Thursday, February 21, 2008
BGoSH and Bicycling
After enjoying meeting customers at Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium's customer appreciation night, I stopped off at the Business Guild of Seminole Heights (BGoSH) membership meeting tonight. Several of the members participated in and knew about the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club's inaugural ride on Saturday. Here's a lovely shot of the BGoSH leaders with Councilwoman Mary Mulhern.
Appreciating Your Customers
Brian Eckman, pictured here, and David Luppino held a customer appreciation day at Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium tonight, drawing a steady stream of bicyclists into the store. People enjoyed munching and drinking a few beers, checking out the bikes and chatting with reps and local bicycle leaders such as Tina Russo, chair of the bicycle-pedestrian advisory committee in Hillsborough County.
How do you grow bicycling? By connecting with everyday average bicyclists who care about their community. Here's Lisa and Rick Hickman of Seminole Heights who rode the inaugural Seminole Heights Bicycle Club ride on Saturday morning, where she learned about the Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium customer appreciation day. So there they were, five days later, checking out the gear and having fun while they were doing it. That's what building a bicycle community is all about -- building a healthy spirit and comradery about bicycling, no matter what your experience level is.
Central Florida Trek rep Andrew Young chats with Ellen Pierson, who helps promote the Police Unity Tour -- a bike ride of pedaling cops who are raising money for a law enforcement memorial in Washington, D.C.
Tina Russo, who oversees the Upper Tampa bay Trail for Hillsborough County and is the local Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee chair, tells folks the importance of having the county commissioners approve the $11 million necessary to hook the Upper Tampa Bay Trail with the Suncoast Trail. This would be the longest continuous paved trail in Florida and has been planned for years.
Ellen and Bill of American Classic wheels were on the scene displaying their dreamy wheels.
Here's Picot Floyd of Seminole Heights checking out the merchandise. You might recall Picot as the bike commuter who raised a red flag about a concrete island built wrongly in a bike lane on Fletcher Avenue at the Telecom business area. Picot contacted South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers (SWFBUD), which prompted the developer to remove the concrete island from the bike lane.
Maintaining The Bike Lane
People had a great time tonight.
How do you grow bicycling? By connecting with everyday average bicyclists who care about their community. Here's Lisa and Rick Hickman of Seminole Heights who rode the inaugural Seminole Heights Bicycle Club ride on Saturday morning, where she learned about the Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium customer appreciation day. So there they were, five days later, checking out the gear and having fun while they were doing it. That's what building a bicycle community is all about -- building a healthy spirit and comradery about bicycling, no matter what your experience level is.
Central Florida Trek rep Andrew Young chats with Ellen Pierson, who helps promote the Police Unity Tour -- a bike ride of pedaling cops who are raising money for a law enforcement memorial in Washington, D.C.
Tina Russo, who oversees the Upper Tampa bay Trail for Hillsborough County and is the local Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee chair, tells folks the importance of having the county commissioners approve the $11 million necessary to hook the Upper Tampa Bay Trail with the Suncoast Trail. This would be the longest continuous paved trail in Florida and has been planned for years.
Ellen and Bill of American Classic wheels were on the scene displaying their dreamy wheels.
Here's Picot Floyd of Seminole Heights checking out the merchandise. You might recall Picot as the bike commuter who raised a red flag about a concrete island built wrongly in a bike lane on Fletcher Avenue at the Telecom business area. Picot contacted South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers (SWFBUD), which prompted the developer to remove the concrete island from the bike lane.
Maintaining The Bike Lane
People had a great time tonight.
Strawberry Ride Is March 30
The Tampa Bay Freewheelers are pleased to present the 26th Annual Strawberry Century on March 30. The ride is called the "Strawberry Century", but there are four ride
distances of 20, 38, 62 or 100 miles. The ride offers a long-sleeved t-shirt,
hot breakfast, hot lunch, fully stocked SAG stops, mechanical support, vendor
displays, strawberry shortcake and door prize giveaways from the club's supporting
cycling businesses.
