Get a report of what we’ve been up to all year and get some skin in the game at the annual voting and committee assignment meeting at 5 p.m. Nov. 3 at Boulders on Broadway. RSVP on our Facebook event here.

Since the TBAG board has seen a serious change of members, there has been a lot going on! Make the choice to lead or join one of our fine committees concentrating on a multitude of different areas.

While you’re at it, grab a snack and a beer on us, plus snag some sweet beer specials!

• Where: Boulders on Broadway
• When: Sunday, Nov. 3, 5 p.m.
• Why: Become a bike activist star and spokesman.

RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/570784782968777/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Thanks to a grant from the Not One More Foundation, the billboard has been renewed for two more months with new a campaign inspired by Pittsburgh’s I Ride A Bike campaign.

Kolby Granville, Tempe City Councilmember and bicycle advocate, kicks off the series. We’re working to book other well known public figures with a goal of doing a series of three people over two months. We also hope to refine the presentation as we go.

The campaign is designed to humanize cyclists. Motorists should be aware that people on bicycles are, like anyone else, pillars of community, members of families, workers, auto owners, and so on, just like anyone else. We hope that some empathy encourages people to take care and save a life.

There’s so much to do on a bike this weekend, you just might not have time to work on that stamp collection or weed the garden. Aside from the dozens of road and mountain bike rides sure to be out in the Valley, two brand-spanking new events are hitting the streets in Tempe.

It starts off with a bang on Friday night with the first ever Arizona Bike Party, a roving bike ride that starts at Tempe Beach Park and heads off into the night with stops at public spaces to provide opportunities for people to socialize, chat, dance, and maybe even solve the world’s problems…who knows! Ride meets at 7, departs Beach Park at 8 and repeats monthly.

The second inaugural event is the Science Sundays Bike Ride. This is an opportunity to spend the afternoon with a local expert and learn something about the natural sciences right in your own backyard. The ride starts at Bike Cellar in the Tempe Transit Center at 2pm. Scott Nowicki, a geology professor and TBAG legend, will lead the ride around sites in North Tempe to investigate the geologic history of the region. The ride will occur every other Sunday with different guides and disciplines every time. Hooray science!

Remember to keep checking the TBAG calendar for more random bike events.

How do you prepare for the best bike event around? You prefunk all week! This year’s Tempe Tour de Fat (Oct. 5) is preceded by rides, beer and bikes galore!

Tour de Fat Week – an event every night! 

Tue Oct 1 - Backyard Games and Clips of Faith Films Viewing – The Yard – 7pm-9pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/458811547550142/

Wed Oct 2 - New Belgium Tap Takeover – Boulders on Broadway – 6pm-9pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/505208392890083/

Thurs Oct 3 - Tempe – 80′s workout ride and bike giveaway – Meet 6:30 p.m. @ Tavern on Mill

Let’s get physical! This time around, strap on your spandex attire for the final warmup ride before Tempe Tour de Fat. Stretch out on your bike starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Tavern on Mill, then get some cardio at 7pm when you cruise to Gringo Star, Taste of Tops, and- for the final stretch- dig deeper to get to Casey Moore’s for the chance to win a 2013 New Belgium Cruiser!

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/213861452110223/

Fri Oct 4 - Handlebar Tempe – Meet the Carnies – 7pm-9pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/328475800632658/

TEMPE TOUR DE FAT! SAT OCT 5th – 11am-5pm

And the main event! Tempe Tour de Fat! RSVP here and invite all of your friends: https://www.facebook.com/events/170669189752637/ 100% of the proceeds from the Tempe Tour de Fat go to local bicycling non-profits like: Tempe Bicycle Action Group, Bike Saviours, and The Mountain Bike Association of Arizona (MBAA) But we can’t do it without our great volunteers. If you’d like to help this year, sign up here: http://www.biketempe.org/events/tour-de-fat/

Volunteers Needed Friday Oct. 11 – Sunday Oct. 13 2013

Tempe Bicycle Action Group hosts a free ‘bike valet’ – a secured and monitored bicycle parking area at Tempe Beach Park during the Tempe Oktoberfest celebration. Just click on the link below to sign up on the form, and tell your friends to sign up too! Volunteers get free food and beer!
http://goo.gl/LKg0uO

We need volunteers to help set up on Friday, staff the bike valet Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and tear down on Sunday evening. No experience needed! What do you do? Simple enough: Park & watch the good people’s bikes in shifts throughout the weekend and earn free beer and food tickets!

We will have a great time and provide a great service to bikers attending Oktoberfest. All you have to do is hang out with us, valet and watch bikes and chat with bikers as they drop off or pick up their trusty steeds.

