Yay Bikes Newsletter - March, 2010

And... here's the latest from Yay Bikes!

	CHALLENGE SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE
We're excited to announce that sponsorships for the 2010 Bike to Work Challenge (May 10-20) are now available!! You and/or your organization can contribute to Central Ohio's premier commuter cycling celebration --> learn how to reach thousands of cyclists and other professionals with your message! Our Sponsorship Coordinator is also available to help you get the best bang for your buck.

SPRING 'TRAFFIC SKILLS' COURSES

Get yourself, your friends & your colleagues prepped for spring cycling and the Bike to Work Challenge with one of these intensive traffic skills courses. All have on-road and classroom components, as well as parking lot drills for emergency maneuvers; all cost $60. Wednesdays, March 17 & 24 @ 6:30-8:30pm Saturdays, March 20 & 27 @ 10am-2pm Instructors: David Jeffords & Randy Dull Location: Greenovate, 9 East 2nd Ave *Women-Only* Sundays, April 11 & 18 @ 1-6pm both days Instructors: Meredith Joy & Juana Sandoval Location: OSU area Saturdays, April 24 & May 1 @ 10am-5pm Instructors: Ken Cohen & Michael Reed Location: OSU Bevis Hall, 1080 Carmack Rd Instructors can also work with you to create custom courses that precisely match the needs of your organization. ContactKen Cohen soon to explore this option - our spring schedule is filling up fast!

UPDATE: WOMEN'S CYCLING FORUM

Twenty-one women attended our first conversational forum, providing keen insights into why they ride and what would help them ride more. Thanks to all of them for sharing their thoughts so generously! Over the course of four such forums this year, Yay Bikes! will develop a women's cycling agenda to implement in 2011. If you weren't able to attend this event, there is still time to have your voice heard! Attend our future events on May 30, August 29 & November 14, and submit your responses to our three questions from last week: What does the act of cycling mean to you? What is your experience of cycling in Columbus? What is your vision for cycling in Columbus? We intentionally started with very broad questions that will give us the context from which we're now operating. Invite your women friends - cyclists or not - to future forums, to ensure the specific interventions we develop will resonate with the broader community of women!

MARCH 14 BOARD MEETING, 4-6pm

Our board meetings are open to the public and we encourage you to attend. The first meeting of our newly constituted board* will be held at Summit on 16th on March 14 (note the switch that day to Daylight Savings Time); the agenda will be to complete our 501c3 application & set our regular monthly meeting time. Please join us for the conversation! *Members are: Meredith Joy, Andrew Hulvey, Ken Cohen, Tricia Kovacs, Michael Reed & Austin Kocher. Stay tuned for more on each of these advocates!

HELMETS OFF TO...KEN COHEN!

One goal for Yay Bikes! is to support people as they become advocates for the kind of cycling they'd like to see in Central Ohio. This month, we featureKen Cohen. Over the past two years, Ken has emerged from his behind-the-scenes YayBikes.com "subverita" persona to become a frequent Pedal Instead volunteer, a cycling instructor certified through the League of American Bicyclists, an outspoken advocate in the Hilltop Mobility Plan process, a Bike to Work Challenge Planning Committee member, and Treasurer of the new Yay Bikes! board. [Whew! Quite an impressive list!] Ken possesses an unrivaled passion for bicycles and bicycling, and particularly for bicycling education, that inspires all who work with him. We can't wait to see what more he will bring to our community!

People, not speed.