The Pettibone Experience
A car free day in the park!

Bring your family & friends & experience Pettibone Park in a fun, safe & very different way. Come by bike, skate or scooter, throw in a picnic & have a great time in the park!

Events

• 7:ooam-6:00pm Park closed to cars
• 8:00am-6:00pm Geo Quest, bike or walk & explore the park Free!
  Come explore the park and have a great time. Pick up a map at the information booth and find the points. Each location/point has an associated question to which you will find the answer. This is a family friendly, self paced event that runs all day.
• 9:00am Yoga in the outdoors. Open to all abilities Free!
• 10:00am Ultimate Frisbee Free!
• 11:00am Zumba with Cat & Moonlight Dance Studio. Free! Is it dance or exercise? Whatever you decide, everyone agrees that it is a blast. Come get your blood flowing with Zumba. Open to all abilities ages 14+.
• 12:00 -4:00pm Free bicycle safety checks Free! A bicycle mechanic from Bikes Limited will be on hand to make sure your bicycle is in safe operating condition.
• 12:30pm Buddah’s Belly Disc Golf Scramble tee-off, prizes. Free! Bring your own team or put together one at the park. There will be a limited amount of disks for use by those who do have their own.
• 12:00-5:00pm : Free Market: Bring items in good condition that you no longer need and are willing to pass on to others. You may leave a bit lighter and find a few things that you could use yourself. There is no selling at a free market and remember that the park is car free!
• 1:00-3:00pm : Bike Rodeo & bike decorating for kids & adults hosted by the DRBC Free!
• 2:00pm Messenger Relay Races presented by LAX Alley Cats Free!
• 3:00pm Free Root Beer Floats while supplies last!
• 3:00 – 6:00pm Live Music featuring Tugg and others! Free!
• 4:00-6:00pm Fishing Derby La Crosse Parks & Recreation is offering an opportunity to compete in a Fishing Derby. Bait is provided and fishing poles are available for use. Prizes will be awarded for each age group: 11 & under and 12-17. Raffle prizes will be given and no child leaves empty-handed! There is an entry fee of $3.

Sponsors

City of La Crosse Parks & Recreation Department
Bikes Lmited,  1001 La Crosse Street, la Crosse WI 608-785-2326
Pepsi-Cola of La Crosse,  1900 West Avenue S., La Crosse, WI 608-785-0450
Buddah’s Belly, 127 Sixth St. S. La Crosse, WI
Blue Heron Bicycle Works, 213 Main St. Onalaska, WI 608-783-7433

Note on parking: While cars are not allowed in the park, there will be parking by the beach house and across the freeway for those who live far away.

                          

HPT will again be hosting a full weekend of mountain bike racing with the BEER (Blufflands Epic Enduro Race) on Saturday Aug. 21st and the Kash for Klunking Super D race on Sunday Aug. 22nd. 

B.E.E.R.-  An endurance race challenging solo and team racers over 12, 6, and 3 hour time spans.

Kash for Klunking- An up and down, but mostly down sprint race with loads of excitement for racers and spectators alike.

Click for more details.

Sunday Aug 22nd: Top of the World Tour

This is the fourth ride in the Tour de Trempealeau biking series, and is becoming one of the most popular of the year. Three routes ranging from 16 miles to the”Extended World Tour” approximately 60 miles for road riders of different ablities. The moderate and extended routes includes a moderate yet steady climb to the Top of the World, or at least it seems like it. Square Bluff is the highest Trempealeau County road and has one of the most panoramic views. The longest route includes challenging hills, roller coaster hilltop riding, and a valley bottom ride. Registration includes rest stops, sag support, meal ticket, and Tour de Trempealeau t-shirt. Click for details (PDF).

Saturday Aug 28th: Time Trial

The 5th Annual 10 Mile Time Trial race will be held at Lower Coon
Valley Lutheran Church, S1801 N. Stoddard Rd, Stoddard, on Sat. Aug.
28 starting with registration at 8:30 a.m. with the first to push off
at 9 a.m.

The course follows the back road north of Coon Creek to
Stoddard and then back. This is a fun race, for all levels. There is a
$10 registration fee; bottled water and cookies are provided

                          

The 2010 DRBC annual meeting will be on Saturday September 18, be sure to put this on your calendar. This year we are not only going to have our annual business meeting and elections, we are going to have a party and maybe a few other interesting things going on! The meeting will start with reports from the board, elections and then a listening session. All members will have an opportunity to bring ideas and issues to the board and other members of the DRBC. The annual meeting is open to the public, but only members can vote. Stay tuned for more details on times and location!