Sign up for as many shifts as you would like! There are 3 shifts needed on Friday, 5 on Saturday, and 3 on Sunday. We need a minimum of 3 volunteers per shift per day, but as many as 6 for the peak times – afternoons and closing time, so sign up for several and invite all your friends to help! Each volunteer must sign up individually using this form: http://goo.gl/LKg0uO

For more info on the event, visit http://www.tempeoktoberfest.com/bike-parking.php

If you have any questions, please contact Rich: turtlewheels@gmail.com

Tempe Bicycle Action Group, in cooperation with the Mitchell Park East Neighborhood in downtown Tempe, has completed a bicycle-themed public art  installation on Farmer Avenue, between University Dr. and 13^th St.  In 2012, TBAG commissioned the artist team, co-LAB led by Matthew Salenger and Karl Eicher, to develop permanent sculptural elements of a bicycle theme in four traffic calming locations along the street.  TBAG funded the public art through the proceeds of the annual Tour De Fat event in Tempe , hosted by New Belgium Brewery.  The project demonstrates the importance of public art and bicycles in making a street and neighborhood more livable.  The artwork also reinforces the creativity and strength of the Mitchell Park East neighborhood and it will be a permanent reminder of the contributions of TBAG in Tempe.

Science is all around you. There is geology underfoot, biology scratching at your door, energy and water being piped and transmitted right into your house. Join local experts on rambling bike rides around your city to investigate some the most interesting scientific field sites we can find. Every other Sunday, starting at 2 pm, we’ll head out into the wilderness (or the urban jungle) on a slow-paced, family-friendly ride. Meet at the Bike Cellar in the Tempe Transit Center light rail station, and expect to spend a few hours out and about.

The Fall schedule will be kept current on the TBAG calendar, and the line-up is:
October 20th: Geology
November 3: Herpetology
November 17: Energy
December 1: Water
December 15: Anthropology

Two months ago, Becker Boards sent us photos of our brand new billboard. I had to go see it for myself to make sure it wasn’t a rouse, but sure enough, a 14 foot high, 48 foot wide billboard was talking about bikes. The photos got posted on Facebook and were an instant hit with our followers.

The ad was inspired by one LA Metro did. It struck a chord here. Clearing up confusion about whether bicycles are allowed to be on the road (yes!) seemed important.

And create dialogue it did. Suddenly people — and news outlets — wanted to talk to us about it. One hectic week, we had three interview requests we were scrambling to cover. We talked to two different TV networks, one twice, a morning news radio station, and a major local newspaper.

People interested in bikes in Tempe are finding us. These last two months, the ranks of people following us swelled by 25%. I thank you for joining us and hope we’re able to provide you with some delicious cycling community. Community is important.

Last week, long time TBAGers Jeremy Deatherage and Scott Nowicki organized a photoshoot at Tempe Beach Park for a possible new billboard design. We’re grateful for the dialog created by this one, but we have a lot we want to say, and our Awareness Committee latched on to a very simple message. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but the goal is simply to make Tempe residents feel good about living in a bike town. We want to show cycling in Tempe as a friendly, welcoming, and pleasant part of Tempe.

We talk about our board, the Special Projects Unit, the Awareness Committee, and so on, but really we’re just a bunch of people who like riding bikes who meet over beer to work together on all of our ideas. Awareness, Special Projects, and Advocacy are mostly made up of interested members of the community. If you aren’t already on the Volunteers list, please click “update subscription preferences” on the bottom of this email (or click “Join Us” at the top if you’re viewing this on our site) and you’ll get the meeting announcements. Click Advocacy too — Tempe can’t say that there isn’t a cyclist community when we all show up to a public meeting wearing helmets. Thank you for riding your bike!

Support your favorite local bike shop and revolutionize your life by  trading in your car for a bike of your choosing Oct. 5 during the Tempe Tour de Fat. New Belgium Brewing Co. will pay a local establishment up to $2,250 for a bike when you fork over your keys and vow to live a car-free life.

It’s the day after, and you’ve still got your bike. In the midst of the aftermath, the survivors are meeting on Saturday, September 14 to celebrate and help out those who need some love. In September we’re not just riding, we’re reaching out to our local community by sharing what we’ve got. All goods donated will be handed off to Tempe Community Action Agency, which assists those in need, locally. It’s your social ride with conscience. Some ideas for donation follow.

Hats
Sunscreen
New underwear
Sport bras for women
New Socks
T-shirts
Non-perishable foods
Diapers (sizes 0-4)
Grocery store gift cards
Gas gift cards
Feminine hygiene products

DATE Saturday, September 14, 2013
TIME 7:30 p.m.
PLACE Tempe Beach Park entrance on
Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue
COST Free (as always)
ATTIRE Post apocalyptic
ROUTE To be announced

Ride Tips
Bring drinking water.
Remember this is a social ride, you’re encouraged to leave your anti-social skills at home.
Pay as you go and try to avoid tabs because it leads to departure issues.
Cash is easier than plastic.
Police yourself and not others.
Drink responsibly.
Ride safely, you’re riding at your own risk.
We are warriors and we ride rain or shine, depart at 7:45 p.m. and post to the events page along the way, so be sure you’ve joined the event for alerts and photos of our pedal powered zaniness.