Did you Pedal Instead in 2014?
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When you support Yay Bikes! >> Pedal Instead happens!
19 events
138 volunteers
4,520 gallons of fuel unused
7,698 bicycles parked 8,412 free Chipotle burrito coupons distributed 47,513 miles biked-not-driven We had another fine year in the bike corral, courtesy our army of volunteers who parked bikes in all weather at events April thru November, sharing their professionalism, bike expertise and kindness with the world. [Thank you, a million times!] Meanwhile, we've provided input on Mayor Coleman's Green Memo III to make dedicated bike parking available at all City of Columbus events within the next 5 years. And we've been scheming to provide fun upgrades to the Pedal Instead user experience in 2015. How do you improve upon free Chipotle burritos, you ask? Well for starters, you make Pedal Instead a mobile community bike info hub, duh! So please consider an end-of-year gift to help Yay Bikes! expand our impact through Pedal Instead and other programming next year. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ~ From all of us at Yay Bikes! ~ |
Cyclist education in 2014
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When you support Yay Bikes! >> cyclist education happens!
10 Earn a Bike youth
15 League Cycling Instructors
27 Pelotonia riders
35 Art Ride cyclists
Through some exciting new partnerships this year, Yay Bikes! taught people of all ages to safely ride city streets. We piloted a training program with Pelotonia, rode with Gladden House youth on an Earn a Bike program, supported several Columbus Public Health art rides and trained City of Columbus and State of Ohio employees to be League Cycling Instructors. Plus, Akron's How We Roll program enrolled dozens of community members in its downtown-area rides. Please consider an end-of-year gift to help Yay Bikes! expand our impact through cyclist education and other programming next year.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ~ From all of us at Yay Bikes! ~ |
"‘Engineer Rides’ Part of Bike Lane Collaboration with Yay Bikes"
Bike the Cbus 2014 report
Screen Shot 2014-12-15 at 9.23.50 AM
When you support Yay Bikes! >> Bike the Cbus happens!
1
new beer garden
4
major sponsors
8
rest stops
21
neighborhoods
69
volunteers
86
raffle prizes (from
30
businesses)
544
riders
$1,000
for cyclist education
$1,000
for other Near East Side nonprofits
Yay Bikes! acquired Bike the Cbus from the Long Street Businessman's Association in 2014, and we couldn't be more excited to steward this gem of a ride. Now in its 7th year, Bike the Cbus is Columbus' premier annual neighborhood ride and a must-have experience, dear to us for all it creates in the world: vibrancy in struggling neighborhoods... funding for cyclist safety education on the Near East side... support for small local businesses... experiences of joyfulness and adventure... and the advancement of our mission to increase trips by bike. Please consider an end-of-year gift to help Yay Bikes! expand our impact through Bike the Cbus and other programming next year.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
~ From all of us at Yay Bikes! ~
So about those blank envelopes....
Funny story.
{Time machine music}
The year is 2012. The season is winter holidays. Our anti-hero, Meredith Joy — YB's founder and former Executive Director — is deep in the woods as the organization's sole full-time volunteer-ish staff person. Yet she desires above all else to write an annual report for members detailing all the progress they'd made possible that year. She buys envelopes and postage and sparkly star stickers and a red holiday stamp so that it's an experience to receive the report in the mail. An honor! She preps the envelopes with care (well actually her trusty sidekick Ken Cohen does)... but then! Our poor Meredith is stricken with the dread writer's block and can't finish the report in time to mail it, so she emails it instead. And the stamped, addressed envelopes languish in the office for 2 lonely years.
{Time machine music}
The year is 2014. It's a new day at Yay Bikes!, with a new Director (yay Catherine Girves!) and an actual administrative staff member (yay Kathleen Watkins!)! And they are lean, mean cost-cutting machines. They take a look at those envelopes and say to one another "hey, so uh, I think we can trade these in at the post office and get money back for the unused stamps". And thus they do. And thus the geniuses at the post office refund them for the stamps but somehow 3 weeks thereafter become confused and mail them all out anyway, empty and unsealed, right at the precise time that Kathleen had mailed awesome letters to our current members with free Chipotle burrito cards. Which, of course, confused the hell out of everyone.
And thus Meredith summoned all that was in her to write this here blog post to shout to the world that "dammit, that $83.79 was totally worth it.... right?!", in the hopes that YB! will somehow, some way triumph over this desperate crisis. And the day was (probably? hopefully?) saved.
