Razorback Mountain Bike Park Closing

According to http://www.goneriding.com/ Razorback MTB Park in Reddick, FL is closing after seven years of trail riding and mountain bike racing. The last day will be Sunday, 11-04-07 . The owners of the property have decided to pursue other interests with the property and although a good relationship has been maintained with the owners and they have been very complimentary to the management of the park, the decision is none the less final.


This coming weekend the park hours will be like normal but on the last weekend we will open the park on Thursday 11-1-07, Friday 11-2-07, Saturday 11-3-07 & Sunday 11-4-07 from 9am to dusk and camping and night riding will be allowed all four of those days. An informal farewell party is planned on Saturday night (all are invited) 11-03-07 at the park (more info to follow). Again the last day to ride Razorback will be 11-04-08 a Sunday.


This also means that the scheduled final round of the Florida State Championship which was scheduled for Razorback will now be moved to the Santos Trails with the date remaining the same 12-09-07. The Santos location will be the best choice for the final event even though the seventh round is also at the same location.


The popular 12 Hours of Razorback (scheduled for 2-16-08 ) will be moving to a course in the area and information will be released ASAP. Also the first round of the SERC series will now be held in Gainesville at Haile’s Trails on 3-16-08 .


Please help pass the word as it is such short notice for everyone!




compliments of http://www.goneriding.com/ and the Gainesville Cycling Club, http://www.gccfla.org/.

Another Loss for Cycling, and A Story Illustrating the Imperative for Traffic Justice

Norman Benzing climbed tall mountains, sailed to far-off islands and bicycled
across the country -- twice.

Before 9 a.m. on Thursday morning, while he
and his wife strolled along the sidewalk on South Orange Avenue, a car jumped
the curb and hit him from behind.

Friends and family members of the
67-year-old man were shocked that he was killed while walking down the street.

See the Orlando Sentinel story here.

I didn't know Norman, but sometimes saw him and his wife riding their tandem in the neighborhood; they only lived about a mile away.

ACTION ALERT: Tell Senator Martinez Florida Needs Trail Funding

On September 11, 2007, Florida U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez (R) voted to eliminate all federal spending on trails and other walking and biking facilities.

Tell Sen. Martinez that Florida needs more opportunities for walking and biking, not less.

Sen. Martinez’s vote was in support of an extreme amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) that blamed bicycle and pedestrian funding for the August Minneapolis bridge collapse. This claim was made despite the fact that, since 2006, states have returned more than $2 billion in unspent bridge project funding to Congress. Coburn’s amendment was defeated 80-18.

This misguided scapegoating attempt cannot go unchallenged.

Please explain to Sen. Martinez why cutting trail, walking and biking funds would be a huge blow to Florida.

Bicycle facilities and trails have strong transportation value, produce zero emissions, support healthy lifestyles and provide economic development opportunities. We need more, not less, funding for bicycle facilities and trails. Federal funding has helped to create numerous miles of highly used bike lanes and trails: the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail and Cady Way Trail; regional connectors such as the Withlacoochee State Trail and the Suncoast Parkway Trail; and the soon to be constructed 50-plus mile East Central Regional Rail Trail and 49-mile Palatka to Lake Butler Rail Trail.

After you have taken action, please be sure to ask other Floridians to act as well. By multiplying our voice, we can convince Sen. Martinez to do the right thing in the future.
Floridians deserve better transportation choices. Please act now by visiting this link.

Why Wait for Government?

While they're not a cycling organization, the Tampa Bay organization Green Armada caught my attention this weekend; their story made the national news. The guys who started the organization were seeing too much trash floating by on the Hillsborough River. Instead of pounding on the doors of state or local governments to demand something be done, they just went out there and started cleaning up. Eventually major corporate interests (and not to mention individuals) realized that what Green Armada was doing was worth something to them, and started supporting them.

So the question for cyclists is: "What can we do that's of value to the community that also benefits us, and how do we make it happen and publicize it?"

Bike Industry Gets Green

It looks as though the American bicycle industry finally figured out during the past year or so that bicycles can be used for transportation, and "city bikes" were the big deal at Interbike earlier this month. See this article in Wired.

And while you're perusing Wired, check out this piece on the mountain bike downhill speed record.

Whose Roads? Who Pays?

You’ll often hear or read some ill-informed person claim that cyclists don’t have the right to use public roadways because they don’t pay gas taxes. I suppose one could simply call them a fascist and be done with it (and be correct), but more reasonable and effective arguments are available.

First and foremost, use of public rights-of-way is a basic liberty, not a privilege of taxpayers.

But even if it were not a basic liberty, cyclists (and pedestrians) are certainly paying their way (and then some).

“User fees” such as gas taxes, vehicle taxes and fees, and tolls, account for only 60% of transportation funding; the other 40% is from property taxes, bonds, general funds, and other taxes, all of which are paid (directly or indirectly) by non-motorists. According to Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute,

“On average, local and regional governments spend $300-500 annually per automobile in general taxes on local roads and traffic services, averaging more than 6¢ per mile driven on local roads. Only 0.7¢ of this is paid through vehicle user charges, meaning that driving is subsidized through general taxes by about 5.6¢ per mile on local roads.”

Most gas tax money goes to widening roadways to accommodate more cars (thereby encouraging more driving) and to maintaining roads. Virtually all wear and tear on roads is due to motor vehicles (especially large trucks), not cyclists, and certainly not pedestrians. The cost of accommodating cyclists and pedestrians is generally less than 2% of the total cost of a road. Non-motorists therefore overpay for their use of roads, while motorists underpay.

Those who shop by bike, walk or transit pay gas taxes indirectly. Shipping costs, which are included in the costs of virtually all goods, include gas taxes.

Of course, most cyclists DO buy gasoline, since most own and drive internal combustion vehicles. To say one must always use the vehicle that makes the taxpaying necessary is an absurd trap. "You have no choice! You must drive a car because you paid the tax!" This argument also implies that those who pay more in taxes have greater rights than those who pay less. Those who drive electric cars might similarly be accused of driving on roads without paying “their fair share.” An electric car owner would only pay about one-third as much in “user fees” as the owner of an internal combustion engine vehicle.

Print and save for when you get into that inevitable argument!

Making Friends

I find it ironic that cyclists in one of the most bike-friendly cities in America are reaching out to motorists to get them to be even friendlier.

Check out the story here.

Bravo Portland!