Date: Thursday, July 30, 2009
Time: 8:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: HI-Baltimroe
Street: 17 West Mulberry Street
City/Town: Baltimore, MD

Description
Take a night-time bike tour of Baltimore City on a safe, well lit, mostly flat route of about 20 miles. Get an intimate view of the city after dark. Skyline, neighborhoods and waterfront as well as sights ranging from illuminated classical buildings and monuments to the neon of "The Block", from churches, museums, and City Hall to the enormous "Wizard of Boh".

Ride Start: in front of the HI-Baltimore at the corner of Cathedral and Mulberry Streets (17 West Mulberry Street)

See map of ride here: https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Midnight-Madness-Baltimore

Meet in front of the Hostel @ 8pm.
Ride kicks off @ 8:30pm.

Ride is casual speed: 10-12mph. length: 20miles. You should have a properly functioning bike, be wearing a helmet, and have safety lights on front and back.

***This ride is NOT being sponsored by HI-Baltimore or the Potomac Area Council. We are passing this along for your information. You ride at your own risk.
Continue reading “Bob Moore Memorial Moonlight Madness Bikeride – July 30th @ 8pm”

[Note there is parking in Druid Hill Park and you can bike the Jones Fall Trail down to the Festival.]

Riding your bike to Artscape?  Check out the NEW Bike Parking Zone sponsored by University of Baltimore.

CLICK HERE for DIRECTIONS to the PARKING ZONE
CLICK HERE for the BIKE ROUTES

Ride your bike to Artscape, and park it in a safe location – the festival’s dedicated Bike Parking Zone (Maryland Avenue between Oliver Street and Mt. Royal Avenue).  Volunteers from the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee will be on-hand to keep things organized, and all bike parkers will receive a goody bag loaded with treats and give-aways. 

Continue reading “Bike routes to Artscape”

[Baltimore Spokes: I am placing this in the Bike Baltimore section as we recently had a cyclist doored and the police refused to write a ticket because “he was not a motor vehicle” and is now experiencing difficulties trying to get his damaged bike replaced by the insurance company. Calls to our Police Liaison have yet to be returned, so perhaps sending them a copy of this might solicit a response.]

Tuscon Bike Lawyer writes about the typical cyclist experience following a bike vs car collision:

A cyclist gets hit by a car, and is lying in the pavement dazed. Assuming the cyclist is not suffering a serious injury, the officer will then try to determine fault. As I have written many times before, “carhead” tends to point toward the cyclist being at fault.

If the officer determines the cyclist was at fault, he will then often give the cyclist a choice: you can leave here and forget about all this, or you can stay and get a ticket. Which do you pick?

I’ve never been threatened with a ticket, but the first time I called the police, the motorist was very clearly at fault: she completely blew through a stop sign without slowing; I escaped with my life because I did an emergency swerve but I still got a glancing blow and a damaged bike.

I was riding completely legally on a residential street with almost no traffic, but witnesses and the responding police officer all lectured me about my bike riding, and the cop made it very clear that my call was a huge imposition of his time.

…
Law enforcement’s reticence prompted Colorado cyclist advocates to lobby for a law requiring law enforcement agencies to take bicycle accident reports.
Continue reading “You want to get a ticket or dontcha?”

News

• Bike Station Improvements
• Herring Run Trail Extension
• Middle Branch CSX Bridge
• Baltimore & Annapolis Trail – Northern Extension

The Bike Summit on May 1st provided an array of ideas on improving biking in Baltimore. Now comes the fun part: Contributing to make this vision a reality! A summary of the Bike Summit is available below.

• Baltimore Bike Summit Summary

New Bike Parking – The Department of Transportation’s Maintenance Division has installed over 92 bike racks over the past 5 weeks! The communities of Highlandtown, Belair-Edison, Waverley, Remington and Hamilton are some of the areas where the new racks are installed.

ARTSCAPE, the nation’s largest FREE arts festival, is July 16th – 18th and features BIKE PARKING.  The University of Maryland is sponsoring free bike parking for a less-stressful option for to getting to and from Artscape.  The bike parking will be staffed with volunteers who will provide goodie bags to cyclists.  To volunteer for the event, please contact Kathy Hornig at Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. Following then President-elect Obama’s visit, this is the 2nd major event in the city this year that offers bike parking. 

In time for Artscape, the winners of the Station North Bike Rack Competition will be installed.  These unique racks can be found along the 1700 & 1800 block of Charles Street and the unit & 100 block of West North Avenue.

Continue reading “City BMP update”

Thursday, June 25 @ 8PM:

In the Summer of 2000, more than 100 cyclists set out from Hannover,
Germany on a 500-mile bike caravan across Europe to join the mass
mobilization against the IMF/World Bank meetings in Prague. Just a
year after the historic protests in Seattle against the WTO, the
Prague mobilization was an important moment in the then-still-growing
antiglobalization movement – it was a moment where it still felt
possible to change the world, when protests still seemed to mean
something, to effect some dent in the status quo of multi-national
organizations. It’s no wonder, then, that the “Money or Life” bike
tour took shape – not just a bike caravan aiming to get participants
to the mobilization, it was an attempt to create a tuly mobile utopian
community … and filmmaker Zach Weinstein was there to document it
all. Caravan/Prague is Weinstein’s video diary of the days, nights,
and times in-between he spent on the road, with the bike caravan, all
the way to Prague. Whether you like bikes or not, and whether you
agree with his (largely anarchist) politics or not, it’s a great film
– bizzare, informative, entertaining, and challenging. This screening
kicks off our summer film series (every Thursday until the end of
August!) – don’t miss it!

Continue reading “Caravan/Prague screens at Red Emma’s!”

Well at least according to the AutoVantage Road Rage Survey we did.

Behaviors by other drivers that cause stress for commuters and can lead to road rage include:
• Drivers who talk on their cell phones (84 percent see this every day)
• Driving too fast (58 percent)
• Tailgating (53 percent)
• Drivers eating or drinking while driving (48 percent)
• Texting or e-mailing while driving (37 percent)

Continue reading “Road rage; Baltimore went from the worst to one of the least road rage cities”

Times have changed and the automobile hasn’t.


Continue reading “Plan B, B-cycle”

Tour Dem Parks, Hon!

At the Carroll Park, Baltimore

Get event dates, venue information and more.

By Max Robinson |
Posted 6/10/2009

Continue reading “City Paper’s Critic’s Pick”

Bike Baltimore ,
Vol. 1, Issue 2

Thank you for subscribing to the BIKE BALTIMORE e-newsletter distributed by
the Baltimore
City , Department of
Transportation.  Here you will find the latest information regarding the
city’s efforts to make Baltimore
a safer and more enjoyable place to bike.

This month, Baltimore ’s
bike-related improvements are all about bike racks and parking!

SUPPORT!

Please contact your congressional representatives and ask
them to support new projects for the Baltimore
area!  The City of Baltimore has 4 active transportation projects that
will need federal funding – Herring Run Trail extension, Baltimore &
Annapolis Trail extension, Bike Station improvements and reconstructing the
Middle Branch Bridge for cyclists and pedestrians!  A brief description of
these projects can be found at www.baltimorecity.gov/bike

The Bike Summit
on May 1^st provided an array of ideas on improving biking in
Baltimore .  Now comes
the fun part:  Contributing to make this vision a reality!  A summary
of the Bike Summit is available online soon.

To reach one of the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory
Committee 2009 goals, DOT and the MBAC will host mapping parties later this summer.  We’ll collect
information on good existing bike routes to be incorporated into a bike map for
the Baltimore
area.  Details will follow online.

BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE

New Bike Parking – The Department of
Transportation’s Maintenance Division has installed over 60 bike racks
over the past month!  The communities of Highlandtown, Belair-Edison,
Waverley , Remington and
Hamilton are some of the areas where the new
racks are installed.  To request a bike racks, visit the online form here. 
Four bike racks were installed at the
Federal Hill
Preparatory School on
William St . 
The racks were full on their first full day of installation!  A great sign
for Baltimore ’s
future!

                          
Site at the school before the
racks                          
DOT crews installing the
racks                     
Bikes all locked up!  (Note the training wheels & helmet)

BIKE EVENTS

Bike To Work Day, held May 15^th, was a
big success!  The downtown rally hosted 150 participants and featured
Mayor Sheila Dixon, DOT Director Al Foxx &
Maryland Dept. of the Environment Secretary
Shari Wilson.

Tour Dem Parks, Hon is this Sunday, June 14^th! 

Tour dem Parks is a major
fund raising event focused on supporting groups and organizations dedicated to
improving Baltimore ’s
park system. The event provides friends and families with an opportunity to
ride together and discover little-known treasures in the city. Registration
is available online here. The tour offers 4
different routes (12, 25, 36 and 64 miles) are available for varying
abilities.  The Tour begins and ends at
Carroll Park

7:00
am      Registration starts
8:00 am      First riders can leave the park

11:00 am    BBQ and music start
12 Noon     All riders please try to be off the
streets

ARTSCAPE,
the nation’s largest FREE arts festival, is July
16^th – 18^th and features BIKE PARKING.  The
University of
Maryland is sponsoring free bike parking
for a less-stressful option for to getting to and from Artscape.  The bike
parking will be staffed with volunteers who will provide goodie bags to
cyclists.  To volunteer for the event, please contact Kathy Hornig at Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.
Following then President-elect Obama’s visit, this is the 2^nd

major event in the city this year that offers bike parking. 

Also at Artscape, Baltimore Bicycle Works will be offering Bicycle Frame
Builders Exhibit & Demonstration. Come meet some of Baltimore ‘s
premiere frame builders Tommy Nash, Tom Palermo and Chris Bishop at Baltimore
Bicycle Works to display their artisan hand-crafted. Demonstration at 3pm on
Saturday.

In time for Artscape,
the winners of the Station North Bike Rack
Competition will be installed.  These unique racks can be found
along the 1700 & 1800 block of Charles
Street and the unit & 100 block of
West North Avenue .

Tour du Port,
Baltimore ‘s Premier Bicycle Event, takes
place October 4th. Join thousands of riders at the
Canton Waterfront
Park to kick off the 16th
Annual Tour du Port. Routes range from 12 to a new 1/2 century 50 mile ride!
The route travels through over twelve historic neighborhoods, waterfront areas
and parks. This fully supported tour includes lunch, refreshments at rest
stops, map and sag and a post-ride celebration at Tour’s end. This event is One
Less Car’s Annual Fundraiser! All fees go directly to advancing the programs
and advocacy efforts of One Less Car, a non-profit dedicated to walking,
bicycling and mass transit in Maryland .
Click here to register:

These events and more can be found on the Bike
Baltimore website at www.baltimorecity.gov/bike

Greater Lauraville Home and Garden Tour, June 13, 11am-3pm.
There will be 5-7 houses on the tour, and Healthy Neighborhoods home renovations will be the highlight. For tickets call 410-444-9188. www.greaterlauraville.com

HonFest, June 13-14, 36th Street in Hampden, between Falls Rd. and Chestnut Ave. Saturday 11am-10pm, Sunday noon-6pm. www.honfest.net

Homebuyer Education Housewarming Party, June 13, 9am-4pm, Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore(NHS) of Baltimore, 819 Park Ave., classes 9am-4pm; festivities noon-3pm; There is a fee for the workshop. 410-327-1200.

Tour Dem Parks, June 14, 7:30am-12noon. This year, the annual bike tour will have four routes. They all begin and end in Carroll Park. As always, there will be a rest stop in Patterson Park. For more information visit www.tourdemparks.org.

Continue reading “Upcoming/Ongoing events in Baltimore (not all bike related)”