Join SanTan Brewing and TBAG on Sunday, May 26, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. for a canal bike ride in Scottsdale and Phoenix!

Cost: $25 gets you a SanTan beer at each stop and food at Kelly’s. Purchase tickets in advance at http://bit.ly/YNdBbh! Get yer tickets soon – these rides are hot! – and RSVP at the Facebook page here.

Route:
Meet at 3 p.m. at Kelly’s at SouthBridge (7117 E. 6th Ave., Scottsdale, AZ 85250) –ride to–; Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn (5532 N. Palo Cristi Rd., Paradise Valley, AZ 85253) –ride to–; O.H.S.O. (4900 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85018) –ride to/ends at–; Dos Gringos in Old Town (4209 N. Craftsman Ct., Scottsdale, AZ 85251)

TBAG is providing ride leadership for this ride, all of the SanTan rides, and other cruiser rides around the Valley. If you are interested in joining the team please email info@biketempe.org Ride leaders always get free tickets to the rides which include free beer and food.

Tempe is giving you another chance to tell them you want to keep seeing bikes on the streets.

Grab your friends and head to the Tempe General Plan Citizen’s Workshop Wednesday April 24 from 6-7 p.m. at the Tempe Library on Southern and Rural.

This working group needs community input – so be sure to drop by and tell them that the city of Tempe needs to continue funding bike infrastructure to support you, me and all the other two-wheeled gearheads out there!

Love bikes and want to join, but not sure what to talk about? Here are some starting points:

• Complete Tempe’s streets
• Expanding the bike network – both dedicated lanes and bike-friendly streets
• Create more bike boulevard systems
  

Join in and let your friends know you’re going to be there at the TBAG Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/570553759643281/#

0001! Bleep blorp. Droids unite!

This Tempe Bicycle Action Group Second Saturday ride isn’t for the flesh bags that now think they control the planet, but for us robots who truly hold all the controls.

On this night, wear your nuts, bolts and brackets with pride!

At 7:30 p.m on Nov. 10, meet up at the spot where those bags of guts often gather, Tempe Beach Park. From there we’ll take Tempe by storm and lubricate our gears with the liquids produced from hops, wheat and yeast, which man calls beer.

Since many of us can’t simply transform and roll out, just grab a two-wheeled vessel the mortal ones deem “bicycles” and join the metal head revelry. All skill levels welcome.

Feeling like a can of rusty bolts and need some ideas on how to shine up for this glorious event? Try cutting some creative patters in cardboard and covering it with tinfoil, or cutting pieces of insulated pipe. Or copy our friend who often bikes through Mill Ave. and start collecting hundreds of aluminum can tabs.

Come join in the robot revolution!

When: Saturday Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Tempe Beach Park Entrance. Mill and Rio Salado

How: For more information and to RSVP for the event, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/383185661757677/

6 p.m | meet at Tempe Beach Park (NW corner Mill and Rio Salado) end at Boulders

Get some dirt on your tires for this non-technical ½ mile cruise through Papago Park. For more information, visit http://www.mbaa.net. After the dirt the ride will stop by Tavern on Mill before ending at Boulders on Broadway for another couple sips of delicious mana from heaven, craft brew.

Wednesday Oct. 3 | 7:30 p.m.׀ Meet at Tempe Beach Park, on the corner of Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue

Get ready! This ride isn’t exactly at Tempe Tour de Fat parade speed. Enjoy a ride to the Praying Monk in Old Town Scottsdale with the State Bike crew on their Loops Ride. New Belgium will have beer specials lined up for the riders.

Tuesday Oct. 2 |7:00 p.m.׀ Meet at Tempe Beach Park, on the corner of Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue

Need a bike? Want a second chance to score some amazing Pedalcraft arts and crafts? Well TBAG has what you want – and then some. Join us for a pub crawl through Tempe which ends at Boulders on Broadway where we’ll raffle off a bike and peddle some Pedalcraft goods.

From Tempe Beach Park we’ll head to World of Beer, then move on to Handlebar and Grill and hit up Devils Advocate before we end at Boulders on Broadway for a bike raffle and Pedalcraft art sale.

Wanna up your chance to score a bike in our bike raffle? Buy your tickets now! For more information, check out http://www.biketempe.org/events/raffle/

New to town or just been living under a rock and don’ know anything about Pedalcraft? Check out their event, scheduled for Sept. 28. Join the event at https://www.facebook.com/events/381546238534821/

Most cities in the United States create “general plans” to guide future development and investment in their cities. These plans cover issues such housing, parks, and transportation. The City of Tempe is launching its general plan updating process – called “General Plan 2040.” You can learn more here, and to see the last general plan for 2030, visit here. The city will host a variety of public meetings to get feedback from residents about the plan. They will also post draft chapters for public feedback. The city’s bicyclists and pedestrians need a voice in this process.

