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Newsletter of Bike to the Sea

Working for Bike Safety and Safe Places to Ride Promoting the development of The Northern Strand Community Trail

A bicycle and pedestrian trail through the communities of Everett - Malden - Revere – Saugus - Lynn

www.biketothesea.com March/April 2006

State of the Trail: President’s message by Howard Stranger

The year, 2005 has been a banner year for Bike To the Sea. So many positive things have happened which have allowed us to move forward on our goal of getting the multi-purpose trail built. Bike To the Sea rearranged it internal organization to include three predominant sub-committees: Outreach Committee, Membership Committee and the Budget and Finance Committees. The work accomplished by all members of each committee has been outstanding. The Membership Committee had a major accomplishment in finally at long last deciding on a name for the trail, “THE NORTHERN STRAND”. The naming of our trail has taken nearly 12 years to finalize. So much confusion had been created by outsiders in thinking that the trail was strictly for bicycles and not rollerblades, strollers, and anything not motorized. We had a very successful Bike To the Sea Day. We changed our route this year and went to Revere Beach rather than Lynn due to construction along the route. Steve Winslow has been very active as Bike To the Sea’s attorney and consultant in working with the firm of Fay, Spofford and Thorndike on the completion of the Environmental Notification Form. This form is a very important requirement in getting the trail built. It will be issued once the Cities of Malden and Everett execute the signing of the lease.

B2C President: Howard Stranger Board members: Naomi Brave, Ginny Daly, Gus Fish, Janet Green, Clay Larsen, Joe LeDonne, Gail Palladino, Sharon Santillo, Eden Smith, William Stephen, Gerry Teichman, Helen Weitz, Steve Winslow, Angela Zimmerman

In the year 2006 we can look forward to: 1. A workshop presented by Betsy Goodrich from Rails to Trails Conservancy, entitled Rail Trail 101 and future technical assistance. 2. We can expect to have the lease from the MBTA signed by the cities of Everett and Malden. 3.Utilization of the REI grant money to clean up the trail in the Saugus/Lynn area. 4. Further discussion and an agreement with Guilford Rail to officially abandon the rail rights. 5. Work with Mass Highway and Federal Highway regarding funding.

R.E.I. Grant Funds Clean-ups in Everett and Saugus. By Clay Larsen

On a cool cloudy day, late last October a group of about 30 people including Bike to

the Sea members, an enthusiastic band of staff from the Reading REI store and some neighborhood kids undertook an ambitious clean up of the Everett section of our future Northern Strand Community Path. The clean up was sponsored by a generous grant from REI of Reading. The funds went to advertising the event, hot coffee, donuts, a pizza lunch, gloves, tools, and trash bags. The hard work netted a large pile of debris ranging from paper trash to tires, car batteries and even an old sofa! The volunteers and the board of directors of Bike to the Sea displayed much teamwork and good humor.

City counselor Gary Christianson of Malden worked shoulder to shoulder with a group

of volunteers along Canal Street. Gary has shown long-term support for the path and an ongoing solid commitment to his ward.

The event was centered at Thomas Rossetti Park in Everett. The park was just

completed in the fall of 2005 and is a first step in Everett’s ongoing effort to create more open space and access to the Malden River. The park is directly on the path and illustrates how the path adds value to other city features. There are many parks, schools, and playgrounds, along the paths length. The path gets kids safely off the streets and into the playgrounds enhancing exercise and public safety.

Another clean up of the path in Saugus is on the agenda for this coming spring. On

May 13th 2006 Bike to the Sea will team up with the Saugus River Watershed Association and complete the second half of the REI grant. The work will center at Marsh View Park on the Saugus-Lynn line and extend up the path in both direction. The park was a former toxic landfill that has been cleaned up and landscaped and is now a testament to what hard work and community action can do.

Shown here is the section of the future trail we will be cleaning up On May 13th Clean ups are a great way to just get out there and do something! If you are

frustrated at the slow pace of the path or upset about trash in the street, joining us for the clean up is a great way to feel like you are really getting something done! It is also a great way to meet your neighbors and get some exercise. We would like to thank REI of Reading for its support of our work. We would like to personally thank Joe Ledone, board member and long time trial enthusiast for initiating the grant, Joan Meader, staff of REI for sponsoring the grant and Lauren Tibbles, store manager for helping it all come together. Come join us this spring put this event on your calendar!

