Tempe Bicycle Action Group

TBAG Third Fridays presents:
The MULLET RIDE

Show your redneck pride! Get out the Aquanet and peroxide and freshen up your do. This month we’re heading over to the glitzy McDowell strip to sample some of the swankiest dives in east Phoenix.

We’ll be a stone’s throw from the light rail our entire route, so if you need to check out early no worries.

What to wear – jean cutoffs, tank tops, western-checked shirts – NO SLEEVES. Show your sweet farmer’s tan, the ladies love this stuff. If you feel like your tresses ain’t golden or curly enough to roll with the best, you can find wigs at places like Fun Services Party Store, Mardi Gras Costumes, or even at your local Goodwill.

MEET at Tempe Beach Park on Friday July 16th at 7:30 p.m. We’ll roll out at 7:45. Bring lights and locks

This is a 21+ event, y’all bring your ID! Also, we’ll be in traffic and it’s real important everybody exercises safe behavior.

Be sure to RSVP to the facebook event here.

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Thanks to all of the volunteers that helped with April Bike Month. We had five successful events thanks to all of your help: Bike Saviours/REI Bike Drive, Mariposa Elementary Bike Rodeo, 1st Annual TBAG Bike to BBQ, Bike to Work and School Day, and the Great Bike Chase. We also saw the launch of PHXBAG(or BikePHX, or PHXBike, help decide the name!) with a First Fridays Bike Valet at the beginning of the month, and Bicycle Awareness Party at the end of the month.

Bike Saviours and Rusty Spoke collected over 75 used bikes with the help of both Valley REI locations. Both organizations would like to thank those who donated, and REI for supporting and hosting the event.

The Mariposa Elementary Bike Rodeo was also a big success with lots of kids in attendance learning to ride safely. Click here for a full recap.

It was great seeing everyone at the BBQ, we had a great turnout for our first event of this kind. We had families riding around the town lake in the morning, mountain bike rides throughout the day, and then the bike polo crew showed up in the afternoon to help us finish off the burgers and kegs. This event replaced Tempe’s Bike-a-Palooza event that was canceled due to budget cuts. TBAG will be taking a larger role hosting grassroots cycling events like this to get people to come out and have fun on their bikes.

Bike to Work and School Day gets better every year. This year we had volunteers at 7 free breakfast locations around Tempe talking to fellow bike commuters. The volunteers from each location also led rides to the Tempe Transit Center. Mariposa Elementary also promoted bike to school day for their students, there were over 100 kids that biked to school that day and we had volunteers on hand to promote cycling, safety, and fun.

The Great Bike Chase is a long standing Valley Metro event, but budget cuts increase the need for volunteer help. TBAG volunteers set up a DIY screen printing booth at Hance Park and helped people print their own bike and bike month t-shirts. Volunteers also helped with ride marshaling and bike valet parking at a Diamondbacks game. You’ll see the DIY screen printing at many of our upcoming events.

Thanks again to the volunteers, you are what makes TBAG a successful organization helping to promote cycling in Tempe and around the Valley.

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This morning, a fantastic team of TBAG volunteers and more got together to host a bicycling event at Kyrene de la Mariposa, a kindergarten through fifth-grade school that is a pilot school for introducing Safe Routes to School in the Phoenix area. We don’t have a final count on how many kids participated, but a lot of folks turned out and the event was a whole lot of fun for everyone involved.

Volunteers first helped to set up two bike rodeo courses, one for the younger kids and one for the older kids. Meanwhile, the kids completed a fun run around the school and surrounding park. When the kids returned, they got fitted for new helmets and had a chance to embellish them with all kinds of fun decorations. My personal favorites were a girl who attached a small turtle to her helmet, very much like the turtle on the helmet of TBAG board member Ryan, and another girl who added a pink hippopotamus and a mini-bouquet of roses to hers.

Once the kids were helmeted, they headed over to the bike rodeo courses to practice important safety concepts that they need to know to ride on roadways. I helped guide the kindergarten through third grade kids through practice with leaving the driveway, using hand signals, riding straight while looking back, stopping quickly, avoiding dangerous dogs, and dodging roadway debris. The kids had such a great time they were begging to repeat and practice the exercises.

After the safety rodeos, everyone was ready to put their skills to the test, so we reassembled for a short bike ride. Ryan, riding a tallbike, led the ride, and it was incredible to see so many kids forming a huge bicycling parade. Upon returning to the school, we held a raffle for two kids’ bicycles donated by REI, and gave prizes to the kids for completing the ride and safety events.

The whole event was a great lead-up to our next planned event at the school, on Earth Day, April 22, which is Bike to Work and School Day, where we’ll be encouraging families and kids to ride on in to school!

Many thanks to all of our TBAG volunteers, who helped make the event a tremendous success in so many ways, to the City of Tempe for organizational and logistical help, to Ariel Rodriguez and his team of Recreational Programming students from Arizona State University, and to the parents and staff of Kyrene de la Mariposa for supporting the event.

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Spring is well underway, so it’s time for another expedition to the farmer’s market! This will be a leisurely ride down to the Phoenix Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning. Let me know if you think you’ll be there.

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While I’d guess at least half of our members are in Tempe proper, I’m sure we have some fringe members all across the Phoenix Metro area. On Monday, Humana Healthcare is set to launch their Freewheelin’ Bike Sharing Program at the Mesa Guidance Center which is located on the Southwest corner of Recker and McKellips in Northeast Mesa. The program is free to anyone 18+ with two requirements. Helmets are required, and provided for free if necessary. Also, you must attend a 1 hour Safety Info Session. Yours truly will be leading the Safety Info Session as well as conducting a Confidence Ride Course in addition to leading group rides from 2.5 to 10 miles long. Here’s the press release from Humana:

Please join us for a special event celebrating Humana’s launch of Freewheelin, a free community bike-sharing program. Representatives from Humana and the city of Mesa will make brief remarks and then take an inaugural ride. Members of the community are encouraged to join the group ride on a Freewheelin bike or one of their own. *The 20 Freewheelin bikes are first come, first served. Come and enjoy the refreshments and fun Freewheelin gear.

Located at Humana’s Guidance Center, Freewheelin is a program offering anyone 18 or over a free bike ride. The Guidance Center will supply a free helmet and offer group rides led by a bicycle expert. To participate, users need to bring an id and credit card and attend a bicycle safety information session.

We look forward to seeing you at this community event.

Event Details:
Monday, October 26
10:30am
Humana Guidance Center
5943 E. McKellips Rd. Ste 106
Mesa, AZ 85215

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If you’re not busy this Saturday, come down to Tempe Beach Park and join us for a ride to the movies.
We’ll catch a matinee of the Where the Wild Things Are film over at Harkins Tempe Marketplace. Ride starts at TBP at Rio Salado & Mill, and winds around the campus area. See the route map here:
mapmyride

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This Saturday, March 21, I will be leading a special double-ride to the Scottsdale Farmer’s Market and then to Sprinkles for cupcakes! We will meet at 8 am at the Tempe Beach Park entrance for an 8-mile ride up the greenbelt, and will plan on returning by noon. It should be fun!

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The Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists (CAzB) is offering several bicycle related courses in January / Feb and March. Topics include:

• Road 1 for Commuters and Beginners
• Road 1 for Experienced Cyclists
• Road 1 for Women
• Basic Bicycle Maintenance
• Mountain Bike Basics

All classes are free but registration is required, visit this link for more information. Thanks to Ben for the heads up on these!

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