Bike Week ends

Whew!
   There was a huge number of events on a daily basis for the National Bike Week.  As I have mentioned before, I have found this area, Kalamazoo, Mi, one of the most bike friendly places I have ever been.  The cycling community was all out organizing events for the the week.  It started with an open community forum and discussion of cycling the Thursday before.

The event was pretty sparsely attended and I have mixed emotions of that, it's a shame that more cyclists didn't show up, but also it's good that we did not have a mob of complaining and angry motorists there to cause a controversy.

  The fundraiser for the Trail  I mentioned occurred last weekend 

and it was followed all week with a plethora of events to present the different aspects of cycling to the public.

There were daily pieces in the print and internet media, radio interviews, film presentations, and daily scheduled rides of different types.

The Ride of Silence was attended by 60.

Escorted by the local police,

it was a pretty impressive

public display.

The week ended with the first Saturday ride for the Bike Camp conducted by the Kalamzoo Bike Club

where volunteers helped the "newbies" with proper bike fit,

basic riding techniques taught on a closed course,

and reviews of the Rules of the Road 

before taking to the streets in supervised groups for rides ranging from 5-15 miles.  It's the first of four weekends for the campers during which they are given more instruction on maintenance and technique before they go on supervised rides each week.  The participation in this event has grown at a rate of 40-50% per year since it was started last year and is helping increase both the club membership and the riding public at a vigorous rate.

What a great place to be a cyclist!