As always, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to worthy cycling-related causes. We are working on a few thousand dollars in door prizes for our pre-registered riders. Pre-registration deadline is March 17 and remained at a cost of $35. Visit us at www.tbfreewheelers.com for additional event details and to register online. Please note that day-of-ride registration increases to $40 and you are not gauranteed a long-sleeve t-shirt. We do order some extra ride t-shirts and these are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis until no longer available.
For you MS 150 registrants, this is a great tune-up for your MS 150 ride. The Freewheelers are working on getting a special door prize drawing just for you.
Out of Towners? A list of hotels offering discounted rates willl be posted on
our website as soon as the prices are finalized. You will easily be able to
ride your bike to the start from these Plant City hotels.
In town on Saturday AM? If you are in town on Saturday morning, come join us on
our Stanley ride (free for everyone). Details on the TBF website at www.tbfreewheelers.com.
And there is an ice cream stop on the ride this year.
distances of 20, 38, 62 or 100 miles. The ride offers a long-sleeved t-shirt,
hot breakfast, hot lunch, fully stocked SAG stops, mechanical support, vendor
displays, strawberry shortcake and door prize giveaways from the club's supporting
cycling businesses.
As always, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to worthy cycling-related causes. We are working on a few thousand dollars in door prizes for our pre-registered riders. Pre-registration deadline is March 17 and remained at a cost of $35. Visit us at www.tbfreewheelers.com for additional event details and to register online. Please note that day-of-ride registration increases to $40 and you are not gauranteed a long-sleeve t-shirt. We do order some extra ride t-shirts and these are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis until no longer available.
For you MS 150 registrants, this is a great tune-up for your MS 150 ride. The Freewheelers are working on getting a special door prize drawing just for you.
Out of Towners? A list of hotels offering discounted rates willl be posted on
our website as soon as the prices are finalized. You will easily be able to
ride your bike to the start from these Plant City hotels.
In town on Saturday AM? If you are in town on Saturday morning, come join us on
our Stanley ride (free for everyone). Details on the TBF website at www.tbfreewheelers.com.
And there is an ice cream stop on the ride this year.
Bike To College And Leave The Car At Home
A few friends have informed about a bicycle initiative at a liberal arts college in Wisconsin. Here's the blurb:
Ripon College, a small liberal-arts school in Wisconsin, is offering to give incoming freshmen a free bike (a Badger State-made Trek, of course) IF they promise not to bring a car to campus for an entire year. The primary impetus -- driven by school president David Joyce, who's an avid cyclist--is to help cure the problem of too many cars and too few parking spaces on the tiny campus. But just think of all
the other positive repercussions this could have! Let's hope it catches on at other schools. http://tinyurl.com/2g4tw8
Ripon College, a small liberal-arts school in Wisconsin, is offering to give incoming freshmen a free bike (a Badger State-made Trek, of course) IF they promise not to bring a car to campus for an entire year. The primary impetus -- driven by school president David Joyce, who's an avid cyclist--is to help cure the problem of too many cars and too few parking spaces on the tiny campus. But just think of all
the other positive repercussions this could have! Let's hope it catches on at other schools. http://tinyurl.com/2g4tw8
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
MS Fund-raiser at the Green Iguana
Bicylist Dennis Gauvin of Team Pricewaterhouse Coopers informs me that he and a teammate are hosting a charity event to raise money for the MS bike ride. Here's the info:
It's Thursday, March 13, from 5:30-8:30 PM, at the Green Iguana at 9202 Anderson Rd. in Tampa. Contact number is 813-288-9076.
The Greg Billings band will provide music, there will be dozens of prizes including a bike and admission is free.
It's Thursday, March 13, from 5:30-8:30 PM, at the Green Iguana at 9202 Anderson Rd. in Tampa. Contact number is 813-288-9076.
