WanThe EBBC is proud to present the 3rd annual Pedalfest in collaboration with Jack London Square, Bay Area Bikes and New Belgium Brewing Co.
This fantastic outdoor festival brings out the best in cycling – with contests, classes, games, and shows throughout the day. Here is a sampling of some of the awesome things you can expect from Pedalfest 2013:
* Handmade and vintage bikes
* BMX competition
* Whiskeydrome: cycling daredevils
* Pedal-powered food and beverage
* Rock the Bike: a pedal-powered music stage
* New Belgium Beer Garden
* Bike trivia dunk tank
* Bicycle vendors, artisans and more!
* Oaklandish bicycle parade
* Kids bike rodeo | Bike tune-ups with the Bikemobile
* Cyclecide pedal-powered carnival rides!
* Bike Folding Race
* Free EBBC bike valet
* Free SF Bay Ferry rides when you bring your bike
Get more details and see last year’s photo gallery at pedalfestjacklondon.com
We can’t wait to see you there! Come out and volunteer to help with our valet bike parking, outreach, pouring beer, and helping out with our activities, or just come enjoy the festival and raise a (beer) glass to a great event celebrating our rich and diverse bike culture here in the East Bay. All proceeds from the New Belgium beer gardens go to benefit the bicycle advocacy work of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition.
Want to ride or BART and ride from Albany? Write something in the ‘comments’ below.
Hey, did you know that El Cerrito’s right next to Albany? I’m sure you ride through and around El Cerrito quite a bit, so here’s your chance to have input on EC’s cycling and walking infrastructure.
The City is in the midst of two planning efforts, the Urban Greening Plan and the Active Transportation Plan (an update to the 2007 Circulation Plan for Bicyclists and Pedestrians.) On Tuesday, July 23rd, at the City’s first of three community workshops, community members will review results of the Urban Greening needs assessment and opportunities inventory and will provide feedback on the proposed priority improvements for the bicycle and pedestrian network. Information about the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan and the Complete Streets Plan will also be available.
There will be information presented and input garnered on four different plans that are either being developed or updated. There is a link to an informational flyer here about the event, which is the first of three community workshops (the other two are Saturday, October 19, 2013 and Saturday, March 8, 2014.)
Contact Ralph Boniello here if you want to speak to an active AS&R member in El Cerrito.
RSVP to Emily Alter at ealter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
AS&R has parked and watched over hundreds of bikes at big Albany events
photo courtesy Tenisha Neal
AS&R will again be providing Bicycle Valet Parking at the Solano Stroll, so there’s no reason not to avoid the car traffic and parking hassles.
Location: Pumpkin Patch, north side of Solano, just west of Masonic
Thanks again to our generous sponsor, local business Bua Luang Thai Cuisine! Bua Luang has been supporting AS&R since 2008, and sponsoring our Bicycle Valet Parking services at city events since 2010.
This is a really busy event and AS&R needs your help to make our table and Bicycle Valet Parking a success. You’ll not only have fun and meet cool people, but you’ll get a free lunch!
To volunteer, please email Nick here.
The Solano Stroll is a mile-long party full of music, food, entertainment and crafts! Enjoy!! And please considering volunteering a few hours of your time – thanks!
For more details go to http://www.solanoavenueassn.org/strol.htm
http://albany.patch.com/groups/events/p/solano-stroll-bike-valet-parking
For the 3nd year, the Cities of Albany and El Cerrito are joining together to host a car-free “Street Play” event! “Alberrito Streets” will be held on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013 on portions of Key Route Blvd in Albany and Ashbury Ave in El Cerrito.
Come on down to pedal-power a delicious smoothie!
*AS&R’s popular “bicycle blender” will be out, so you can pedal-power your way to delicious smoothies!!
*Ride like a Gaucho at a ‘pop-up’ Bike Park, sponsored by the El Cerrito High School Mountain Bike Team. 
Test your bike skills on a fun skills course that includes Log Skinnies (balance beams), pump the bumps, a teeter totter and more.
Other activities may include
- bike parade
- ball games
- bicycle obstacle course
- table tennis
- live music
- street soccer
- tug-o-war game
- hula hoops
- chalk art, and more!
**Blender master Ken McCroskey needs some help with the bike blender and tabling. Can you spare an hour or two? Please email Ken here to join the fun – thanks! Your kids will love it, too!
Want to see and have input on Albany’s Active Transportation Plan? Here’s a chance. City Staff will be 
leading a bike tour to the sites of the ATP Striping and Signage projects.
Let’s ride with City Staff, see what they are thinking and give input on what signage and striping we think would help keep Albany residents and visitors safe when they are riding their bikes!
Contribute to the greening and bike friendliness of our neighbor to the north, El Cerrito!
Come explore a greener, more compact, bikeable and walkable El Cerrito at the upcoming Community Open House!
The City will be presenting the new regulatory framework proposed in the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan and Complete Streets Plan to encourage higher-density, mixed-use development with bicycle and pedestrian improvements and new public open space. Information on the City’s Urban Greening Plan key opportunity sites and Active Transportation Plan priority projects will be available.
