News

Accomplishments and Activities

Napa Bike works every day to make riding safer in Napa County.  Here are highlights of some of the projects we've been involved with in 2012:

Sponsored a successful campaign to 'Fix Whitehall Lane' that got the attention of elected officials and resulted in the start of the Caltrans project that will stop the horrible bike crashes at Whitehall Lane - after 28 years of planning.

Launched the BE BRIGHT program, an educational initiative that provides strategies for cyclists to be safer on the roads as they are now, and will include a motorist outreach program designed to improve how we share the road with mutual respect.

Successfully advocated for installation of 'Sharrows' on streets in Napa that were repaved only in the vehicle lane.

Successfully advocated for extension of the width of lineal pothole repairs to include pavement used by cyclists.

Supported Napa's Bicycle & Trails Advisory Commission in its successful advocacy efforts to create Class II lanes on Lincoln Blvd all the way across town, complete bike lanes on Trower, and complete Class II lanes on California Blvd.

Advocated successfully for a feasibility study of bicycle and pedestrian underpass of Hwy 29 near First Street.

Provided guidance on the NCTPA steering committee for completion and ratification of the County-wide bicycle plan, enabling Napa County to qualify for federal and state funds for bicycling infrastructure improvements. As part of this project, individual bicycle plans were also completed and approved in all but 1 of the 5 towns in Napa Valley, enabling them to qualify for bike project funding.

Negotiated installation of numerous cyclist awareness signs of rural roads throughout the County.

Provided input to County Public Works to have part of Silverado Trail re-stripped where it was too narrow.

Provided input to County Public Works on sites for installation of additional bike route signs in the County jurisdiction near Calistoga, providing visual cues extending Calistoga's scenic bike routes.

Arranged for technical grant writing support for the City of Calistoga to apply for funding to advance its extension of the Washington Street Class I bike path to Lincoln Avenue.

Supported American Canyon's Open Space Committee's advocacy for installation of Hwy 29 overpasses to unit the city and enable its children to ride safely to schools.

Served on the board and supported the Napa Valley Vine Trail with financial contributions and joint participation in several community events.

Provided guidance for the design and development work on a new bicycle map that identifies bicycle routes in all 5 towns and the County.

Participated in advocacy seminars at the Leadership Conference conducted by the Alliance for Biking and Walking.

Conducted Kidical Mass rides in Napa and American Canyon, demonstrating to parents and their children how to have fun on bikes while riding safely in our communities.

Emailed dozens of alerts to membership on legislative issue affecting cyclists.

Provided bike parking at numerous community events and several charity bike rides.

Followed up on tragic bicycle accidents with law enforcement.

Represented Napa County at the National Bike Summit; lobbied elected officials to continue bike funding in the 2012 Surface Transportation Bill.

Organized and manned Bike to Work Day 'refresher stations' and other National Bike Month activities

Planned and conducted the first annual Napa Bike Fest at the Oxbow in Napa, bringing together more than 1000 people from all elements of the cycling community.

Conducted educational Ride-With-The-Board rides in each of the 4 quarters of 2012.

Conducted the Legendary Tour as our primary fund raiser.  In partnership with prominent members of the wine and hospitality industries, the event featured cycling icons Andy Hampsten and Bob Roll and was completely sold out, with a waiting list for next year. This is important because it helps Napa Bike to be financially self-sustaining.

Partnered with Napa Valley Film Festival to promote and lead two bicycling-focused events in the upper Valley, in conjunction with the premiere of 'Rising From Ashes' which showcased the ascent of cycling in Rwanda from the horror of genocide to the glory of the Olympics.

Achieved a 50% increase in Napa Bike membership.

Doubled subscribers to Napa Bike's Facebook page.

Legendary Tour 2012 - Awesome!

25 people joined Andy Hampsten and Bob Roll on Napa Bike's unique cycling experience that could only happen in Napa Valley.

For more details about the event, or if you want to request a place on the 2013 event, please visit http://legendarynapabike.org/.

NAPA COUNTY BICYCLE COALITION LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO IMPROVE CYCLIST AND MOTORIST MUTUAL AWARENESS AND RESPECT

Napa Bike teaches cyclists how to be more visible and initiates wider outreach efforts to cyclists and motorists. Key message: ride and drive safely and smartly by complying with rules of road. 

