Fat & Skinny Tire Fest 9 is upon us, so we wanted to share a few reminders/announcements…
• Friday is National Bike to Work Day. If you’re local to the Warsaw/Winona Lake area, remember to join us at either Mad Anthony’s Lake City Taphouse in Warsaw or 1000 Park Bakafe in Winona Lake at 7am for free coffee and updates on our Bicycle Friendly Community initiative. Followed by a free beverage starting at 4:30pm at Cerulean Restaurant in Winona Lake.
• Friday evening is the Kick-off Party. One you don’t want to miss. How often do you get a chance to join a few hundred new and old friends and take over a town’s streets for a while en route to a party, led by the Mayor and Bicycle Patrolmen? Everyone is invited to join us at Trailhouse for our version of opening ceremonies at 6:30pm, followed by a family-friendly, casual 2 mile bike ride to downtown Warsaw for the BMX stunt show, Trials demo, bike videos (including the midwest premiere of Strength In Numbers from Anthill Films and Red Bull’s Media House) and live music at Mad Anthony’s Lake City Taphouse.
• Saturday and Sunday are full of activities for everyone! Between mountain bike racing, road racing, kids activities, multi-length tours, vendor expo, great activities, shopping and sales in the Village at Winona and even more live music, you’re not going to want to leave. Here’s a full event schedule.
• Travel Announcement. Please note that if you’re traveling from the Central Indiana and southern areas there is a bridge out just south of Warsaw/Winona Lake on State Road 15. To make your way to Winona Lake without getting balled up by the bridge closing, we’ve created a map for you. Once in Wabash, take State Road 13 instead of State Road 15, then in North Manchester veer left onto Packerton Road which takes you right into Winona Lake just to the east of the Old Chicago Boys Club/Winona Lake Trail System. Here’s a link to the map.
• New event entrance to the Winona Lake Mountain Bike Trails. Thanks to our friends at K21 Health Foundation and Winona Lake Restoration, we have a new entrance to the parking/registration/start-finish meadow for events on the trails. Please do not drive on the Heritage Trail Greenway any longer. Instead, turn right at the end of Boys City Drive and then take a left on the new entrance to the Trail Systems Event Parking meadow.
We look forward to seeing all of you this weekend – we’re pretty sure it could be an epic weekend of celebrating cycling as part of National Bike Month!
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Parts of this article from the League of American Bicyclists website…
When is Bike to Work Week and Day?The League of American Bicyclists is the national sponsor of Bike Month, and this year Bike to Work Week is May 14-18 and Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 18. When is Bike to School Day?The inaugural Bike to School Day is May 9, 2012. Bike Month PromotionHelp promote bicycling this May and every month! Please download our local Bike Month poster and share it with friends, post on facebook, and/or print and set them up at your workplace. Bike Month EventsHere’s a few of the ways you can be involved locally with Bike Month: May 4 – First Friday Family Fun Ride: at 6pm, gather at Trailhouse and ride to downtown Warsaw for the festivities, or stop by our booth and learn about upcoming events. Bike parking available. May 9 – Bike to School Day: check with your school principal and parents to see if you can ride your bike to school. May 14-18 – Bike to Work Week: take a week to commute to work and reap the benefits (how well you’ll feel, how much you save on gas, etc.) May 18 – Bike to Work Day: join us at 7am for free coffee and snacks to say thanks for riding at Mad Anthony’s in Warsaw and 1000 Park Bakafe in Winona Lake before you head to work. Also hear about upcoming Bicycle Friendly Community initiatives. Then cap your day off at Cerulean Garden in Winona Lake for a free beer or beverage to celebrate your accomplishment, or join us at Mad Anthony’s for the kick-off party to the annual Fat & Skinny Tire Fest. May 18-20 – Fat & Skinny Tire Fest 9: our annual all-sizes tires shindig is a celebration of cycling and community as we cherish what we have and welcome visitors to the area to celebrate cycling with us. May 29 – KCV Cycling Club Monthly Meeting: join us at 8pm at Mad Anthony’s for our monthly club meeting to meet fellow cyclists, find out about upcoming events and here updates on the Bicycle Friendly Community initiative. Group Rides: get in on our group rides to hone your skills and meet new people. Check the Group Rides page, email our Group Ride Coordinator with questions or contact Trailhouse (574.267.2223) for last minute updates on riding. Many rides have already started for the year. U.S. Bike Commuter DataDo you want to know how many people ride bikes in America, who’s riding, and how many miles of bike lanes there are? The Census Bureau collects American Community Survey (ACS) data from a sample of the population in the United States and gives us this insight. Find out who’s riding bikes in the largest 244 cities in the U.S. Ride BetterAre you planning on riding this Bike Month but need to freshen up on your bike safety and riding skills? The League has several bike education resources to help you ride confidently and safely this May. The League’s Ride Betterpage has detailed the Rules of the Road and commuting tips to making riding fun and safe for all new and returning riders. Simple bike maintenance and fix-it info is also located located on the Ride Better page. |
Join us on the Winona Lake Trails Saturday, April 14th as we host our friends from Planet Adventure in the 3rd Annual 10/30/50 Ultra Trail Run – A 2012 TrailRunner Trophy Series race.
