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2012 Corporate Challenge Final Results

21 May

Muscle Powered
Bike to Work Week
Corporate Challenge Results
Total Miles – 6132.32
Total Trips – 1646

With 6,132.32 miles biked or walked to work, and 1646 trips on foot or by bike, this was our most successful Bike to Work Week Corporate Challenge ever. Thank you to everyone who participated!

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Looks like CC Supervisor Karen Abowd is havng a great time during the Celebrity Bike Ride.

We hope you enjoyed the Bike Month events that were partnered with or organized by Muscle Powered:
Bike Habitat’s Tour of Carson
Celebrity Bike Ride
Wednesday Cruiser Ride
Corporate Challenge
Bike to Work Day Party at the Firkin & Fox
Family Bike Ride w/CHHS & CC Parks & Rec

Upcoming Muscle Powered activities and projects:
Carson City Bicycle & Pedestrian Map Revision
Tuesday Evening Walks
Farmers Market Bike Valet
Kings Canyon to Ash Canyon Trail Construction

If you like what we do please consider becoming a member.

Douglas Bikers.jpg
These three riders from the WNC team rode all the way from Douglas County during the Corporate Challenge. Bravo!

Solo

Miles
Troy Orosco    119.04
Danny Miller      84.46
Tammy Steele   68.25

Private Business

% of Participation
Redrock Dental Molar Cyclers 73.30%
Capitol Automotive                      50%
Alison – MacKenzie                     23.70%
Hair Studio & Spear Me              23.3%
RCI Flyers                                   11%
Tahoe Fracture                            4.60%

Miles
Lumos & Assoc.                      393
Tahoe Fracture                          160
RCI Flyers                                 150
CV Sports                                  126
Alison – MacKenzie                    102.6
Capitol Automotive                     92.7
Redrock Dental Molar Cyclers   77
Hair Studio & Spear Me             29.5

Trips
Alison – MacKenzie                  73
Lumos & Assoc.                         60
Redrock Dental Molar Cyclers   59
RCI Flyers                                  54
Tahoe Fracture                           39
Capitol Automotive                     20
CV Sports                                  16
Hair Studio & Spear Me             10

Public Agency

Trips
NV Guard Rough Riders   161
NDEP We’re No Fuels         133
DETR Cyclepaths                126
NDOT – M&T Lab Rats         113
NDOT – ROW                       110
NDOT -Team IT                    98
NDOT-Planning Division      96
DHHS- Central                     75
EITS                                     74
WNC – 1                               66
DMV – OBL                           52
USPS                                   45
WNC – 2                               45
WNC – 3                               44
USGS                                   41
CCSD School Bus Drivers   20
NLCB                                   12

Miles
NV Guard Rough Riders   880
NDOT – Team IT                  624.93
DHHS Central Office           436.45
NDOT – ROW                      371.7
NDOT – M&T Lab Rats        340.5
NDEP We’re No Fuels         308.7
USGS                                  307.7
NDOT-Planning Division      246.62
DETR Cyclepaths                208.91
NLCB                                   200.65
EITS                                    186.5
WNC – 1                               161.65
WNC – 3                               149
WNC – 2                               93.56
USPS                                   73.4
CCSD School Bus Drivers   64
DMV – OBL                           64

% of Participation
DMV – OBL                         75%
NDOT-Planning Division     41%
NDOT – Team IT                 16.90%
NDOT – ROW                     15.50%
NDOT – M&T Lab Rats       11.40%
DETR Cyclepaths               10.80%
USGS                                  9.80%
USPS                                  7.30%
NLCB                                  7.20%
DHHS Central Office           7%
EITS                                    5.60%
NV Guard Rough Riders     5.30%
CCSD School Bus Drivers  5%
NDEP We’re No Fuels         3.40%

We  look forward to seeing you next year!