(Napa, California, October – 2012) – The Napa County Bicycle Coalition (Napa Bike) (http://www.napabike.org), the organization that represents cyclists riding in Napa County, recently announced a county-wide safety awareness campaign called “BE BRIGHT – Drive Smart, Ride Smart” to shine a light on the need for all road users – cars, trucks, motorcycles and bicycles, to share the road with mutual respect. Recent fatalities in Napa Valley, due to car-bicycle collisions, combined with the increase in popularity of cycling for transportation and exercise, prompts the Coalition to launch its campaign.

On September 20th at 7:00 pm, the Coalition kicked-off the “BE BRIGHT” campaign with a seminar called “Conspicuity for Survival” lead by Jack Holmgren, a member of Napa Bike and the San Francisco Randonneurs long distance bicycle-riding club. According to Mike Costanzo, Executive Director of Napa Bike, “Along with our work to improve or add bike lanes here in the Valley, including having more signage about sharing the roads - bike lane or not, we also want to educate cyclists how to ride smart, be visible and predictable to motorists. By the same token we want cars to understand the need to give cyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing. BE BRIGHT is a message for both cyclists and motorists.”

Napa Bike supports the 3-Foot initiative called Give Me 3, which is the California Bicycle Coalition's campaign for a new law (http://www.givemethree.squarespace.com) to ensure that California drivers give bicyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing from behind. Governor Brown recently vetoed a bill that would have made this the law in California; Napa Bike is supporting the California Bicycle Coalition's to resolve the Governor's concerns and get this standard into the vehicle code, as it is in 21 other states.

Napa Bike’s first BE BRIGHT event  took place at Clif Family Winery’s Velo Vino in St. Helena. The seminar provided 20 cyclists who attended the specific tools and methods to be highly visible when on their bikes. Other recent public information events within the “Napa County BE BRIGHT” campaign this Fall include:

October 6th at 10:00 am – Ride-with-the-Board Ride/Vine Trail Alignment Exploration: St. Helena to Calistoga. Napa Bike member Phillip Sales, who heads the engineering committee of the Vine Trail,  joined the Napa Bike Board members on a bike tour of the Vine Trail route through St. Helena and up to Calistoga.

October 12 – Napa Valley Vine Trail 4th Annual Birthday and Membership appreciation event. Napa Bike was there with “BE BRIGHT” materials, and information about the next Conspicuity workshop scheduled for December 5 in Napa.

October 20 – Girls Gone Riding Women’s Ride. This ride is meant to be social but also challenging enough to break a sweat.  The ride will be split into a beginning group and advanced group led by members of Napa Bike. A basic skills and safety class will take place prior to the ride departure. Ride location start is Velo Vino in St. Helena. For more information please visit the event calendar at Napabike.org.

November Dates TBA – Train-the-Trainer classes to create League of American Bicyclist-certified cycling instructors, in partnership the Napa County Office of Education’s Safe Routes to School program. The new pool of League Certified Instructors will enable expansion of Napa Bike’s Street Skills 101 training classes.

November 1 and 2 – Legendary Napa Bike Wine Tour is Napa Bike’s annual fund raising event.  Thanks to sponsorships with Visit Napa Valley, and select members of the Wine and Hospitality industries, Napa Bike is able to conduct an event that generates a significant share of its annual operating budget, enabling continuance of its safe riding advocacy, including programs like BE BRIGHT. The participants will demonstrating BE BRIGHT best practices, including use of daytime running lights, courtesy of Cateye.  Details at www.legendarynapabike.org

November 11 – Ride with Team Rwanda. As part of the Educational Series of the 2012 Napa Valley Film Festival, Festival Attendees and locals of Napa Valley are encouraged to join the filmmakers and cyclists of Team Rwanda for a Community Bike Ride on Sunday, November 11. The 40-mile self-supported ride will start at 9:00am and finish at Clif Family Winery at Velo Vino in St. Helena.

December 5 – Attend the next “Conspicuity for Survival” workshop lead by Jack Holmgren, a member of Napa Bike and the San Francisco Randonneurs long distance bicycle-riding club. Jack will educate cyclists how to ride smart, be visible and predictable to motorists. This free event starts at 6:00 pm at the Napa County Library's community meeting room in Napa on Coombs Street. See the event calendar on our home page at www.napabike.org for more details.

Additionally, Napa Bike will be producing Print and RADIO Public Service Announcement spots and is seeking sponsorship for extending the reach of the Napa County BE BRIGHT program through billboards, and direct mail to residents.

Napa Bike represents all cyclists – recreational, students, families, racers and commuters and offers various membership opportunities to serve such groups. Please visit http://napabike.org/members.php#join.

For more information, contact Rebecca Kotch: Rebecca@rebeccakotch.com | 323.806.5900