Delaware Bike Summit

Kris and I attended the Delaware Bike Summit on 5/21/2010 in Wilmington (we biked there from Newark!)

The next day was the Wilmington Grand Prix Bike Race

We heard speakers talk about Newark (in the picture on the screen is Sharp on UD campus!)

After the summit we went on a Tour de Wilmington with Police Escorts.

We visited the Urban Bike Project, a "not-for-profit" bicycle shop located in Wilmington, Delaware with a focus on education and mechanical self-reliance"

Kris networking and learning about biking.

We biked down the Riverfront to the new Nature Center on the Riverfront

Last Friday we attended the Delaware Bike Summit in Wilmington.  We biked up there, sweaty and happy!  Luckily, the Bike Boutique had just opened on Orange St.  This is a great facility that provides services for bicycle commuters.  We were greeted with valet bike parking and great shower facilities.  This is the perfect resource for bike commuters in the city.  They even provide dry cleaning and breakfast services to cater to your every need!  I think a similar facility in Newark would be a great resource for UD's faculty on campus.

We listened to interesting speakers and learned all about the League of American Bicyclists and their rating systems for towns and states, known as bicycle friendly communities (BFC).  The ratings (Platinum being the best, then Gold, Silver, and then Bronze) are well respected in the bicycle communities and are a good way for towns to challenge themselves to benchmark their successes and work toward a better rating.   Newark was just recognized as a bronze rated town and Delaware is rated 10th out of the 50 states!  A bronze is a  pretty good rating which is encouraging as Newarkers strive for better cycling conditions in our town.

We also learned about the "Platinum" rated towns:

Boulder, CO

Davis, CA and

Portland, OR

On the bike trip this summer we are going to visit both Boulder and Davis to see how they promote bicycle use!  We are looking forward to seeing these communities first hand.

Interesting Fact:

It takes $60 million to pay for 1 mile of urban freeway 

However, $60 million will pay for 300 miles of bicycle network!  

Amazing huh...