Registration/Packet Pick-up opens at 8:30am
Race starts at 10am
Race held rain or shine
Check out PlanetAdventure for more details.
* NOTE: The Winona Lake Trails will be closed to walkers, runners and riders during this event. Thanks for your cooperation.
* NOTE: The Indiana MTB Series opening race previously scheduled for Sunday, April 15 has been postponed until the Fat & Skinny Tire Fest May 20th.
Get out your shovels, rakes, saws, trimmers and a good ‘ol fashioned pair of working gloves.
It’s time for Spring Trail Maintenance.
With several events in April and May, we need to get off to a great start this year, so when the rain, heat and weed growth comes, we’re not catching up.
We have 2 days scheduled in March…
- Saturday, March 10 – 10am at the Winona Lake Trailhead
- Saturday, March 24 – 10am at the Winona Lake Trailhead
This first trail maintenance day, we’ll be trying to tackle the following projects…
- General walk through and clean-up; clearing sticks, low-lying branches, and checking bridge boards
- Fortifying the gravel-raised ridge after Skyway
- Fixing the low spot before the bridge after Mile Marker 1
- Evaluating closed sections (Field Trail, Wagoner’s and Patience)
Spread the word, and if you can make it, please come on out. We’ll provide some pizza around 1pm.
If you’d like to continue helping, sign up for our new Maintain-A-Mile program. More details available this weekend, or by sending us an email.
Thanks for helping our local trails! See ya Saturday.
With the ground really thawing, please remember to tread lightly on the trails…
We have some events coming up next month, along with trail maintenance this month. Excitement is building, we know, but please be patient. Ride only when the trail is solid, and watch for increased traffic due to anticipation. Please don’t widen the trail by riding around mud spots or ruts. Certain sections of trail may be closed – please honor these closings by remaining of the sections so they can dry out and re repaired.
Here is a great explanation about winter freezing and spring thaws, from our friends at IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) and HMBA (Hoosier Mountain Bike Association)…
When soil freezes all the moisture turns to ice crystals between the particles of the soil and in clay or loam soil they are tightly packed together. As the moisture freezes, the crystals expand and tear the clay apart shattering it, then as it thaws the soil becomes more porous and allows more moisture in. This is repeated with every successive thaw. In Indiana we can get as many as 100 freeze/thaw cycles in a season.
Be very careful when trying to ride the trails in the early spring. The best time to ride is when the trail is still solid. If you are leaving long ruts in the trail where you have ridden, please leave the trail till it dries more. The ruts will allow even more water to remain on the trail and make it even worse. If people see you riding they will want to ride too, so very soon the trail reaches a point of meltdown.
You can get trail updates on the front page of the Winona Lake Trails site.
While you’re out riding, keep an eye on the trail and report any severe damage by email to the KCV Trail Committee or Trailhouse (574.267.2223).
Thanks for abiding by these guidelines and helping us protect our trails.
If you’re interested in helping maintain the trails, please send us an email.