 
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Posted by on May 21, 2012 in bicycling, bike month, bike to work week, Muscle Powered, news

 

Bike to Work Week – Thursday

17 May

Nevada Vulnerable Highway Users bill

Muscle Powered Fact: Muscle Powered, a grassroots citizens organization advocating for better bicycling and walking conditions in Nevada’s capital city, decided last year to make the passage of a Vulnerable Users Law a priority for the Nevada 2011 legislative session. – Anne Macquarie.

Read the entire article HERE.

Commuter Tip:  When commuting to work with a friend it’s necessary to point out road hazards such as potholes and road debris by announcing,  pointing to,  and safely navigating around, the hazard. Failure to do so could result in an injury to your riding partner and damage their bicycle.

A couple of mountain bike friends of ours (Cagney & Lacy*) decided a number of years ago they would like to try road riding and purchased two road bikes. But because of their work schedules and office location (Cagney worked in Reno and Lacy in Carson City) they didn’t ride together right away.  Lacy liked road riding.  We rode with her often, teaching her the skills and etiquette required of a “roadie”.
We taught her how to draft, ride in a paceline, and to point out road hazards.

When Lacy was able to finally go out for a ride with Cagney they rode from their home in south Reno to Washoe Valley and back.  Everything was great during the first half of the ride. Cagney being the stronger of the two rode in front. Lacey, happy to sit in the draft on the fun descent through Pleasant Valley, rode in the back. It was on the return trip that things went awry. Cagney, not having been taught proper road etiquette, employed his mountain bike skills and expertly dodged the fast approaching 2×4 laying across the road.  Lacey wasn’t so lucky. She plowed into the 2×4 and flew over the handlebars. Fortunately for Lacey she wasn’t hurt too bad, just a little banged up, bruised and jittery. But the trust was gone.  Unfortunately for Cagney, Lacey never let him forget this incident. Point out road hazards!

*Not their real names.

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Lee Harter successfully negotiates Jeff Potter’s release from the hands of justice. photo by Ashley Dale

Bike to Work Week Corporate Challenge results so far…
Solo
Tom Tittle      85.98
Danny Miller  84.46
Troy Orosco   80.91
Tammy Steele 28.84

Private Business
Trips
Alison – MacKenzie                42
RCI Flyers                              34
Redrock Dental Molar Cycles 34
Tahoe Fracture & Orthopedic 23
CV Sports                                8
Hair Studio & Spear Me           8
Capitol Automotive                   4

Miles
Tahoe Fracture & Orthopedic 110
Redrock Dental Molar Cycles 90
CV Sports                               87
Alison – MacKenzie                49.8
RCI Flyers                               49
Hair Studio & Spear Me          22
Capitol Automotive                 18.4

% of Participation
Redrock Dental Molar Cycles 83.30%
CV Sports                               28.50%
Alison – MacKenzie                 22.20%
Hair Studio & Spear Me         22.20%
RCI Flyers                              11.60%
Tahoe Fracture                        5%

Public agency
% of Participation
DMV – OBL                      87.50%
NDOT – M&T Lab Rats    25%
NDOT-Planning Division 17.30%
USGS                              14.10%
NDOT – Team IT              11.60%
DETR Cyclepaths            10.90%
NV Guard Rough Riders  9.30%
DHHS Central Office        7.30%
USPS                                7.20%
CCSD School Bus Drivers 7.10%
EITS                                   5.60%
NDEP We’re No Fuels       3.20%

Trips
DETR Cyclepaths        80
NDEP We’re No Fuels 75
NDOT – M&T Lab Rats 71
NDOT – ROW               68
NV Guard Rough Riders 65
NDOT – Team IT           60
EITS 44
WNC – 1                        42
NDOT-Planning Division 30
DHHS Central Office      29
USPS                              27
WNC – 2                           27
WNC – 3                           26
USGS                               25
DMV – OBL                       22
CCSD School Bus Drivers 18
NLCB                                  9

Miles
NDOT – Team IT           394.61
NV Guard Rough Riders 350
NDOT – ROW                242.7
NDOT – M&T Lab Rats 184.5
NDEP We’re No Fuels  172.1
DHHS Central Office    166.1
USGS                           159.4
NLCB                            149.4
DETR Cyclepaths           138.51
WNC – 1                          107.99
EITS 105.3
NDOT-Planning Division 78.16
CCSD School Bus Drivers 59
WNC – 3                           53
WNC – 2                           50.26
USPS                               38
DMV – OBL                       32

Nice job everyone!

