AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi
Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis and Anne Arundel County (Bike AAA) president Jon Korin enjoys pointing out the host of positive developments for area riders that the organization is responsible for. He and Sandy Bishop, manager for Bike AAA’s Cycling Without Age program, were eager to discuss some of those achievements.
The pair were fresh from being heavily involved in this year’s Lifeline 100 Century Ride on October 5th. The event was hosted by Bike AAA in partnership with the Anne Arundel County Police Department and the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation & Parks. In fact, Korin was wearing the Lifeline 100 t-shirt issued to each participant in the ride..
It was only fitting that Korin and Bishop met me over coffee at Tom Caraker Plaza behind The Big Bean Coffee Shop. The late Caraker, best known as “The Mayor of the B&A Trail” and prominent Trailblazers member, had been one of Lifeline 100’s most ardent supporters. (The sign for the 2025 event was still posted as can be seen in the opening photo. Korin and Bishop also wanted to show off the sign honoring their friend Tom Caraker.)
The plaza is popular no matter what the weather. It’s a great place for trail users to stop for a breather and a bottle of water or an icy beverage from The Big Bean in the summer or a cup of hot coffee or cocoa in the cooler months. Food is available from the shops behind Tom Caraker Plaza as well.
According to Korin, Bike AAA’s mission is pretty much the same today as when it was launched in January of 2013, originally as a project of Leadership Anne Arundel.
“We are an all-volunteer 501C3 with the mission to promote safe cycling for transportation, recreation and fitness for people of all ages and all abilities,” he said. “We do that by advocating for more safe places to ride, better laws that protect people who are traveling outside of a vehicle be it on foot, bicycle, scooter, assisted device, scooter or other means – vulnerable road users as they’re called.”
Bike AAA has developed a variety of programs that promote cycling and safety for every age and ability.
Wheels of Hope is a bicycle refurbishment program. Volunteers collect and fix donated used bicycles of all kinds for men, women and children of all ages. Once refurbished, the program provides the bikes back to the community to people who rely on them and might not otherwise have a bike.
“A majority of our adult bikes go to people in substance abuse programs who, typically, are unable to drive. Yet, they need to get around in order to get to a job interview or a job, to attend an AA meeting, or get wherever they need to go,” Korin said.
Each bike Wheels of Hope restores and donates goes out with a helmet, bike lock and light. The program delivers hundreds of bikes a year all over Anne Arundel County through counsellors and recovery programs. They also work with a variety of partners connected with underserved youth and provide bikes to summer camps in the Annapolis area. At holiday time, Wheels of Hope provides children’s bikes to many organizations.
Another important program is Cycling Without Age. Sandy Bishop discovered an already existing Cycling Without Age program while searching for an adaptive bike for one of her daughters who rides a bike to work.
“We found that the program had been started for seniors with mobility issues in Copenhagen in 2012 and reached Wisconsin in the United States in 2014. But there wasn’t such a program here,” she said. “I met with Jon Korin and asked if Bike AAA would support such an initiative and he said yes.”
From there, it was a matter of making connections within the community for Bishop. The first connection she made through the Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce was with Sunrise Assisted Living’s executive director who, German by birth, was familiar with cycling and fully embraced having a Cycling Without Age program. Sunrise subsequently provided a location for storage of the program’s equipment.
“We, in turn, offer rides to Sunrise residents and really to anyone in the community. In addition, we offer them to residents of Spring Arbor, Brightview, The Sheridan and Heartlands,” she noted.
Now in its third year of operation, Cycling Without Age provides rides for seniors with mobility limitations or dementia patients and typically uses the B &A Trail. From pick-up to drop off the rides last an hour and the passengers love it.
The program uses three adaptive trishaw bikes that have seats in front with good visibility for passengers while a pilot operates the bike from the back. All the pilots are Bike AAA volunteers. A few have been high school students. However, most pilots are 50 or 60 years of age, and one is 83. The trishaws are electric assist and are designed to be easy to ride but they require a little bit of height to see over the canopy.
Bishop arrived for our meeting at Tom Caraker Plaza peddling her own personal cargo bike which she regularly uses, among other things, for transporting tools or equipment and for shopping.
Bike AAA also runs various bike events, the biggest being Sunday’s Lifeline 100 Century Ride which was a great success. The annual fundraiser for people of all ages and abilities includes rides of various lengths and types including trail rides and children’s rides. There is also a special bike rodeo for kids.
“It’s a really wonderful charity event with all proceeds going to local non-profits,” Korin noted. “From 2014 on, we’ve generated over $400,000 for the non-profits choosing five or six different ones each year.”
Bike AAA even offers local charities the opportunity to use the event as a fundraising platform for their own organizations (with everything already taken care of from routes and food to permitting and bike techs.)
As bike safety advocates, Korin and Bike AAA representatives meet with multiple levels of local and state governments working to get bills passed. Though they’re advocating for cyclists, they are, as importantly, advocating for pedestrians too.
Both Bishop and Korin have been pleased to see Anne Arundel County making progress in creating safer conditions for cyclists. They established a Bike Advisory Commission in 2015 and, where there were no bike lanes on roadways before, there now are some and hopefully will be more. They’ve even created traffic-free Bike Safety Parks where children can learn and practice safe riding techniques.
Lastly, the county has created a system of trails that are safe for riders. They include:
The B & A Trail running 13 miles from Annapolis to Glen Burnie over the former route of the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line Railroad.
The WB&A Trail running 13 miles from Odenton to Lanham over the former route of the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway.
The still-being-completed Broadneck Trail starting at Anne Arundel Community College and running all the way from Cape St. Claire to Sandy Point State Park.
The newest South Shore Trail being built from Annapolis through Crownsville to the WB&A Trail in Odenton.
As we concluded our meeting, Bishop and Korin reiterated that Bike AAA hopes to persuade more people to leave the car home and bike to where they need to go for obvious reasons. It’s good for the environment, good for easing congestion, good for health and a good way to save money.
The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility whilereducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!
and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.
