[*BCM*] MassBike Mid-December Update

[Dorie Clark]

MassBike Mid-December Update



Win a Breezer Villager and Help MassBike! (Thanks to your help, we’re only
$1630 shy of our goal)



Here is your chance to make a special year-end, tax-deductible contribution
to MassBike and enter to win a gorgeous new Breezer Villager dream bike!
Current MassBike members who make a special gift of $50 or more by December
31st will be entered in a drawing to win the bike. Not a MassBike member?
Join at the $50 level or above by December 31st and you’ll also be entered
to win. As a small organization, your contribution makes a huge difference
to us. Our goal is to raise at least $6000 from the appeal; so far, thanks
to our generous supporters, we have raised $4370 and are nearly 75% of the
way there. We need your help to raise the final $1630. Many thanks for this
donation go to Breezer Bikes and the Massachusetts Breezer dealers.



Click here to make your tax-deductible contribution! (If you are not
currently a member, your donation will be counted for MassBike membership.)



http://www.active.com/donations/campaign_public.cfm?key=2005winter



Contact the Legislative Conference Committee to Support Rail-Trails



The Massachusetts House and Senate are now in “conference committee” to
hammer out a final version of the economic stimulus bill. MassBike strongly
supports an amendment that is in the Senate version but not the House
version. This amendment is “Senator Resor's Floor Amendment #56, re: Rail
Trail Environmental Liability Insurance” and would help make it easier for
communities to approve rail-trails by helping them to buy environmental
liability insurance. Currently, the fate of whether this amendment makes it
into the final bill is in the hands of six legislators. Please email them
today to express your support for “Senator Resor’s Floor Amendment #56, re:
Rail Trail Environmental Liability Insurance.” Most importantly, if you are
their constituent, please let them know!



John.Hart at state.ma.us

Steven.Panagiotakos at state.ma.us

Richard.Tisei at state.ma.us

RDeleo at hwm.state.ma.us

Rep.BradHill at hou.state.ma.us

Rep.DanielBosley at hou.state.ma.us





MassBike Jerseys Are Ready!



In a wonderful holiday surprise, MassBike’s top-quality racing jerseys,
locally-produced by VOMax, are ready nearly a month earlier than expected!
They will be ready for pickup at our Boston office starting early next week,
and would make a wonderful holiday gift. If you’ve coveted a stylish
MassBike jersey since our initial 2003 sold-out print run, now is your
chance. Jerseys are available to MassBike members at $60, and $70 for
non-members. These jerseys are made possible by major sponsor Jason and
Fischer, with additional help from sponsors Redbones BBQ and Kryptonite.



Click here for more information and for ordering details

http://www.massbike.org/about/merchandise.htm





Give a MassBike Gift Membership for the Holidays



Still searching for the perfect holiday gift? If your partner, friend, or
relative is a bike commuter, recreational rider, or mountain biker, a
MassBike gift membership is the perfect present. Your loved one will receive
an attractive MassBike membership bottle along with their membership forms,
and they will be entitled to a full year of 10% discounts at bike shops and
B&Bs across the state, a driving credit if they join Zipcar, a 10% auto
insurance discount, and more. Most importantly, they will know that your
holiday gift is helping to make their riding experience better and safer
every day.



Click here to sign your loved one up for a MassBike gift membership

http://www.active.com/donations/campaign_public.cfm?key=mbgift



Holiday Bicycling Gift Ideas: National Bike Registry and Better World Club



Want to keep the bicyclist on your holiday gift list safe from bike theft or
roadside breakdowns? Two creative gift ideas will thrill your loved one and
help MassBike. The National Bike Registry allows you to register your bike
into a national database, making it easier to locate if it has been stolen.
The Better World Club, an eco-friendly alternative to AAA, offers roadside
pickup and towing, both for cars and for bicycles! If you join either
service from a link on the MassBike website, they will donate a portion of
your sale to our advocacy efforts.



Click here for MassBike’s homepage, which has links to both the National
Bike Registry and the Better World Club (look for the logos at the bottom
right of the screen)

http://www.massbike.org



Somerville Part One: Current and Former Residents of Somerville—Please Fill
Out Bike Parking Survey



The City of Somerville Planning Board recently voted 3-2 to oppose a
residential bike parking requirement (they did support retail bike parking).
Several Planning Board members said that they did not see any strong need to
require residential bike parking. They were not convinced by national
information on bicycle ownership that there was any need to require
residential bike parking requirement. The Alderman will vote on the bike
parking ordinance in early January 2006.



Somerville Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Steve Winslow is seeking to
learn about

the experience of current and former Somerville residents with residential
bicycle parking in order to help establish that there's a need for it,
particularly in residences with more than 8 units. Click on the link below
to access the survey, and please paste your responses into an email, which
you can send to swinslow at ci.somerville.ma.us . Thank you, and please call
617-625-6600 x2519 if you have any further questions.



Click here for the survey

http://www.massbike.org/news/somerville_parking.htm

Somerville Part Two: Upcoming Green Line Extension Hearing Relevant to
Community Path Supporters

Supporters of the Community Path in Somerville may want to attend one of the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Public Hearings on Wednesday,
December 21st and/or send written comments by January 17th to ensure that
the Green Line Extensions move forward as soon as possible. The hearings
will take place on  Wednesday, December 21, at 10 AM or 6 PM at the DEP
Offices at One Winter Street, 2nd Floor, at Downtown Crossing in Boston. The
Green Line extension into Somerville and Medford could be jeopardized by the
“substitution” language that has been proposed, which would allow any
transit project meeting the clean air goals in Boston, Cambridge, Medford or
Somerville to substitute for the proposed projects, including the Green Line
Extension.  Future funding for the bike path extension connecting to the
Charles River paths, which will run alongside the Green Line, may also be in
jeopardy if the state decides in the future to substitute another project
for the Green Line extension. Written comments can be submitted to
christine.kirby at state.ma.us



For more information, click here

http://www.somervillestep.org



Start a MassBike Chapter



Are you interested in getting active around bicycling issues in your
community and region? MassBike added two new chapters in 2005—in MetroBoston
and the Cape and Islands—and we are looking to expand further in 2006. If
you’re interested in starting a chapter in the Berkshires, Central Mass,
MetroWest, or the North or South Shore, please email bikexec at massbike.org to
discuss possibilities further.



Donate Stocks, Bonds, or Mutual Funds to MassBike



Planning your end-of-the-year tax strategy? A great way to help a cause you
care about—and get a good write-off—is to donate stocks, bonds, or mutual
funds. MassBike now has a brokerage account and can accept securities
donations. For more information about this special way to help promote
better bicycling in Massachusetts, call Dorie at 617-542-2453 or email
bikexec at massbike.org.



In the Holiday Spirit
Speedskating



In general, we only pass along bike-specific messages in our biweekly email
blasts. But we’ll make a holiday exception, because one of MassBike’s
sponsors is a terrific additional winter activity for cyclists frustrated by
ice on the roads—but who like ice in rinks. Bay State Speedskating (home of
at least 4 Olympians) is having its second Learn-to-Skate series of the
season, starting Saturday January 7th. The skating is appropriate for kids
and adults of any age. If you can't make Learn-to-Skate, new skaters are
welcome to attend regular practices on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and just
learn more gradually. You can wear whatever skates you like to get started,
and there are lots of "loaners". For more information, e-mail
oberon119 at hotmail.com



Click here for more information

http://www.speedskaters.org/bssc.html




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