For those women in the later stages of pregnancy, Womyn's Wheel has special cycling apparel with extra cargo space in front, and back/stomach support. Though one of my friends was bicycling fine in normal clothes the day before her son’s birth, these clothes might have made it more comfortable. Their catalog also has other women's cycling clothing. Write to: Womyn’s Wheel, 540 Lafayette Rd, Hampton, NH 03842. The bicycle helmet’s increased popularity is due in part to creative school programs and media campaigns. The Washington (DC) Area Bicyclist Association’s Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute's Helmet Database can help you find just about anything having to do with bicycle helmets, including research articles and consumer reports from around the world. Photocopies of articles are available. Contact them at: Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, 4611 Seventh Street South, Arlington, VA 22204; phone (703)486-0100. By the way, they also publish a newsletter called The Helmet Update. The bicycle association’s address is 1819 H St. N.W., Suite 640, Washington, D.C. 20006; phone (202)872-9830. The quarterly Non-Motorist Information Exchange provides a forum for auto-free alternative transportation organizers in the Michigan area. For more information about the newsletter, contact: Katheryn Boris, Editor, PO Box 4256, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. In the DC area, a new activist organization is working for pedestrian rights and car-free areas. Their newsletter, Auto-Free DC News, can be ordered from PO Box 5411, Washington, DC 20016. As the U.S. railroad network continues to shrink, private landowners are buying up and fragmenting the abandoned railroad corridors. Tbe Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is trying to secure public access along deserted rail lines by converting them into “linear parks” and greenways. Hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders, cross-country skiers and wildlife are among the beneficiaries. One long term goal is to help build a transcontinental trail network. Besides their newsletter, Trailblazer (part of the $18.00 membership), there are two valuable books to familiarize you with their work: The 500 Great Rail-Trails Guide ($11.45) and Railroads Recycled: How Local Initiative and Federal Support Launched the Rails-to-Trails Movement 1965- 1990. ($14.75) From: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 1400 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036. The monthly newsletter Police On Bike News helps police learn to respect bicycles as a tool for better community relations and effective law enforcement. Their address is: 1006 E. Portugal St, Baltimore, MD 21231. Also, the 3rd Annual Police on Bikes Conference sponsored by the League of American Wheelmen is happening April 29 to May 1, 1993. For information call (410)539-3999. Cycle America’s mission is “to promote a coast-to-coast, multi-use transportation and recreational bicycle trail, which will be called the National Bicycle Greenway.” In part to fund this advocacy work, they publish various guides. The Central California Coast Cycle America Guide, offers 8 fold-out maps, color-coded for bicycling suitability, of the routes around Monterey Bay, Big Sur to Santa Barbara and Santa Clara County. It includes info about health food stores, lodging/camping, bike shops, spas, the intensity of different rides, mountain bike park routes, plus much info on the joys, and sale locations, of recumbent (laid back) bicycles. For more info contact: Cycle America, 147 River St South, Suite 222, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Phone (408)426-7702, Fax. (408)425-8533. Kokopelli Notes is a breath of fresh air both because the magazine is a celebration of self-propelled transportation (biking, walking...) and because not one car is used in publishing it! The “Bicycle Revolution Comes to Cuba” and their reviews of unusual bicycle-based businesses were among my favorites. A one-year subscription is $12.00, from Kokopelli Notes, PO Box 8186, Asheville, NC 28814. Phone (704)683-4844. California’s auto-choked cities need planners and people that acknowledge the compatibility between sunshine, short distances and bicycling. The planned Sacramento American Bicycle and Cycling Museum will encourage these changes. A Bicycle Advocacy Hall, a Bicycle library. Bicycle History, Education and Science Halls and much more are in the plans, waiting for enough Founding Members to make it a reality. Both volunteers and donations are welcome. To help or for more information, contact: Jeff Della Penna, ABCM, PO Box 161839, Sacramento, CA 95816. Phone (916)455-6251. RAIN Spring 1993 Volume XIV, Number 3 Page 51
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