Moving to our new site

We've been hopping around the last two years between this Blogger site, a .Mac website, and a 4J site. We now have a solid and final home at EugeneSRTS.org.

Bookmark the new site and come visit us often for up to date news and some great resources coming all the time.

Summer Fun- Tour de France Graphic Novel

I'm sure most students are out enjoying the warm summer sun by riding their bikes, hiking in the woods, exploring their neighborhoods, or heading to the pool but for those spending a bit of time online here's a fun graphic novel that goes along with the worlds biggest bike race and one of the most watched sporting events in the world- the Tour de France!

Lance Armstrong is back in this year after two years off. Will he win another Tour?

Don't know much about the Tour? Here's a fun way to get introduced: check out the Tour Graphic Novel!

The Walk + Bike Day Winner of the Zigo- Tonie!

The Walk + Bike Day Winner of the Zigo- Tonie!, originally uploaded by shanerh.

Two weeks before the Bike Day Celebration we got one of the first Zigo bikes to hit the market. I put it together in time to give it away to the winner from the October Walk + Bike to School Day volunteer raffle.

The Bike Day event was a great success and even though our raffle winner had to work through it she came at the end to pick up her awesome prize.

Tonie Q. was excited to try out her new wheels and we look forward to hearing how it works for her. The Zigo seems to be a great vehicle for families wanting to bike their kids to school.

Zigo wants to get one up to Portland next so they are offering a 40% Discount for the first person in Portland to buy one from their Online Store using the Coupon Code: portland.

The school year is coming to end but the Eugene SRTS program will continue to work, finishing up a new website, working on the education program, firming and building on current projects, celebrating the Blackberry Jamboree family ride, Kidical Mass rides, and more!

We'll also be moving this blog to the new site soon so stay tuned!

Perils for Pedestrians

This first part of this half hour show interviews Marina Hajek about the tragic death of her son on Bailey Hill Road and then David Roth about the Cities plans for improvements to the road to make it safer for everyone.

Tales of the Road- Safety Fun!

Great online resource for safe biking and walking skills for kids (from the UK), check out the video below and then work on your skills with some fun online games at Tales of the Road including knocking kids on the head who aren't wearing helmets!

Copenhagen Video

Some nice shots of family biking in this beautiful and fun Copenhagen video:

Copenhagen - City of Cyclists from Colville Andersen on Vimeo.

Eugene SRTS E-News

If you're not subscribed to the Eugene SRTS E-News but you'd like to be, send me an email and I'll add you to the list.

Otherwise, here is the latest:

Eugene SRTS E-News (Green Week Edition)

Happy Green Week!

Celebrate next week's Earth Day all week long! Encourage students to walk or roll to school throughout the week, especially April 21st, the day before Earth Day and our official Walk & Roll Day! Small encouragement prizes like reflective zipper pulls, pencils, and other items are available to some schools who organize an event. Contact Shane Rhodes, SRTS Program Manager for more information rhodes_sh@4j.lane.edu (541) 556-3553.

Kidical Mass, Friday April 17th & May 15th

We have some exciting Spring Kidical Mass rides planned! The next one is a celebration of one year for the Kidical Mass rides and we're calling it our BIRTHday Ride! Join us on this family fun ride as we discover new back roads, pedal from one park to another, and share some sweet treats to celebrate (cupcakes anyone?!). This could also be the first Kidical Mass ride that induces labor as one rider (my lovely wife Missy!!) is due any day!!!! Now that would be a Kidical Mass to remember.

Our May ride will be a special outing with the City of Eugene Recreation department to the Skinner Butter Columns for some Kidical Climbing! We'll saddle up and pedal over to the butte with a stop by the CAT to say hi and then up the big climb to harness up and do another human powered climb- on the rocks! Both rides leave at 6 pm from Monroe Park.

Rides are held the third Friday of every month. It's a great time to get together with other families, kids, and kids-at-heart to enjoy a good ride around Eugene. See the Kidical Mass website for some FAQs.