{And scene}
"With $200,000 from city, CoGo Bike Share to expand next year"
A Very Merry 2014 Year of Yay!
When you support Yay Bikes! >> A Year of Yay! happens!
- 12 months
- 12 rides
- 31 cash bombs
- 35 volunteers
- 56 stops
- 213 unique riders
- 538 total riders
Throughout 2014, Yay Bikes! continued to offer Central Ohio's premier backstage pass with our monthly themed Year of Yay! rides. These urban adventure rides provide a low-stakes way for inexperienced cyclists to gain confidence riding city streets, and give all riders new mental maps of workable routes for their everyday trips. They also support local organizations and businesses with 'cash bombs' from our riders, helping create a vibrant community full of cool places to ride! And the rides, which have been created and supported by a dedicated crew of volunteers, are one of the key ways we are developing leaders within the bicycle community who manifest our core values of kindness, integrity and excellence.
Winning at safer streets, and at life: Our 2014 Advocacy in Review
When you support Yay Bikes! >>> Advocacy happens!
1 law passed 5 transportation committees served 2 street plan evaluation rides 31 local advocates engaged 29 news stories 11 speaking engagements
Yay Bikes! has a long history of bicycle advocacy, but in 2014 we upped our game by shepherding a 3' Passing Law in the City of Columbus and partnering with the Department of Public Service to help its engineers design better bicycle infrastructure. Our new street plan evaluation rides have transformed plans for 4th and 3rd/Summit Streets and provided a solid template for similar rides going forward. This month we'll be providing commentary regarding OSU's bicycle accommodations plan and we're in conversations about training engineers in other municipalities statewide. Please consider an end-of-year gift to help Yay Bikes! expand our impact through advocacy initiatives and other programming next year.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
~ From all of us at Yay Bikes! ~
Announcing 2015's Year of Yay! themes & button artist
2015's themes
Mark your calendars for 2nd Saturdays throughout 2015! Our themes will be:
- Jan = Winter Comforts, led by Catherine Girves
- Feb = Valentines, led by Jen Cowley & Kathleen Koechlin
- Mar = Underground Railroad, led by John Wyman
- Apr = Up & Coming, led by OSU City & Regional Planning students
- May = Bike to Work, led by Julie Walcoff
- Jun = Oddities, led by Craig Clark
- Jul = Cool It, led by Kathleen O'Dowd
- Aug = Food Incubators, led by John Cresencia
- Sep = Architecture, led by David Curran
- Oct = Get Out the Vote, led by Bambo Sanusi
- Nov = Biology Class, led by Rick Ucker
- Dec = Giving, led by Trace Hendricks
2015's artist: Devin Carothers
Devin Carothers is a Planner at OHM Advisors dedicated to strengthening communities through collaborative public engagement, intuitive design and creative problem solving. Devin is currently completing his Masters of City and Regional Planning with a specialization in Physical Planning and Urban Design at The Ohio State University. He serves as Vice President of the City & Regional Planning Student Association and has ridden Pelotonia for several years as a proud member of Team Buckeye. Welcome to the YB! fold, Devin, and thanks for your delightful designs!
2015's sponsor
We are pleased to report that Whole Foods Market in Upper Arlington will return as our Year of Yay! sponsor in 2015, and all rides will continue to begin and end at that location. HUGE UPS to Whole Foods Market for their ongoing support of Year of Yay!.
Lookie here...who just became a League of American Bicyclists Instructor.
The cohort who became certified alongside Catherine (pictured third from left).
Our own Catherine Girves has become a League Cycling Instructor! Having just completed a 3-day training seminar in Princeton, New Jersey, she is now Columbus' newest LCI. Congratulations to Catherine on this accomplishment.
'Superheroes' ride recap
Cyclists? Or comic book superheroes?
Aliceanne Inskeep, with assistance from Jeff Gove, put together a fabulous adventure for the November, 2014, chapter of Year of Yay! Their inventive take on a super heroes theme landed us in some interesting and unusual locations. They are pictured here after having successfully consulted with Zeus, the Greek god of the sky. They were able to negotiate some superb, fall weather. After learning about what's new and happening at Yay Bikes! from our executive director, Catherine Girves, and briefs about safety and the route, we began our journey out of Whole Foods towards our first destination.
