Tempe Bicycle Action Group

TBAG will have a bike themed booth at this year’s ASU Family Fun Day on Saturday July 10th.

You can read about it here and the summary is below.

Saturday Jul 10, 2010
Location: ASU Art Museum
Cost: Free

What moves you? How do you get from one place to another? Walking, driving a car, riding a bike and traveling by train are all ways to move from here to there. This exhibition highlights these and other modes of transportation in paintings, sculpture and prints. Hands-on activities throughout the exhibition will get your imagination moving, too!

Sun 4/25: The Great Bike Chase
4.3 mile ride from Hance Park (3rd Ave. & Culver in Central Phx to the D’backs game at Chase Field. Free Bike Parking provided at Jefferson ST. Garage (Jefferson & 1st Ave., just south of Chase Field).
Pre-Event @ Hance Park (9-11a) features DIY silkscreen t-shirts, so remember to bring an old shirt to print on.
We still need volunteers for this event.
- GBC Ride Leaders (10:30a – 1:15pm)
- Bike Valet (12-4pm)
- Bike Valet Set-up (9a-12noon)
Event Info, Ticket Pricing & Route Map:
Or volunteer with us & get in to see the D’backs game for FREE.

Bike Month Continues…..
4/16 This Friday is TBAG’s monthly 3rd Fridays Ride. April’s theme is awesome local hotel bars. We meet at Tempe TownLake (Mill & Rio Salado) @ 7p. Additional details will be added to the blog soon. For questions or comments contact jeremy@biketempe.org
4/18 Sun: Bike2BBQ @ Papago Park. Registration starts 11a. Event times 12-sundown (approx 7p). Details will be posted on the blog very soon. Questions or comments please contact: sam@biketempe.org
to volunteer, check-out or Bike Month Volunteer Opportunities pg.

While most parts of the country celebrate Bike Month in May, we like to get the wheels rolling early, while the weather is still spectacular. This year, TBAG is involved in a whole host of Bike Month activities. The events are summarized over on our Bike Month 2010 page. Check Tempe in Motion’s page and Valley Metro’s page as well. This week:

Friday, April 2: Ride your bike over to Phoenix First Fridays, then check in at the Bike Valet. I will lead the nine-mile ride from Tempe Beach Park (corner of Mill and Rio Salado) to Phoenix. We’ll roll out by 6 for a leisurely ride there. Be sure to bring lights or plan on taking the light rail back to Tempe. Grab dinner on Mill Ave beforehand, or find something to eat at First Fridays instead.

We’re still looking for volunteers to help run the bike valet, which will run from 5 to 10 pm. Sign up for a valet shift at the end of this post.

Saturday, April 3: Used Bike Drive! Drop off a used bicycle at either Valley REI location, in Tempe or Paradise Valley. See the previous post, below.

It’s been almost a year in the making, and I must apologize for not making it happen sooner, but bicycle education is finally happening in Tempe. On February 20th, 2010, 10am-3pm we will host a League of American Bicyclists Traffic Skills 101 Express course at The Bicycle Cellar.

What: This shortened* 5 hour comprehensive course taught by a League of American Bicyclists certified League Cycling Instructor will give you the confidence you need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. The course covers vehicular cycling concepts, equipment safety checks, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques and includes a student manual. Recommended for adults and children above age fourteen, this fast-paced course prepares cyclists for a full understanding of vehicular cycling. A bicycle in working order & a helmet are required. Please come prepared to ride at least 5 miles, part of the hands on portion is parking lot drills and a road test. If you cannot afford to purchase a helmet, don’t worry, we will have free helmets the day of the course.

When: February 20th, 2010, 10am – 3pm
Where: The Bicycle Cellar @ Tempe Transportation Center
200 E. 5th Street, Tempe AZ 85281
@ the Veteran’s Way / College Avenue METRO stop
Why: So you can become a safer, more confident cyclist
Who: Presented by Tempe Bicycle Action Group & The Bicycle Cellar
$$$$: $10 payable the day of the course to cover student manual printing fees & venue cost, if you legitimately cannot afford this simply let us know and we can waive the fee.

Pre-registration is required, please do so here.

* The TS101 course is normally 9 hours long, we will be omitting certain material which we feel is best suited to individual learning or available from other local organizations, including:
“Bicycle Nomenclature/Selection/Fit”
“Bicycle Maintenance”
“Bicycle Clothing”

For additional information on the League of American Bicyclists and their education programs, visit http://www.bikeleague.org.

Bike Saviours is starting another session of our bike maintenance class on Monday Dec 7th. Classes will be held at Bike Saviours at 7pm every Monday. There will be 6 classes covering all aspects of maintaining a bike and teaching others how to do it. The classes are free and open to anyone regardless of previous experience. We ask that all of our volunteers take this class before they help others in the shop, but taking this class does not obligate you to volunteer.

This Monday we’ll introduce the class and Bike Saviours, talk briefly about different types of bikes, and get started working on headset bearings.

If you want to take the class you can just show up at Bike Saviours Monday night. Bike Saviours is at 601 W. University in Tempe, on the southwest corner of University and Roosevelt, go to the door on the side of Sunset Clothing Exchange.

Please email ryanguzy@gmail.com for more info.

We’ve been looking for a good excuse for a Tall Bike Joust, so come hang out with us for some food and random craziness from 12 pm to 8 on Saturday, December 12th. It’s our first in what we hope will be an annual Winter Games celebration!

Our BBQ will be at Tempe’s Daley Park at Encanto & College. Food and drinks will be provided, but you’re welcome to bring your favorite dish to share.

The Tall Bike Joust will take place from 4 to 6, double elimination style tournament. Other games will include a “Huffy Toss” and non-bike related stuff like bean bags & horseshoes.

BIKE JOUST – Anyone can enter. Joust as an individual, or organize a few teams. We’d love to see ANY and ALL local groups represented. Bikes from the co-op will be ready to use & practice on throughout the afternoon. Bring your own if you’ve got one.

We’re sharing the event with Bike Saviours who is celebrating their birthday! Congratulations to them on their success over the last several years, thanks to the support of the community.

T-shirts & spoke cards will be available, plus a raffle will be held for 2 vintage Peugeot Bicycles with proceeds to go to Bike Saviours.

Can’t wait to see you there!

The City of Tempe Traffic Sign Department has graciously agreed to give TBAG some scraps of reflective material left over from street sign manufacturing. This stuff is a high grade 3M adhesive reflective sheeting that meets state requirements for roadway signs. What does this mean? It’s BRIGHT and it’s REALLY REFLECTIVE! We have quite a bit in different size scraps, mostly fluorescent yellow in 14″ right angle triangles. There is some orange in smaller 4″ squares and strips as well as little bit of red. There are also hundreds of 4″ silver circles but due to age the adhesive is not as sticky as it used to be (I haven’t tried it yet but it might be revived by heating the sticky side and object surface with a hair drier before applying).

So you want some of this material for FREE and you’re wondering how it can be acquired. Well, your first opportunity will be to come to our annual meeting on Sunday, November 22nd at 6:30pm at Boulders on Broadway. We’ll bring a bunch of scraps along and you can grab a few pieces. The material is easily cut to size with a paper cutter or scissors, both of which we’ll bring so you can cut your pieces on site.