Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Michigan Hand Cycling Series ends season with Grand Rapids Marathon

1st Michigan Hand Cycling Race Series Season ends at the Grand Rapids Marathon
By Liz Horvat

Yesterday, the first year of the Michigan Hand Cycling Race Series ended with the culmination of the Grand Rapids Marathon. For a complete breakdown of the results from the Grand Rapids Marathon, click here. This event, held in its 10th year, has been loved by runners and hand cyclists alike, and was seen as a very fitting end to a great season of racing.

“The Michigan Hand Cycling Race Series is a great opportunity to increase awareness for the sport”, says John Waterman, one of the founders of the Series. Waterman hopes that by picking select races throughout the state, the competition for the sport will increase as well as the spectators and excitement. This year, the races that were included in the series include the 5/3 Marathon, Great Lakes Bay Marathon, Cherry-Roubaix, Festival Sun Crit, Crim, and finally the Grand Rapids Marathon. “We are hoping to provide racers from across the state with an incentive to participate in this great sport,” says Waterman.



Sponsors of the series included Programs to Educate AllCyclists (PEAC) and Fusion Medical Equipment.  The support of these sponsors allowed the top participants to receive over $1,000 in prize money. In order to be eligible to win the overall series, racers must have participated in at least two races throughout the season. Points were based on the best four races of the season.

This year the series included four racers: Daniel Dewitt, Bryan Wilkinson, Brad Baumann, and Glen Ashlock; many of whom have been participating in the sport for years. The competition was fierce throughout the entire year, as can been seen in the final results, which only have first and second place separated by 10 points. We are happy to announce that Daniel Dewitt is the winner of the Michigan Hand Cycling Race Series!



Click here for more information about the Michigan Hand Cycling Race Series rules and regulations. 

If you are interested in participating in this event next year or becoming a sponsor of the series, please contact Liz Horvat (liz@bikeprogram.org) or John Waterman (jwaterman@bikeprogram.org)


Thursday, October 17, 2013

PEAC Students continue to help Vulnerable User Bill move through Lansing

Unanimous Support of the Vulnerable User Bill
By Monica Walls

On October 16th, advocates once again gathered to attend the second hearing for House Bills 5080 and 4792 in the Criminal Justice committee. After an impactful day of testimony on September 11th (http://everyonecanride.blogspot.com/2013/09/youth-with-disabilities-push-for.html), the legislators were ready to put the bill up for a vote.

After a brief amendment to the proposed legislation, the Vulnerable User bills were both unanimously voted out of committee. What a victory for PEAC, our advocates, and many other organizations in support of the bills!

The Vulnerable User bills will increase penalties for motorists who injure or kill vulnerable users—defined as pedestrians, cyclists, and individuals using mobility devices.

PEAC is in full support of these bills, as it will make motorists more aware of cyclists, thereby making roadways safer for all of us. We teach our students rules of the road and encourage independent transportation. This legislation is the companion to our training, and will ensure safety of these independent travelers.

Today’s exciting news came just after an announcement that House Bill 4866, known as the “hand-signal” law was unanimously voted out of the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate (http://everyonecanride.blogspot.com/2013/10/peac-students-with-disabilities-move.html).

PEAC student James Kleimola has been crucial in advocating for both of these legislative topics, and is excited about their success: “We are making roads safer for me and for all bikers. We, as people with disabilities, can make a big difference. That is why we come to Lansing. It’s a great day.”

Thank you to all of the legislators who have listened and supported our students through these hearings. We are excited to continue moving this bill through Lansing! 

Friday, October 11, 2013

October 2013 Newsletter

PEAC Celebration of Cycling, Active Transportation and more! 

Waterman's window: A word from the Head Honcho
John Waterman, Executive Director

                                
This fall, students from PEAC are again advocating in Lansing to improve Michigan for cyclists. Our advocates, Connor, Katie, James and Abbey testified in front of the Judiciary Committee supporting the Vulnerable User Bill. These young advocates would like the same penalties for hitting a construction worker to apply to a motorist hitting an individual using a mobility device. 

Next, Shawn and James headed back to Lansing to push forward a bill that will legalize the use of an extended right arm to signal a right turn. This is the method that PEAC teaches to students. The students' testimony reached an extremely supportive group of legislators. Instead of pushing the vote back to next week as planned, Chairman Schmidt proposed a vote and it passed 13-0. This common sense legislation and the straightforward discussion from our students made the difference. 

These legislative victories are just steps in the right direction and will be followed up in the next few months as these bills move in the long journey to becoming a law.

In other news, Liz Horvat completed her first Celebration of Cycling as Ride Director. We are very proud of her, as we had more riders out to the event than ever before. The ride was a great success!

PEAC is so lucky to have great staff. This year, PEAC transitioned immediately from Summer Program to Celebration of Cycling to Active Transportation. Our staff's dedication to their programs, in addition to support from all of us, has made this transition smoother than ever.

We are excited to be working with students and teachers in the Wayne, Macomb and Oakland County districts during Active Transportation this year. The program is off to a great start and we are excited to see the program evolve. 

Kid's Corner




Kaitlin Barrett-Huff is one fierce twelve year-old. Through the years, Kaitlin has worked on a number of bikes, including the hand cycle and the tandem.

