* Original article here.

MANILA, Philippines—A bill granting fiscal incentives to bicycle commuters has been filed in the Senate.

Senate Bill No. 2924, known as “An act granting incentives to encourage and promote commuting by bicycles or other non-motorized transport vehicles, and for other purposes,” will entitle employees who regularly and mainly use bicycles or other non-motorized transport vehicles as means of transport to and from their places of work to an annual tax deduction of P2,500 from their gross income.

“Expenses incurred by employers or schools in providing their employees or students, by way of benefits, bicycles and non-motorized transport vehicles, eligible equipment, and bike-friendly facilities shall be deductible in full from their gross income,” the bill states.

Bicycles and other non-motorized transport vehicles granted by employers to its managerial and supervisory employees in compliance will not also be taxable under the bill.

Senator Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos Jr. said he filed the bill to address the primordial problems of air pollution, traffic and road congestion, rising costs of gasoline and other commodities, personal health problems, and other related social issues.

“This bill seeks to introduce a world-renowned approach to solving the above primordial problems of our society: the promotion and re-invigoration, by way of fiscal incentives, of bicycle commuting on Philippine roads,” Marcos said in his explanatory note in the bill.

The proposed legislation, Marcos said, also seeks to “incentivize” bicycle use as a mode of daily transport, particularly the use by workers and students, in order to maintain the present

bicycle-commuting scene and also attract more bicycle users in the country.

“The specific targets are the employees and students who shall be the direct participants in the fiscal incentive program or system, as well as the employees, schools, companies and other institutions that shall provide the conditions for the system,” Marcos said.

“Riders and direct users are benefited by bicycle-related facilities and tax deduction incentives, while indirect participants are benefited also by way of tax deduction on expenses and corporate social responsibility programs,” he pointed out.

* Original article here.

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Time: Saturday, August 20 @ 7:00am – 10:00am
Location: Assembly at Phoenix Gas Station, Molino road Corner Daang Hari, Bacoor, Cavite

We are inviting you all to the launching of Bacoor Bike lane along Daang Hari, Bacoor, Cavite. The bike lane will start at Phoenix Molino Gas Station up to Verdana.

This bike lane will serve as an awareness that the Municipality of Bacoor is a bike-friendly place which treats the biking community with the same courtesy and safety that it offers to all road users. This is the first municipality in Cavite to implement a bike lane, a project that is worth undertaking.

When: August 20, 2011
Time: 7:00am
Where: Phoenix Gas Station, Molino road Corner Daang Hari, Bacoor, Cavite (assembly area)
Parade Route: Phoenix Gas Station up to Verdana along Daanghari

A project of Municipality of Bacoor supported by Phoenix Gas Station, Grantrail Cycles, and CAMBIO.

For the Facebook event page, click here.

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* Original article here.

Manila, Philippines – The Prima Cycling Team, representing the Philippines, pocketed two gold medals and one silver medal in the recent 2011 Singapore National Open Cycling Championship at the Kent Ridge Park in Singapore.

The father-and-son tandem of former Philippine downhill team coach Frederick Farr and rising junior cyclist John Derrick Farr outraced all foreign riders in their respective divisions in downhill event to capture a gold medal each.

Copyright: Chucky Marcelo

Frederick Farr, 39,timed in 1:09.670 in the Downhill Masters 35-above category to outclass Singapore’s Mohd Fahmie Senen (1:11.080) and Arnold Lacorte of Philippines (1:13.163).

“This is my first time to compete in an international race so it is really unforgettable to win a gold there as an athlete,” said the older Farr, who thanked Alex Lim and Prima Pasta for supporting their campaign during the competition.

The 14-year-old Farr captured the gold in the downhill junior 14-19 class in 1:04.333 time to beat Singaporean riders Harold Foo (1:06.269) and Shadumi Anaqui (1:09.948).

Alex Lim, the benefactor of the Prima Cycling squad, thanked Prima Pasta, Isuzu, South Cycle Bikeshop, TM Olegario Construction, Lou Laforteza, Lightwater, Panaracer Tires and Nema for their all-out support.

John Michael Mapacpac finished second in the cross country sports 19-to-34-year-old class in 51.19 for the silver medal behind gold medal winner Jordan Ross Aveyard of Great Britain (45.28).

Alvin Timbol, the other Prima rider, ended sixth in 1:18.328 in the Downhill Masters 35-year-old category.

“I’m so proud of them. I just told them to compete for our country and then they went home with two gold medals and a silver medal,” said Lim, who also supports other sports like bowling and badminton.

* Original article here.

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* Original article here.

In a bid to reduce air pollution, the Pasig City Council has approved an ordinance promoting biking as an environmentally sound mode of transportation.

Signed by all members of the council and Mayor Bobby Eusebio, the ordinance titled “Bicycle Transportation Promotion Ordinance of 2011” cited the need to promote nonmotorized transportation and also laid down the mechanisms, incentives and penalties for violators.

It was authored by Councilor Augustin Alexee Santiago.

