Cycling Can Be Dangerous North of the Border, Too

Local bicycle commuter Nick Griffiths who works at Moffitt Cancer Center points out that bicycling can also be dangerous in his native Canada

Van Passenger Strikes Pedaling Bicyclist With A Bat

Ruben Watson, president of the Tampa Bay Freewheelers bike club, sends out this message about a bicyclist struck by a bat-wielding moron on Wiggins Road.

"Fellow Cyclists,

I am sending this out to a fairly large distribution due to the nature of this
message.

On June 14th, Richard French was cycling on Wiggins Road when he was struck by a
bat from an individual who was in a vehicle.

The individual, a white male, leaned out the passenger side of a red van and struck Mr French in the back as the vehicle passed by the cyclist. Mr. French was brought to the emergency room and fortunately was not seriously injured. The family is looking for any information that may lead to the apprehension of the individuals (someone had to have been driving the vehicle) and is offering a reward of some kind.

Please contact Mr. French at 863-644-7317 if you have any information that might help us bring these individuals to justice."

SWFBUD Addresses The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority

This morning I represented SWFBUD and addressed the board of TBARTA (Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority). The TBARTA Board, chaired by former Bucs player Shelton Quarles, held its monthly board meeting at a golf course country club off State Road 52 near I-75. We need to let people know who serve on governing boards and in transportation agencies that bicyclists need a piece of the pie. Let your voice be heard.

Here was the statement I read into the TBARTA record:

"My name is Alan Snel and I am the director of SWFBUD, which stands for South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers. It’s an attention-grabbing play on words of that water agency name. SWFBUD is a coalition of seven prominent retail bicycle stores in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties and we and our thousands of loyal pedaling customers are united behind one voice – a voice that is committed to advancing bicycling as an effective means of transportation and as a healthy lifestyle in the Tampa Bay region.

In much the same way you get in your car and apply your seat belt, I hop on my bicycle and strap on helmet. I pedal more than 12,000 miles a year in the Tampa Bay area. I have bike-commuted in cities such as New York City, Denver and Fort Lauderdale and I am here to ask you one thing – please integrate bicycling into every facet of your regional transportation planning and execution.

I talk with people all the time who want to bike to work or bike to the store or bike to the park and for many inexperienced cyclists they perceive the current road conditions as too dangerous. No safe place to ride a bicycle.

That needs to change and it will change through your political will and through your bicycle planning in your regional transportation plans. Please make your proposed corridors friendly to bicyclists – require all buses and any potential light rail to include accommodations for bicycles. Have bicycle storage stations at major park-and-rides. Require all roads to have a bike lane when you fix, widen or build a road.

I pledge SWFBUD will do our part. SWFBUD is holding a giant bicycle festival on October 19 in Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg to advocate and celebrate bicycling in all its forms, including bike-commuting. I am personally inviting each one of you to attend the Bicycle Bash by the Bay. SWFBUD also held the first of its “Pedal Power” lecture series just last night at one of our member bike shops and two speakers representing TBARTA – Brian Bollas and Brandie Miklus – spoke about your plans and we responded with one word – bicycle.

Bicycling makes sense and it’s cost-effective. I hope we can be a resource to you as you blend bicycling into your transportation plans and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I appreciate your time.

Sincerely,

Alan Snel
Director of SWFBUD, 7 Tampa Bay area bike shops united behind bicycle advocacy and home of the 2008 Bicycle Bash by the Bay
www.bicyclebash.com
www.swfbud.blogspot.com

SWFBUD Back Bicycling As Part Of Any Regional Transportation Plan

South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers (SWFBUD) held the first of its Pedal Power Lecture Series tonight at Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium, inviting two representatives from the Tampa Bay Area Transportation Authority to give a presentation on regional transportation planning.

We learned that it's not just bike shop owners who wants more bicycling synthesized into a transportation program that crosses county borders. In fact, many people commented at forums and meetings across teh area about the need for bicycling to be blended into a regional transportation scheme, according to the presentation made by Brian Bollas and Brandie Miklus.

We peppered the two with comments and questions about whether TBARTA's program will include bicycling and they couldn't promise anything but did say many people have told them and the agency that bicycling and walking have to be part of the links in any regional transportation plan.

