Save $15! NJ Bike & Walk Summit pre-registration closes at midnight!

Long distance road bicyclist and Assemblywoman, Grace Spencer to attend in a surprise, last-minute addition to the Summit!

Still hemming and hawing about going to the NJ Bike and Walk Summit this weekend?  Don't wait!  Register now!  Online registration closes at midnight!
Register online and pay only $50 and avoid paying the $15 "at the door" fee.  Space is filling up fast so you better not wait anyway.  And if you are a student with a valid ID you will only pay $25 but that will rise to $40 if you wait.  It's going to rain anyway on Saturday so what else are you going to do?

Assemblywoman Grace Spencer to appear on featured panel   
A member of the New Jersey Legislature, Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer (D) has represented the 29th Legislative District, which includes the Essex County municipalities of Belleville and a portion of Newark, since November 2007. Ms. Spencer received her BA in business management from Rutgers University and her JD from Rutgers Law School.  She specializes in liability law at the firm of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman and Goggin. Ms. Spencer is a member of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of New Jersey.

In total, the NJ Bike & Walk Summit will have a total of 18 educational session with over 50 speakers.  To find out more, check out the Summit Schedule.  The Summit will be on Saturday February 23rd at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, a five minute walk from the New Brunswick train station.  Pre-registration closes on February 21 at midnight. Registration will be available on the morning of the summit, for an additional $15 per registrant. Register today!

NJ Bike Summit in just five days! LAB Board President to speak

The New Jersey Bike and Walk Summit, presented by the New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition is proud to announce the late addition of Hans van Naerssen, Chair of the Board of Directors of the League of American Bicyclists.  Hans is a bicycling activist, and an active bicyclist. He is also co-founder and Board Chair, Pennsylvania Walks and Bikes, and Board member and past President of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. He has a Governor's appointment to the PA Pedestrian and Pedalcycle Advisory Committee.  The addition of Hans to the list of speakers is a real surprise as he is will undoubtedly provide a valuable perspective on bicycle activism having experience working with all levels of government.

For all you trail users out there, the session "Building Community Support for Trails" should prove very interesting.   While the session will remind trail advocates that trails are used by groups well beyond the typical, hiker, biker, horseback rider groups, it will also be one of the few time members from all of these groups will all be in one room.  A sampling of the panel include Michael Gray and Becky Taylor of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corporation, Janice Elsishans, Trails Advocate for the New Jersey Horse Council , Equestrian Chairperson for the Heritage and Agricultural Association, participant in the Sussex County Trails Partnership and President of the Paulinskill Valley Trail Committee, and Wally Tunison of the Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association (JORBA)

In total, the NJ Bike & Walk Summit will have a total of 18 educational session with over 50 speakers.  To find out more, check out the Summit Schedule.  The Summit will be on Saturday February 23rd at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, a five minute walk from the New Brunswick train station.  Pre-registration closes on February 21 at midnight. Registration will be available on the morning of the summit, for an additional $15 per registrant. Register today!



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4th Annual New Jersey Bike Walk Summit Happening February 23rd

The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition in partnership with the Voorhees Transportation Center will be hosting the 4th Annual New Jersey Bike Walk Summit (link to preliminary agenda) on Saturday February 23rd at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. This year there will be 20 panel sessions to choose from, including one that will discuss The Circuit and how it can affect trail development and bike mobility in New Jersey.

The NJBWC headed up by Executive Director Cyndi Steiner is diving headfirst into state bicycle and pedestrian issues. They have partnered with us as well as the Tri State Transportation Campaign, NJ Future, the Safe Routes to School Partnership and other local advocacy groups on numerous issues. Most notably they have been working with NJDOT and the State's three Metropolitan Planning Organizations on policy changes under MAP-21 and with New Jersey Transit to improve its bike on rail policies. NJBWC's statewide advocacy strengthens our local advocacy efforts in the Garden State.

Registration fee for the Summit is $50 online, $65 at the door. For more information on the NJ Bike and Walk Summit go here. The Bloustein School is just a 5 minute walk from the NJ TRANSIT New Brunswick Station at the corner of Livingston Ave and New St.

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'Hillier than Thou' bike ride to benefit NJBWC

Not doing anything next weekend?  Want to torture yourself in New Jersey's most notorious and vertically challenging ride for a cause that could make your future ride safer and more pleasant?  Well step right up and challenge yourself to 12,000 feet of climbing over 100 miles to help support the New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition in Hillier than Thou.

Wait!  Wait!  Stop screaming and running for the door!  There's an easier Metric Century that "only" climbs 7,000 feet.  :)  Whichever you choose you will be "entertained" by the infamous Fiddlers Elbow Road that climbs over 900 feet and attains a wall-like 22% grade.  Between the delirium caused by oxygen deprivation and lactic acid buildup in your screaming legs, you'll be treated to New Jersey's world class, scenic rural cycling in Morris, Warren and Hunterdon Counties.

411

• Long Valley, NJ  
• Sunday, October 07, 2012 
• Century (100 miles), 7:30 AM 
• Metric Century (64 miles, 100 km), 7:45 AM 
• (Routes subject to change)
• Cost: $75 in advance $100 day of.

