Bicycle Advocacy

      ExperiencePlus! is more than just another bicycle touring company. We are committed to providing the best bicycling vacations anywhere and also to supporting bicycle advocacy and bicycle travel in our community. Our Founders, Rick and Paola Price, are active in bicycle programs here in Fort Collins, Colorado. We hope that our essays and news about bicycle advocacy will spark your fancy and motivate you to get involved in your own city – and of course to keep cycling!

• Safe Cycling is Smart Cycling

  ExperiencePlus! founder, Rick Price, recently earned his League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor certification. He shares some tips to help you stay safe while bicycling.

• How to Teach a Child to Ride a Bicycle

  Learning to tame the beast with two wheels can go smoothly if you have the right equipment, preparation and setting.

• ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours Sustainability and Performance Plan.

  As countries around the world contemplate their sustainability policy and performance plan, we here at ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours are doing the same.

• Bicycle Advocacy at the Local Level

  Rick reflects on the progess of the Friends of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program, Inc. during the last two years. Read on for ideas on how you can get involved in your own local advocacy.

• Sign up for Bike Fort Collins emails

  The Bike Fort Collins email discussion is moving to Google groups. Here is how to sign up.

• Photographs of the Fort Collins Municipal Railway

  The North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization held its monthly meeting in Fort Collins on August 4 and took a field trip on historic trolley number 21.

• Almost Full Moon bike Ride, Fort Collins, Friday 24th of June 2005

  Night riding can be fun! Enjoy the summer night with family and friends on an easy ride around Fort Collins. We’ll ride about 10 miles on the streets of Fort Collins. Free bike safety checks, water bottle, drinks and Woody's pizza.

• Proposal to the Transportation Board to Reconvene a Bicycle Focus Group in Fort Collins

  Proposal to the Fort Collins Transportation Board June 15, 2005 about reconvening a Bicycle Focus group to assist with implementing the 1995 Fort Collins Bicycle Program Plan in light of economic issues, loss of jobs, traffic congestion and quality of life issues in the City.

• Fort Collins Bike Month, June 2006

  Fort Collins could have a total Bike Month celebration in 2006 with proper advance planning. Imagine a rich program such as this one in one of the nation's top Bicycle Friendly Communities!

• Whom to Call about Bicycle Transportation Issues in Fort Collins

  If you call Fort Collins City Government you are calling a bureaucracy. That's just a fact of life. But look at it this way - these are some of the friendliest bureaucrats on the face of the planet.

• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Cycling in the North Front Range: Issues and Opportunities

  Two "Bike Town" meetings were held in Fort Collins on May 12 and June 9, 2005. We had about 50 people turn out from throughout the Front Range on May 12 and about 24 turn out on June 9. At the initial meeting the group identified 59 issues about cycling in the area. Of those issues, 17 were good and 42 need improvement. The issues are listed here.

• Critical Mass Cyclists Should Get Involved in Local Government, Too

  In a letter to the Rocky Mountain Bullhorn Rick Price argues that the Fort Collins Critical Mass cyclists arrested on May 27 should really get involved in local government to effect change.

• Fort Collins Senior Center - Question to the Citizens Advisory Board

  The Fort Collins Senior Center has some very interesting hiking programs on offer during the summer. Why doesn't the Senior Center offer guided or accompanied bicycle programs on Fort Collins' wonderful bicycle paths?

• Statement to the Fort Collins City Council to Start Bicycle Program

  This is Bike Month in Colorado and Fort Collins is celebrating it in a much reduced fashion. There seems to be one official event when last year there were two pages of events on the schedule. The city's bike and pedestrian coordinator position is threatened with extinction and no one from the city has announced our prestigious award from the League of American Bicyclists as one of the top Bicycle Friendly Communities in the nation. What happened to the Fort Collins Bicycle Program?

• Tom Peters Talks Community Bikes

  Tom Peters, marketing guru and blogger extraordinaire, talks about Community Bikes on his blog this morning. Take a look and let them know what we're doing out here on the edge of the Great Plains!

• Recommendations to the Fort Collins Natural Resource Board

  920 Statement to the Fort Collins Natural Resources Board Rick Price, Tuesday, June 1, 2005 484-8489; Rick@ExperiencePlus.com

• Are you a Bicycle or Walking Advocate?

  940 Keeping your local bike and pedestrian advocacy program viable and effective depends on a lot of variables. Watch our Advocacy reading room pages for more on this over the next few months. (And let us know what has worked in your community).

• An Interview with Mountain Bike Legend Joe Breeze

  950 Mountain bike pioneer Joe Breeze recently came through Fort Collins to promote the more utilitarian side of cycling.

• Statement to EVSAG ( the Fort Collins Economic Vitality and Sustainability Action Group)

  960 The City of Fort Collins begins a new budget process this month that will culminate in City Council reconsidering all budget priorities come September 2005. This proposal is to reinstate the city Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator to assure continued great quality in bicycle and pedestrian programs and policies in Fort Collins. The graphic is from the July 2004 Report of EVSAG. It features two pedestrians on the front conver.The graphic is from the July 2004 Report of EVSAG. It features two pedestrians on the front cover: Economic Vitality and Sustainability Action Group: Report and Recommendations

• Statement to the Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Board May 25, 2005

  970 Suggestions to the Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Board include: 1) Reinstate the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator; 2) Create a citizens advisory group or task force for bicycle and pedestrian issues; 3) Charge both of these with improving bicycling and walking by building on existing programs and improving communication among city agencies and interested groups.

• Suggestions to the Fort Collins Air Quality Advisory Board May 24, 2005

  990 Suggestions to the Fort Collins Air Quality Advisory Board include: 1) Reinstate the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator; 2) Create a citizens advisory group for bicycle and pedestrian issues; 3) Charge both of these with improving air quality by building on existing programs and improving communication among city agencies and interested groups.

• Calendar of Public Meetings in Fort Collins: Public Input is Critical for Fort Collins Bike and Pedestrian Groups

  991 Your input at public meetings, planning sessions, Transportation Board meetings, Parks and Recreation Board Meetings is critical. This listing will track upcoming meetings to keep you informed.

• Fort Collins Keeps Silver Medal as Bike Friendly Community

  992 On May 16, 2005 the League of American Bicyclists renewed Fort Collins' silver award as one of the top sixteen bicycle friendly communities in the nation.

• Fort Collins Bike Town Meeting May 12, 2005

  993 Fifty cyclists turned out to participate in a discussion about opportunities and issues relative to pedaling in Fort Collins on May 12. Another meeting is scheduled June 9. Sign up for notification about new entries to this site and you'll be notified when we post the time and place of the June 9th meeting.

• Have a Bicycle or Pedestrian Issue to Discuss? Let's Hear It

  995 Please join our community blog to share ideas, issues, problems and praise about bicycling in Fort Collins and Larimer County.

• Fort Collins & Loveland Area Bike Clubs

  996 We often get questions from people in the local (Fort Collins) community about where to find riding companions. This list of local bike clubs is current as of May 2005. Let us know if anything needs updating or if we are missing anyone.

• County Commissioner Explains Bicycle Planning Process

  997 Colorado's Larimer County Commissioner Glen Gibson explains how he decides on bike issues in the county. The Commissioner does fieldwork to determine bike policies: he looks for cyclists on county roads on January 9 and if he doesn't see any he assumes there is no interest in bicycle issues.