Virginia Key mountain bike trails to open

Mountain bike fans, get ready for a grand opening Feb. 20 at the new trails on Miami's Virginia Key. Volunteers have been working hard the past couple of months to lay out the trails on North Point and build them so they won't wash out. Big thanks go to Mack Cycle & Fitness for a grant that helped make the work possible, and to John Voss of the Oleta River Adventure Association, who wouldn't sit down or shut up until his vision was being put in place. The International Mountain Bike Association also deserves a shout-out for timely technical assistance.

State airs bike-lane plans for Red Road

For Miami Bike Scene's report on last night's West Miami meeting about the planned improvement of SW 57th Avenue, click here.  Sorry not to have a direct report; a busy life prevailed and I forgot the date.

Look out for Marathon runners on Sunday

If you're riding out this Sunday, Jan. 30, plan your route with the ING Miami Marathon in mind. At various times during the morning, runners will be on the MacArthur, Venetian, and Rickenbacker causeways, as well as parts of downtown Miami, South Beach, and Coconut Grove.  Here's a course map to help you plan.

Youth hold bike summit

Anyone know of Floridians attending this event?

Youth Bike Summit from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Let's stop distracted driving

Bike valet back at Fairchild

League blesses Tropical Cyclocross

Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, spent much of Sunday at Tropical Cyclocross, promoting League membership and the newly revised book Smart Cycling. The event and a picnic lunch for League members were sponsored by Mack Cycle & Fitness, whose owner, Mary Jane Mark, is at right.  Others here are, from left, Kathryn Moore of the South Florida Bike Coalition, Clarke, and John Hopkins of Green Mobility Network.

Much of the organizing and promotion was handled by Dario Perez of Miami Velo Racing.  An impressive feat, indeed! The day's events were a lot of fun, with spirited competition in several age classes.  It all kicked off with a 5K run called Tropi-Trot, an excellent overture to a glorious Florida winter morning in one of our most beautiful spots, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens.

Trail builders work up a sweat

This just in: the Mack Cycle Trail Builders labor hard on Miami's Virginia Key mountain bike trails. You'll find lots more of Mickey Rivera's shots at Facebook.

Injured congresswoman a bike advocate

Did you know that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona Democrat shot by an unbalanced college dropout on Saturday,  was a bicycle advocate? It's true! Read all about it at Streetsblog.

Way prepared to close Dadeland Gap

Builders' pegs mark where the M-Path Extension will be built north of North Kendall Drive, starting this week. The project will include missing links in the M-Path from SW 67th Avenue to Metrorail's Dadeland North Station.

Bikes to help with Miami Beach gridlock

The Miami Herald takes note of DecoBike, the visionary new bike-share program in Miami Beach: Pedal Power. It's alarming to see how many negative comments were posted about the piece. Your thoughts?

How bikes can save on the cost of education

Thanks to the Florida Bicycle Association for spotting this useful piece:
http://floridabicycle.org/wordpress/2010/12/what-richard-schwinn-says-about-how-bikes-can-cut-cost-of-government/