Board Elections/Nominations – Your Opportunity

This year there will be three board positions on the ballot. These positions are open positions and are open to any member of the DRBC. Members who are interested in serving on the DRBC board of directors should submit their name and a written statement of up to 500 words to the Tim Keneipp (send by email to tkeneipp@gmail.com or mail to DRBC, PO Box 423, La Crosse WI 54601) no latter than August 27th to be included on the ballot. There are no open nominations. All applicants will be listed on the DRBC website and announced to the membership.

Absentee Ballots

If you can not attend the annual meeting and would like an absentee ballot please contact the DRBC and request a ballot.

Read the current DRBC bylaws here (PDF).

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The fight for the Oak Street Bridge is still on! If you did not call last week, do so now! If you are free tomorrow afternoon come to the La Crosse Plan Committee meeting and speak out in support of the bridge project. The committee meets Tuesday @ 4:15pm, 3rd floor conference room, La Crosse city hall. We need to keep this in front of the committee and show public support for this project. For more information about this and numbers to call read below.

Update 8/17

Way to go DRBC members! We out numbered the speakers on any other issue at the meeting by a significant number. This is what we needed! If you did not get a chance to call or come to the meeting, it is not to late to take action! Please call all the people listed in the action alert and let them know that you support the project. If you prefer to use email, you can find the email addresses for several of the committee members here. But please make sure that you reach out and contact as many as possible.

Thank you!
Tim Keneipp
____________________________________________

Action Alert

For most of a decade or better there has been an effort to connect the north side of La Crosse with Oak/Enterprise Streets via a pedestrian and bicycle bridge. The north side of La Crosse is somewhat isolated by the railroad tracks to the west and the higher speed roads the ring it to the north and south. This bridge would give the residents of the north side of La Crosse much need bike, handicapped and pedestrian access to the state trails, Onalaska and other parts of La Crosse. The western terminus of the bridge would be near the intersection of Oak Street and Enterprise Road; it will then cross the rail road tracks going eastward and connect to the neighborhoods in north La Crosse.

This project has a long history and was once fully funded, but right of way issues continuously delayed the project for nearly a decade. Now the original project costs are significantly higher. With the currently available federal grants, now is a great time to get this project fully funded and built! All right of way issues have apparently been resolved, but what we need is some resolve at the city level. To apply for the grants the City of La Crosse Planning commission needs to give its approval and that’s where the members and friends of the DRBC can help!

We need you to call the members of the planning commission listed below today! Tell them that you support the Oak Street project and that it has been delayed too many times. Encourage them to have the city staff apply for the grants so the project can be fully funded and completed as soon as possible.

Talking points:

1. The Oaks Street pedestrian and bike bridge will provide the residents of north La Crosse a much need safe access route to other parts of the city and beyond.
2. Providing a safe and accessible route to the north side of La Crosse for bicycles and pedestrians will have a positive economic impact on the area.
3. This project has been in the works for more than ten years and more delays will only lead to increased costs in the future.
4. There are already significant grant funds for this project and now is a great time to cover the rest of the project costs by applying for more grants.

What to do right now!

1. Call Council Member Andrea Richmond at 781-4174 and Mayor Harter at 789-7500 let them know that you want the Oak street pedestrian and bicycle bridge funded this budget cycle. If you have time you can also callthe following members of the commission:
   1. Citizen Member Angela Seeger 519-1670
   • Council Member Richard Becker 782-5916
   • Council Member Bruce Ranis 784-6133
   • Council Member John Satory – 782-1041
   • City Engineer Randy Turtenwald 789-7505
   • Citizen Member Keith Carson 788-9644
2. Come to the City of La Crosse Planning Commission meeting this afternoon and speak up. The meeting will be held in the 3^rd floor conference room, La Crosse City Hall.
3. Pass this on to your friends and encourage them to call or attend the meeting today!

Click here to view an aerial photo color Oak Street Bridge project..

                          

Looking for a road ride this weekend? Sorry but this one is not really in England, but check out the DRBC Whitehall English Century. This is self supported ride is on an open course with three designated stops in towns with conveniance stores and other options for food and water.

Date: Sunday, August 15th
Time: between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m
Location: Depart Holmen square (blue cup coffee/river trail cycles)
Route Map: Whitehall 2010 (click to download PDF)

Route Description: Route-Departs Holmen travels west to Trempleau then heads northwest to the Trempleau River going through Dodge on it’s way to the first stop in Arcadia. Leaving Arcadia traveling north-east the route winds its way through the rolling countryside to the halfway point at Whitehall for our second stop. From Whitehall the course heads south and crosses three of the five moderate hills on the course. The rest of the ride is a flat or slightly rolling road to the next stop in Galesville and back to Holmen. This route has five moderate hills and some rolling terrain but is not hard compared to many routes in the Driftless Region and is a great first english century ride.

HPT Trail Fest

Our friends at Human Powered Trails will be hosting a TRAIL FEST this SATURDAY, August 14, 2010 from 3:30pm-7pm at the HPT trail head on County Road FA next the the National Weather Service station.

