Thanks to Scott and Sue Garwick (and helpers) for arranging for a great kick-off event to start the 2012 cycling season! Thanks to Scott and Sue Garwick (and helpers) for arranging for a great kick-off event to start the 2012 cycling season! There's no better place to be outside than the Freeport area.
Hike or bike the fabulous Jane Addams Trail.
Canoe or kayak the Pecatonica River.
Play either or both of Park Hills Golf courses' championship eighteens.
Ride the Carousel and Paddle Boats in Krape Park.
You'll feel good all over.
A weekend getaway in the real outdoors is just a short drive away to Freeport and Stephenson County Illinois
April 01, 2012
Following the March 31 approval of another short-term extension of the federal transportation bill (for 90 days until June 30), now is an ideal time to contact your U.S. Representative to urge them to maintain funding for biking and walking programs such as Safe Routes to School. Important decisions about the future of biking programs continue to be debated and your voice can help make the difference. Congress is on a two-week recess from April 2 - April 13, and many members will be home during this break.
The current version of the House transportation bill (H.R. 7) eliminates popular and cost-effective programs for bike infrastructure that increase transportation safety.
The House plans to resume work in the middle of April to further refine and advance this crucial legislation. That's why it's important to ask your member of the House of Representatives to vote for the Petri Amendment that makes improvements to pedestrian and bicycling programs and provides more local control by creating new funding flexibility for states and a competitive process for local projects.
The Senate has already passed its bipartisan version of the bill (MAP-21). Grassroots support from people like you successfully carried the Cardin-Cochran Amendment into the bill. The Amendment ensures that local governments and school districts can compete for much needed biking and walking funds.
Even if you have already talked to your Representative about the Petri Amendment, please follow up. Thanks for making the case to save bicycling. Stay tuned for updates on the current House bill and the Petri Amendment.
A River Gathering to Celebrate The Rock, Kishwaukee, Sugar and Pecatonica Rivers
June 16 – 19, 2011
The Four Rivers Environmental Coalition and Rock Valley College are hosting a four-day festival to celebrate the ecological, recreational, cultural and aesthetic value of the rivers in our region and to offer ways in which people can work to preserve them as resources and places of inspiration. Four days in north western Illinois and southern Wisconsin to learn about, explore and celebrate rivers, wetlands, trails and woods and all that make their homes there. Here is your chance to visit some of the Midwest’s highest quality and culturally significant rivers and surrounding habitat. Join your neighbors and visitors, bring your back packs and be ready for four full days of guided tours, hands-on workshops, wonderful people, distinctive art and music, and beautiful rivers.
A River Gathering: There’s No Place Like Home is designed to appeal to people of all ages and from all walks of life. The format, a hybrid between a festival and conference, will offer diverse educational, cultural and recreational experiences. Rock Valley College’s Stenstrom Center in Rockford, Illinois will be Gathering headquarters for the opening night reception, key note speakers, exhibitor/vendor booths, and Saturday workshops. Field trips, clinics, demonstrations and guided adventures will take place on and near the Rock, Kishwaukee, Pecatonica and Sugar Rivers in Winnebago, Boone and Ogle Counties in Illinois and in Green County, Wisconsin. This event is family-friendly and children’s activities will be geared for children age 5+.
Registration begins March 1, 2011. The $25 “no frills” registration fee ($20 for students) covers the opening reception with art show and live music, your choice of 25 concurrent sessions and lunch on Saturday, as well as most of the field trips and clinics throughout the weekend (some of the field trips require extra fees for equipment). For a $75 registration fee you can also enjoy a dinner cruise on the Pride of Oregon paddleboat on Saturday night, followed by live music on the river-view deck at Maxson Manor. Learn more at www.fourriver.org.
Pointing to several fatal crashes in 2010, bicyclists in Wisconsin will lobby Tuesday for a vulnerable user law and tougher penalties against offending motorists.
About 200 advocates are expected to meet with legislators as part of the third annual Bike Summit organized by the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, the largest cycling advocacy group in the state. Their agenda for the lobbying session includes money for bike and pedestrian paths and access to state land purchased through the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
The bikers will have several cases to cite - crashes that killed cyclists - as they argue that the existing traffic laws provide inadequate penalties for motorists who commit a moving offense that seriously injures or kills a biker.