St. Stephens Community House was originally established to assist Catholics immigrating to Columbus from Italy, Hungary and Yugoslavia, following the great war. The Barthman Avenue Catholic Community was formed in 1919, and later morphed into St. Stephen's CommunityHouse. It served new immigrants to acclimate to their new home and gain citizenship. Moving from its South Side origins to the Linden area in the early 1960's," the organization established itself as a much-needed resource for the neighborhood. Since 1965, St. Stephen’s has focused its service in the Greater Linden area, weaving itself into the fabric of the community." We were received warmly with a reception from the staff who gathered our donations, served a variety of hot teas, and gave us a tour of the facility and numerous programs designed to serve the Greater Linden area.
We left St. Stephen's knowing we had just experienced a place of heroic standing for so many in the community and headed towards our second destination. We traveled west by northwest through part of the Linden area business district on Hudson Avenue. We wound our way around the University district and Clintonville's Overbrook Ravine as we neared the legendary Laughing Ogre, where super heroes are immortalized on the written page and in the illustrated form. Riders couldn't help but be impressed by the variety of products. This was a first for many of us who had not ventured into an establishment selling comic books since we were children. The industry has come a long way, and the art has taken on greater depth.
Stomachs began to grumble, so in the nick of time, we headed on to nourishment and our next super-hero stop. It was destined to please. Just south of the Park of Roses, on quiet streets, piled high with the colorful leaves from ancient trees, we were beckoned to the home of Aliceanne's mother, Joanne Inskeep for sweetsfrom Buckeye Donuts and Cider from Ohio apples. We basked in sunshine and each other's company replenishing ourselves for the remainder of the afternoon's destinations. We were just west of the Olentangy River Trail as we began moving around the Webster Park neighborhood to our next super-hero stop. We traveled across High Street, to the Clintonville home of Artist Paul Volker.
This was one of our tour director's undergraduate art school super heroes. Paul started painting in elementary school where he had to be separated from others as his drawings distracted class-room students. Probably most well known for his "wild beast" paintings, Paul is now working on larger scale works, including the use of 3D elements in painting. A number of Paul's works were on display including his cards with a number of his well-known images on sale and discounted for riders.
Meandering away from Paul's house, we proceeded through the north part of the University Area district, past North Campus to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, located in Sullivant Hall at The Ohio State University. "The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum houses the world’s largest collection of comic strip tear sheets and clippings. It also is home to unique, original art and manuscript materials...The library has had several former names: Milton Caniff Reading Room, 1977; Library for Communication and Graphic Arts; Cartoon, Graphic, and Photographic Arts Research Library; Cartoon Research Library, 1989; Cartoon Library and Museum, July 2009; and the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, September 2009."
From here we ventured through South Campus and cycled our way back to our starting point. A number of riders stayed on at Whole Foods to enjoy the company of fellow travelers and talk of our experiences and a new sense of place. In conclusion, it was a great day with memorable destinations enjoyed by all. Thanks to Aliceanne and Jeff and to all those who volunteered to make this twenty-one mile tour a truly big bucket O' riding fabulousness.
Our public input methodology & how to get involved
Yay Bikes! members reviewing the proposed bicycle accommodations on 4th Street Downtown. Photo credit: MJ Reed
Of course anyone may feel free to provide their own feedback directly to the city, whether in writing or at their public input meetings! But when Yay Bikes! generates an official feedback on proposed infrastructure projects, this is how it'll go—because although our leadership is comprised of some damn impressive bicycle experts (ahem... if we do say so...!), we refuse to decide our advocacy positions from within a board room. We believe the process described below is more robust and participatory than you will find anywhere in the country, and we hope you will become a member so you can have your voice heard.
Notification of opportunities
Yay Bikes! will announce opportunities to provide input on proposed plans on this blog, on our Facebook page and in our newsletter. Link to us in several ways to ensure you get the message!
Review of proposed plan
Yay Bikes! staff and volunteer leadership review and discuss project design maps, drafting notes for and planning a group ride of the corridor(s).
Group ride for Yay Bikes! members
All Yay Bikes! members are invited to a group ride on which we evaluate the proposed bicycle accommodations. Staff will review maps with the group one hour before we ride, then catalog input from participants during the ride.
Follow-up research
Yay Bikes! staff and volunteer leadership conduct follow-up research based on input from the larger group, from which a written draft of feedback and recommendations for city staff will be prepared. This report will include:
- What works well in the proposed design
- Specific areas of concern with the proposed design
- Potential solutions or mitigations
Engineers/city staff ride
Yay Bikes! staff present the report in a short presentation to engineers and city prior to a group ride of the corridors' proposed changes.
