2024 Recap – Advocacy

First in a short series recapping last year…

One of the core missions of the shop is to be active in the community, get more people on bikes, and push for safe routes and infrastructure for riders of all ages and experience.

Last April we hosted an information session on NICA and the local team in Janesville. NICA is the National Interscholastic Cycling Association and our local team is the Janesville Mountain Bike Team. NICA is an inclusive organization that gives middle and high school students a place to be part of an empowering and engaging cycling community.

In June we co-hosted a Bike Rodeo with the good folks at St. John’s Lutheran church. The weather didn’t cooperate and I was a little worried we would have more volunteers than kids. But plenty of hearty families braved the deluge and came out for a bike check and learn a few safety tips.

Also in April we started our Thursday night social ride, a casual 1 hour ride through town. By the middle of summer we had plenty of regulars that showed up nearly every week. We kept the pace conversational and the route hit all the hot spots in town, including the new pool, Wind Prairie Park, Water Street (where there was often some spicy racing!), the far east side, and Lake Leota park.

Occasionally we would take the Thursday night ride to the country roads to the west of town. A route we dubbed “the confidence builder” was popular for its low traffic, great views, and mostly flat terrain.

In part two I’ll cover our work on trails and infrastructure in town.

What events would you like to see this year? Drop a note in the suggestion box and let me know.