The Bikes and Beers Ride is not just any cycling event. It’s a nationwide movement that champions cycling as a safe, comfortable, and intelligent choice for transportation and recreation. What sets the ride apart is a commitment to improving conditions for bicyclists. Once again, as in years past, the Bikes and Beers organization has chosen to partner with the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire as their charity partner for this event. A portion of event proceeds will go towards supporting BWANH’s statewide  advocacy efforts (learn more about our efforts here.)   The event is known for the high-energy and fun atmosphere during and after the ride – and yes, there is beer, including non-alcoholic beer options, after the ride!

EXCLUSIVE BIKE-WALK ALLIANCE MEMBER DISCOUNT! —  As an exclusive benefit for Bike-Walk Alliance Members: Use promo code “BWANH10” to receive $10 off your registration fee!

The ride will take place on Saturday, July 20, 2024, starting and ending at Cisco Brewers Portsmouth. The ride routes travel north through scenic Dover Point, near Downtown Dover, before continuing to Stratham and Durham (depending on the route option chosen) before returning to Cisco Brewers. Riders can choose from 15, 30, or 45-mile courses.

As the sole charity partner, a portion of registration fees and donations made through the “Donations” button go to BWANH. We hope you will please consider this great event as you choose which supported rides you may participate in this year.

WE NEED YOU!!!!

As the charity partner, BWANH must provide ten volunteers to work registration/setup, post-ride, or rest stop assignments at the event. Each of these is just a few hours.  Please consider signing up to volunteer for one of these assignments. We need you! If you are interested in volunteering, please click here to sign up for either “Registration/Set-up,” “Post-Ride,” or “Rest Stop” assignments. If you sign up to volunteer for one of these positions, please email BWANH at info@bwanh.org to let us know!

All volunteers will receive an official volunteer shirt, free entry into the after-party, a pint-glass package, and two beer tickets! Volunteers will also be provided with a 50% discount code to be used at a future event (there is one in Brookfield, MA, on August 17th). Please consider signing up for this fun event. In doing so, you will indeed have a great time and help BWANH.

MORE INFO

If you would like more information about the ride or are interested in riding at the event, you may register using this link: https://www.bikesignup.com/bikesandbeers-portsmouth

All rides feature morning fuel stations, marked routes, GPS turn-by-turn instruction, rest stops, refreshments, ride marshals, and SAG support. The after-party at Cisco Brewery includes a festival of rewarding craft beers, live music, a charity raffle, and much more! All riding levels are welcome!

Remember –> EXCLUSIVE BIKE-WALK ALLIANCE MEMBER DISCOUNT: As an exclusive benefit for Bike-Walk Alliance Members: Use promo code “BWANH10” to receive $10 off your registration fee!

The 6th Annual Veterans Count Ride is a multi-route ride to honor NH service members, veterans and their families! The scenic and family-friendly ride loops offered include 10, 28, and 57-mile routes. The event starts and finishes at the Community Chapel Church of the Nazarene, 5 St. Laurent Street, Nashua. Lunch sponsored by Jeannotte’s Market and Jakes Old Fashioned Ice Cream of Nashua. If you have never done a fully supported ride, this event is the perfect opportunity. If you are already an experienced rider, this event makes great training for other events later in the season, such as the July Bikes & Beers Ride (Portsmouth) or the annual Seacoast Century Ride (Hampton) in September.

For more information and to register for the Veterans Count Ride Nashua, click here.

There are many wonderful opportunities in New Hampshire for participating in fully-supported bike rides! If you enjoy doing these types of non-competitive, scenic, and fully-supported rides, most of which support a charity, check out our recommendations below!  If you have never participated in this type of event before, we highly encourage you to check them out. As always, feel free to reach out to us via email (info@bwanh.org) or on our BWANH Facebook page, if you have questions or are looking for advice.

Here’s a short list of just a few of the amazing fully-supported bikes rides happening in 2024.  Registration is open for each of them, and some do sell out, so do not delay in registering.

• Veterans Count Ride Nashua – Sat June 1^st, Nashua. With 10, 28, and 57-mile options. This event is a fundraiser for the Veterans Count organization.
• Trans NH Ride – June 21-23 (Fri through Sun), 1, 2, and 3-day options, varying start locations (Beechers Falls VT, Littleton NH, & West Lebanon NH) and varying mileage (around 60-miles each day). This event is a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
• Bikes & Beers Portsmouth– Sat July 20^th with 15, 30, or 45-mile options. This event is a fundraiser for BWANH.
• Seacoast Century – Sat Sept 21st. 25, 50, 65 and 100 mile options. 50th anniversary of the event!

Several of these great rides are spotlighted in this newsletter, so read on for more details!

As previously noted in our Nov\Dec newsletter article here, BWANH representatives recently participated in a 3-day “assessment” by NHTSA (the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration) on New Hampshire’s bike & pedestrian safety programs. The series of meetings were held virtually on Monday March 18^th through Wednesday March 20^th.  A panel of non-federal, subject matter experts (“assessors”) from all over the country conducted a comprehensive interview of NH’s Office of Highway Safety (OHS), Dept. of Transportation (DOT), and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) focusing on their bicycle & pedestrian safety plans and programs. There were even a few questions that were directed to BWANH as the statewide bike-ped advocacy organization. The goal was to highlight the programs’ strengths and weaknesses, and provide recommendations for improvement. A final report distributed sometime in May will include a list of strengths as well as any recommendations for improvement.

As a “safety partner” of the OHS & DOT, BWANH was invited to attend, and have assisted OHS since early last year to gather required information for the assessment.

BWANH Board members Bruce Caplain, Greg Bakos, Paula Bedard and Dave Topham attended all three days virtually.

The draft interim report from this assessment should be distributed sometime in April, and the final report should be available in May. Stay tuned. We will share whatever we can!

More info on NHTSA’s assessment program is here on their website –> https://www.nhtsa.gov/highway-safety-grants-program/safety-program-assessment

GSW Offers Ten $2,500 Grants to NH Bicycling Organizations!

Once again, the Granite State Wheelers (GSW) bicycling club is generously offering ten (10) grant opportunities of $2,500.00 each for New Hampshire-based bicycling organizations! The grants are intended to support and promote projects in the areas of bicycle safety, education, and ridership expansion.

In order to determine the ten 2024 grant winners, the information listed below must be received for review no later than Monday, April 15, 2024.  Applications must be submitted in PDF format and on the qualifying organization’s letterhead.  You can use additional pages, if needed, to provide answers and number each response according to the listed item.

1. Organization name and business address
2. Organization type
3. Date organization formed
4. Organization mission statement
5. Communities served
6. Group chairperson/president and contact information (address, phone & email)
7. Secondary contact person (position, address, phone & email)
8. Does your organization have its own registered NH name and bank account?
9. Description of project:  Describe in 500 words or less.
10. How does your project contribute to safety or education for bicyclists in NH or increase bicycling in NH?
11. How will you measure the success of your project?
12. Do you have any other donors for your project? (Clubs & youth groups, local businesses)
13.  How will you recognize Granite State Wheelers for the grant?

Supplemental letters of support for your project are welcome and will be considered in the approval process. Grant recipients will be required to submit a brief report after their project is implemented with recognition given to the GSW.

Grant applications with an authorized signature can be emailed to –> GSWgrants@gswheelers.org  or snail-mailed to:
Granite State Wheelers
Grant Application Committee
215 South Broadway # 216
Salem, NH 03079-3374
603.898.5479

Grant applications must be received no later than Monday, April 15, 2024.  Winners will be notified and publicity provided by Granite State Wheelers about May 5, 2024.

GSW started in 1971 and has become one of the most active, adult recreational bicycling clubs in New England. The club emphasizes and promotes safety, education and camaraderie. Their signature event is the Seacoast Century held nearly every year since 1973.  This year will be the 50th anniversary of the event, which will be held on Saturday, September 21st, 2024.  Proceeds from this nationally-acclaimed event are invested back into GSW’s programs including this Grant Program.

Many thanks to GSW for making this amazing grant opportunity available again!  What a great way to promote bicycling in New Hampshire!

New Hampshire is listening. Let your voice be heard. The NH Department of Environmental Services has teamed up with NH Listens at UNH to conduct both in-person and online conversations to identify priorities for an update of the state’s Climate Action Plan.

This is a great opportunity for you to make your voice heard on the state’s Climate Action Plan.

Eight in-person meetings will be held around the state between January 16 and February 7, and online sessions will be held on January 9 and 24. These are not “hearings” per se, but rather facilitated small-group conversations to talk about local and regional issues and potential solutions. This is the perfect opportunity to make your voice and ideas heard.

Of course, expanded opportunities for safe biking and walking deserve a place on the list of climate change solutions! BWANH believes that the State needs to place a greater emphasis on biking and walking with respect to transportation infrastructure, transportation safety programs, and tourism strategy. Now that the transportation sector has become the largest source of emissions, it is more important than ever to strengthen climate action plans and policies.

If you are in the Greater Manchester, Greater Nashua, or the Greater Seacoast Region, your insights will also help inform the development of a Climate Action Plan for Greater Boston.

To learn more about New Hampshire’s planning process, visit this page. To register for any of the listening sessions, register here. BWANH will see you there!  We will have BWANH representatives commenting on the many way that expanding biking and walking opportunities and conditions in the state have a beneficial effect

Mark your calendars for Friday, February 9th, 2024. It’s NH Winter Bike To Work Day! Lots of Granite Staters have what it takes to bike to work all year ‘round! 

Consider biking to work on this day, along with thousands of others across the globe, or hosting an event to support these hearty souls. For example, you can support riders & spread bike joy by hosting or participating in: 

• A Breakfast Station (typically 7-9am)
• Bike Home Happy Hour (typically 4-7pm) 

If you’re planning to bike on Winter Bike To Work Day (Friday February 9^th), we hope you will do the following:

Step 1: Take the pledge! Do so by clicking on the event page and see where others are riding. Riders who take the pledge will be entered to win one of five great prizes donated by REI of Bedford, NH!

Step 2: Find an event in your area!  Check out the event page to find NH Winter Bike To Work Day events near you.

If you know anyone in your area that might be interested in hosting an event (it can be as simple as asking your favorite coffee shop to offer free coffee to commuters on 2/9) they can submit their event right on the  event page.

Register your event on the event page and it will be added to New Hampshire’s Winter Bike To Work Day Event Map here –>  tinyurl.com/winterbtwdnh 

The pledge will open up on officially on January 8th so check back for updates!

BWANH recently distributed an online public survey to help us better address our mission and stay focused on what matters to you.

The survey has been distributed widely starting in December and early January via our email lists and Facebook. The deadline for responding to the survey has been extended to  Sunday January 14^th, 2024.

If you have not done so already, please take the survey (link below) before Sunday, January 14th, 2024. 

Feel free to share out this survey to individuals and organizations who care about improving bike-ped conditions in New Hampshire.

Thank you to all who have already taken and or shared the survey so far! We look forward to reviewing, summarizing and sharing results with you soon!

Here is the link to the survey –> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LJSB6SD

OPTIONAL: To learn more about New Hampshire’s “Bike Friendly Rating” by the League of American Bicyclists’, check out the bike-friendly report card for New Hampshire.