1. Yes, there really is a… Bike Friendly Kalamazoo!
Notes to presenter
This presentation was designed for an adult audience. These notes are intended to explain some of the slides and to help you adjust the presentation to fit your needs. Replace title and presentation information to fit your situation. This presentation was originally designed to fit a minute time slot. It is provided with the understanding that conventions for citing of sources will be followed.
Paul Selden - Sunrise Rotary
February 26, 2013

2. “Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride!”
- John F. Kennedy
10th Street trailhead in Oshtemo, MI
Photo: Paul Selden

3. Speaking of Bikes… Why? Types of biking Before your next ride
Rules of the road
What to look for in a bike
What is “Bike Friendly Kalamazoo?”
About KBC
Main topics - the question “Why?” is set up to allow the speaker to ask an audience why the community should be interested in the topic of bicycling, at all, when the audience is adult. The remaining topics highlight some of the main practical things to consider and put into practice right away, or, to help educate a friend, child, grandchild, or someone else who is thinking about bicycling. The final two items were included to fit topics this audience wanted to learn about in particular. Feel free to mix and match.
Photo: Paul Selden

4. Why talk about bicycling?
Safety
Economic: jobs, tourism, local business
Community pride and spirit
Maximize potential of existing resources
Road to fitness and health
Energy independence
Environmental appreciation and protection
Family, fun, adventure and ice cream!
Ask audience for the answer…why is bicycling important to our community? Then comment on each point as they come up. There is time in a 20 minute presentaton for no more than a sentence on each one.

5. Safety - #1
Included to explain something most people don’t understand when thinking about “where bicyclists should ride.” It answers the question about why riding on streets with marked bike lanes are preferred. If you are not a statistician, you can show the slide anyway, saying you don’t have time to get into each point, but that the source is considered a reference study by experts at the Michigan Department of Transportation. The main contrast is that riding on a sidewalk is more than 5X more dangerous than the median, and that riding on streets with bike lanes cuts the relative danger in half, as compared to the median.

6. Trail/Sidewalk Cautions at Intersections & Driveways
Car A turning right:
Might see Cyclist 1
Less likely to see Cyclist 2
Many will not yield right-of-way
Faster turning speeds increase the chance of a collision
This slide explains one scenario that shows why the previous slide makes sense. (There are other scenarios illustrated in presentations you can find on (League of Michigan Bicyclists). Most adult drivers can understand that they are most likely to look at oncoming traffic prior to making a right turn. It is not most people’s habit, plus it is physically harder, to turn your head “hard right” to check what may be approaching from behind, on a sidewalk. Bikes are often moving faster than pedestrians and may not have been seen at first glance. Plus, nowadays drivers are too often in a hurry to get somewhere, and do not slow enough to avoid such collisions. Two lives can be ruined when such a collision occurs. The driver’s life will be altered even if not at fault.
Source: LMB.org

7. Types of bicycling Who is a bicyclist in the group?
Raise your hand if you “see yourself” in next slides
A lighter section you can use to help people understand that there may be many more forms / types of bicycling than they may be familiar with.

8. Types of bicycling
Racing…the first bicyclist has been identified as Christopher Gottwald, who lives in our county. Chris was the 2012 Michigan Road Race Champion and one of the very few people who have ever done the solo Race Across America. In this photo he is racing for Priority Health, a somewhat local team.
Photo: Zolton Cohen

9. Types of bicycling
Mud / mountain biking
Photo: teamlunachix.com

10. Types of bicycling
Commuting/shopping
Photo: LMB.org

11. Types of bicycling
Most likely a merchant or delivery person in a larger city, but most people look at this from a distance, and it looks like people you see every day who need a bicycle because it is their only form of transportation. We must think about them, too; not everyone bikes solely for recreational reasons.
Photo: LMB.org

12. Types of bicycling
I’ve seen more or less this identical scene with a mother pulling a child in a cart in the shoulder on busy Portage Road.
Photo: LMB.org

13. Types of bicycling
Shot of riders on the Family Ride, 2012 KalTour, sponsored by the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club.
Photo: Paul Selden

