May - June 2004

Upcoming Rides

The Borough Perimeter Series will return this year by popular demand. Tentative dates for these rides are listed below. We will have some off-road rides. Some of these are listed as the "Off-Road Vistas" series. Please take advantage of them. If you want the 5BBC to offer more off-road rides please let us know. Let me know what kinds of off-road rides you'd like to see. If you like the ones we have, or what you would prefer. (That goes for all rides, really.) I'm also planning a new occasional series of rides to celebrate the NYC subway centennial. Look for these rides under the banner of "Subway Series", between June and October.

Shout outs to the Fast & Fabulous club, the Major Taylor Cycling Club, and Time's Up! for contributing rides to our expanded Regional Roundup. Also check the RR for rides and events farther afield in upstate New York, New Jersey, and New England.

Bike Month

Okay, so May is National Bike Month. How's that again? For nearly 50 years the League of American Bicyclists has been promoting cycling through National Bike Month, with organized events with both advocacy groups and government agencies. Here in New York City this is primarily done through Transportation Alternatives and the City Department of Transportation's Bicycle Program office. You can learn more about the national bike advocacy program through the website www.bikemonth.com.

For this club, Bike Month is a time that we showcase some of our best rides and events, with the hopes that they will bring in new people who will become members. Already (as of mid-March) there are over 170 events listed! Calendars are available at bike shops but also viewable online at www.BikeMonthNYC.org. Aside from the bike rides, I especially enjoy the Bicycle Film Festival, now in it's fourth year, showing both shorts and feature films at Anthology Film Archives on the Lower East Side.

What is the Bike Forum?

One of the highlights of last summer's Bike Summer was a series of talks and panel discussions held at the Urban Center, located in midtown Manhattan. I was therefore happy to learn recently that this series of discussions is coming back this spring under the heading Bike Forum. What kinds of things will this cover? As I write this only one public meeting has been held, with a discussion of legal issues. Hopefully the series will continue both online and with public meetings, and you can find more information at www.bikeforum.org.

Planned Dates for the Borough Perimeter Rides

6/27	Staten Island
7/11	The Bronx
7/25	Brooklyn
(to be determined)	Queens
9/5	Manhattan

Important Dates to Remember

Saturday, May 1st	Blessing Of The Bikes
Sunday, May 2nd	Bike New York
Sunday, May 9th	Mother's Day
Saturday, May 15th	Armed Forces day
Monday, May 31st	Memorial Day
Saturday, June 5th	National Trails day
Monday, June 14th	Flag Day
Sunday, June 20th	Father's Day
Monday, June 21st	Summer Solstice

Danny Lieberman
Day Trips Coordinator, 2004