Where have all the Bike Shops Gone? by Steve Winslow

Bike shops have a certain romantic mystique in the marketing world. They are icons for small businesses across the country. Opportunities for individuals to strike out on their own, to work hard at something their passionate about and have close contact with customers. The reality has been much harder, especially in our local area. Since Bike to the Sea started in 1993 we’ve seen a lot more local shops go out of business. We started our first Bike to the Sea Day with Victor Antoleni Malden Cycle Center on Commercial Street that soon sold out to Kappy’s Liquor. High Roads opened a huge place up in Stoneham and hoped to become the “Staples” of the bicycling world but closed a few years later. In the past two years have been quite hard on local shops. Brian Clark at ProCycles (first of Melrose then of Wakefield) and Roger Woodbury at Northeast Bikes (Saugus) closed as the mountain bike craze of the 1990’s began to fade a bit. Jim Feldbau and Tony Cerbone of Central Cycle (Revere) decided that it’s was time to cash out the real estate in order to fund their retirement.

So what’s driving the shops in our area out of business when overall bicycle sales last year actually exceeded auto sales for the first time since the 1970’s? First of all, real estate prices. Shop owners that own their own building can make it through the ups and downs a bit better than those paying rent. Shops that rent face declining sales in hard times and increasing rent in good times. Another challenge in our area has been the influx of inexpensive megastore bikes. Your average shopper in these parts expects bikes to cost in the $100+ range as a result of megastore bikes. Shop owners know not to sell such cheap bikes since they’re expected to fix them. Forget about trying to bring a bike back to a megastore. They actually call them throwaway bikes, ones where you may get a season of riding out after your impulsive purchase then they sit and waste away in a garage or basement. And last but not least is the lack of great places to ride in our communities, few parents used to ride and they are scared to let their kids ride. While communities like Somerville that have bike path actually saw a 50% increase in bicycle commuting in between 1990 and 2000 (from 2 to 3%) the Bike to the Sea communities have had a small decline (to less than 0.5% of the population) So what’s a Bike to the Sea member to do these days when shopping for a bike or more importantly taking one to get tuned up? Fortunately there have been a few shops that have come into our area. The closest is JRA (“Just Riding Along”) Cycles at 246 Salem Street (Route 60) in Medford. Brian McInnis opened JRA in a small storefront in 2002 and features BMX, mountain and road bikes. They now offer 10% discounts to Bike to the Sea members on accessories and labor. Landry’s Cycle started in Framingham but now has four shops throughout the Boston Area including a shop they opened in Danvers in the 1990’s and is planning to open a Boston store in the near future. Landry’s has agreed to offer Bike to the Sea members a discount. North Shore Cycle in Lynn and City Cycle in Stoneham are both owned by the Fuchs family. North Shore Cycle has more mountain bikes for those going to Lynn Woods. City Cycle focuses on the neighborhood bike crowd. Somerville has quite a selection of shops, Paramount Cycles on Broadway is run by Tyler Oulton. It is a small neighborhood shop that offers new and used bikes, expert bike repair and custom build ups. Ace Wheelworks near Porter Square is a high-end bike shop while Park Street Cycle on Somerville Avenue is a classic neighborhood shop where you can get a really great wicker basket for your handlebars. Another great place for repairs is Broadway Bicycle School in Cambridge run by former Bike to the Sea board member Joe Longo. You can even rent tools and shop space to repair your own bike. Websites: JRA Cycles, Medford: http://www.jracycles.com/ Landry’s Cycles, Danvers: http://www.landrys.com/index.html North Shore Cycle, Lynn: http://nscycles.com/index.cfm Paramount Cycle, Somerville: http://www.paramountbicycle.com/home.html Ace Wheelworks, Somerville: http://www.wheelworks.com/ Park Street Cycle, Somerville: http://www.parksales.com/ Broadway Bicycle School, Cambridge: http://broadwaybicycleschool.com/ City Cycle Incorporated, Stoneham (781) 438-0358

Committee Reports These committees are made up of Bike to the Sea members and all are welcome to attend.

Committees meet monthly. Please join a committee and help build the trail! Sign up on the B2C website newsgroup to get notifications of meeting dates or contact the committee chair.

Executive Committee

Howard Stranger-President 781-397-6830 Joe LeDonne: Vice President, Eden Garhart-Smith: Treasurer, Janet Green: Secretary

The Board of Directors for Bike To the Sea participated in a workshop put on by Betsy Goodrich from the Rails To Trail Conservatory. We did some strategic planning and

established goals for the next five years. We performed some self examination and took a look at our strengths and weaknesses, what opportunities are available to us and what

threats we need to be prepared to challenge. We all came away with a clearer idea of work that needs to be done and how we plan to accomplish it.

Finance and Fundraising Committee Eden Garhart-Smith-chair 781-397-0433 Gus Fish, Joe LeDonne, Gerry Teichman

The Budget and Finance Committee applied and received a grant from REI for $2000 to clean up the trail. Our first clean up day was in October and we managed to remove tires, furniture, bottles, cans and trash from the Right of Way. There had to be at least a ton of materials, which went to the dump and this was only the first mile of the path from Everett to Main Street in Malden. The second half clean up will occur in May 2006 and will be focused in the Saugus/Lynn section of the trail. The committee also worked on a Governors Highway Safety Bureau grant to receive helmets, and will find out in April if we are awarded the grant. Finally we are getting ready for Bike To The Sea Day in June by brainstorming ideas for signing on Businesses to help sponsor Bike to the Sea Day.

