Jan. 15 "meet and greet event" with LAB official at Fort Myers Trek

Plan to stop by the Fort Myers Trek store on Jan. 15th, 4-6 p.m. for this great opportunity to mingle with national and local bike advocates.

·        What: "Meet and Greet" with Steve Clark, League of American Bicyclists’ new Bicycle Friendly Community Specialist

·        Who’s Invited: Bike advocates countywide

·        Date: Thursday, Jan. 15, 4-6 p.m.

·        Where: Fort Myers Trek, 8291 Dani Drive, Suite 105; southwest corner of Colonial Blvd. and Six Mile Cypress Parkway

·        Refreshments: To be provided by Trek

This is a great opportunity to exchange information and ideas both with Steve Clark (with the League of American Bicyclists) and with other advocates from around the county. Clark is visiting Southwest Florida the week of Jan. 12 as part of LAB’s Bicycle Friendly Community program (see schedule below). It's also a chance to visit Trek's new store in Fort Myers, which is located in a shopping area called Colonial Corner where Lowe's is located. A big thank you to the local Trek team for hosting this get-together, and to the corporate offices of Trek for funding this national initiative!

So, plan to drop by the Trek store between 4-6 p.m., be part of the conversation, enjoy the company and the refreshments. We hope to see you there!

 

Steve Clark, LAB

Background

Lee County was selected as one of the 100 communities LAB will be visiting in 2015, as part of its new initiative to bring bicycle-friendly expertise directly to the local level, with the support of Trek and Trek dealers. Click here for the LAB letter about their upcoming visit. Clark has been a long-time bicycle advocate, a LAB-certified Instructor and trainer of instructors, and was the bicycle coordinator in Boulder, CO -- one of the most bicycle-friendly communities in the country. To read more about Steve, check out LAB's article. 

The following visits have been scheduled by Clark:

·        Jan. 12--Sanibel

·        Jan. 13--Naples

·        Jan. 14--Punta Gorda

·        Jan. 15--Cape Coral

·        Jan. 16--Bonita Springs

·        Feb. 4--Fort Myers

The goal is to help Lee County (and cities within Lee County) become more bicycle friendly and ultimately become recognized as a "Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC)." This is an exciting opportunity to get some hands-on technical assessment of our bicycling infrastructure and to learn about best practices from other communities.

Click here for BikeWalkLee's Dec. 13th blog post about this visit.

Jan. 5th: Upcoming walking/running/biking/tri events

There are several new running and cycling events listed this week. Did you make a New Year's Resolution to get into an exercise routine?  What better way to get motivated than to do a run, walk, or ride with a crowd! 

Running/walking:

 Saturday, Jan. 10: Seahawk Sprint for Music 5K (3dracinginc.com), Jim Jeffers Park in Cape Coral. Registration 7 a.m., race 8 a.m.

Last Year's Tour de Cape

·         Sunday, Jan. 11: 12^th annual River, Roots & Ruts Trail Run, Caloosahatchee Regional Park, Alva. Half marathon and relay 8 a.m., 5K fun run 8:15 a.m. (www.rrrtrail.com)

·         Saturday, Jan. 17: Tour De Cape 5K Run/walk, is designed for advanced and novice runners. Check in begins at 6:30 a.m. Race time is 8 a.m. Starts at Cape Harbour in Cape Coral. (tourdecape.net)

·         Saturday, Jan. 24: Cypress Sprint for Music 5K, Lakes Regional Park in Fort Myers. Registration 7:30 a.m., race 8:30 a.m. (3dracinginc.com).

Sunday, Jan. 25: The 9th ANNUAL NAPLES BIKE/WALK/RUN BRUNCH IS A COME TOGETHER event for cyclists, walkers, and runners who want to show their support for safety on the roads for ALL. Activities begin and end in beautiful, beachside Lowdermilk Park in Naples, FL.  5k Beach Run. Four walks. Bunch compliments of Moe�s. Proceeds help support the advocacy work of NAPLES PATHWAYS COALITION on behalf of cyclists, walkers, and runners.   Register at www.naplespathways.org or call 239-777-7718 for more information.

·         Saturday, Jan. 31: Calusa BUG Chase, to help Lee County students Bring Up Grades. 5K run through the grounds of the Calusa Nature Center, 3450 Ortiz Ave. Fort Myers.  Registration 6:30 a.m., race 7:30 a.m. (www.fortmyerstrackclub.com)

Sun. Feb. 8:  Publix Run to the Arts 5K. At the one and only ArtFest Fort Myers. Run or walk, race or fun.  Starts 8:15AM • Edwards Drive in front of Harborside Event Center • $25 – includes artsy T-shirt, breakfast, door prizes and more • RunToTheArts.com

·         Saturday, Feb. 21: Swamp Stomp 5K, Grandeur Oaks Town Center located on State Road 80 just north of Cowboy Way. Benefits the Caloosa Humane Society.  Registration 6:30 a.m., race 7:30 a.m. (www.fortmyerstrackclub.com) 

·         Saturday, Feb. 21: Edison Festival of Light 5K, downtown Fort Myers. Race at 5:45 p.m. (www.fortmyerstrackclub.com)

·         Sunday, March 1: Hooters Half Marathon. 7 a.m. start, course starts/ends at Hooters (Edison Mall), winds through McGregor neighborhoods to downtown then south on U.S. 41. (www.fortmyerstrackclub.com)

Team "Caloosa Riders"

Cycling and other events:

·         Sunday, Jan. 18: Tour De Cape. Routes from 15, 30, 60, and 100 mile courses in the west and north sections of Cape Coral. The event provides a continental breakfast, lunch, on route rest stations with snacks and beverages, SAG vehicles, Police support, and route maps. All rides start from Cape Harbour in Cape Coral. (http://tourdecape.net)

Sunday, Jan. 25: The 9th ANNUAL NAPLES BIKE/WALK/RUN BRUNCH IS A COME TOGETHER event for cyclists, walkers, and runners who want to show their support for safety on the roads for ALL. Activities begin and end in beautiful, beachside Lowdermilk Park in Naples, FL. Rides: 62, 31, 20, 10 miles.  Bunch compliments of Moe's. Proceeds help support the advocacy work of NAPLES PATHWAYS COALITION on behalf of cyclists, walkers, and runners.   Register at www.naplespathways.org or call 239-777-7718 for more information.

Wed. Feb. 11:  STAYIN' ALIVE, a benefit for the cycling safety program of Naples Pathways Coalition, 5:00-7:00 pm, Hamilton Harbor Beach Club, Naples, FL. Cocktails, heavy hors d'oeuvres and luxe raffle of wonderful prizes. $100 donation per person includes a cocktail or beverage and a raffle ticket. Party limited to 100 guests. RSVP atwww.naplespathways.org/events or contact Beth Brainard at 239-777-7718.

·         Sunday, March 22: 17^th annual Royal Palm Classic. Starts/ends at Fort Myers Brewing Company, 12811 Commerce Lakes Dr, Suite 27-28, Fort Myers. Race starts at 8 a.m., 62-, 30- and 15-mile distances. Registration opens in January. (www.royalpalmclassic.org or www.caloosariders.org)

·         Saturday, March 28: Pedal and Play Punta Gorda. Details to come.

Triathlons:

·         Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 10-11: HITS Triathlon Series, Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples. Open, sprint Olympic half and full. (www.HitsTriathlonSeries.com)

Thank you letter to editor on Pine Island to Cape Coral shared use path study

It was nice to see the "thank you" letter to the editor from Pine Island community leader, Phil Buchanan, to everyone who played a part in the request and funding approval for a feasibility study for a new shared use path to connect Pine Island and Cape Coral.  It's a reminder of how important these facilities are to the citizens of our local communities.

 

FDOT to study possible bike/shared use path between Pine Island and Cape Coral

December 31, 2014

Pine Island Eagle

         

To the editor:

Merry Christmas Pine Island: We might be getting a bike and shared use path from Pine Island to Cape Coral.

The Florida Department of Transportation has programmed $1.1 million in future gas tax revenues for a feasibility study to be conducted in FY 2019-20 for a shared use path connecting Pine Island to Cape Coral. The study (which will include public meetings) should be completed by 2021, and then comes design studies, followed by right-of-way and easement purchases, and then construction contracting. It's a long-term process, but this is how those things get done - and we are off to the right start.

A big Pine Island thank you to FDoT; as well as Andy Getch of the LeeDoT staff; Dan Moser and Darla Letourneau of BikeWalkLee; Cape Coral Bike-Ped; Ileana Sisson, our Pine Island rep to the Lee County Bike/Ped Advisory Committee; Bob McKnight of the Matlacha Civic Association; the Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce; and the Lee Metropolitan Planning Committee. Well done.

Phil Buchanan

Pine Island