Summary of Oct 4^th Ride with Mayor Goreham

Hi All,

Saturday morning began with a few rain sprinkles and a cool breeze, however that did not deter an enthusiastic group from enjoying a 7-mile ride through town with the State College Mayor, Elizabeth Goreham. Participants included CRBC members, school officials, a bike police officer, members of SCCC and Penn State Bicycle Club, and folks from the community.

After the ride, we enjoyed coffee & bagels in the Sidney FriedmanParklet and shared stories with the Mayor and her husband, Dr. Jack Matson. In spite of the weather, the event was a success and everyone had a good time. Mayor Goreham stated she’s looking forward to another similar ride next Fall.

So, why ride with the Mayor? In a recent edition of American Bicyclist magazine, there’s an article about Betsy Price, the Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas. Mayor Price has made it her goal to spearhead “a citywide initiative focused on promoting active lifestyles and healthy habits”. Mayor Price is a big supporter of bicycling as a form of alternative transportation, and is leading the charge to improve bicycling infrastructure, safety, and community acceptance. Under her tenure, the city has added miles of bike lanes, and dedicated $1.2 million for trails and signature events for cycling. She is convinced that improved bicycling is good for community economic development.

We are fortunate to have a Mayor who is supportive of our bicycle community. However, she will need our support when it comes to convincing other officials that improvements and events for bicyclists are worthy of government time and money. Only a strong bicycle organization like CRBC (which may soon be known as “CentreBike”), can make that happen. If you’re a current member of CRBC, thank you. If not, please consider joining today and help to support a more cycle-friendly Centre Region.

Hope to see you at our next event…

Jim Serene

President, CRBC

www.centrebike.org

https://www.facebook.com/centrebike

A voice for ALL cyclists in the Centre Region!

We would appreciate your comments and suggestions regarding changing the name of the Centre Region Bicycle Coalition (CRBC). At last week’s CRBC meeting it was agreed that a shorter more contemporary name would be more appealing and help to attract new membership. Reasons discussed in considering a name change included: 

• The local cycling community has evolved since the creation of CRBC in 2000, and CRBC is no longer an umbrella organization for various groups as it was in the beginning, although the vision of a more cycle-friendly Centre County remains unchanged.
• There are many who are comfortable with the CRBC name and don’t have second thoughts about ‘Coalition’ being in the name, however in speaking with potential new members some are unsure they want to belong to a Coalition, finding it intimidating.
• The name may easily be confused with the new Centre Region Bicycle Advisory Committee (CRBAC). 
• Many cycling groups around the country who once had longer names have shortened them – BikePGH and Bike Austin are examples. Although rather than follow these examples and use Bike State College, it was felt we should incorporate the wider region in the name. 
• The name change is only one part of a greater effort to breathe new life into this local bicycle advocacy organization. In 2001, CRBC had more than 150 members and 7 committees. Today, CRBC has only 38 members who have paid the $15 dues and there are no committees. For whatever reason, and with full appreciation for previous strong, dedicated leadership, our numbers have greatly diminished.
• CRBC past records show that one of the benefits of membership listed in 2001 was: “Bike rides and other outings to allow members to get to know one another and to perform service to the cycling community”. An appealing name may help to foster this social emphasis again.

After much discussion around possible names, it was suggested that we simply use our website address as the new name –CentreBike.org. There has been a very positive response to this logical suggestion, however we would like to hear additional input before the name change is put to a vote at the next meeting in October.

Please be assured that changing the name will not change the mission and goals of the organization. We will continue to be the “voice of slow and fast bicyclists for safe connected bike routes”.

Please send your comments and suggestions to: joan@videon-central.com.  All comments received will be summarized and shared prior to the next meeting on October 21^st.

Thank you for your consideration,

Joan Potter

Secretary

Centre Region Bicycle Coalition