I was grabbing a Gyros over at Georgia's in NLR and could not resist picking up an Arkansas Times which had two cyclist gracing the cover! Excellent read by Gerard Matthews and I was blown away by how forward the cycling community has moved in the last few years. Thanks for a great article Gerard! The article describes some of our local cycling clubs and how to hook-up. Touches on the future challenges of hooking all of Arkansas up by trail. Has a cool map of how to figure out the River Trail thru Downtown LR, tips on getting started in cycling.

Well what da ya know....I went to the Arkansas Times website and the article is there! Check it out.

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BACA Meeting

Join us for BACA's important annual meeting on April 2, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at the Oyster Bar, 3003 W. Markham. Cast your vote for new officers and Board members, and hear a report on the National Bike Summit recently held in Washington, D. C. as well as reports on important advocacy efforts. As always there will be good food and good company.

For minutes of the March 5, 2009 meeting, go to the meetings link. Cool stuff happening related to the Times article!

From BRAIN

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BRAIN)—The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Cannondale, has issued a voluntary recall of roughly 1,300 road bicycles from the 2009 model year.

The bicycles fail to meet the federal safety standard for bicycles. Spoke protector discs, required on bicycles to prevent the bicycle chain from interfering or suddenly stopping the wheel, are missing from these bicycles, which poses a fall hazard to the rider.....read BRAIN's article

Cannondale site link

Arkansas Cycling and Fitness will sponsor a Velo Swap at our Sherwood store.

Where: 3010 E. Kiehl Ave.

When: Saturday April 4th 11:00AM to 5:00PM

Bring a card table a lawn chair and all your bicycle related parts and accessories for sale or swap. We are hoping you might have bicycle related art, jewelry and crafts for sale.

This is a great way to start your spring cleaning or add to your clutter collection.

Reserve your area now call 501-834-5787 or email dan@arkansascycling.com The event and area is Free!

Arkansas Cycling and Fitness will have refreshments available for free.

North Little Rock
3010 E. Kiehl Av.
Sherwood, AR 72120
501-834-5787

West Little Rock
315 North Bowman, Suite 6-9
Little Rock, AR 72211
501-221-BIKE(2453)

Hours M-Sat 9:30 - 6 / Sunday - Out riding

http://www.ArkansasCycling.com

Spotted this over at Arkansas Bicycle Club Forums...thx Jim...

"As of March 10, 2009, the mtn. bike trails are still closed due to the ice storm. It will be at least another week. It sounds it will be longer than that."
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http://www.arkansasbicycleclub.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1633

Ozark Extreme Adventure Sprints at Cane Creek State Park

Spots are still open for people interested in the Cane Creek State Park Adventure Sprints. Our sprint division is great for first time adventure racers or people just wanting something new to try, while our advanced division challenges the experienced racers by adding in a slightly longer course and navigation. The park has one of the most interesting single track mountain biking and hiking trails around. It boasts some hilly terrain with more bridges than you can count. Some of the sights include two suspension bridges and areas that most park patrons do not see.

The event is on March 21st and race start will be at 10:30am with a 6 hour cutoff. We anticipate a great turnout for this event. Come out for your opportunity to enjoy and experience this state park in a totally new way.

Event Information and Registration is online at www.adventuresprints.com.

(1) The Game & Fish Commission Press Conference for Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. at the capitol rotunda has been cancelled due to the lawsuit filing against the Commission on Friday.

(2) Just a reminder that the next BACA meeting is March 5th, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at the Oyster Bar, 3003 W. Markham. Come hear experienced bicyclists give the inside scoop on self-contained bicycle touring - where to go, what to bring, what to expect, how to handle the unexpected, good and bad experiences, as well as answers to your questions. The speakers will provide information for the novice to the experienced bicyclist. This is your chance to begin planning a bicycle camping trip for the spring, summer, or fall.

As always there will be good company and good food.

(3) First Friday Bike to Work, 3/6 - Also remember that Friday, March 6th is First Friday Bike to Work. There will be a ride from Little Rock. Bike from the first parking lot (next to thekiosk) just before the I-430 Bridge and the River Trail at the foot of River Mountain Road to the Downtown Little Rock River Market at 6:45 a.m. this Friday.

Ron Rizzardi,
President BACA

ATTENTION: All Trail Groups, City Parks Departments, City Governments, County Governments, and Community Leaders,

The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission is holding a press conference in the capital rotunda, Tuesday, March 3rd, at 3:30 p.m. to announce a $2 million dollar pilot trail grant program (available to cities, counties, and nonprofit organizations) that will be introduced in the Arkansas legislature in upcoming days. The press conference is the culmination of many months of hard work and negotiations between the bill's sponsor, Representative Robert Moore, Arkansas City, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Essentially, this bill, and subsequent legislation to authorize the organizations involved to arrange the necessary accounting and grant program, includes the following:

1) A two-year pilot observation trail grant program funded by AGFC at $1,000,000 annually to facilitate community economic development via trails and natural resource education.

2) Authorization for the Arkansas Dept. of Tourism to establish an account (separate from AGFC funds) where additional state funding and private donations can be placed to augment or expand the pilot program.

3) Authorization for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism to develop a streamlined application, advertise the program to intended recipients, select grant awardees, and submit the final list to AGFC for the purpose of issuing award checks for up to $1 million annually (over 2 years), or allowing ADPT to access the new account for additional awards as funding becomes available.

4) Authorizing the Department of Finance and Administration to provide mechanisms permitting the grant programs to operate.

After over a year of work on this legislation in cooperation with Sponsor Representative Moore, Co-sponsor, Lance Reynolds of Quitman, I am absolutely convinced that is the best, and likely only, opportunity we have to move forward at this time and during this economic downturn. In other words, after exploring ALL options, considering all possibilities, convening multiple meetings with key state leadership, helping to draft multiple versions of the final legislation to suit interested parties, and investigating all possible economic resources to get this program started, this is the ABSOLUTE best that can be done.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Representative Moore for his persistence, his unwavering support, his negotiation skills, and his broad-based network who helped make this dream a reality.

Frankly, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission has expressed reservations that there are enough developing trail projects statewide to use a million dollars annually. It is up to us to prove that not only can we and will we use the $1 million, our needs are substantially greater still. The results of the pilot program will be used in 2 years to encourage the legislature to establish a $2 million dollar a year PERMANENT fund for our trail development needs.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP RIGHT NOW?

PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH OTHERS. Encourage every trail lover, user, and community leader you know to be at the Capitol Rotunda at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday March 3rd for the press conference. COME IN YOUR PREFERRED TRAIL USE CLOTHING! Bikers wear biking gear, hikers wear hiking boots and jeans, joggers where tennis shoes and running gear, horsemen wear cowboy hats and bring bridles, ATV'ers come in muddy clothes, walkers bring children and grandmas. Birders, bring your binoculars! Engineers and landscape architects - bring your pencils. Physicians/medical community members, come in your lab or doctor's coats.
(If your organization has matching t-shirts, please wear them.)

THIS IS OUR TIME TO SHOW THE MEDIA, THE LEGISLATURE, AND OUR CITIZENRY THAT WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT THE NEED FOR TRAIL GRANT FUNDING IN OUR STATE. The attention we draw before the cameras will funnel right back to the legislators who will be voting on the bill.

BE PART OF A "NOW OR MAYBE NEVER" ENDEAVOR!

Please feel free to email or call me with your questions at teastin@lynks.com or 479-236-0938. Time is short, but, we can do this for our trails, for our beliefs, and for our future. We know that comprehensive trail systems will impact the Arkansans' health, economic viability and conservation of natural resources. It is time to step up, support AGFC's initiative, and prepare our cities, counties and nonprofits for a NEW trail development resource!

I am putting this project in your hands. This pilot program is for you and about you. Please come and show your support.

IF WE ARE SUCCESSFUL, HOW WILL I CONTINUE TO HELP? I pledge to seek private donors and to pinpoint potential other resources to augment this pilot program through all available means.

Best Regards,

Terry Eastin
858 N. Jackson
Fayetteville, AR 72701
479-236-0938 PH.
479-571-2665 FAX