park with huge smiles and were greeted at the Brewery with beer,brats, and bands.  Great volunteeers and police support at intersections kept the ride safe and fun.  Awards were presented to outstanding bikes in several categories by Mayor Jim Ireton, and City Council member Laura Mitchell also came out to show her support for the event. 

A huge thanks goes out to Evolution Brewery for letting us host this event.  It really showed everyone how responsible businesses and motivated citizens can team together to make Salisbury a more Bicycle Friendly Community.

See you on the road!

Matt 

2nd Annual Broad Creek Byway Bike Tour in Historic Laurel DE and surrounding area - 25 mi & 50 Mi loop (3 scheduled rest stops) - June 1, 2013 - visit our website at www.broadcreekbywaybiketour.com

Please feel free to contact the laurel chamber of commerce with any further questions.

Good morning -- 

I would like to take the opportunity to share with you an update on
our organization, Bike-SBY, and its work to make Salisbury a more
bicycle friendly community.

This spring, we are pleased to announce a number of events in our
community that will increase commuter cycling in Salisbury.

April 13 8-11 am. Community Bike Swap at Evolution Brewery.  If you
haven't been to one, a bike swap is a large open air forum where
individuals and bike shops bring bikes and accessories (new and used)
to sell. It's a great chance to get a good deal on a bike for first
time and experienced riders alike.

April 13 11:30 Evolution Brewery is hosting a fun bike ride (6.5
miles) through Salisbury. Proceeds raised will support Bike-SBY.

April 27 9-noon. Adult commuter workshop at SU's Henson Hall. This workshop is geared for
the "interested but concerned" cyclist who wants to start riding each day in Salisbury but needs to build skills.

May 10. St Francis Bike Rodeo - Bike-SBY is helping St Francis with
its first bike safety course geared to kids.  This event will be for St Francis students and parents, and we hope to roll this out to other schools and organizations in the future.

May 13-17 National Bike to Work Week. Bike-SBY will conduct daily
events throughout the week, encouraging people to try biking (instead
of driving) to work.  More details to follow....

Given the breadth of activities that is underway, I think you would
agree with me that the state of cycling is strong in Salisbury.

If you are interested in learning more about Bike-SBY or helping, join us tonight (Wed 3/13) at 7 pm at Specific Gravity.  We will be meeting to plan our continued work to make Salisbury a more Bicycle Friendly Community!

See you on the road!

Matt

I guess it is hard to get support when no one around here really rides....lonely on the roads....

Are you excited about cycling, bike lanes, and bike safety? Join bike-sby as we build on our 2012 successes and create an even more exciting 2013!

We are hosting a general interest social in February, and we need your help this year! Come sit with us on Tuesday, February 12th at the EVO Tasting Room in Salisbury, as we discuss our priorities and the calendar for 2013.

We already have lots of awesome events planned, starting with a fun bike ride on April 13th. We'll also be talking about marketing and promotion for our campaign.

Stop by and chat for a few minutes between 6-8 p.m., or stay longer... we have room on all of our committees for new volunteers.

Thank you for your energy and commitment in making our grassroots effort even more powerful!! Here's to making our community bicycle friendly ...where YOU live, work, and play!

Our friends at the local mountain bike association, ESIMBA, have been working for over a year to establish an agreement with the City of Salisbury to organize volunteers to maintain neglected legacy biking trails at the east end of the City Park.

Here's the proposed trail map: