Category: News

End of Year Newsletter

Happy holidays! The new year is just around the corner and it’s time to celebrate what the Motherlode Bicycle Coalition and our partners have accomplished during 2021, and what we look forward to achieving in 2022.

Last January 2021 we created a monthly bike riding calendar with bike events for the year and an advocacy agenda. Due to Covid, our monthly bike rides and events were cancelled but the Board met bimonthly by Zoom. 

As we ride into 2022, our top priorities are to advocate for improved biking conditions on our public roads; encourage all residents—kids and adults—to ride bicycles for transportation and recreation; and to promote our region for road and mountain biking.

What We Accomplished

Membership and Partners

Our current membership is 23 members who represent biking in Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa and Tuolumne counties. Our new bike business partners include all local bike and recreation businesses: Bear Valley Adventure Co., Bear Valley Bicycles in Arnold, Gateway Adventure Co. in Copperopolis, Mountain Pedaler Bicycles in Angels Camp, and Sonora Cyclery in East Sonora.


Welcome BearValley Bicycles in Arnold

Ride & Walk 4 Art

In 2021, the annual bike and walk event we coordinate for the Calaveras County Arts Council as a fundraiser to support the arts in Calaveras public schools had over 150 cyclists, despite it being a “no frills” event due to Covid restrictions and with a last minute change of venue from New Hogan Reservoir to the Valley Springs Elementary School parking lot. It’s true that when one door closes, another opens; our 2022 Ride & Walk 4 Art found a new starting point at the Jenny Lind Veterans Memorial Park in Valley Springs, with more parking and a better venue for our returning Chicken-in-a-Barrel lunch. 

We want to thank our Coalition volunteers for their work to make Ride & Walk 4 Art a success. We could not present this premiere Calaveras biking event without them!  An early bird registration discount of $5 at  Ride & Walk 4 Art is open from now until January 1. Register at  www.rideandwalk4art.com 

Bike Riding Tourism Study Outreach Virtual Meetings

This was the final year of Caltrans’ Bike Riding Tourism Study that included numerous Zoom meetings with San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Calaveras and Alpine Counties to discuss bike riding safety, destinations, road conditions, and public and government support. The final report for Bike Valley to Sierra was completed, sent to Caltrans District 10, and has been shared with all local transportation agencies.

Community Outreach

Thanks to funds from the CalBikes Education Project, we’ve continued to expand our website, www.bikevalleytosierra.com to include news about cycling in the Mother Lode, surveys to our members, and even videos! 

MLBC Logo

The logo design process is always a long journey. We continue to solicit ideas;  a few designs are included in this letter for your feedback.

Park Tool Grant

We submitted a $1,000 Park Tool Community Tool Grant to be awarded a bike stand and tools for bike service support at our events. Winners of the Park Tool Grant will be notified in January 2022

Bikeway Trail Projects Recommend in Bike Riding Tourism Report

Sierra Railway Trail

We assisted Cole Przybyla, Tuolumne County Innovation and Business Director, submit to Caltrans an Innovative Concepts Proposal to complete an engineering plan for a Bikeway from Jamestown to Sonora. This proposal was not selected for the first round of support. However, it did spur a meeting with Caltrans District 10, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the Tuolumne County Transportation Council, Tuolumne County Public Works, and the president and vice president of the Sierra Railway, and resulted in a commitment by Caltrans to assist in submitting an Active Transportation Plan in their 2023 cycle.

EBMUD Pipeline Trail

We presented the Bike Valley to Sierra Signature EBMUD Pipeline project to the seven member board in late November. The president of the board discussed the project with the EBMUD General Manager and wrote to us, saying “What a great idea!” A meeting coordinated by the San Joaquin Council of Governments, the San Joaquin County Bike Coalition and the Motherlode Bicycle Coalition is scheduled for mid-December to discuss our next steps.

EBMUD Mastodon Prehistoric Bikeway

Death Ride Rest Stop Team

Nikki Grimes led a team of volunteers at the Lake Alpine Turn Around at the 40th Death Ride. And then, the Tamarack Fire cancelled the ride. What you might not know is Nikki and her team were at Lake Alpine bright and early, ready to stamp rider bibs and assist riders.

Alpine County Chamber of Commerce Recently Shared…Watch for Special Death Ride New Years Eve Announcement at the links below.

https://deathride.com/

https://californiaalpscycling.bike/

Dream Ride Fundraiser for CalBike Education Fund

We participated in the California Dream Ride in October 2021. This virtual ride allowed us to feature local bike riding infrastructure, safety issues, and popular cycling destinations. We raised $140 that supports the CalBike Education Fund which allows us to operate as a bike advocacy organization. The fundraiser is still accepting donations. Use this link to contribute: 

Finally,

The first Caltrans District 10 BIke and Pedestrian Advisory Meeting is scheduled for January 12, 2022.

Sonora Cyclery

2022 Plans and Bike Riding

MLBC Membership Drive in May 2022

Tuolumne and Calaveras Bike Rodeos May 2022

Safe Route to School Day October 2022

2022 Monthly Rides Calendar Weekdays/Weekends Published in January 2022

Read my magazines on Flipboard @robwilliams3994

Blog motherlodebike.org

Ride along with us on Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, or the Motherlodebike website to stay updated on our latest news

Twitter @MLBCRob

Facebook, Motherlode Bicycle Coalition and Bike Valley to Sierra

Instagram, Motherlodebike

STRAVA, https://www.strava.com/clubs/motherlodebike

For mountain biking in Groveland contact, dwight@grovelandtrailheads.org

Best riding ahead in 2022

Rob Williams, MLBC Chairperson

0

Mokelumne River Bridge Widening and Bridge Rail Replacement Workshop

Caltrans District 10 is hosting a virtual public workshop to provide informations about a project to improve the State Route 49 Mokelumne River Bridge. The workshop is Wednesday February 24 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm.

To join the workshop, visit https://bit.ly/3pzXG2N or call (408) 418-9388 (access code: 146 532 9118).
Project information and workshop presentation materals are available at https://bit.ly/3pzXG2N or click for PDF files for the press release and workshop PowerPoint presentation.

 

0

MLBC February 2021 Newsletter

Dear Motherlode Bicycle Coalition Members,

The MLBC Board recently met to discuss bike advocacy plans and bike sponsored activities in 2021. We agreed that our top priorities are to advocate to improve conditions for biking for transportation and recreation, encourage all residents, kids and adults to ride a bicycle, and to promote our region for road and mountain biking.

During the last several months we have all been out riding in the Motherlode and sharing our bike destinations on social media. Carl, Jack, Nikki, Holly, Rob and Carol are posting pictures and routes on Instagram, Facebook, and Strava.

In January, Caltrans District 10 Bike Advocates: MLBC, Merced Bike Coalition, Stanislaus County Bike Club, Modesto Bike Advisory, Lodi Bike, and California Alps Cycling met by Zoom with the new Caltrans District 10 Director of Planning and his staff.

At this meeting we discussed forming a Caltrans District 10 Bike Advisory Committee, our counties’ road safety issues and poorly planned rumble strips. (Photo above)

Our request to form a Bike Advisory is under review by the Caltrans District 10 Executive Managers. (*Purpose for formation of a District 10 Bicycle Advisory Committee is below) We also discussed our collective disdain for Rumble Strips! The good news is that CalBike has hired a transportation planner to draft general guidance to rumble strip application. These guidelines will be published in the final Cycling Tourism Plan and part of any road improvements application from Caltrans.

The Calaveras Arts Council annual bike event, RideandWalk4Art is scheduled for March 21, 2021. MLBC members are encouraged to participate. See https://www.rideandwalk4art.com/

We are proud to share that the Groveland Trail Heads Mountain Bike Destination Trail System in the Stanislaus National Forest was one of eight projects selected for International Mountain Bicycling Association’s Dig In Program founded by Shimano-MTB!

The goal of the Dig In Program is to bridge the gap between local and national fundraising efforts and show a new audience how inspirational and vital trails are to local communities, businesses and youth. This is an online peer-to-peer crowdsourcing opportunity with a $2000 match from IMBA corporate sponsors. Groveland Trailhead Needs our support. Make a donation to support the Ferretti Non-Motorized Trail System.

Tuolumne County has been awarded a $2 million State Active Transportation Program Grant to construct sidewalk improvements in the vicinity of Jamestown Elementary School. MLBC provided a support letter for the project, and we are happy to congratulate Tuolumne County on their first successful ATP application. MLBC also provided a support letter for Mariposa County’s application to the Caltrans Sustainable Communities Planning Grant program for an Active Transportation Plan. We wish them the best of luck in obtaining funding to help plan for walking and biking in Mariposa County.

The foothill counties need to compete with affluent urban areas for these statewide grant programs. Joining MLBC and supporting robust community planning can help our cities and counties demonstrate public support for their plans and projects to better compete for funding.

We hope to resume monthly pop up and weekly bike rides but until then, ride along with us on Facebook, Instagram or the Motherlodebike.org website to stay updated on our latest news.

If you haven’t become a member or would like to renew your membership find the Support MLBC page here.

Rob Williams
MLBC CHAIRPERSON

Important Motherlode Bicycle Resources:

Cycling Tourism Information
Showcase Areas Tuolumne and Calaveras
https://www.bikevalleytosierra.com/post/showcase-area-feedback-2

Caltrans District 10 Survey
https://www.bikevalleytosierra.com/post/caltrans-district-10-active-transportation-survey

My Calaveras County Road Maintenance Request
http://iframe.publicstuff.com/#?client_id=1000177

Caltrans Safety Maintenance Request
https://csr.dot.ca.gov/

Groveland Trailhead Needs our Support
https://www.imba.com/digin-applications-details?diginid=2861435

*Proposed purpose for formation of a District 10 Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC)

  • Provide District 10 with a dedicated outreach channel representing bicyclists throughout the District for planning, project development and delivery, maintenance, and encroachment permits.
  • Bring bicyclist concerns about State Highway conditions to the District in a coordinated way (reduce reliance on individual PIO customer service requests).
  • Improve, not bypass, bicyclist coordination for regional transportation planning agencies (COGs, Transportation Councils and Commissions), cities, and counties.
  • Inform coalition and club alignment with State goals regarding Active Transportation, Complete Streets, and transportation equity/inclusion of underrepresented communities.
  • Increase opportunities for partnership and knowledge sharing between bike advocates in District 10.
0

Join Cal Bike and the MLBC for a Holiday Virtual Get Together

We are getting together to celebrate another year of bike advocacy with a presentation from Youth Bike America about their cross country tour! Our special guests include, SFUSD Teacher, Andy Padlo, a Senior Projects Teacher, from the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts and three recent graduates Emmet Forde, Dasha Yurkevich, and Julian Jordan.Our guests will share their San Francisco to New York City bike adventure.

The presentation will be via Zoom. Contact rob@calbike.org, use the “Contact MLBC” page or call 209-273-8009 to request a Zoom invitation.

1

Why You Should Care About This Picture, The Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan

Mono Way/Sanguinetti Road Intersection

This intersection is designed to optimize vehicle circulation by allowing right turning vehicles from Mono Way to make the turn without slowing down. Think about how this design affects the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists traveling straight on Mono Way. In addition to encouraging vehicles to speed through the intersection, the design increases the distance a pedestrian needs to walk to cross the street. Modern street design discourages this kind of thinking in favor of making streets work for all users, not just for vehicles.

In drafting the new Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan, The City of Sonora, Tuolumne County, and the Tuolumne County Transportation Council (TCTC) ignored our requests to focus on improvements like fixing this intersection. The MLBC provided a comment letter (TCTC ATPlan Draft comments) requesting changes to the plan in order to emphasize improving bike and pedestrian travel to the essential destinations that serve the greatest number of County residents. We believe that a bike friendly community starts with bike friendly places to shop, work, and access essential services.

The MLBC Board wants to ensure our advocacy has the support of our members and cyclists in the community. We welcome your feedback on our letter either via the comments section or via a message through the “Contact MLBC” page.

1

Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan Digital Workshop Postponed

The Active Transportation Plan Digital Meeting scheduled for August 4, 2020 has been postponed and will be rescheduled. The workshops for the two proposed ATP projects are not affected. Details are available at https://www.activetuolumnecounty.com/meetings

UPCOMING DIGITAL COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

DRAGOON GULCH CONNECTOR TRAIL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2020 4:00 – 5:00PM
JOIN ZOOM MEETING: HTTPS://ZOOM.US/J/92927607075

MEETING ID: 929 2760 7075

JAMESTOWN SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2020 5:00 – 6:00PM
JOIN ZOOM MEETING: HTTPS://ZOOM.US/J/92927607075


MEETING ID: 929 2760 7075


TO DOWNLOAD ZOOM, CLICK HERE.

2

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑

%d bloggers like this: