Member's General Meeting Thursday 9/7

Thursday, September 7, 2017
6:30pm-8pm
La Carreta (4065 Government St, Baton Rouge, LA 70806)

It's time for our bimonthly meeting! Join us Thursday, September 7th at La Carreta to hear the haps.

This month's meeting starts at *6:30* because we will be going over the bike/ped survey that we will be conducting the following week (it's not too late to volunteer to help!). At 7 we'll begin the general meeting. 

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Announcement - Bike Baton Rouge Annual General Meeting and By-Laws vote - October 5th at 7pm

At our annual general meeting on October 5th (location TBD), Bike Baton Rouge members will be voting on adopting a new set of by-laws for the organization. By-laws are the 'constitution' of any non-profit organization such as Bike Baton Rouge, and describe how that organization should be run.

All Bike Baton Rouge members will be eligible to vote on the by-laws - either at the meeting itself or online here. You can sign up for membership here any time or at the meeting itself. 

Read more about the changes to our by-laws and put your vote in here.

Why else should you be a Bike Baton Rouge Member? 

1) It helps us be your voice. When we talk to elected officials or employees of the city (or state) about bike issues, we use our membership statistics to help our case. If we tell those people that we represent over a hundred paid members of Bike Baton Rouge, they listen a little harder than if we were there alone. Those people make and enforce our laws and buy the infrastructure that we'll be riding on in the years to come.

2) It helps us help others. The money raised from memberships goes directly back to making bicycling in Baton Rouge safer, easier and more enjoyable. Our most notable examples from 2016 include our light donation program, which has seen four hundred sets of LED bike lights donated to people without them (mostly by the BRPD) - and the Bike Baton Rouge Map stickers which we are putting up around our city to help people get around town easier.

3) It helps you help us. We are a 100% volunteer run organization. Our members make us who we are - from our board of directors, to the people who put on our bike rides, and the people who staff our volunteer events like bike parking. 

Thank you for supporting Bike Baton Rouge!

http://bikebr.org/bylaws

Bike to Work Week - Events and Information

Bike Parking near the Stadium at LSU

It's May in Louisiana, and the perfect time to be outside before it gets hot! National Bike to Work Week runs May 16 through May 20, and is a perfect excuse to spend a little extra time enjoying the outdoors in what we (of course) would argue is the best manner possible - riding a bicycle.

To help get you commuting by bike, we have a bunch of resources at your disposal. First and foremost is the Baton Rouge Bike to Work Week Facebook Page where you and other Bike to Work Week participants can ask questions, learn about routes, and stay on top of Bike to Work Week events.

What kind of events, you ask?

On Wednesday, join the Capital Heights Social Ride hosting a special Hump Day Social Ride that will take you and a group of bicyclists around some of Baton Rouge's lesser known paths, trails and streets before ending down near LSU at the State Bar for some drinks and dinner. 

Friday is Bike to Work Day, and you'll have the opportunity to join in a Bike Train from Capital Heights to LSU via City Park. The Bike Train will roll at 7:15, be at City Park at 7:35 and get you to your final stop at LSU at 7:55 - and will be captained by an experienced bike commuter who'll be answering your questions on routes, gear and more!

Finally on Saturday, check out the Healthy BR Family Fit Day at City Park in the morning, and then head on over to the Capital Heights Kids Bike Safety Day where your little ones can learn how to operate a bike safely and how to obey some basic road rules. The Safety Day will end with a short ride around the block in the quiet and bike friendly Capital Heights area.

We expect that a lot of you will be having a great time on bikes throughout Bike to Work Week, so we'll be rolling out the #mybikestory hashtag for you to tell the world about your bike commutes. Too often we only ever here about bike commutes when something bad happens. We'd like YOU to help change the perception that bike commuting is scary by using the #mybikestory hashtag to post about how fun, exciting, or even how mundane your daily bike commute might be!

With all these extra miles you'll be riding, be sure to sign up for the National Bike Challenge and log your rides. We'll be giving away Bike Baton Rouge T-Shirts to selected participants in the National Bike Challenge.

Speaking of T-Shirts, if you haven't yet picked up your annual Bike Baton Rouge membership then we urge you to go check that out! The annual memberships come with a Bike BR T-Shirt, a set of Blinky Lights and a Bicycling Safety Guide from the League of American Bicyclists. 

We hope you enjoy Bike to Work Week! If you're looking for any advice, help or support, then please shoot us an email at bikebatonrouge@gmail.com or ask us at the Baton Rouge Bike to Work Week facebook page.

Announcing the recipients of the 2016 Mike Bitton Awards

The Mike Bitton Awards, established in 2013, honour those individuals and organizations in Baton Rouge whose work results in better bicycling in Baton Rouge. We're very excited to announce this years award recipients below - and to invite you to the awards ceremony which will take place next week Wednesday April 27th, 7pm, at the Firehouse Gallery at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge (427 Laurel Street).

This years awards go to :

David Cano of Iron Works Design LLC, who will be awarded the Bike Friendly Business Award for his work with manufacturing and installing Bike Racks in Baton Rouge.

Gilles Morin, of the City of Baton Rouge Planning Commission who will receive the Bike Friendly Ambassador Award for his long term support of bicycling projects in Baton Rouge.

Juan Cruz, of Cultural Dynamics, who will receive the Bike Friendly Professional Award for his work in supporting bicycling and walking projects amongst minorities and underrepresented communities, particularly with the Gardere Project.

Beaux Jones, former president of Bike Baton Rouge, who will be awarded the Mike Bitton Award for his services to Bike Baton Rouge as well as bicycling and walking in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and beyond.

Please come join Bike Baton Rouge, our award recipients, and our friends, members and volunteers in celebrating the great things that Baton Rouge is capable of! Snacks and drinks will be provided, and we'll have a membership sign up table if you've not already picked yours up here.

Need a reminder? Sign up at our Facebook Event.

Previous recipients of the Mike Bitton Award include :

2013

Bike Baton Rouge Bicycle Advocate Award     Mike Bitton

2014

Mike Bitton Award    Mark E. Martin
Bike Friendly Ambassador Award    Mayor President Kip Holden
Bike Friendly Professional Award    Rachel DiResto (CPEX)
Bike Friendly Business Award         Chelsea's Cafe

2015

Mike Bitton Award   Front Yard Bikes  Dustin LaFont
Bike Friendly Ambassador Award    Metro Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards
Bike Friendly Professional Award    John Price
Bike Friendly Business Award         Bet-R Grocery

Dustin LaFont and the kids of Front Yard Bikes