Final revision & submission
Yay Bikes! staff and volunteer leadership again revise their report based on information from project staff and additional research, then formally submit it for consideration.
Publishing & promoting feedback
Yay Bikes! publishes its feedback to this blog and promotes both the process and its outcomes to various media outlets.
Participation in public discourse
Yay Bikes! staff and volunteer leadership participate, and organize others to participate, in the public discourse about the corridor being touched. This might include: providing testimony at public hearings, speaking to the press, writing letters to the editor, writing blog posts on the Yay Bikes! web site, posting items on Yay Bikes! social media outlets, encouraging communication from other bike friendly groups to their constituencies, attending public meetings, etc.
Rinse + Repeat
'Spooooookay!' ride recap
Could we have asked for finer weather? No! The spirits were with us the entire day, they escorted us, and we appreciated them guiding us through what might have been a truly frightening experience. Cherie Antonia, our ride leader, took us out of the Whole Foods parking lot a little after 10 am on this spirited, beautiful, fall morning.
With a mild nip in the air, we meandered through Upper Arlington, Grandview and Marble Cliff. We picked up the lower Scioto Greenway adjacent to Riverside Drive and crossed the bridge over the River into the community of Valley View. We headed southeast towards our first possessed destination, Camp Chase Cemetery. Camp Chase was a military staging and training camp established in Columbus, Ohio in May 1861 after the start of the American Civil War. It also included a section for use as a prison camp for confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. The camp was closed and dismantled after the war, and the site has been redeveloped for residential and commercial use, except for the Confederate States Army cemetery containing 2,260 graves. Tales are told of a lady in grey weeping quietly over the grave of one Benjamin F. Allen, a private in the 50th Tennessee regiment company. While leaving several riders claimed to have witnessed an ethereal, melancholy presence. Some said they could hear a very low and soft moaning as we quietly exited grave side.
Undaunted, we cautiously proceeded to our next ghostly destination. Cherie expertly navigated us through the West Side of Columbus toward the Green Lawn Abbey. This allowed us to approach the Green Lawn Cemetery from its southern end and gave us an uncommon glimpse at what birders around the country know to be premier and sacred land. Along with a vast number of dead people are some ancient and notable trees residing in this cemetery. It is those trees that host those many birds and make Green Lawn the National Geographic and Audubon acclaimed treasure that it is. Arriving at Green Lawn Abbey exposed us to yet another strange and exciting experience. We were greeted by a volunteer docent who shared the remarkable tale of this crypt (Listen Here). Built in 1927 by the Columbus Mausoleum Company, It was the finest and largest in the area with room for 600 interments (aka dead people). The Columbus Mausoleum Company built numerous other mausoleums in the surrounding area but this was was their showpiece. Built to last forever and to inspire awe, it had 1½“ thick granite walls, marble interior and an imported tile roof. Everyone enjoyed occasionally recognizing some of the names of those persons who left their marks on Columbus and its neighborhoods.
As everyone knows, it takes a lot of energy to journey into the world of spirits and ghosts. Although the spirits mentored us throughout as we journeyed, they did not feed our bodies, so we made our way to the Hills Market downtown for physical nourishment. On a ride we did not too long ago, Yay Bikes! member John Bannon shared that the part of long rides he loves the most are the stops. No truer point could be made on this day. We shared camaraderie, and fueled our bellies to take the last of our spirit-world journeys for the day. Pictured above is our executive director, Catherine Girves and her partner in marriage, Jeff Gove. Although you can't tell from the photo, they were both very scared during the ride and it was only after this refueling and much support from other riders that they could once again smile.
It was time for us to move on and Cherie was once again up the task. Not too far from the Market, but deeper into our netherworld travels, our final stop awaited us at James Thurber's House. From 1913-1917, Thurber attended the Ohio State University. It was at this time that his family rented the house we visited. It was dedicated as the Thurber House in 1984. After some of us finished touring the home we were entertained by an enthusiast who began sharing a number of witty Thurber quotes and factoids about the author. We all gained a sense of the celebrity who once lived in this modest home.
Inundated with the spirit, we headed back, sailing off on two wheels to return to the start. A number of us celebrated the culmination of our ghostly meandering with some spirits (the kind that come in a Pilsner glass or snifter) at Whole Foods. We made merry and talked about another delightful Year of Yay! It was an experience that allowed us to celebrate not only joy of cycling, but of just being alive.
