Sprung a What?

Spring is in the air.  Tires are springing leaks, falling victim to the unswept glass shards that are indistinguishable from left over rock salt.  Chris is taking off his winter cap.  The chickens are out and scratching away at exposed earth. People are venturing out in greater numbers on bike and foot.  New graffiti is gracing the train tracks.

Spring tune up for your bike skills.  Sunday, March 30th is a week away, and you are running out of time to register for Traffic Skills 101.  A comprehensive course in bicycle survival skills including parking lot hazard avoidance drills and a road ride.  Once you've seen the stats, it's just plain stupid to ride around without some sort of bike safety education.  At least 50% of the time, it is the bicyclists fault when there is a crash - and if you learn the ropes - you can significantly reduce your exposure to the vehicle caused crashes.  If you live in Hartford, we're offering a couple of significantly discounted community member registrations.   Contact me if you want to attend at the community discount.

You know it's Spring when Tony C starts planning.  I've just created the June 7th Dinner and Bikes event and opened up online ticket sales.  We've started discussions on the next Real Ride, probably Saturday, July 12th to coincide with the fireworks.  Bike to Work (May) is just around the corner.  There is a Simsbury bike safety course (1st half of TS101) on June 1st.

Interstatement loves the Cinabon / Princess Leia knit hat

Spring chickens in Hartford on Franklin Ave

Disrespectful graffiti tagging.  Some people are dicks.

Neat graffiti next to a homeless camp on the tracks.  

Meeting up to get organized.  On bikes no less.

Justin Eichenlaub just moved to Hartford from the westerly coast and is working to organize a Hartford-centric group to advocate for bike, walk, and transit issues.  Due to it's statewide focus Bike Walk CT hasn't been tuned into Hartford specific issues, and there is great opportunity to keep pushing Hartford in a sustainable direction.  If you are interested, stay tuned to the Beat Bike Blog.  I'll put up notice for the next meeting in April.