The Open House will take place on Saturday, October 19th at the Community Center, from 9am to 1pm with repeated presentations at 9am and 11am. Come hear about the City’s planning efforts and provide your feedback on the proposed regulations, priority projects and opportunity sites.
For more info go here.
I’m sure you walk and ride around neighboring El Cerrito so here’s a chance to make that experience a little better.
El Cerrito will be completing a San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan in the coming months. The Plan, which builds on the efforts of the draft Plan released in 2009, will provide new development regulations that encourage higher density residential and commercial development throughout the planning area. The goal of the Plan is to create a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly community through providing clear, market-friendly guidance in the form of a Hybrid Form-Based Code for private residential, mixed-use and commercial development, a Complete Streets Plan and a Multimodal Capital Improvement Plan. The complete revised draft Plan and its programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be released for public review in early 2014.
Two upcoming public meetings are scheduled to present key components of the Plan:
San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan and Complete Streets City Council Study Session
City Council Chambers, El Cerrito City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.
Tuesday, November 5th, 7pm
The City Council agenda and draft PowerPoint are available at www.el-cerrito.org/CouncilMeetings
San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan – Form Based Code Planning Commission Study Session
City Council Chambers, El Cerrito City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.
Wednesday, November 20th, 7:30pm
An agenda for this meeting will be posted by Friday, November 15th. Please check back here: www.el-cerrito.org/PlanningCommission for more information.
To learn more about the San Pablo Avenue Specific & Complete Streets Plan, please visit www.el-cerrito.org/SPASP or attend one of the upcoming meetings. To submit questions and comments, please feel free to contact Emily Alter at EAlter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us or 510.215.4385.
I’m sure you walk and ride around neighboring El Cerrito so here’s a chance to make that experience a little better.
El Cerrito will be completing a San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan in the coming months. The Plan, which builds on the efforts of the draft Plan released in 2009, will provide new development regulations that encourage higher density residential and commercial development throughout the planning area. The goal of the Plan is to create a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly community through providing clear, market-friendly guidance in the form of a Hybrid Form-Based Code for private residential, mixed-use and commercial development, a Complete Streets Plan and a Multimodal Capital Improvement Plan. The complete revised draft Plan and its programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be released for public review in early 2014.
This is the second of two recent public meetings to present key components of the Plan:
San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan – Form Based Code Planning Commission Study Session
An agenda for this meeting will be posted by Friday, November 15th. Please check back here: www.el-cerrito.org/PlanningCommission for more information.
To learn more about the San Pablo Avenue Specific & Complete Streets Plan, please visit www.el-cerrito.org/SPASP or attend one of the upcoming meetings. To submit questions and comments, please feel free to contact Emily Alter at EAlter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us or 510.215.4385.
Come join AS&R at the Chamber of Commerce’s Health & Fitness Fair!
The Albany Chamber or Commerce, of which AS&R is a member, is sponsoring a Health & Wellness Fair for Albany families and residents. This is a free event for the community and there will be vendor tables for healthy eating, exercising, living, healing, as well as demonstrations and speakers.
Of course, AS&R will have a booth so bring your friends
Come on down to pedal-power a delicious smoothie and help others do the same!
and family, come on out and enjoy the fair! We’ll have the always fun, entertaining and delicious “Bicycle Blender” so you and your neighbors can pedal their way to a smoothie.
We have been invited to participate in order to talk to other community members about cycling and walking around town, as well as blend up yummy smoothies. So please, if you have some time to help at our booth for a little while, sharing your ideas while enjoying the food and music, please email Amy Smolens at calamari@alumni.duke.edu – thanks!
It’s time for the Albany Arts & Green Festival again!
Our free Bicycle Valet Parking service at the Arts & Green Festival is always popular!
photo courtesy Matt McHugh
As AS&R does every year, we will provide FREE bicycle valet parking, sponsored by Bua Luang Thai Cuisine, so you can enjoy the festival without worrying about your bike.
Come visit our booth to find out about what’s going on for cyclists and pedestrians here in Albany!
Street Level Cycles has graciously donated free bike tuneup services at the Arts & Green Festival since 2008
photo courtesy Matt McHugh
For the 7th straight year, non-profit bike workshop Street Level Cycles will provide free or low-cost bike tuneups, so if you have an old bike that you want to get road-ready, come on down! Don’t forget, Bike to Work Day is on May 8th, so here’s a way to help make sure your ride is up and running well.
NEW THIS YEAR – SLC mechanics will give a Free “How to Fix a Flat Tire” Clinic!
Local bike shop Blue Heron has donated some fabulous prizes for our kids’ coloring contest so be sure to bring the kids down!!!
**AS&R NEEDS YOUR HELP TO MAKE THIS A SUCCESS**
CAN YOU PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO HELP US FOR A FEW HOURS? ALL VOLUNTEERS WILL GET A CHIPOTLE BURRITO (THANKS TO EL CERRITO CHIPOTLE) FOR LUNCH AND THE FIRST 15 TO VOLUNTEER WILL GET A SPECIAL COUPON FROM BUA LUANG THAI CUISINE!
We need people to park bikes and work at our table. Please email Amy Smolens to help out!
Thanks, Bua Luang, for supporting our community with your sponsorshp!