“[An estimated] 60 percent of the air pollution in Pasig City comes from smoke-belching vehicles. The ever-increasing number of vehicles on the road has contributed immensely to the worsening of the air quality in the Philippines, particularly in Metro Manila,” the ordinance said.

It called for the designation of exclusive lanes for bike riders on major streets based on the Bike Map Guide developed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

Bikers must use protective gear and rear lighting at night to avoid being penalized. Those caught without the required gear would be given a citation ticket on the first offense and pay a fine of P150.

Second-time offenders face a fine of P300.

Should they be caught without a rear light, they will be fined P200 (first offense), P350 (second) and P500 (third).

On the other hand, motorists obstructing the bike lanes will be asked to pay a fine ranging from P200 to P500.

Business establishments who fail to provide bicycle parking racks will also be penalized, with fines ranging up to P5,000.

To ensure the safety of bikers on alleys and narrow streets, the city government will set up bike patrols to monitor and patrol bike lanes.

* Original article here.

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• Spy+West Coast Customs!

It wasn’t that long ago West Coast Customs took on the unique project of building the SPY+ RV into drivable destination with the Discovery Channel film crews in tow. And now, this Sunday, March 20th 9:00 pm (PST) you can check out their creation during the SPY + WCC premiere showing of INSIDE WEST COAST CUSTOMS on Discovery’s HD Theatre!

Proof that looking good takes effort and style, the legendary builders, WCC, teamed up with the SPY Optic brand to make something truly amazing. Tune in for the hour-long special as WCC founder Ryan Friedlinghaus and his crew turn the SPY+ RV into a mobile showroom, the likes of which you’ve never seen.  This dream machine has the touch that only WCC could create, a perfect fit for pro snowboarder Louie Vito, who just won X Games gold, including a VIP lounge and a state of the art vault showroom customized for the SPY+ brand. See the Kings Of Customs take a swing at the SPY+ RV and hit it out of the park! Make sure you tune in this Sunday night and take a ride with SPY+ and WCC!

You will also have the chance to see the show with additional airings happening on these dates:

March 20    9pm PST (60 minutes)
March 21    12am and 5pm
March 26    4am
March 27    8pm and 11pm
March 28    4pm
March 31    8pm and 11pm

Also, be sure to check out the SPY+ WCC Collaboration glasses available exclusively at Tillys www.tillys.com

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The great guys at Crankskins are kind enough to extend a 20% off discount to The MTB Junkie readers — that’s YOU!

So go to the Crankskins store now and avail of this discount before it expires.

Upon checkout use the code mtbjunkie. The special price would automatically be applied. Woot!

Thanks Crankskins!

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Email subject: 2010 Top Blog!

Huh? I asked myself. Spam? Scam? Sham? I clicked on it to open the email.

“Congratulations!” That’s the first word (OK, first word after the greeting) on the email I got last Friday, which I only saw last Monday since I had a tiring Saturday of riding and hiking (hike-a-bikes!) at Mt. Batulao with a few friends — decided to rest, read, kill time with the family on Sunday.

I continued reading the email:

Congratulations! Madison here, and on the heels of your nomination, your blog, The Mountain Bike Junkie, was determined to be one of the best blogs to learn about your topic, and has received our 2010 Top 10 Extreme Sports: Wheeled Blogs award!

You can see your name amongst our winners here at:
www.onlineschools.org/top_extreme_wheeled/#The_Mountain_Bike_Junkie

Winners were chosen through a scoring system led by internet nominations, which came from your reader base!

I frown. I scratch my head. Is this for real? I look around. I do a few searches about the main domain (onlineschools.org). I didn’t see anything weird. So I guess it’s legit? I hope so.

If it is real, if it is legit, then I’ll take this opportunity to say thank you to you guys, to whoever nominated the site, and to whoever voted. You rock!

Any of you guys got something to do with this? I really wanna know

Again, thanks! Happy trails, and God bless!

Ride safe, ride hard!

Francis A.

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James Deakin shared a note on Facebook about the PNCC allowing Class 1 vehicles to pay Class 1 fees even with bicycles mounted on roof racks:

Here’s the email

Dear Mr. Deakin, Thank you for writing to us and calling our attention to the matter of Class 1 vehicles with bicycles mounted on racks. I have instructed our toll plaza personnel to quickly take a picture of the vehicle involved and to classify and charge the vehicle as Class 1. At the end of the teller’s shift, the picture will be used to reconcile the difference between the report of the teller and that of the lane equipment. Our collection system and equipment will be upgraded within this year. The upgrade will include an improvement of the vehicle classification capability.

Please email me if you have any other observations that you would want me to look into.

Sincerely, Ramon M. BorromeoOfficer-In-Charge Skyway O & M Corporation

It doesn’t really apply to me as I use a hitch receiver rack on my SUV and a trunk rack on my sedan, but I know this it of news would make a lot of people happy. Plus, it used to really bother me why they would charge Class 2 fees to a Class 1 vehicle with a bike mounted on the roof.

Link to the note here.

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