Bike Education Courses Start in May (for Parents, Kids & Teachers)

The Greater Eugene Area Riders (GEARS) and the Eugene SRTS Program are excited to bring a series of "Smart Cycling" bicycle education courses to Eugene again this Spring & Summer. Classes will range from a 1 hour Bike Commuter Class with some of the basics to a 9 hour Traffic Skills 101 course that gives cyclists the confidence they need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. Want to be more comfortable biking with your kids? Want to be able to teach them how to ride safer and more predictably? Ready to branch out from the River Path recreational rides? Feel confident but want to teach others to be better riders? These are the classes for you! These Smart Cycling courses are also the requirement for teachers or individuals interested in becoming League Certified Instructors (LCIs). The Eugene 4J School District will be working over the next couple of years to implement a full bike education program with teachers certified as LCIs! For more information on these League of American Bicyclists certified courses see the GEARS site or contact Shane Rhodes at 541-556-3553.

Engineering Treatments and Strategies for Safe Routes To School Webinar (Part 2)

This webinar will concentrate on effective engineering tools to create safer street crossings and successful ways to calm traffic along school routes through various means including crosswalks, crossing islands, curb extensions, road diets, state of the art traffic controls, and various traffic calming techniques. This webinar is part of the Safe Routes Coaching Action Network Webinar Series, developed by America Walks and the National Center for Safe Routes to School, and is hosted by the City of Eugene Public Works Department and Eugene SRTS.

April 21st 11 am-noon at the City of Eugene Public Works Department, 99 E. Broadway, 4th Floor.

The Business Commute Challenge!

Mark your calendars for May 11th through May 15th to participate in the 2009 Business Commute Challenge (BCC)! Register your school, department, or business and start challenging others! The BCC is a friendly competition between businesses and organizations that offers participants a chance to win prizes such as gift cards, bagel breakfasts, tickets to local events and more, if they report the highest number of vehicle miles saved. The goal of the challenge is to get people to try an alternative mode of transportation for one week and help them realize that it's easy to bike or ride the bus on a regular basis. A new website will be used this year to log your miles. An Awards Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, May 19, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Stay tuned for updates. For more information or to sign up go to the Commute Challenge website or contact Paul Adkins, Business Commute Challenge Coordinator, or call 682-5285.

Save the Date- June 13th

The 5th Annual Bike Day at the Science Factory grounds in Alton Baker Park!! Loads of fun to be had! See more at eugenegears.org/bikeday

Safety Tip

It's fun on the playground but don't play 'Hide-and-Seek" when riding your bike! Ride in a straight, predictable line and don't weave between parked cars. It may feel safer to get farther from the lane of moving traffic but you become less visible to motorists, become unpredictable, and have to negotiate to get back in the travel lane when you come across another parked car or obstacle. Stay in the lane of travel; if it's safe to share then stay far enough to the right to allow a motorist to pass. If there isn't enough space to share then you have the right to 'claim the lane'. Move over when it is safe and practicable to do so.

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You are subscribed to the Eugene SRTS E-News because you signed up at a local event, participated in an SRTS event, or you work with a partnering organization. If you would like to be removed please send a request to "Unsubscribe from SRTS E-News" to rhodes_sh@4j.lane.edu

If you would like more information about the National SRTS program go to: http://www.saferoutesinfo.org and stay tuned for the new Eugene SRTS site!

Walking & Biking Tunes

From the SRTS National Partnership March Newsletter- some Safe Routes Music! What is that quote... something about if your revolution doesn't include music I don't want to be involved?

Download these songs and add them to your Walk & Bike Mix!

Blane Lyon Provides Safe Routes Theme Songs


"I want to walk"
"ride my bike"

San Francisco Bay Area musician Blane Lyon recently produced two upbeat, hip, and modern Safe Routes to School theme songs titled “I want to walk” and “ride my bike”. He originally created the songs for use in Santa Rosa, California, a location where the Safe Routes to School National Partnership is working as part of our Local School Project. Blane has now generously made these songs available for use in schools worldwide through the Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s website.

A poet since the age of 13, Blane Lyon has written more than 150 songs and performed more than 500 live concerts. He has always used his art to highlight social and environmental causes and has recently written a series of environmental "theme songs", including the two songs for Safe Routes to School promotion. "I love to write songs that are funky and that spread good thoughts and actions. There is so much good work to be done. It helps to be together and inspired and I think dance music is one of the most contagious and inspiring things on earth," says Lyon.

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership thanks Blane Lyon for his generous contribution. We urge schools and organizations using Blane’s songs to provide him with credit, and to link to his website, www.blanelyon.com. His album, “All People”, is available on iTunes too. As many say, “it takes music to make a movement!”