The TBARTA board meets Friday morning at 9:30 AM at a country club in San Antonio at I-75 and State Road 52 and they might just have a bicycling visitor.

Bike-commuting Is Not As Bad As This Guy Shows

A Raleigh, NC newspaper columnist decides to bike to save the planet.

SWFBUD's Pedal Power Lecture Series Kicks Off Tonight with TBARTA Presentation

Don't forget -- two representatives from the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA) will be on hand to give a presentation about regional transportation and bicycling at the SWFBUD "Pedal Power" Lecture Series forum tonight at Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium.

It's set for 7 PM at CBE in the Grand Plaza on North Dale Mabry Highway between Fletcher and Bearrs Avenues, on the east side of North Dale Mabry. Drinks and snacks will be served. Come and catch the action tonight.

County Commissioner Aide Responds To Proposed Connector Trail

The famed Ghostrider himself, Tampa mega-bike-commuter Jack Sweeney, contacted the Hillsborough County commissioners about the proposed connector trail that would link the Upper Tampa Bay Trail with the Suncoast Trail. Here is a response from an aide from one of the county commissioners:

Mr. Sweeney,

Thank you for contacting Commissioner Sharpe regarding connecting the Upper
Tampa Bay Trail with the Suncoast Trail. The Commissioner recently met with
Mr. Thornton, and while funding has not been recommended this year utilizing
the $40 million in Community Investment Tax money previously earmarked for
Championship Park (the BOCC directed this money to go toward youth athletics
and Veteran's Park), this connector project will remain a priority on the
Park's Master Plan for funding in the next biennial budget cycle for
2010-2011. In the meantime, a copy of your e-mail will be forwarded to the
Commissioner for his review. Take care!

Sincerely,
Sandy Chan
Aide to Commissioner Sharpe

This Guy Has A Lot Of Energy

Joe American offers up energy ideas.

I Heard This One Before

This seafood store on 40th Street in east Tampa uses a time-tested slogan to sell its goods.

Running Through The Sprinklers

Saw this runner jogging through the sprinklers at the golf course off Druid Hills Road in Temple Terrace while cycling to Flatwoods county park.

What's the Larger Number? Lance's Tour Wins or His Girlfriends?

My bicycle blog cohort Adam Newman at the St. Pete Times had a funny post about Mr. Tour de France Lance Armstrong being both a do-gooder fund-raiser and also an ultramarathon ladies man.

The New York Post had a goofy photo of Kate Hudson being trailed by Lance on a recent social outing and the New York Times offered this hilarious graphic of Lance and his past gal-pals, with Kate sitting on the handlebars.

County Parks Chief Recommends Against Connector Trail

I was informed today that Hillsborough County's parks chief, Mark Thornton, and the parks board recommended against funding the connector trail to link the Upper Tampa Bay Trail with the Suncoast Trail.

This is very bad news. The county's greenways and trails committee and the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee both recommended that money be spent from the Community Investment Tax fund to pay for the 7-mile connector trail. It is a key piece of bicycle infrastructure.

In the end, the county commissioners will decide how to spend $40 million in Community Investment Tax funds that I was hoping would be tapped to build the connector trail to make this the longest continuous trail in the state of Florida.

The sad thing is that the planning was paid for and money was supposedly set aside to buy the land along the connector trail to make this happen. And the majority of the $12 million or so for the connector trail would have been REIMBURSED by the state DOT to Hillsborough County.

But it appears as if Thornton and the county parks board want to kill the connector trail.

Contact Hillsborough County commissioners and tell them to fund the connector trail.

I hear the county commissioners might use the Community Investment tax dollars to help build a soccer stadium in northwest Hillsborough County for a new pro soccer team. That's not exactly my idea of a smart use of our public dollars.

2008 Bicycle Bash by the Bay Unveils New Web Site

Behind every event there is usually a small knot of folks who I call the "Doers" -- people who contribute through their actions and deeds to pull things off.

Like Chip Haynes, a wonderful and talented bicycle maker and author from Clearwater who donated his skills to create flyers for the Bicycle Bash by the Bay. And Ryan Wakefield of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, who designed a catchy Bicycle Bash sign for the PSTA buses.

And my pal Steve Swiger of the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club, who loves bicycling (you should see some of his works) and is a pretty darn good IT/computer whiz. Steve put together a new Web site for the 2008 Bicycle Bash by the Bay, creating a concise, colorful and user-friendly site peppered with wonderful photos from the past two Bicycle Bashes.

Make this one of your favorites.

Sign of Nebraska Avenue

Take a trip down Nebraska Avenue and you're going to see signs you usually don't see around places like International Plaza. Like this joint -- the Cheers of Nebraska.

Is This Team For Real Or What?

For an entire decade, the local Major League Baseball team here in the Tampa Bay market accomplished an art of consistent losing. The Rays -- they were known as the Devil Rays for 10 years before this one -- lost with anonymous players and high-priced ones. They would be blown out or they would blow leads in the last inning or two. They finished last in nine of their 10 years and popped champagne when they actually hit 70 wins and finished second to last.

Which is why it's easy to think the earth has fallen off its axis when soaking up last night's scene of Kool and the Gang capping a post-game concert with its signature "Celebration" song 90 minutes after the Rays scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to pull out an amazing 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros.

The Rays are 14 games above .500 and would be in the playoffs if the season ended today -- which is so disorienting in light of the team's legacy of a losing that was so predictable. The other thing is the team was so utterly irrelevant to the rest of the country that I'm not sure that fans across the nation actually knew we had a big-league team here.

Last night, Jennifer remarked that the Rays celebrated this regular-season win as if they won the World Series -- which was true. The team has lost for so long that dramatic wins are treated as post-season triumphs. There were two crowds of Rays celebrating on the field last night; one around the runners who scored the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the other around Gabe Gross, who stroked a flare down the left-field line that caught the line and drove in the tying and winning runs with that one stroke of the bat.
Can you say, "Rays victory donut?" at Dunkin' Donuts today? It's free donut time, my friends.




Fans get to their feet in the middle of the game and scream their brains out at crucial times of the game.


People now dress up in wacky outfits.

A Sign of the Bicycle Bash by the Bay

I want to thank Ryan Wakefield, a designer who works for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, the public bus agency that encourages folks to get out of their cars and take buses and bicycles. Taking a bike to a bus isn't a bad idea either. Ryan created this snazzy Bicycle Bash by the Bay sign that will be posted on PSTA buses in Pinellas County to advertise this year's Bicycle Bash, which is brought to you by SWFBUD. And the PSTA will have a representative at this year's Bicycle Bash, which is set for 11AM-4PM Oct 19 at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg.

Belly Up To The Stew

You know my longtime pal Jeff Houck as the genius behind the hilarious sidesalad blog, and he's also the food writer at the Tampa Tribune. Jeff covers food in a very delicious way, augmenting the usual fare of recipes and holiday dishes with amazing stories on the people, places and social significances behind all those food stuffs.

Jeff also has a cool food blog called The Stew, which he used to document the harmonic convergence bewteen cycling, baseball and the free Dunkin Donuts that come with every Rays victory. No donut today though -- Friday's recap: Astros 4, Rays 3. You just have to read it.

Nebraska's Signs Of Life

Everyone writes off Nebraska Avenue as a dangerous road going through bad neighborhoods, but occasionally I'll bike along Nebraska -- like this afternoon, for example -- and I've never had a problem. In fact, I'm fascinated by the businesses, which have equally fascinating signs.

No one said the business owners were experts with punctuation. Doesn't everyone confuse an apostrophe with a comma?


Religious sayings are usually on signs in front of churches but this one was painted on the side of a vacant building. The messages can be strident, or catchy, or just plain earnest. This one should have an accompanied statement for those who measure stuff in metric.

St. Petersburg, FL: Biketown USA

Here's a St. Petersburg scene from this morning -- a man and his bikes.

America Bikes on Dunkin

A truly fatty sponsorship is the Tampa Bay Rays deal with Dunkin Donuts, which gives away a free donut to everyone the day after a Rays win. The Rays have been piling up the wins and I've been piling up the Hommer Simpson delicacies. This a real statistic -- the Rays have 42 wins after beating the Cubs last night, 5-4, and have lost only 29. An amazing 13 games over .500.

I promise you this: If the Rays clinch a playoff spot this year, I will personally lead a 100-mile Tour de Dunkin bike ride the next day on a route specifically designed to hit as many Dunkin Donuts shops as possible. I say America Bikes on Dunkin!