 
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Posted by on May 17, 2012 in bicycling, bike month, bike to work week, events, Muscle Powered, news, Uncategorized

 

Bike to Work Week Party at the Firkin and Fox

16 May

It’s great to see the bicycle miles and trips rack up from our Corporate Challengers! If you haven’t been keeping track, go check out the previous posts to see the daily totals. We’re going to have a big party at the Firkin and Fox on Friday night the 18th to celebrate everyone’s hard work this week. In addition to announcing the winners of the Corporate Challenge, we’re going to have live music from Notch 8, and a raffle with prizes you don’t want to miss out on. Money collected from the raffle goes to benefit Muscle Powered, Citizens for a Walkable and Bikeable Carson City.

Bike to Work Week Party
Last year’s winners of the woman’s cruiser

The Bicycle Authority helped us with the grand prizes again this year, two Custom Beach Cruisers from Phat Cycles! These two bikes are the nicest we’ve given away yet, a little more custom than last year’s. We traditionally give the bikes away before it gets too dark, giving people without lights the opportunity to ride home safely.

Raffle Bikes
Women’s Cruiser

Raffle Bikes
Men’s Cruiser

In addition to the bikes from Bicycle Authority, there are plenty of other fantastic prizes to give away, all donated by our other Bike to Work Week Sponsors! And yes, you MUST be present to win. This year’s sponsors are:

  • Adele’s
  • Bicycle Authority
  • Bike Carson/Tahoe
  • Bike Habitat
  • Bike Smith
  • Capitol Automotive
  • Comma Coffee (Free morning coffee for bicycle commuters)
  • Cracker Box
  • Firkin and Fox
  • High Sierra Brewery
  • Muscle Powered
  • Red Bike Cycling
  • Sassafras
  • The Tap Shack

Notch 8 will entertain the crowd between the raffle items, and there will be drinks available outside during the party. Food will be available inside at the restaurant.

Notch 8
Notch 8 to perform at the party

Details:

What: Bike to Work Week Party 2012
Where: Firkin and Fox, 310 S. Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701
When: Friday, May 18th @ 5:30 PM.
Other: The party is outside in the back of the restaurant. Plenty of bike parking in view of the party.
Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/378436315525125/

 
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Posted by on May 16, 2012 in bike month, bike to work week, events, news

 

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And the winners are..

24 Apr

The winners of the Muscle Powered Trail Construction Scholarships are: Todd Erickson, Cortney Bloomer and Eric Ziegler. The scholarships were made possible by Muscle Powered and a generous donation from the Bike Habitat.

Including the three individuals mentioned above we will have six TRTA trained crew leaders at the end of May. I believe this will be enough to get us well on our way when we start construction on the Kings Canyon to Ash Canyon Trail in late spring.

Thank you Bike Habitat!

 
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Posted by on April 24, 2012 in news, trails

 

2012 Tour of Carson

16 Apr

May’s Bike Month is almost here, and so is Bike Habitat’s Tour of Carson!  This is a very fun, moderately paced road ride around the perimeter of Carson City.  The route is 27-30 miles, but short cut options are available through town if you don’t think you can ride the whole distance.  Here’s the scoop from Bike Habitat:

Please join us for the 5th Annual Tour of Carson City Bike Ride & BBQ Sunday May 6, at 9am!

Tour of Carson 2011

  • The ride will begin at 9:30. The route tours around the perimeter of Carson City for a moderately paced 27-30 mile bike ride.
  • Lunch will be provided and all are welcome.
  • Kick-Off Bike Month with Denis and Viola as they celebrate the Fifth Anniversary of Bike Habitat.
  • This is a Free Event.
  • Donations are being accepted to support Muscle Powered of Carson City to promote a more bike friendly community.
  • The ride will begin at the shop and tour around the perimeter of Carson City for a moderately paced 27-30 mile bike ride.
  • Click here to view a map of the ride.
  • The Bike Habitat is located next to Best Buy in the shopping mall off Topsy Lane.
  • Call Denis at the Shop for Information 267-5053

Tour of Carson 2011

 
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Posted by on April 16, 2012 in bike month, bike to work week, events, news

 

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Muscle Powered Scholarships Available

25 Mar

toby.JPG

Muscle Powered is offering three scholarships to qualifying members to attend the Tahoe Rim Trail Association’s Track 2 Crew Leader Training on May 19th & 20th. (Friday’s Design & Layout Course is not included in the scholarship).  Though not necessary to apply, scholarships will be awarded to those with the most trail building experience first.

Training is at Galena Creek Park and includes:
Trail Standards, basic construction techniques, tool use and briefing, leadership, safety and crew administration.

For more information on the training, please visit the TRTA website: www.tahoerimtrail.org

To qualify for the Muscle Powered Scholarships:
You must be over 18 years of age and a current member of Muscle Powered.
If you are not yet a member or need to renew, please click HERE

To fill out the application form please click on the link below.
Muscle Powered Scholarship

If you have trouble viewing the online form, please send the following information to:jeffpotter@musclepowered.org

Name, address, email and phone#.
How many years have you been a member of Muscle Powered?
Trail building experience.
List other qualities,skills or experience you may have which you think would benefit a trail crew.
Briefly describe why you would like to attend the crew leader training course.

Application deadline is April 4th.

Thank you, and good luck!

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2012 in Education, Muscle Powered, news, trails, Uncategorized

 

Pedal-Driven: a bike-umentary

10 Mar

From Keven Joelle:

“The Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association(TAMBA) and the Poedunks are presenting “Pedal-Driven: a bike-umentary”, a new documentary film from Howell at the Moon Productions. The screening will take place at Centric inside CommRow on Thursday, March 22 at 7pm. It will be preceded by a social hour starting at 6pm. Tickets are $10 and the proceeds will go to both organizations to promote sustainable trail building efforts in the area.” More…

Please come out and see old friends, make new ones, and help out two outstanding organizations.

 
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Posted by on March 10, 2012 in bicycling, events, news, trails

 

Save Our Trails!

15 Feb

bridge.jpg

The photo you see above is of one of two bridges along the Mexican Ditch Trail in east Carson City which were purchased with funds from a Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant written by Muscle Powered for Carson City. Other projects in our area which have benefited from the RTP are the Carson Valley Discovery Trail, Sierra Canyon Trail, the Halo Trail and the annual Tahoe Rim Trail Association Crew Leader Training in Reno. All of these projects were possible, or greatly benefited, because of this program!

GCT.jpg
Sierra Canyon Trail

Here is how you can help.

From IMBA’s website:

“The Recreational Trails Program is the ONLY federal funding source for multi-use singletrack trails. RTP is in grave danger in both chambers of the U.S. Congress.

This week, both the House and Senate are expected to vote on their respective transportation bills. In the Senate, RTP is eliminated, but U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is offering an amendment to restore dedicated funding.

In the House, RTP was included in legislation forwarded by the committee, but Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has an amendment to eliminate the program. The entire House of Representatives hears the bill later this week.

Take Action in the Senate!

Call your U.S. Senator today at 202-224-3121 and ask them to “VOTE YES on the Klobuchar amendment to MAP-21,” or use this easy e-mail form from the American Motorcyclists Association.

Take Action in the House!

Call your U.S. Representative at 202-225-3121 and ask them to “VOTE NO on amendment #230 by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) that will eliminate the Recreational Trails Program.”

RTP funding provides $85 million annually for trail construction and maintenance. Since 1993, RTP has funded more than 15,000 projects nationwide and leverages local and state funding. Only a small portion of federal funds collected are returned to the program for motorized and non-motorized trail projects.”

