March Newsletter
Our screening of Motherload was a huge success!
Hey folks!
We’ve got a lot of great stuff coming up in the near future. Here’s a quick rundown:
Tuesday, March 17: General Meeting
We’ll be meeting at Red Stick Social at 6:00 PM. This is open to current members, prospective members and the general public. Event Facebook page here.
Saturday, March 21: Bike Selfie Scavenger Hunt
We’ll meet at City Park (the lawn by the Tennis Courts) at 1:00 PM. Everyone will be given a list of clues and, instead of bringing physical items back to us, you’ll take pictures of your bike with the items in the clues. First to collect all the photos wins. There will be prizes for 2nd and 3rd place, as well as a Best Photo contest. This is a family-friendly ride, though we ask that the kiddos be post-training wheels/balance bike. Event Facebook page here
Saturday, April 4: BR Bike Fest
We’re partnering with BREC to host Baton Rouge’s inaugural Bike Fest! It’ll be from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Perkins Road Community Park. We’ll have info booths, live band, food truck, velodrome race, dirt track riding, bmx demo and Bike BR-led group rides. There will be a “slow-race” and a bike toss and a Bike Rodeo for the kiddos led by the Safety Place. Baton Rouge Bike Club, BR Area Mountain Bike Association, Gotcha, Front Yard Bikes and others will be out there to celebrate all things bike! Event Facebook Page here. (in the event it’s rained out, it will be on Saturday April 18 instead).
We are still in need of volunteers. If you’d like to help us put on this great event, please click here to sign up.
Saturday April 18-19: Baton Rouge Blues Fest
Our Bike Corral is back!! Ride your bike to Blues Fest and avoid the traffic, parking headache and surge pricing from the rideshare companies. We’ll be at Galvez Plaza right in the middle of the action, parking bikes for the whole festival….for free!
Sunday, April 26: Earth Day
We’ll have an info booth at Earth Day which will be at Independence Park. More details to follow.
Thursday. May 7: Raising at the Radio
We’ll have our annual fundraiser and membership drive at the Radio Bar from 5:00 - 7:00 PM. With any monetary donation, membership signup/renewal or merchandise purchase, you get a Bike BR Koozie and a free beer!
Saturday, May 16: Trail Cleanup Part Deaux
We’ll clean up the trail segment that cuts through the golf course at City Park. Meet at 9:00 AM at the corner of Harrison St./E. Lakeshore and Dalrymple (the parking lot between the golf course and City Park Lake). Bring flat shovels, push brooms and cordless trimmers.
Ongoing advocacy initiatives…
Pedestrian/Bike Masterplan update
The pedestrian and bike master plan we’ve been working on with DOTD, BREC, the city/parish and various other partners is nearing completion. We ask the following of you:
Write, call or email your metro council member and ask them to vote in favor of adopting this plan when it comes before them in the coming months. If you don’t know who your council person is, Click here.
When you do contact your metro council member, mention how imperative it is that we fund the proposed projects in the plan. Otherwise, it’s just a fancy-looking, expensive .pdf.
Vulnerable Road User Law
We’ve been fighting for a vulnerable road users (VRU) law for a while, the purpose of which is to close the massive chasm in current law between minor traffic violation and serious felony, as pertaining to motorists who injure or kill people on bikes, people walking, people in wheelchairs, people on motorcycles or people working on roadway construction and maintenance. As it stands, unless the driver is impaired, he/she will likely escape justice, most often receiving a minor traffic violation citation without even a license suspension.
Our partners at the Motorcycle Riders Foundation have created a form that allows you to add your voice to the call for a VRU bill in Louisiana. It will find your representatives and contact them for you.
New Merch!
In case you hadn’t heard, we have new shirts with a new design, Bike BR baseball/trucker hats, and Bike BR cycle caps. Oh…we also have a precious few green Bike BR Classic Tees left….just in time for St. Paddy’s Day!
Daylight Savings Time has begun!
Now that it stays lighter later, it’s the perfect time for evening bike rides!
If you haven’t already, check out the social rides below. They’re a great way to learn new bike routes, see new places in the city and make new friends.
Happy riding and hope to see you soon!
#yeahbike!!