Today, I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts on Gandy Avenue in Tampa to pick up my free donut -- my favorite Rays victory donut, double chocolate. I got this fella to pose with the goods. Behind the laughs and donuts is the fact that bicycling is beautiful -- it allows you to make human connections, which is why I love cycling. And besides, it's a good way to stay in shape and save a few bucks (a lot of bucks) by not using gasoline.


Here's my Starting 9 Dunkin Donuts:

Leadoff -- Blueberry cake
Batting Second -- Bavarian Creme
In The Third "Hole" -- Double Chocolate
Cleanup -- Chocolate Glazed
Batting Fifth -- Peanut
Sixth Hole -- Chocolate coconut
Seventh -- Jelly filled
Eighth -- black raspberry
And batting ninth -- old fashion plain cake

Hitting For The Cycle

In case you're curious, the Major League Baseball team in our market -- the Tampa Bay Rays (officially changing their name so they're minus the "Devil") -- is having a miracle season. Reminds me of the Amazins as in the Amazing Mets of '69 when the Mets shocked the world and took the Series.

I went to the Trop dome in St. Petersburg this morning via bicycle to pick up tickets for Saturday night's game between the Rays and the Astros. Kool and the gang is playing after the game, so Jennifer and I just had to go.

At the Trop, they have a special bicycle parking area. Check it out my friends.




The Wednesday night line-up for the game between the Rays and the Cubbies of Chicago was still up.

Rays Ticket Carries Clout

Bike Accident Data

At last Wednesday's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting in Tampa, there was a presentation about bike accidents. Ken Sturrock of the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club was in attendance and offered some of the highlights. By the way, for the full report, go to the SHBC web site at www.seminoleheightsbicycleclub.com and click on bicycle/pedestrian powerpoint at the bottom of the home page.

Ken says that even though the data in the presentation is REPORTED data, it's still estimated to cover about 1/3rd of bicycle accidents - the most severe ones that got a police report.

Among the important things to note are:

-- There is a HUGE spike in crashes among the 1 to 19 population (which
relates to the population that often rides) and they would be an obvious
education target group.

-- The vast majority of crashes occur at intersections and driveways and
occur with a forward moving bicycle and a car turning right or also
going straight - however, the data doesn't depict directionality of
traffic flow but indicates that automobiles passing cyclists is not a
major cause of accidents in Hillsborough.

-- It also indicates that a major porportion of fatalities (which still
relies on a statistically very small set) are related to riding at night.

-- The presentation also shows that intoxicating agents still play a role
in accidents on bicycles.

SWFBUD Meets Congresswoman Kathy Castor Today

Today I represented SWFBUD in a meeting with Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who was in town to chat with locals. I asked the congresswoman to support legislation that would integrate bicycling into transportation plans and to vote for legislation that would allocate money for bicycle transportation projects. She said she was on board and said her husband even biked to work in May.

It's Official: The Bicycle Bash by the Bay will be October 19 at Vinoy Park

This morning I pedaled from Seminole Heights across The Bay to St. Petersburg to submit two applications on behalf of SWFBUD to hold the 2008 Bicycle Bash by the Bay at Vinoy Park on October 19. One application is for the city of St. Pete to be a co-sponsor and the other application was for a park permit for the event.

As many of you know from last year, the 2007 Bicycle Bash by the Bay -- a bicycle festival to promote and celebrate bicycling in the Tampa Bay market -- was a tremendous success, drawing 3,000 people to Vinoy Park on Nov. 4, 2007.

This year's event is expected to double that number to 5,000-6,000. SWFBUD is partnering with the Share the Road Ride, which will hold its annual bike ride the morning of the Bicycle Bash by the Bay from Vinoy Park. John Sinibaldi of St. Petersburg is the point-man for the Share Ride, which SWFBUD believes is an ideal theme for the day of bicycling.

The Florida Bicycle Association will also be a partner because the FBA's annual Pro Bike Pro Walk Conference will be in St. Petersburg this year starting October 20.

We have plenty of room for vendors and a table is only $60! Please contact me at alansnel@yahoo.com for a vendor form so that you reserve your space early.