Membership and Public Outreach Committee Clay Larsen-chair 781-321-4680

Naomi Brave, Gail Palladino, Sharon Santillo, Terry Savage, Bill Stephen

We welcome newcomers Sharon Santillo and Terry Savage to the committee this year. During the past year we have updated our brochure, and re-designed the quarterly newsletter. We reached our goal last year of having a B2C info booth set up for at least one town event in Everett, Malden, Saugus, Revere, and Lynn. The committee has plans to double our membership this year. One method will be to get our brochure out to more bike shops, fitness centers, local stores and cafes. Let us know if you regularly go by a good spot and are willing to help stock brochures.

Government Outreach Committee Howard Stranger-chair 781-397-6830

Steve Winslow

The Outreach Committee has also managed to increase awareness with the public and our elected officials. Power point programs were presented to Everett Rotary Club, Everett Kiwanis Club, East Boston Kiwanis Club, the members of Malden Condominiums, the developers Preotle, Lane and Associates, the Mayors of Malden and Everett and City Councils of Malden and Everett. All these meetings have resulted in new members, new sponsors, increased public awareness, contributions of nearly $19,000 and the acceptance of a lease agreement on the part of the Cities of Malden and Everett.

Networking Notes

Mass Bike www.massbike.org Northshore Cyclists www.nscyc.org Winthrop Greenway www.friendsofbelleislemarsh.org/greenway Friends of the Community Paths www.pathfriends.org Malden Rotary Club www.rotary7930.org Mystic River Watershed Association www.mysticriver.org Friends of the Everett Waterfront Saugus River Watershed Council www.saugusriver.org Friends of the Middlesex Fells www.fells.org Friends of the Lynn Woods www.flw.org Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment www.saugus.org/SAVE/ Friends of Breakheart Reservation www.saugus.org/FOBR/ Rails to Trails http://www.railtrails.org/ Livable Streets http://www.livablestreets.info

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, March 21st: Malden Rotary Club St. Patrick’s Day 5k and 15k Road Race Sunday April, 1st: April Fools Day ride, meet at 10:00 a.m. 83 Jacob Street, Malden Saturday May 6th: Malden Kiwanis Bike Safety Fair. Salemwood School, Malden. 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Learn about bicycling safety, and get a free helmet. Saturday May 13: Northern Strand Community Trail Cleanup. Meet at 10:00 a.m. Marsh View Park on the Saugus-Lynn line. Clean up sponsored by R.E.I and in conjunction with Saugus River Watershed association. Sunday May 21st: Nashua River Trail ride, leave at 10:00 a.m. from Pine Banks Park

Sunday June 4th: Marshall’s ride. Come pre-ride the B2C day route and help plan for the big yearly ride Meet at 10:00 a.m. at The Dockside Restaurant in Malden. Sunday June 11th: Bike to the Sea Day. Our 14th annual ride along the route of the future Northern Strand Community Trail. Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the Dockside Restaurant in Malden.

Interesting Bicycle Trivia

If you lined up all the mountain bikes in America, tire-to-tire, and then rode a bike along that line, it would take you 36 weeks, (riding 40 hours per week, 15 miles per hour) to get to the end of the line.

The longest tandem or "bicycle built for two" ever made was actually for thirty-five people. It is almost 67 feet long and weighs about as much as a Volkswagen.

The smallest bicycle that an adult can ride has wheels made from silver dollars Steve McPeak built and rode a unicycle that was ten stories tall. The greatest skill was not in riding the machine, but in building it so that the chains would not fall off the sprockets.

At St. Helen's School in Newbury, Ohio, unicycling is a mandatory subject. The students are allowed to ride their unicycles in the halls between classes. Collisions are surprisingly few.

Word Scramble

Od Eht Nardst

Address Sticker Here

Please give this to a friend or neighbor who might want to: Join Bike to the Sea and Help support The Northern Strand Community Trail _____ Individual ($15) _____Supporting ($50)

(receive a gift bike map) _____ Family ($20) _____Contributing ($75)

(receive a gift t-shirt) Name(s)___________________________________________________________________ Address____________________________________________________________________ City_____________________________________State____________Zip________________ Phone________________________Email_________________________________________ Please make Checks payable to: Bike to the Sea c/o Eden Garhart-Smith 44 Greystone Road Malden, MA 02148

BIKE TO THE SEA 83 Jacob Street Malden, MA 02148