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10.26.07
Bike Briefs
Bikers Asked To
Oppose Hunting Bill
Getting shot can make a fun day of riding singletrack turn real
shitty, real quick. And come hunting season, bikers often think twice
about hitting the trail for fear of being mistaken for some wayward
buck. That is, except on Sundays. In Massachusetts, hunting is
prohibited on Sundays, making it the lone day during the week on which
bikers can worry about misplaced rocks instead of misfired buckshot. But
a bill in the state legislature aims to change that. House bill 2315
would allow hunting on Sundays. Supporters of the bill say the change is
needed for hunters who can’t get in the woods the other six days of the
week. But many mountain bikers oppose it, saying Sunday is their one day
of safety. To voice your opinion, you can contact the bill’s sponsor,
Representative Anne Gobi (D – Spencer) at
rep.annegobi@hou.state.ma.us. You can also contact members of the
Joint Committee on
Public Safety and the
Joint Committee on
Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.
Bicycle Coalition of Maine Wins Top Honors
The Bicycle Coalition of Maine
recently ranked as the nation’s top state bicycling advocacy group in a
report by the Thunderhead
Alliance, a national coalition of bicycle and pedestrian advocacy
groups. The report stated the Bicycle Coalition of Maine was the state
organization with the most members per capita
— its
6,000 members equate to one of every 212 Maine residents. It was also
top in the nation for media hits —
defined as the number of time’s an organization’s name appeared in the
media during the previous 12 months. And, look, they did it again.
Wompy’s New Trail
Wompatuck
State Park in Hingham, Massachusetts, has a new connector trail
that’s now ready to ride. Riders can grab the trail on the left side of
Heron Pond. It then goes on to connect to the C1-E15 trail at its
highest point.
MassBike Wants Help With Bike Safety Bill
The Massachusetts advocacy group
MassBike is asking cyclists to help save the Bike Safety Bill. Among
its key provisions, the bill would help with police training on bicycle
law, clarify how to safely pass a bicycle, and make “dooring” a rider
subject to tickets and fines. The bill was passed by both houses of the
legislature, but later vetoed by then-governor Mitt Romney. The bill is
now stuck in the Committee for Public Safety and Homeland Security.
MassBike is asking riders to email the committee’s co-chairs, Senator
James Timilty
(james.timilty@state.ma.us) and Representative Michael Costello
(rep.michaelcostello@hou.state.ma.us) to ask that S1414, "An Act
Relative to Bicycle Safety" be reported favorably.
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