•  to work together to adopt a Complete Streets policy for the City-Parish;

•  to create, fund, and implement a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian plan for the city-parish as soon as possible;

•  to establish a bicycle / pedestrian coordinator position within the governance of the City-Parish with oversight authority to ensure new facilities are created  appropriately and in accordance with current standards and best practices, and;
  

• to immediately begin working on implementing a safe bicycle and pedestrian route roughly paralleling Perkins Road and another roughly paralleling Highland Road.
  

Mitch Evans, a local bicyclists, bicycle race promoter, and wood worker extraordinaire, has started something new in conjunction with the Zeeland Street Market, located at 2031 Perkins Road, one block from Hundred Oaks. Each month Mitch is putting one of his turned wood pieces up for a raffle. All raffle proceeds go to a non-profit and January's recipient is BRASS!

On the last Friday of each month, Mitch will draw a name from the jar of raffle tickets. The winner gets a nice chunk of "Son of a Slovenian" wood made by Mitch.

Mitch says, "Raffle tickets are a buck a shot. I should have a PayPal link up soon and I'll have a link for it." Of course, if one is inclined to hedge one's bets, more tickets means a better chance of being the lucky winner. It also means BRASS will benefit even more.

The bowl this month, seen in the image to the left, is a nicely spalted pecan. It measures about 16" in diameter and about 6" in height. Please come see it in person at Zeeland Street Market. While there you may want to take a moment to enjoy one of the Market's delicious lunch offerings.

The Dinner & Bikes Tour is traveling the western states this September [and the Southeast in April - ed.] to tell stories and show bicycle culture movies while serving up tasty gourmet vegan food.

Joe Biel will show a selection of very short films about bicycle culture and activism, including excerpts from Aftermass, his forthcoming documentary about bicycle activism in Portland, Oregon over the last twenty years. Joe has been part of Microcosm Publishing since he started it in his closet 15 years ago.

Joshua Ploeg is a traveling vegan chef, who improvises climactic culinary masterpieces on two hours’ notice for you and your date and perhaps also your entire circus troupe, using ingredients from the nearest store in your fully equipped kitchen or just the rice cooker and blender someone left behind in the corner of your squat if that’s how you roll. In adverse circumstances, his food only gets fancier. His book In Search of the Lost Taste is a Microcosm smash hit. He has several cookzines, including the popular Fire and Ice and the brand new So Raw It’s Downright Filthy.

Saturday, Apr 21: Baton Rouge, LA. Events start at 7pm. A sliding scale $7 to $20 fee includes dinner:

Baton Rouge, LA --- Hotel Indigo Baton Rouge invites families, bike enthusiasts and lovers of downtown to participate in its newest event, Ride Indigo, on Saturday, September 17. Registration for this free event will begin at 7:30 a.m.; the bike ride kicks-off at 8:30 a.m.

To accommodate riders of various experience levels, Ride Indigo will feature three different routes, including a 5-mile family ride, a 15-mile ride, and a 25-mile ride. The routes all begin at Hotel Indigo, and vary according to the distance, with one on the levee, one toward LSU and the longest route down River Road. Participants must provide their own bicycle. Helmets are required for all bike riders.

 “Hotel Indigo values being involved with the community,” Bubba Willis, Director of Sales and Marketing, said. “Ride Indigo is the perfect opportunity for us to get to know the people of Baton Rouge and for them to get to know Hotel Indigo Baton Rouge.”

At the conclusion of the bike ride, Hotel Indigo invites riders to celebrate with food, drinks, face-painting and fun.

Hotel Indigo Baton Rouge, which opened in early 2011, owns bikes for its guests who want to explore the downtown area. Hotel Indigo is the first and only luxury boutique hotel in the Baton Rouge area. This 93-room hotel is managed by Nu Vieux Hospitality Management and is located at 200 Convention Street, at the corner of Convention and Lafayette Street.

Ride Indigo is sponsored by Hotel Indigo Baton Rouge, Nu Vieux Hospitality Management, the Bicycle Shop, Fresh Salads + Wraps, MBC Signs, Rocket Racing, 3 Lions Media and Wright Feigley Communications.

Mike Bitton, the bicyclist who miraculously survived being hit by a car on River Road in 2010 and recovered to serve as spokesman for bicycle safety in the Capital Region, is hosting a community blood drive this Saturday, September 17^th from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. at Chelsea’s, located at 2857 Perkins Road, in honor of the first responders who saved his life. 

 “It is important to me to make sure blood is available when emergency patients, like me, are fighting for their lives,” Bitton said.  “In appreciation to the first responders who were there for me, and all first responders in Baton Rouge and around the world, I now race in their honor.  A very successful blood drive was held for me when I was in the hospital, and this is my turn to give back.”  Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s emergency and critical care teams and LifeShare Blood Centers, who were instrumental in Bitton’s recovery, are hosting the blood drive with him.   

Statistics show that about 1 in 3 people will need a blood transfusion at some point during their lifetime, with emergencies, such as car accidents, found to be one of the most common reasons for the need.  “A car accident victim can need up to 50 units of blood,” according to Dr. John Jones, Medical Director of Baton Rouge General’s Emergency Department, “so it’s imperative that any who can, should give blood to ensure quantities are available when patients need it most.”

Mike Bitton, his cycling and triathlon team, first responders and hospital teams who took care of him post-accident, will be hosting a fun-filled blood drive with food and live music provided by Bryce Cain and Friends.  All members of the community are invited to attend and help save a life. Blood donors will be asked to provide basic information such as name, address and age. A medical history is taken and a drop of blood is analyzed for red blood cell level.  Pulse, blood pressure and temperature are checked before donating.