CVDT.jpg
Carson Valley Discovery Trail

Please share this with your friends.
Thanks!

 
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Posted by on February 15, 2012 in news, trails, Uncategorized

 

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Public Meeting

06 Feb

Kings Canyon to Ash Canyon Trail Public Meeting
February 13th 5-7 p.m.
Carson City Community Center- Bonanza Room
851 East Williams Street

IMG_1057.jpg
Lumos & Associates’ Tom Young and Chas Macquarie survey the Ash Creek bridge site

Carson City and Muscle Powered have been working with the U.S. Forest Service and public for many years to develop a trail system along the foothills of the Carson Range with connectivity to Carson City. Most of the trail will be located on Forest Service lands and some will be on Carson City lands. The project proposes to construct approximately 6 miles of single-track trail designed for non-motorized uses including mountain biking, hiking and equestrian between Ash Canyon and Kings Canyon. Trail access points will be Kings Canyon Road, Waterfall Road, and Ash Canyon Road

This meeting is one of the last steps before we can start construction on what is sure to be a fantastic trail!

If you would like to learn more about this project,  have questions, or would like to show support for the trail, please attend this meeting.

Thanks!

 
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Posted by on February 6, 2012 in Muscle Powered, news, trails

 

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Ash Canyon to Kings Canyon Trail

17 Jan

Carson officials, volunteers carving trail system in mountains west of city
By Teri Vance (Story originally appearing in the Nevada Appeal)

In the super-abridged version of the story, Jeff Potter complained to city supervisors in 2006 that more mountain bike trails were needed in the area.

Their response: Then do it.

Carson City

Of course, it wasn’t that simple. There was the master plan to consult. Permits needed to be acquired. Plans needed to be drawn up.

But after years of working with Carson City’s open-space manager, Juan Guzman, to negotiate with city, state and federal agencies as well as private property owners, the plan is starting to take shape.

Max Jones, who owns Spooner Lake Cross Country and Flume Trail Mountain Bikes, lent his expertise to determining three routes connecting Kings Canyon to Ash Canyon.

Potter said they settled on the mid-line route, traversing seven miles along the east-facing slopes of the mountains. It begins around 5,600 feet and climbs 1,100 feet to the highest point of 6,700 feet. The average grade is 6 percent.

Potter said it was an easy decision.

“If this was the only trail I could put in, it would be a killer trail,” he said. “Plus, we had fewer obstacles with this option.”

He said the gradual ascents with some steep climbs will make the trail a challenge for the experienced mountain biker while still being accessible to the novice.

“This is for everybody,” Potter said. “All skill levels.”

The trail also will be open for other non-motorized use, like hikers and equestrians.

While there are some trails now in the hills of east Carson City, they are what’s known as non-system trails. They don’t connect in a meaningful way and may not have the proper permits.

The trail, with access points in Kings Canyon and Ash Canyon, will make sense to users, Guzman said.

“It’s from a very well-known point to another well-known point,” he said.

It also could draw other outdoor enthusiasts to the area, Guzman said.

“This is the kind of thing that people will drive thousands of miles to come and experience,” he said. “We have a hidden spot here. People do not realize what a unique place this is. The Sierra Nevada is just spectacular.”

Potter said while users will be able to begin at either point, he imagines most will prefer to begin from the Kings Canyon side and climb about 2.5 miles to the highest point.

Once there, they’ll be on an outcropping with views of the entire city, along with Job’s Peak, the Sweetwater Range and Washoe Lake.

From there, it will a 5.5-mile descent into Ash Canyon. Along the way, there will be other overlooks for users to take in the view.

Work on the trail is expected to begin in the spring and could take up to five years to be fully complete.

Guzman said he appreciates the dedication and expertise of volunteers like Potter.

“This is the perfect use of our lands,” he said. “This corner of Nevada is just fantastic.”

 
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Posted by on January 17, 2012 in news, trails

 

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