MassBike Quick Release 5/9/08

Bike Week: Metro Boston, Pioneer Valley & Beyond!

May is National Bike Month, and May 12-16 is the traditional Bike to Work Week. This year, MassBike has teamed up with the City of Boston, the City of Cambridge, and MassCommute to expand Bike to Work Week into Bay State Bike Week. For the complete schedule of events for Bike Week and the entire month, check out MassBike’s Bike Week/Bike Month schedule. Click here for Bike Week events in the Pioneer Valley.

A few highlights ( click here for the complete schedule):

• May 10: Bike The Charles, sponsored by MassBike Metro Boston Chapter, 10am, Watertown Sq
• May 11: Mother Earth Community Bike Ride, 1-2pm, Pulaski Park, Northampton
• May 12: University Park Bike Breakfast, 7:30-9am, Cambridge
• May 13: Broadway Bicycle School Pancake Breakfast, 7:30-9:30am, 351 Broadway, Cambridge
• May 14: Breakfast, 7-10am, Court House Lawn, Northampton
• May 15: Breakfast, sponsored by Baystate Health, Springfield Business Improvement District,, Greater Springfield YMCA, Partners for a Healthier Community, and Fit to Ride, 7-9am, Court Square, 1277 Main St, Springfield
• May 16: Breakfast Pit Stop, 7-10am, City Hall Plaza, Boston
• May 17: Ride: 'Trails, Sails, Rails and Wheels - Cambridge Transportation History', presented by Cambridge Bicycle Committee, 10:15am, Cambridge Common
• May 18: Brookline Bikes Beacon Bicycle Parade, 12:30pm, Amory Playground, Brookline
• May 19: 12th Annual Redbones Bike Party & Benefit , 5-9pm, 55 Chester St., Somerville
• May 21: Ride of Silence, 6:45pm, Seven Hills Park, Davis Sq., Somerville

In the Metro Boston area, Mayor Menino’s Bay State Bike Week is your chance to make a powerful statement to help the environment. Join with thousands of fellow cyclists across the nation and show that we can indeed make a difference.

Sign up now. And sign up your friends, your neighbors, your neighbors' friends, your friends' neighbors-let's show the world what it means to be a cyclist. It's all FREE, too. www.BayStateBikeWeek.org

We're going for 100,000 miles.
We originally estimated that Bay State bikers would pledge to ride 50,000 miles over the course of the week. Boy were we wrong. You've already blown by that mark and now we're heading for 100,000 miles. Sign up now and help us make it a Bike Week like no other. And, look what's planned for Bike Day, May 16th:

Safe Guided Convoys
Join one of our Boston, Cambridge, Newton or Stow/Acton/Concord/Lexington/Arlington commuter convoys and meet new friends while you're at it.( see list).

Free Goodies & Breakfast
Pick up a free water bottle and goodies from one of our "Goodie Zones". Or, stop by Government Center Plaza for free goodies and breakfast on your way to work.( see map).

Rentals
No bike? No problem. Contact Urban Adventours, 617.233.7595, info@urbanadventours.com

Click here for the complete statewide Bike Week/Bike Month schedule http://www.massbike.org/news/bikeweek.htm

Redbones Bike Party Postponed to May 19, 2008

Due to predicted cold, wet weather, the 12th Annual Redbones Bike Party & Benefit has been postponed one week to Monday, May 19, 2008. Everything else remains the same:

Place:  55 Chester Street, Davis Square, Somerville
Time: 5-9 pm
Cost: $15.00 buys you a Redbones sandwich & a beverage
(soft drink or Harpoon), bicycle valet parking, & raffle ticket
Additional tickets 1 for $2.00 and 3 for $5.00

Raffle Drawing @ 7:30 pm
Winners must be present to collect their prizes

Proceeds go to  MassBike & NEMBA.

Cross your fingers for good weather on the 19th & we'll make this the best party ever!

Bike Month Membership Special: $500 Prize!