Become a GOOBI on the inaugural infrastructure commentary ride with Yay Bikes!
GOOBI: one who likes to Geek Out On Bicycle Infrastructure
Yay Bikes! has been asked by the City of Columbus, Department of Public Service to provide feedback regarding bicycle infrastructure proposed for 3rd and 4th Streets in downtown Columbus. To provide Public Service Director Davies and Deputy Director Gallagher with productive input on the designs, we are launching a new infrastructure ride crit series for our fellow GOOBIes, through which we will ride the streets, imagine how the proposed changes will affect us as cyclists and deliver our commentary on a future ride with project staff. Here's how it will work this time around:
October 15, 6–7:30pm -- Interested Yay Bikes! members* are welcome ride with us to evaluate the proposed design and offer their thoughts about it. Registration is limited to 20 people, so let us know by Oct 14 that you'll be joining us!
Later in October -- Yay Bikes! leadership will again ride the route, this time with project staff, including engineers, and communicate the larger groups' feedback.
Sometime thereafter -- Yay Bikes! will publish a blog post about the experience and any outcomes from it.
Your patience is appreciated as we flesh out our infrastructure advocacy methodology. We hope to have fun with it, of course, and also to involve as many people in on-bike design commentary as possible. Our board and staff aren't the only bike experts in town, and we aren't going to act like we are. Our job is to coordinate the community's response to proposed infrastructure, not dictate it. Please join us!
*This opportunity is a benefit of Yay Bikes! membership, and is open exclusively to our members. Please join today to ride with us on the 15th!
Bike the C-Bus Superstars 2014
In 2014, we once again leaned heavily on Bike the Cbus founder, lead organizer, and champion - Ray George. But even Ray, as incredible as he is, could not do this alone. Here is the wonderful team that made Bike the C-Bus 2014 happen: Nik Olah, Bambo Sanusi, Mitzy Noisette, Roger Beck, Michelle Rucker, Doug Fisher, Annette McKinney, Catherine Vogel, Rahel Babb, Thomas Babb, Brian Meyers, Lawrence Leonard, Thomas Leonard, Roderick Leonard Sr., Deanne Kirillow, Tim Cristy, Brian Laliberte, Oulanje Regan, Cherie Snyder, Brian Jackson, John Bannon, Steve Puhl, Josh Gallaher, Phil Weckesser, Wiley Jackson, Cartik Saravana, Alex Smith, John Cresencia, Alex Anderson, Andrea Patton, John Wyman, Katie Parsons, Gloria Hendricks, Evy Cresencia, Talon Hendricks, Ken Cohen, Aliceane Innskeep, Becky Curran, Joe Powell, Jeff Gove, Kat O'Dowd, Rob Hendricks, Mark Ervin, Nancy Neimuth, Trace Hendricks, Jay Cheplowitz, Mary Cheplowitz, Ben Ko, Meredith Joy, Bill Ferriot, Kai Landis, Annie Womak, and Catherine Girves
And our fabulous major sponsors:
And the fabulous bike shops who provided free repair services:
And our fabulous rest stops sponsors:
- The Crest
- Endocrinology and Associates
- Franklinton Cycle Works
- Tatoheads Public House
- Olde Towne East Neighbourhood Association
Thank you. Seriously. Thank You. This event would not be possible without the dedicated group of volunteers and sponsors who make it happen each year. We love you all!
"Q&A: Meredith Joy of Yay Bikes!"
How We Roll gets more shout outs in Akron
"If they were gangs they would be the Fearsome Fours vs. the Terrible Twos and their battleground is the streets of Akron and Summit County where the fight takes place every single day.
"Cars may rule the roads, but bicycles are an increasingly common sight on the streets. Both clans seem to want the other to get out of their respective way, while Akron officials would like for everyone to just get along." Read the full story at the Akron Beacon Journal.
"Cyclists, drivers seek truce at gathering"
How We Roll in Akron Beacon Journal
Yay Bikes! on road bike safety program, How We Roll, was introduced at University of Akron last fall under the leadership of our dear friend, Andy Davis. We are delighted to work with Andy and the other wonderful folks at University of Akron to help implement this program around the state. Bicyclist pedal through downtown Akron to see city and learn on-street pedaling - July 7, 2014 front page Akron Beacon Journal
Bicycle tour offers guided ride through Akron - July 10, 2014, Akron Leader Publications
Bicyclists, motorists in Akron area still learning to share the road - July 14, 2014, Akron Beacon Journal