This summer, Kaitlin has been working on endurance. Through strengthening her arms on the hand cycle, she hopes to accomplish her goal of making a basket in one of her basketball games this fall.
At the Celebration of Cycling, Kaitlin rode 12 MILES on the hand cycle, a fantastic accomplishment! She was all smiles at the finish line. We are so excited for her and can't wait to see her future accomplishments!


Milestones Reached at the 21st Annual Celebration of Cycling
Liz Horvat, Director of Development


What a beautiful day we had for the 21st Annual Celebration of Cycling! On September 14th, 500 riders came out to show their support for our Summer Program students and their accomplishments! As a direct result of the generosity of the riders and those who sponsored cyclists, over $10,000 was brought into PEAC. These funds help us continue to work with all of our families to keep our programming affordable for everyone.
 
This event would not have been a success without the support of our Sponsors including Culligan Water, Crescent Moon massages, Healthy and Fit Magazine, Downriver Cycling Club, Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan, Al Petri and Sons Bicycle Shop, Wright and Filippis, Dr. Donald Wurtzel, DDS, TreeFort Bikes, Wheels in Motion, Push America, RydeOn! spinning studio and DALMAC. Please consider supporting these organizations while you are out and about and tell them that PEAC sent you! 

Please join us for the 22nd Annual Celebration of Cycling as we celebrate 10th Anniversary of Programs to Educate All Cyclists! We hope to see you on September 13th, 2014 where we are encouraging ALL participants to “GO ABOVE AND BEYOND” to reach personal milestones! 


If you would like to be involved in the planning for the 22nd Annual Celebration of Cycling, please email Liz at liz@bikeprogram.org


On to the Next Thing: Active Transportation Initiative
Laura Padalino, Director of Active Transportation



The Active Transportation Program (ATP) is up and running for the 2013/2014 school year!  Seniors at Sterling Heights High School came to day one with a list of skills they wanted to learn this year on bikes.  Their list included: how to put a tire on a bike, signaling turns, how to ride a two wheel bike, and adjusting brakes.  Their initiative is awesome, and we'll be talking about each one of these skills and more this fall!   This year marks the third year of ATP, and we are currently working in Warren, Wyandotte, and Farmington Hills.  The first five weeks of this school-based program will focus on cycling skills, and we'll begin teaching students how to ride the city bus at the end of October.   More on our student accomplishments to come soon!  For questions about this program, email laura@bikeprogram.org

Local Fundraising: PEAC's Sustainability
Monica Walls, Director of Summer Program




As PEAC looks to expand in new locations, we are paying closer attention to the funding base supporting our current sites. We are so thankful for the generous sponsors we have supporting our sites, and are making a commitment to supplement these sponsorships with local fundraising. 

Throughout the year, each of our PEAC sites will host a local fundraiser to support the summer program site. This November, check out the PEAC Taylor Bowling Fundraiser

Have an idea for a local fundraiser in your area? Please contact Monica, our Director of Summer Program, at monica@bikeprogram.org

Spooky Ride: 2013's Last Family Ride! 





Spooky Ride is the last Family Ride of the year! On Friday, October 25th,  we will gather at Willow Metropark for two loops. The first loop will take off at 7:00pm and will involve trick-or-treating along the way. The second loop will be the SPOOKY part! We will put on headlamps and head out on the trail, where scary monsters and zombies will jump out as we ride! 

Please email Laura (laura@bikeprogram.org) to let us know you're coming! We need to make sure we have enough equipment and staff. We can't wait to see you! Happy Halloween! 



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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

PEAC Students with Disabilities "Move Things Along" in Lansing

October 1st, 2013
By Monica Walls

Shawn Kohsmann and James Kleimola, two PEAC students who face the challenge of a cognitive impairment, testified in front of the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this morning during PEAC’s second trip to Lansing this month. This hearing would determine the fate of House Bill 4866, the “hand-signal bill.”

Referred to by some as “commonsense legislation,” this bill would allow cyclists to extend their right arm to indicate a right turn. The current legislation requires an upturned left arm to indicate this turn. Kohsmann and Kleimola noted that the proposed signal is simpler for them as cyclists. They noted that it is also easier for drivers to understand this intuitive signal.

Kohsmann has been riding on the road for over 15 years, and uses the bike to access his job, family and community. He faces the challenge of a cognitive impairment and will not get a driver’s license. Living in the traffic-congested city of Canton, it is imperative that he communicates clearly with other users of the road. Kohsmann emphasized the importance of making this hand signal legal as a way of making roadways safer for him and other cyclists.

James Kleimola took the stage next.

“My name is James Kleimola. I have a cognitive impairment and cerebral palsy. I won’t get a driver’s license and I use a bike to get to work, school, football practice and church.”  Kleimola then noted that he currently uses an extended right arm to indicate a right-hand turn. This has been effective for him and motorists have understood.

While Chairman of the Committee, Representative Wayne Schmidt, was planning to push the vote on this bill until a later meeting, Schmidt proposed to pass the bill out of the committee onto the House Floor. With a unanimous vote, the Committee voted to pass along the bill.

While the federal government comes to a standstill, these young PEAC advocates are pushing Michigan forward. Chairman Schmidt acknowledged this after the completion of the vote, “Thank you James and Shawn, you got us to move a little faster here in Lansing.”

Kleimola expressed his excitement at the victory: “This is a great day.”

PEAC hopes to be back in Lansing soon, to ensure the success of this law as well as the Vulnerable User Act (link here).


Find out more about PEAC at their website, or contact John Waterman at jwaterman@bikeprogram.org