Saturday, October 24th will mark 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action and the end of a week of climate action teach-ins at RIT.

The culminating event in Rochester will be a mass bike ride along the proposed Rochester Greenway. The Rochester Greenway goes south from Downtown along the river, past the University of Rochester, through the Genesee Valley Park, and on down the Lehigh Valley North Trail to RIT.

Once at RIT, the Rochester Bike Summit will be held in the new Center for Student Innovation. Its goal: to discuss a number of exciting bicycle and alternative transportation initiatives, and to make connections between the bicycle community, city planners, and environmentalists.

Look for details at RochesterGreenway.org.

Among the attractions planned for the Rochester Cycle Summit
• volunteer-manned stations for free bicycle maintenance
• exhibits on pedal power and bicycles as energy-conservation solutions
• posters and exhibits describing numerous bike initiatives
• an ultra-wide screen short describing the potential for making Rochester a world class center for recreational and functional transport
• free rides on electric bikes

Saturday, June 13, Greenway Bike Ride Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the trailhead in Canawaugus Park on River Road (Rte 251) in Scottsville for a 1 1/2 hour, 14 mile ride south to Rt. 5 in Avon and back. Bring water. Ride Leader: Richard DeSarra. 585-461-5363 or rdsbike@rochester.rr.com.

A ‘crumble shoulder’ may be on a road shoulder near you soon.

Beware of a proposed paving technique by the NYS DOT that may be tested on NYS roads next year. Currently it is being called a ‘crumble shoulder.’

A portion of the shoulder to the right of the shoulder stripping is paved just like the roadway while the remainder of the shoulder is paved using a rough finish, similar to ‘chip seal’ paving.

New York Bicycle Coalition (NYBC) has many questions and concerns about the adoption of this new technique.

The proposed use of this course asphalt concerns NYBC because its widespread use by NYSDOT would compromise the quality of riding surfaces on hundreds of miles of some of our best roads for bicycling in the country.

Safety – use of this material will reduce the effective width of the shoulder, possibly forcing cyclists to ride in or near the vehicle travel lane.

Tourism – NYS has some of the best road shoulders in the country, an asset to promote bicycle tourism. Use of this material may be a step backwards in that regard.

NYBC will be corresponding with NYS DOT as they move forward with testing.

If you spot a test area let me know.

Richard DeSarra
rdscomm@rochester.rr.com.
Board member RBC & NYBC

Introduction to the Genesee Valley Greenway (GVG) Trail Bicycle Ride Saturday October 4.
Meet at 9:45 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. start at the trailhead in Canawaugus Park on River Road (Route 251) in Scottsville for a 15 mile ride.
The GVG is a flat trail with a hard packed dirt surface. Fat tire or hybrid style bicycle is best suited for this trail ride.
Bring water. Lunch in Scottsville after the ride is optional. Helmets required.
Ride Leader: Richard DeSarra,
rdsbike@rochester.rr.com

The League of American Bicyclists on Wednesday September 24 announced the recipients of the 2008 Bicycle Friendly Community Awards – http://www.bikeleague.org/news/092408bfc.php.

The City of Rochester and Monroe County of New York State were sited as honorable mention.

The League awards a four-year designation to communities that have made impressive, measurable efforts to integrate bicyclists into the community. There are four levels—platinum, gold, silver and bronze—awarded twice each year.

The League’s Mission is to promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation and work through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America.

This is the first year the Rochester Bicycling Club has applied for designation on behalf of the City of Rochester and Monroe County.

Richard DeSarra, Rochester Bicycling Club Board Member , Trail and Road Advocate.

You can help make bicycling safer in your community. Road hazards are a problem for cyclists anytime of the year, not just in the spring.

You all remember the ‘Pot Hole’ season. It starts at the end of winter and ends in late fall when all the road construction projects are either completed or put to bed for the winter.

Cyclists can easily spot road hazard that motorist do not see and have no problem negotiating. Cyclists have a much better view of road hazards, especially those that can be a problem to us.

One of the easy things you can do is report the road hazard to the appropriate municipality’s highway department.

A sewer grate has fallen below the road level, a hole has developed along a curb, there is a separation in the road running parallel to the shoulder, or the shoulder has fallen away.