The Greg Billings band will provide music, there will be dozens of prizes including a bike and admission is free.
Drunk Drivers Can Hurt Bicyclists, Too
I bike thousands and thousands of miles on roads in Hillsborough County every year and I'm in no mood to be hit by a drunk driver. Unfortunately, there are a lot of drunk drivers out there on the roads. No other county in Florida has more drivers busted for drunk driving than Hillsborough. Which is why I attend meetings of the Tampa Alcohol Coalition, which is a group of law enforcement officials, college representatives and anti-drunk driving folks who work on getting drunks off of roads before they cause any damage.
At today's meeting, Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee gave an award to the Dallas Bull bar/country-western hall for its work on trying to keep under-age drinkers from bellying up to the bar.
At today's meeting, Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee gave an award to the Dallas Bull bar/country-western hall for its work on trying to keep under-age drinkers from bellying up to the bar.
Police Unity Tour Fund-raiser at Hattricks
We have a diverse bicycle community here in the Tampa Bay area and one of the players is the Police Unity Tour (PUT).
Local police will join their pedaling brethren in biking to Washington, D.C. to raise money for a law enforcement memorial to remember police who have been killed in the line of duty. You might recall that Mayor Iorio did the final miles of the ride last year to memorialize the life of her police driver who was killed. In fact, here's a photo of Mayor Iorio wearing her PUT windbreaker during a neighborhood bike ride in Seminole Heights on Saturday.
Ellen Pierson, who helps in the local Police Unity Tour efforts, sent me some background info on a local fund-raiser here in Tampa.
It will be on a Thursday, April 10, from 5-9 PM at Hattricks at 107 S. Franklin St., Tampa, FL 33602. Phone number is 813-225-4288
WIN A 2008 GIANT OCR A1 Bicycle Valued at $1500. Suggested Donation $10.00. Drawing to be held at 8:00 p.m.
Silent Auction Items Include But Not Limited To:
One Week at Pierson's cottage in Boone, NC
One Week in Lake Tahoe Ski Resort
PUT Graphics Print
YMCA Downtown 3 month membership
Digital Camera
Starbucks Baskets
Wine Baskets
Raffle Prizes Include But Not Limited To:
Gift Certificates for Local Restaurants
Massages, Bike Stuff, Bottles of Wine, PUT Duffle Bags,
TICKETS are $1 each, 10 for $5, a whole lot for $20
For More Information visit our website at www.policeunitytourVIII.org
Or call Ellen Pierson at 813-225-7160 x35
Local police will join their pedaling brethren in biking to Washington, D.C. to raise money for a law enforcement memorial to remember police who have been killed in the line of duty. You might recall that Mayor Iorio did the final miles of the ride last year to memorialize the life of her police driver who was killed. In fact, here's a photo of Mayor Iorio wearing her PUT windbreaker during a neighborhood bike ride in Seminole Heights on Saturday.
Ellen Pierson, who helps in the local Police Unity Tour efforts, sent me some background info on a local fund-raiser here in Tampa.
It will be on a Thursday, April 10, from 5-9 PM at Hattricks at 107 S. Franklin St., Tampa, FL 33602. Phone number is 813-225-4288
WIN A 2008 GIANT OCR A1 Bicycle Valued at $1500. Suggested Donation $10.00. Drawing to be held at 8:00 p.m.
Silent Auction Items Include But Not Limited To:
One Week at Pierson's cottage in Boone, NC
One Week in Lake Tahoe Ski Resort
PUT Graphics Print
YMCA Downtown 3 month membership
Digital Camera
Starbucks Baskets
Wine Baskets
Raffle Prizes Include But Not Limited To:
Gift Certificates for Local Restaurants
Massages, Bike Stuff, Bottles of Wine, PUT Duffle Bags,
TICKETS are $1 each, 10 for $5, a whole lot for $20
For More Information visit our website at www.policeunitytourVIII.org
Or call Ellen Pierson at 813-225-7160 x35
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