All The Nudes That Are Fit To Ride

Nude anything seems to be a good PR gimmick, so there you have it -- naked bicyclists in Boulder, CO advising folks to show a little ass and use a little less gas. Lots of nudes is good nudes

Why I Live In Seminole Heights

This morning on East Powhatan Avenue

Today's River Ride

The River Ride held by the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club drew 25 cyclists this morning and it was a superb 10-mile ride along the side streets around the Hillsborough River in Seminole Heights. Next week is the 22-mile Davis Islands ride -- again, the ride starts at 8:30AM from the Garden Center on the Central Avenue. That's just a half-mile north of Hillsborough Avenue.

Here is some of the action from this morning's ride.

High Gas Price Silver Lining -- People Are Hopping Aboard The Bicycle Train

Great letter to the editor in today's St. Pete Times:

Try Bicycle Fridays

Remember many years ago when the offer to employees was made regarding jeans? It was called "Dress Down Friday."

Now that we have such an issue with the cost of gasoline, diesel fuel and oil, it would be a great idea if we could encourage our employees at all levels throughout the entire country, at all companies, small and large, to have "Bicycle Friday." This could reduce gasoline commuting costs by 20 percent, give employees the opportunity to get their daily exercise and create a healthier environment, as well as reduce emissions.

Jim Coffey, New Port Richey

Tip of the helmet to Chip Haynes for sending this one across.

92-Year-Old Man Rides Schwinn Traveller from 1952

If a 92-year-old guy can bike around town then you can too.

Fred uses a 1952 Schwinn Traveller

Tip of the helmet to Ellen Pierson for that story.

Bicycle Industry Leaders To Meet Obama

Bill Addler of Revolution Bicycles sends along this item about Barack Obama meeting with bicycle industry leaders. This ran in the Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

CHICAGO , IL (BRAIN)—“If the top candidate for the key leadership position in the world is willing to meet with people from our industry, you don’t say 'sorry' that I’m on vacation,” said Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong.

Blumenthal, who will attend tonight’s fundraising event in Chicago for Barack Obama, had been riding bikes in France with his wife to celebrate their wedding anniversary. He only learned of the event several days ago.

Blumenthal flew from France to Chicago today and will leave late tonight to return to France and complete his vacation. “I look at this a tremendous opportunity for the industry,” he said.

Upwards of 10 members from the 18-member board of Bikes Belong will be at the Obama fundraiser being held at F.K. Day’s home in downtown Chicago. Day is co-founder and executive vice president of SRAM. To emphasize the industry’s unity at tonight’s event, Kozo Shimano, the board’s president, is also attending.

Blumenthal said the timing of tonight’s event couldn’t be better. “It’s only a week after he won the nomination and right now the media is looking at everything he’s doing,” he said. “I look at this a really great opportunity to discuss cycling’s potential for the nation.

“I can’t even think of a time when a presidential candidate ever met with leaders of the industry,” said Blumenthal. He added that he would hope a similar meeting could be arranged with Republican nominee, John McCain.

Tonight’s event begins at 7 p.m. Obama is expected to give a brief speech focused on cycling and then meet and answer questions from members of the industry. Many in the industry are interested in Obama’s views on cycling and its relationship to issues like health, transportation, energy and environmental policy.

Attendance is expected to top 100 people, most of whom will pay or help raise $2,300 for Obama’s presidential campaign. For information on how to contribute to tonight’s fundraiser go to: https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/june12Chicago.

—Marc Sani

Oy Velo

Tampa cyclist Trish Cohen is a funny gal and speedy bicyclist who is kind of the Sarah Silverman of the local bicycle scene. Here's her canine pal Bowski in action.

Check out Trish's funny site at oyvelo

Hello Crane Family

Up north if there were cool birds like white ibises or sandhill cranes strolling the neighborhood, there would be 500 Audubon bird lovers crammed together for a peak. But here, these birds work the local neighborhoods alongside squirrels and raccoons.

Like these sandhill cranes hanging out near the Bob Evans restaurant on Morris Bridge Road right near the I-75 interchange. Stop by any time and you'll see a family of four -- cranes, not human beings -- walking around Bob Evans, sniffing for some delicious omelots and pancakes.

Parking Cut At Flatwoods

The folks at Flatwoods county park shut off the parking area near the 7-mile loop starting today. Good idea. Never did understand why the park allowed cars to park in an area where bicyclists come pedaling around a corner near the water break area.