MassBike's strength is its members, who fund its advocacy and education programs, but, more importantly, provide a powerful political base. More members equals more power to effect positive change for bicycling in Massachusetts. We currently have about 3,000 members, which has enabled MassBike to have 2.5 employees and expand its programs. But as a statewide organization in a state with more than 750,000 bicyclists, we need to do even more. If only 1.5% of bicyclists in Massachusetts joined MassBike, we would have over 11,000 members -- now that is a political force! And that's where you come in:

• Every NEW* member who joins between April 1 and May 30, 2008, is entered to win a $500 gift certificate good at Landry's Bicycles, sponsored by MassBike member Scott Chun and Trans National Group.
• Plus, for every new member referred by a current MassBike member, the current member is also entered to win!
• The more new members you recruit, the more chances to win!

Current Members: Be sure to tell new members to enter your name as the "Referring Member" when they sign up! Or give a gift membership and enter it yourself.

Join as a NEW Individual Member
Join as a NEW Dual/Family Member
Give a Gift Individual Membership
Give a Gift Dual/Family Membership

Questions? Contact Dorothy Fennell, Membership Coordinator, at 617-542-2453 or by email.

* Renewals not eligible for contest

Volunteers Needed!

Contact Membership Coordinator Dorothy Fennell to sign up for any of these volunteer opportunities, or call us at 617-542-BIKE.

MassBike Volunteer Night: Tuesday, May 13
Come to our office in Boston for beer, pizza and fun during our monthly volunteer night!

Bay State Bike Week Water Bottle Stuffing: Wednesday, May 14
Get set for "round two" of stuffing water bottles with schwag for Bay State Bike Week. Join us between 5:30pm-9pm on the 9th floor of Boston City Hall in room 937. Enter through the rear entrance on Congress Street. Food provided!

Ski Market Bike Swap: Saturday, May 17
The Ski Market on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston is hosting a bike swap to benefit MassBike.  We need help managing a table at the event between the hours of 10am-6pm.  

Redbones Bike Party & Benefit: Monday, May 19
From 4-10pm we will be at the Redbones Party in Somerville, and we are still looking for a few more hands to help out with bike parking and managing the booth.

Bike Bash: Wednesday, May 21
We are looking for some folks to help out with the Commuter Challenge closing party in Cambridge where we award those folks that were commuting all week.  MassBike needs assistance with managing the bike parking.

Ski Market Bike Swap: Saturday, May 17

Come buy or sell bicycles at the Annual Boston Bike Swap. Bike sales benefit the seller and help support local bicycling groups including Bikes Not Bombs, Hub On Wheels, NEMBA, MassBike, and Bay State Bike Week.

Saturday, May 17, 2008
9am-6pm
Ski Market
860 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

To sell a bike:

• Beginning Monday, May 12, bring your bike between 10am and 5 pm to Boston Ski Market
• $15 Bike Swap Registration Fee includes free bike inspection and consultation with Ski Market bike technicians to determine selling price. Proceeds from the $15 Registration Fee will be donated to support the efforts of Hub On Wheels, Bay State Bike Week, and MassBike.
• Fill out the Consignment Bike Form.
• Leave the bike. Ski Market sells it on Saturday, May 17.
• You receive 100% store credit or 80% cash back.
• Unsold bikes must be picked up by 6pm on Monday, May 19. After this time, Ski Market will donate unclaimed bicycles to Bikes Not Bombs.

To buy a bike: Just show up between 9am and 6pm on Saturday, May 17. Ski Mark bike technicians will be available to help you find the bike that works for you!

Questions? Contact Boston Ski Market at 617-731-6100 or email boston@skimarket.com.

Lead a Ride of Silence: May 21, 2008

On Wednesday, May 21, 2008, join cyclists worldwide in a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph) in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways. Leading a Ride of Silence is easy, and we could use a few more locations in Massachusetts. Click here to see the current locations.

New events can be submitted thru the RoS site using this form: http://www.rideofsilence.org/addlocation.php

It’s a very simple thing to organize one; doesn’t have to be anything very fancy.  Just show up and ride in silence to honor those cyclists who’ve been hit and killed or injured.