Federal support for bicycling is in trouble, again. The U.S. House and Senate have released bills that would reverse 20 years of progress toward making bicycling safe and stress-free for Americans.
The current Senate transportation bill eliminates essential biking and walking programs. To improve the bill, we’re asking senators to vote for a bipartisan amendment that guarantees our local governments a voice in transportation decisions, allowing them to build bikeways and sidewalks that keep people safe.
Take action today to help preserve the successful, cost-effective federal investment in biking. Contact our state’s two U.S. senators to encourage them to vote for the Cardin-Cochran amendment.
And if you can take a few more minutes, we urge you to make three phone calls today so our Federal legislators have no doubt about our opposition to the current transportation bills. We need our voices to be combined and heard loud and clear on Capitol Hill.
Here’s some additional details…
House Information:
The House bill – H.R. 7, will eliminate dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs. Please call your Representative TODAY and ask him/her to oppose H.R. 7. Here’s a sample message for your Representative:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I live in [PLACE]. I’m calling to ask Representative [NAME] to vote “NO” on HR 7, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. This bill would eliminate the tiny amount of dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects that helps make our dangerous streets and roads safer for children and others on foot or bicycle. It does not do enough to fix our bridges and roads or provide people more options for getting around. We desperately need an updated federal transportation bill, H.R. 7 is not it. Thank you for your time.
Senate Information:
The Senate bill (MAP-21) dilutes biking and walking programs and leaves the funding at risk to be diverted to state highway projects. There is an amendment to this bill that would improve the MAP-21 Senate bill by giving a voice to local governments in their transportation decisions, allowing communities to build the sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that keep people safe – The Cardin-Cochran amendment. We are asking you to call your Senators to support the Cardin-Cochran Amendment.
Here’s a sample message you could use for your Senators:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I live in [PLACE]. I’m calling to ask Senator [NAME] to vote yes on the Cardin-Cochran Amendment. This amendment would give a voice to local governments in their transportation decisions, allowing communities to build the sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that keep people safe. Thank you for your time.
Three phone calls. It’s that easy. And here are some links to make it even easier…
- Find My Representative through the League of American Bicyclists finder
- Our Indiana Senators; Sen. Richard Lugar – 202-224-4814 | Sen. Dan Coats – 202-224-5623
- To see America Bike’s Top 10 reasons the House bill is bad for biking and walking: Top 10 Reasons
To find out more details about the movement to save cycling:
- League of American Bicyclists Action Alert Page
- People For Bikes Movement Page
- Bicycle Indiana – Our state coalition for cycling’s Site
Join bicyclists and pedestrians nationwide to make your voice heard through the National Call-In for Biking and Walking!
One of the best opportunities we have to show enthusiasm and pride for cycling in our community is to contribute to our local club efforts and to support the local club team.
KCV Cycling Club is a recognized USA Cycling club, and thus the home base for our local club team. Like last year, the team will be known as Racing for Riley presented by Alderfer, Bergen & Company.
The Racing for Riley Team is organized into two groups:
- Our Professional Development Elite-level Race Team
- Local KCV Cycling Club and casual, community cyclists
However, team gear is available for all local cyclists, sponsors and fans that want to represent cycling pride in-and-for our community.
Through our friends at Wildman Corporate Apparel, we’re working with a great supplier, Jakroo, who makes amazing cycling gear, and will be able to meet our quick order times and vast needs.
We will be placing multiple orders throughout the year. But our first deadline will be quick. If you know you’d like to order some gear for early spring, please have your orders in by noon on Friday, February 17. Our first order will be all Race Fit sized, so order accordingly. With that said, we can comfortably share, after reviewing the sample gear sent to us for sizing, Jakroo’s apparel is a much better fit and more appropriately sized, compared to last year’s supplier.
- For ordering, please fill out our order form
- For sizing details, please see the Kit Sizing document
If you have any questions or would like to send in your order, please do so by contacting:
Grant Cunningham – 574.549.2021 | Grant’s email “@”
NOTE: When ordering gear, please realize that by wearing this apparel, you are representing the team, the club, our community and our sponsors. Therefore, be a positive representative in all situations. Give yourself, and each of us, and our community, a good name to be proud of.