This event is for the entire family…Kids, Mom, Dad, friends, and all! It’s a fun filled day of guided hikes, bike rides, and most importantly, enjoying the coulee region outdoors. Everyone’s welcome, so come join us for some great outdoor activity and don’t forget we’ll be cooking out burgers, brats, hot dogs, and all the fixins’ after the events. http://www.humanpoweredtrails.com/

                          

Bike Snob

If you have ever spent more than a few minutes out surfing the bicycling blogoshere you likely have heard about BikeSnobNYC (http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com). Not known for trying to make friends, the BikeSnobNYC mercilessly attacks, satirizes and pretty much pokes fun of all things “bike culture.” Hipsters riding fixies and wanna be road racers are some of his favorite targets, bicycle advocates also find themselves in his cross-hairs as well.

Moving from the online world to the “real” world, BikeSnobNYC has published a book titled “Bike snob : systematically and mercilessly realigning the world of cycling.” This smallish tome of just over 200 pages seems to be perfectly sized to fit into a messenger bag or rack trunk and can pretty much be digested in a lazy afternoon.

Those, like myself, who follow the BikeSnobNYC blog, may find themselves disappointed. From my perspective it is the daily dose of sometimes inane and always acerbic commentary that makes the blog worth reading. Sadly in the book it seems to be mostly gone and the language is definitely cleaned up. Sure he takes the usual lighter punches at hipsters, roadies and other bicycle trend slaves, but they seem to be mostly pulled punches. Yawn…

Why all the junk, all-be-it good junk, about the basics of bicycling? Bike maintenance? How to ride in bad weather? How are these subjects “systematically and mercilessly realigning the world of cycling,” I have to ask. Much of the book is wasted on most anyone who is not a neophyte to bicycling. I would imagine that very few bicycling neophytes actually read his blog, so why did he go this direction. Hopefully his blog does not begin to digress into a general how to for beginning bicyclists.

“Bike snob : systematically and mercilessly realigning the world of cycling,” is not a bad read, but don’t expect to find the vim and vinegar we so love in his blog. It in fact would be a halfway decent gift for an experienced bicyclist to give to someone new to the world of bicycling and fairly clueless about the different groups and elements that make up our world on two wheels. Check you local library for a copy unless you are after the free stickers found in the back of the book (p.s. he hates sticker covered bikes, so why put them in his book?).

                          

Day/Date: Sunday, July 4th, Independence Day

Location: Start at Kistler Park, La Crescent, MN. Kistler Park is the park with the City pool and is on south 7^th Street (County 6).

Time: Roll out between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. DRBC members will be at the park under a tent with more ride maps, cue sheets and more information.  The information tent will close at 9:00 so members can do the ride themselves.

Ride Information: Ride is unsupported, on an open course, no sag wagon or rest stops, you ride at your own risk. There are two choices of routes:  Short loop is 50 miles and long loop is 60 miles.

Route Description: This scenic route departs from La Crescent, Minnesota’s apple capital and heads south through the Mississippi river valley to Brownsville. From there you head inland and climb to the rolling bluff top farmland common to southeastern Minnesota. A fast decent brings you to Hokah and the root river valley .After crossing the river you will head upstream on the north side of the flat bottomed Root River valley to Houston to a stop at a coffee shop or convenience store. Returning from Houston you climb up out of Looney Valley to the upland farmlands till you make the final descent into Pine Creek Valley which features a rolling V-bottomed geography different from the other two valleys you have already passed through. Even though you are heading down stream there are enough rollers to get your legs burning a few more times before arriving back in La Crescent.

Download 4th of July Bike Route Map

                          

For the second year the Driftless Region Bicycle Coalition will be providing bicycle valet parking right at the entrance to Riverside Park during Riverfest. Just ride on down, drop your bike off and it will be placed in a secure and monitored storage area by DRBC volunteers. When you’re done, just stop by and pick up your bike. No more struggling and fighting to find a parking space for your car and it’s FREE!

The valet bike parking will be available on:

Friday 11am – 10pm
Saturday 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 11pm (or for 30 minutes after the fireworks end)

Why do we do it? It is all part of the DRBC’s commitment to making our communities more bicycle friendly. With the lack of significant amounts bicycle parking in our communities, this is a simple way for us to encourage more people to attend events like Riverfest. Stay tuned to here to our website, sign up for our newsletter/email list or follow our Facebook page for information on future events where we will be hosting valet bicycle parking.

Want to have some fun?

We still have a few slots open for volunteers to help out at the valet bike parking station, trust us it ca be a lot of fun and people really appreciate you. We are asking our members and friends to volunteer for shifts of 2.5 hours during Riverfest. We will have a shade tent, chairs and some refreshments available for volunteers! Go here to volunteer. Just fill out the form and then select the hours you want to come have fun.