The first public meetings are being held at the Tempe History Museum – 809 E. Southern Ave, Tempe 85282 on:

September 24th, 5-7pm
January 22, 5-7pm

If you’re interested in joining the TBAG advocacy team, please email me. We will need help to follow the process, attend all of the meetings and review draft documents to insure that the general plan includes a strong emphasis on making the city more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. We will have a meeting (details to come shortly) before the 24th to discuss our TBAG vision and priorities.

Remember when simple things like a blanket suddenly made you a flight-worthy avenger or your mom’s high-heeled shoes and a smear of lipstick made you a fearful queen? For one night in Tempe, return to the world of make believe. Don your superhero snow-gloves that allow you to smash your opponents, wield your mighty vacuum hose that allows you to suck out the souls of your victims, this September marks the homemade heroes Second Saturday ride.

Though Batman may be a badass and Storm has the ability to control the atmosphere, this Sept. 8, we’re more interested in your own home-spun version of heroism. Whether you’re SuperJeff who, with the help of his special armor made out of couch cushions, can crush his opponents, or Savage Sarah who’s known for her cave-woman-esque tactics of smashing her enemies heads in with a large stone, we want to know what powers you have within. And what odd things you can bind together with ducttape to make you appear bigger and better than life.

Meet your fellow powerful heroes and villains at Tempe Beach Park, the ride on to avenge your thirst for delicious craft brews in the fine establishments of Tempe. All power levels (on the bike and otherwise) welcome.

Where: Meet at Tempe Beach Park entrance: the northwest corner of Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue in Tempe

When: Saturday, Sept. 8. Meet at 7:30 p.m., ride at 7:45 p.m.

Cost: FREE

How: For more information, contact biketempe.org or facebook.com/biketempe

On September 28 the second annual PEDAL CRAFT PHX will ride into downtown Phoenix to fuse bicycles, art, and community in celebration of the city’s growing urban bike scene. The one night event will feature hundreds of bicyclists, a bicycle-themed poster show, a display of unique bicycle racks, a nationally acclaimed biking advocate and author, and rides to dining “hotspots” in downtown Phoenix. PEDAL CRAFT PHX will take place on Friday, September 28, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., at Kitchen Sink Studios Gallery, 828 North Third Street. Admission is free.

Twenty-five local graphic designers will show their original bicycle-themed poster artwork, available for sale for $20 per poster. A percentage of the proceeds from the poster show will be donated to the Rusty Spoke Community Bicycle Collective, a volunteer-run organization situated on Lower Grand Avenue and dedicated to local bicycle advocacy.

SideWalk Phoenix, an advocacy group for walkable, bikeable, and livable communities, will also display a dozen one-of-a-kind bicycle racks designed and fabricated by local artists, metal sculptors, and local celebrities.

Throughout the evening, several bike groups will lead rides of various difficulties (from novice to hardcore) to downtown Phoenix restaurants and pubs that have installed bike racks and are offering special menu discounts for PEDAL CRAFT PHX participants.

TBAG is promoting PEDAL CRAFT PHX as part of bike week before Tempe’s Tour de Fat on October 6. Stay tuned for more updates on the group rides and bike-pools from Tempe. For more information about PEDAL CRAFT PHX, visit pedalcraftphx.com

The City of Tempe is holding their second public meeting about the streetscape redesign on Hardy Drive between University Drive and Broadway Road. While the last meeting was very positive towards bikes and pedestrians, we need to show up to continue that positive energy. Details are below.

From the City of Tempe Announcement:

Contact:
Sue Taaffe
Public Information Officer
480-350-8663
sue_taaffe@tempe.gov

The City of Tempe is holding a public meeting to talk with residents, neighbors and businesses about a project to improve pedestrian, bicycle and transit facilities and enhance the streetscape on Hardy Drive between University Drive and Broadway Road. This project is funded with $1.2 million in federal grant money.

The meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 15 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Gililland Middle School, 1025 S. Beck Ave., Tempe.

Discussion at the meeting will include:
• Gathering input from residents, businesses and organizations along the Hardy Drive corridor on potential design elements
• Review and solicit comments on the preliminary design concepts
• Updating the public about the project process and timeline

The project will likely include bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities enhancements, ADA improvements and landscaping. The project will make the street more user-friendly, multi-modal and sustainable.

Comment online about the project at http://www.tempe.gov/index.aspx?page=2350