While this is not a race event, the ride will be timed so riders who make the time cut will receive a special award. Awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers, and the top finisher in age categories 35+, 45+, 55+ and 60+.

In addition, enter the Hillier Than Thou KOM/QOM Strava competition! Sign up for Strava before the ride and track your ride. A KOM and QOM jersey will be awarded to the top male and female Strava winners. Come back next year and wear your well-earned KOM or QOM jersey!

The rides will feature rest stops, tech T-shirts and post ride Bar-B-Que and entertainment. Day-of registration is available; ride fee will be $100. Hillier Than Thou starts in Long Valley, NJ. Parking and ride staging will take place at Long Valley Middle School.

Registration, breakfast, afternoon Bar-B-Que and Awards Ceremony will take place at Cycle Craft. Park at the Long Valley Middle School, 51 West Mill Road, Long Valley, NJ.

Don't fear the reaper, sign up today! Proceeds from the event will go to the New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition to fund the campaign to enact a 3-Foot Safe Passing Law in New Jersey.

New Jersey Bike & Walk Summit coming to New Brunswick

Registration Opened!

The New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition is pleased to announce that the 2012 NJ BikeWalk Summit will be held on February 25, 2012 in New Brunswick, NJ. The event will be hosted by the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center which is in the Edward J. Bloustein School at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.  Co-hosts will be the Central Jersey Bicycle Club who will lead a tour of New
Brunswick with NJBWC LCIs.

Registration is open for the Summit and cost will be as follows:

December 7, 2011 through January 15, 2012:
$50 – Individual
$25 – Student

January 16, 2012 through February 22, 2012:
$55 – Individual
$25 – Student

If space remains after on-line and mail registration closes, you may register at the door at a cost of $65 (no student discount)


You may register on-line here.  To register by mail, send a check made out to the “New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition” to NJBWC, P.O. Box 843, Mahwah, NJ  07430.

Note that registration for the 2012 NJ Bike & Walk Summit will bring you either a one-year membership in the Coalition or an extension of any current membership!

The  agenda for the Summit is currently being developed but you can check the website and future editions of the newsletter for announcements.  There will be concurrent sessions during the day.  Bring friends and cover them all!  There will also be a mix of presentations, workshops and discussions designed to help you get things done in your own communities and in your state.  Valuable information for all!

Sponsors Wanted!!

Sponsorship of the New Jersey Bike & Walk Summit can be valuable exposure for your company or service, and will reach well beyond the 150 or so who will actually be there on the day.  If you are interested in reaching a diverse, educated, and affluent market of bicycle and walking advocates and professionals, sponsorship of the Summit may be for you. You can find information on sponsorship opportunities here.

New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition July Newsletter

Full Page Version

Bike news (good and bad) to start Bike to Work Week

Sorry the blog has been quite for a while.  There is always so much to do in May for me personally since I'm as much an avid gardener as I am a cyclist and there are so many plants to get into the ground in these weeks.  I'm also working two jobs, with one being with a well respected bike/ped advocacy group that keeps me going to bike events just about every weekend day during this Bike Month (rough job but someones got to do it).

Anyway, there are two interesting bike/ped related stories floating around the internet today; one good and one bad ... very bad.

First the "Good" - The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition used Bike Month and Bike to Work Week as an opportune time to introduce itself to greater New Jersey with this Op-Ed piece in The Times of Trenton.  It got good placement in the paper today and will hopefully get some more press in a few of the other New Jersey papers this week.

The "Bad" is REALLY bad - The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition is also reporting that the NJDOT is requesting to drop funding from a project that would have provided sidewalks and bike lanes on a section of Rt 7 in Kearny.  This project would be the start of providing a critical bicycle and pedestrian link between Newark and Jersey City.  These facilities would also be a part of the East Coast Greenway.  Currently there are no practical or safe options for pedestrians or bicyclists wishing to travel between New Jersey's two largest cities. 

If this is all true, such an action by NJDOT again calls into question if NJDOT is truly committed to the spirit of its nation leading Complete Streets policy.

Time running out to for your donations to NJBWC to be matched

The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition recently announced that time is running out on their Alliance for Biking and Walking matching grant.  As of Monday, January 17th there were only 90 days left were your donations to NJBWC will be matched by funds from the Alliance for Biking and Walking.  The below message is from a recent email from the NJBWC:

The Alliance for Biking and Walking matching grant, awarded to NJBWC last year, has only 90 days to run before it ends.  Now is the time that we need those of you who have held back on joining the Coalition to go ahead and do so - and make your registrations dollars count double!

While we, and bicyclists around the state, won a significant victory with the withdrawal of the bicycle registration bill, we must continue to be vigilant.  It is quite likely that other attacks on bicycling and walking will come in the next few months.  From Washington, from Trenton, from...

Your Coalition (and we want to be sure that you think of it as "your" Coalition) needs your help to continue operations -- your membership dollars and your support. 

Join us today, either by going to our website or by sending us your check, made out to "NJBC" to NJBC, P.O. Box 843, Mahwah, NJ 07430.  Membership rates are listed on the website.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Ed. Note - This blog is not directly affiliated with the NJ Bike and Walk Coalition