SWFBUD Member Store Owners Are Advocates, Too

SWFBUD (South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers) is an alliance of 7 Tampa Bay bike stores that's united behind bicycle advocacy and what's cool is owners of two of the seven stores sit as official members of local bicycle-pedestrian advisory committees.

Bill Addler, owner of Revolution Bicycles in St. Pete, is a member of the mayor's bicycle-pedestrian advisory committee in St. Pete.

And here's Brian Eckman, Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium owner, sitting as a committee member of the Hillsborough County Bicycle-Pedstrian Advisory Committee at a meeting today. Brian is listening to a consultant giving a presentation at the meeting.

FOX-13 Does TV Report On Cycling And CBE

The media is hot on the trail of the expensive gas story and now the bicycle is golden. Just about every day there's another TV story about people hopping on bikes and pedaling to work and stores.
FOX-13 in Tampa caught up with me this morning during my bike ride to the Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium and interviewed me about cycling. The FOX reporter also interviewed Brian Eckman, owner of Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium.

FOX-13 TV report

FOX reporter Liann Jackson was at Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium riding a bike as part of her report.

Chain Gang Runs Ocean2Gulf Story

Kate Santich is a cool features writer and hard-core cyclist who works for the Orlando Sentinel. She was kind enough to post a story I wrote about the June 1 Ocean2Gulf 170-mile bike ride on the Orlando Sentinel's bicycle blog called the Chain Gang

Million Dollar Bicycle

A 24-year-old bicycle racer from the Netherlands has a million-dollar bicycle at his disposal as he prepares for the summer olympics in Beijing.

Performance No Longer Checking Out Tampa

I have a source who has informed me that Performance, the big bike store chain based on North Carolina, is no longer sniffing around Tampa looking for a retail space. Several months ago I was told Performance was checking out the Gandy Avenue corridor, but now the bike store chain has decided to stop looking.

Revolution Bicycles Gets Ready To Move Into New Store

Congrats to Revolution Bicycles owner Bill Addler of St. Petersburg, who is moving his bike store across the street to a stand-alone building at the corner of 4th Street and 30th Avenue in St. Pete.

It's a terrific building that Bill bought and has decorated into a cool retail space, complete with wood floors, earthy colors on newly painted walls, a tall ceiling, a ton of natural light coming through big windows, an outdoor deck and even a mini-bike lane painted from the side street through the parking lot right up to his buiiding front door. Expect a soft opening by the end of the month. Bill plans to have a Specialized premier store at his new digs, while also selling Giant bikes.

Here's Bill hanging out this morning at the new store on the cool deck, which will be used for bike social gatherings.


I loved the bike lane that runs through the parking lot right to the store. Funny thing is some bike lanes around the Tampa Bay area are actually that long.


Check out the special parking sign in front of Bill's store -- good stuff.


Revolution Bicycles is a member of SWFBUD -- South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers. Bill is an active bicycle retailer who cares deeply about bicycle advocacy. He is a member of the mayor's bicycle-pedestrian advisory committee in St. Petersburg and is known nationally as an advocate retailer.

Roberta Enjoyed Today's Rain

A trek by Lake Roberta showed that today's thunderstorm helped the old cattle drinking hole.

Hardware Store Goes Up In Flames

A fire toasted the local hardware store in Seminole Heights last night. After completing the Flatwoods ride, I pedaled over to the Tampa Bay Hardware store to see the damage. It's gone.

Another Bicycling President (Candidate)

Obama rides a bicycle. W. Bush was big on mountain biking.

Congrats Juan and Shoady

A little more than five years ago, I met a bright and earnest intern at the Florida Today newspaper in Melbourne named Juan Ortega. He was a web site designing whiz, but his love was for reporting and he soon was on his way to the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale.

And along the way, he met the love of his life -- Shoady Rice, who wrote mortgages in Melbourne.

Today after a morning Seminole Heights Bicycle Club ride, I got in thecar and drove 140 miles east to Melbourne for a 4:30 PM wedding that united Juan and Shoady in holy matrimony.

It was sweet and earnest and beautiful celebration of their union. I was happy to be there.


A short and succinct ceremony -- and Juan and Shoady were married.


Juan and Shoady were loved by all.


Juan looked dapper.


My favorite dance scene -- Shoady's mom and a Juan family member do the cha-cha -- whoa baby.


DANGER, DANGER!: White people on dance floor.


Juan dances his way to Shoady.