This form contains the road hazard reporting phone number or web site of NYS, Monroe County or the City of Rochester.

Road Hazard Reporting
Fill in the blanks and mail it in, call in or submit on-line.
Use your odometer or a nearby address or landmarks to pinpoint the spot where the road hazard exists.
Notify the appropriate municipality. If the information is sent to the incorrect municipality the message will be passed on to the appropriate municipality.
Mailing Addresses
State Roads; NYS DOT, 1530 Jefferson Rd., Rochester, NY, 14623.
Monroe County Roads, DOT, 50 West main St., Rochester, NY, 14614.
Rochester City Streets, Dept. of Environmental Services, 30 Church St, Rochester, NY, 14614.
For individual towns, call to the town’s highway department.
Phone Hotline Numbers or Web Addresses
State Roads; 1.800.POTHOLE, (1.800.768.4653).
Monroe County Roads; 585.760.7750 or http://www.monroecounty.gov/dot-pothole.php
Rochester City Streets; 585.438.5990 or http://www.cityofrochester.gov/index.cfm?id=642
Report this information to the appropriate municipality.
Location of problem___________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Type of Problem _______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date of this report: ______________ Your Phone ____________________________
Your name: ____________________________________________________________
Your Address ________________________________________________________

If the hazard is not on a state, county or city road you need to report the hazard to the correct township’s highway department. Don’t know the township than report the hazard to the county. The county will direct the information to the appropriate township or give you that information for you to do the reporting.

It is that simple and it works. The hazards are usually eliminated in days.

Meet at 9:45 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. start at the trailhead in Canawaugus Park on River Road (Route 251) in Scottsville for a 14 mile ride.

The GVG is a flat trail with a hard packed dirt surface. Fat tire or hybrid style bicycle is best suited for this trail ride.

Bring water. Lunch in Scottsville after the ride is optional. Helmets required.

Ride Leader: Richard DeSarra, rdsbike@rochester.rr.com

Bicycling Family Weekend at Strong National Museum of Play
(In conjunction with the Rochester Omnium, www.Rochestercrit.com)

Saturday, August 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, August 10, 12 noon to 5 p.m.

Start your Omnium weekend fun at Strong National Museum of Play.

On Saturday, see artist Nancy Goethel create a colorful bicycling scene made entirely of…balloons! (Her completed work will be on view Sunday.)

On both Saturday and Sunday, cruise over to a special display of bike-related photos, toys, and cycles from the museum’s renowned collections including a 1890s bicycle built for four.

Make a sun visor and a sign to cheer on the bicyclists before you head out to the races.

All activities are included with general museum admission fees. For more information and easy directions visit www.museumofplay.org.

Seasonal Exhibit on Bicycling August 1 to September 30.

The museum has tapped into its world-renowned collections to create a special bicycle display in honor of the Rochester Omnium.

See modern and historic cycles including a four-in-hand (a cycle built for four riders from the 1890s); a 1910 safety bicycle with a skirt guard (designed especially for women); several modern racing bikes; and children’s bikes and tricycles of various eras.

Also on view are historical photos, paper dolls, and paper toys that document the popularity of cycling over the past century.

This exhibit will be on display on the museum’s second floor from August 1 to September 30.

Richard’s interest in bicycling began in the early 1970s when he started commuting and founded a Rochester sporting goods store that specialized in bicycles. He has served on several boards and committees related to bicycling since 1990 as a bicycle advocate for road cycling.

In 1990 with the Rochester Bicycling Club he started as a ride leader and Board Publicity Chairman. He has held nearly very position on the Board from President on down. Currently he serves as the club’s Road and Trail Advocate.

In 1993 he was certified as an Effective Cycling Instructor by the League of American Bicyclist and is a citizen’s bicycle advisor with the local Metropolitan Planning Organization, Genesee Transportation Council. He is a current board member of the New York Bicycle Coalition.

Since 1990 he has been on the Steering Committee for the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Bicycle Tour which has raised millions of dollars to fight MS.

He has been in charge of production of several brochures and maps for many trail and bicycle organizations in the Rochester/Genesee Valley Region.

Contact Richard via e-mail at rdsbike@rochester.rr.com.