Bike to Work week events

Bike to Work week in Greenville is underway. We got off to a rainy and cool start, but the weather is looking up for the rest of the week (well…better for Thursday and Friday at least). Remember, you can check the Bikeville bike month page for details on everything that is happening, but I want to quickly remind you about the events planned for the rest of this week

Tonight, Wednesday the 18^th, plan to attend the Greenville Ride of Silence. In past years, Greenville and Spartanburg have participated in a joint Ride of Silence. This year, the Greenville ride will start on Main Street at City Hall. Plan to be there at 6:30 to ride in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways.

After the Ride of Silence, ride your bike to the Peace Center Amphitheater for the Moonlight Movie (from 8 – 10). I will be there, with other Bikeville volunteers, to provide free secure bike parking while you watch the movie. Before the movie starts, you will see the Greenville premier of the four short Palmetto Cycling Coalition's Safe Streets Save Lives videos, which are intended to educate both bicyclists and motorists on the rules of the road.

Friday, May 20^th, is Bike to Work Day, and the theme this year is Bike Shop Rest Stops. Drop by any of the participating local shops on your way to work for refreshments, coupons, and prizes.

On Saturday, Upstate SORBA and Bikeville will host a Mountain Bike Skills Clinic at Cleveland Park (shelter 5) starting at 11 am. They will have the wooden ramps and see-saws to ride and will lead guided tours of Cleveland Park’s three miles of mountain bike trails. Helmets are required to participate. Find out more at Upstate SORBA.

Don’t forget the ongoing initiatives this month as well. The bike month page has details on everything.

Bike Month is underway!

I mentioned in my last post that Bike Month almost here. Well scratch that now…it is upon us, and it is going to be the best one yet! Be sure to check the list of events again and plan to get out on your bike and join us this month. In addition to the scheduled events throughout the month of May, don’t forget the ongoing Bikeville Commuter Challenge (sign up at WorldCommute.com first) and the photo contest that are underway now. 

You can keep checking the Bikeville site for information. I’ll also be posting links and info on the Bike Greenville Facebook page, so “like” it if you haven’t already for updates throughout Bike Month.

Just a couple other things to mention while I am posting…

Tonight, May 3^rd, from 5:30 to 7:00 there will be a sign up for the Stars and Stripes Challenge at Pedal Chic in downtown Greenville. Those who sign up tonight will be eligible for some great prizes including a Jamis bicycle courtesy of Fairway Subaru. Check the Pedal Chic Facebook page for more info.

In a recent profile of Upstate South Carolina, Southwest Airlines’ Spirit magazine called Greenville “Cycle City”. Read the section about cycling here in this pdf of the “Play” section. It’s great to see more positive coverage of Greenville’s cycling scene in a national publication. Let's keep the good things happening here.

Events in May

I have mentioned that next week is Bike to Work week a few times so I won’t elaborate on that. I do, however, want to point out a couple of other events that are coming up soon.

Next Tuesday, May 13 at 6:30pm, will be the last public meeting for the Greenville County comprehensive plan. This meeting, which should last no longer than an hour and a half, will take place at Greenville County Square in Conference room D. Nigel Darrington has attended a few of the meetings and has done a great job speaking for all of us who regularly ride in the County. He reports that the issue of Pedestrian/ Bikeways was in the top 5 vote counts for the three meetings he was able to attend. Let’s show up at this last meeting to help shape the future of Greenville County and to support the great advocacy work that Nigel has started.

Also, mark your calendars for the Upstate Ride of Silence which will take place on Wednesday, May 21st. This ride, which will take place on the same day in cities all over the world, was started in Dallas, Texas in 2003 to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Riders will proceed in single file at no more than 12 mph to pay respect to fallen cyclists and to raise public awareness about the presence of cyclists on the roads in our communities.

Following are the details of this year’s ride from Kimberly Morgan and Richard Dillard, both of whom did a great job organizing the event last year:

What: Upstate RIDE OF SILENCE (For ALL abilities) We need/want veteran cyclists and beginning cyclists.

Why: Bring attention to the huge population of cyclists in the Upstate and need for safe roads. Tribute to fallen/injured cyclists

Goal: 200+ cyclists riding single file 10 yards apart, stretching over a mile.

Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Time: 7:00 P.M (Some will again be riding to the Ride of Silence)

Place: Bruce Group Auctions - (2.5 miles south of I-85 on Highway 101 in Greer.)

Pace: Maximum 12mph

Route: South on Hwy. 101 bike lanes toward Woodruff for 6 miles to Bellview Church and return.

Course: Flat, Flat, Flat !!!

Helmets Required

Bike to Work Week events flyer

May is upon us and Bike to Work Week is just a couple of weeks away, so I want to remind all of you of some of the events that the City, the Spinners, and the other generous BTWW sponsors have planned. As I mentioned earlier, you can keep checking the City’s bike2work website for the latest information and scheduling. Also, you can click on the attached flyer and print it out to let your friends and coworkers know about the events planned that week. If you would like a higher resolution file of the flyer to print and distribute, shoot me an email and I will be happy to send you one. Speaking of the flyer, I want to credit Richard (aka Fritz at Cyclelicious) for the photo. Thanks for giving me permission to use it.

The free ABC quick checks at Piazza Bergamo on Monday though Wednesday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm will provide a great opportunity for those who haven’t ridden in a long time to dust of the old bikes in the garage and have them checked out by a professional mechanic. Be sure to tell all your friends who don’t ride often about this great opportunity to get that old bike rolling again. Thanks to TTR, Carolina Triathlon, and The Great Escape for donating their time and resources to make this bike safety check up happen.

The Commuter safety 101 course, which will take place at the new downtown location of Tandem, Touring, and Recumbent Bikes on Thursday evening, is an event that will be great for cyclists of all skill levels. You will benefit from the knowledge of two LAB League Certified Instructors who will cover the basics of riding safely with traffic. TTR has generously donated door prizes and will have commuter oriented demo bikes and products available for you to try out, so plan to be there. I want to remind you that pre-registration is required, so email Andrew Meeker with the City if you plan to attend.

Finally, the Bike to Work Day commuter breakfast will take place on Friday, the 16th . Stop by during your bike commute anytime between 7:15 and 9 am for free coffee and bagels from Coffee Underground. Mayor White will be there to update us on the progress toward making Greenville a Bicycle Friendly Community. While you are there, you can pick up your free Greenville BTWW event waterbottle donated by the Great Escape. There will probably also be an informal “ride with the Mayor” right before 7:15 from City Hall to Piazza Bergamo for those of you who will be downtown early (more information on that will follow). Overall, it should be a great event to cap off Bike to Work Week in Greenville, so I hope that many of you will join us to fuel up before your ride to work.