14. Types of bicycling
Three crazy guys showing that age does not have to be a limiting factor to bicyclists…nor does cold weather! Terry O’Connor, Pastor Dale Krueger, and Paul Selden just before setting off on a ride Dale wanted to make on his 80th birthday: his “80 on 80.” Photo taken on December 1st, 2012, Dale’s 80th birthday. We rode to South Haven, had a nice lunch at Clemintine’s, and rode back, covering a couple more than 80 miles.
Photo: Ruth Krueger

15. What to Look For In a Bike
Category - matches intended use
Reliability
Fit and comfort
Local service
Easy self-maintenance
Get into the right category first, by understanding how you will MOST use the bike. The Kal-Haven Trail, for example, a popular local biking destination, does not require a mountain bike. Many people have ridden the trail on skinny road tires. If you get a bike that is too heavy for daily use, you may not use it as much. On the other hand, if you are going to ride on the trails in Fort Custer, you better get a good mountain bike! Buying a bike from a local source that can provide the personal service you need when picking, fitting, and maintaining your bike makes the best sense for most people. What looks to possibly be a higher initial price is more than made up in savings down the road. The other bullet points more or less explain themselves.

16. Before Your First Ride Local bike shop A-B-C Quick Check
If you are just getting your bike out of the garage after being stored for a long time, take it to a local bike shop to tune it up. It will ride better, and the extra margin of safety you get from the small cost of a bike check will save you much more in doctor bills, if something isn’t right with the bike that make the riding more dangerous.
ABC Quick Check stands for more than we have time to cover now. Just remember to check over your “Air pressure, Brakes, Chain, the quick releases on your various fittings such as the hubs, and check the fit to make sure the bike will be comfortable to ride.
Courtesy LMB.org

17. On Road Repairs Carry a few basics
These can be stored in a small bag under the saddle.
Courtesy LMB.org

18. Use a bike helmet!
Wearing a helmet can reduce risk of head injury by up to 85%
Again, safety is #1. Bike helmets are used for a good reason. More than one local rider has been saved from more serious injury by a helmet. If you talk with enough riders, you may find the lesson is more personal than you realize.
Courtesy LMB.org

19. It’s the Law … and Safer
A bicyclist has the same rights and duties as a motor vehicle when riding on a street or roadway
Ride to the right of the roadway
Maximum: two abreast
Signal Turns
Obey Traffic Signals – stop
signs and stop lights
You can use this slide to clear up some misconceptions, and to assure people that the local clubs emphasize these points, as well. We wish more people would understand the law, both drivers of motor vehicles and riders.
Courtesy LMB.org

20. Bike Friendly Kalamazoo - Highlights
2011 • Community Brainstorming
Vision: Elevate community’s stature during downturn…using existing resources…to become even more bike friendly
2012 • Education / Awareness Building Goal-Setting
• Route Planning Presentations
2013 • Information portal (
• Educational presentations “in a box”
• Planning county-wide bike system
Highlights of what Bike Friendly Kalamazoo is all about. Even if you replace this slide with something else, it would be helpful to let people know about our web site, in case they are looking for more useful information. It’s growing and BFK is open to new ideas about what would be useful, if there is something that is hard to find. The site has a comments form.

21. Kalamazoo Bicycle Club
Founded 1971
members
Annual Bike Camp
Annual KalTour ride
Near daily group rides in season
Grants to many local charities
Highlights. Local grants made include the donations to the AMBUCS and to educational programs aimed at educating our communities youth about bicycling.
Photo: Paul Selden

22. Hand Outs & Questions
If you have handouts, this is a placeholder slide to mention them. Good handouts include copies of LMB’s “What Every Michigan Bicyclist Must Know” and the “Southwest Michigan Road and Trail Bicycle Guide.” Plan ahead and let LMB know how many copies of their booklet you need; the local MDOT office may have trail guides, as does the Kalamazoo County Road Commission and the Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study. Consult your local directory or search the web for the latest contact information for these organizations.
Photo: Paul Selden

23. Thank You!
A local Kalamazoo Bicycle Club member helps a contestant get the proper helmet fit at the 2012 Kids Triathlon held at the Portage YMCA.
Thank the audience for their interest in helping to make our community even more bicycle friendly.
Photo: Paul Selden

24. Credits
This presentation may be modified or re-used as long as sources/credits are cited
Thanks to the League of Michigan Bicyclists ( for providing slides for public re-use
Photo credits as noted
See for more information and to download a copy of this presentation template
Photo: Paul Selden