Tempe Bicycle Action Group

Sun Up Ride to the Beer Festival Sat. 2/18

Jeremy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:35:29 +0000

Beer, Brunch and Bikes! The 12th annual Strong Beer Festival kicks-off a week of events dedicated Arizona’s craft brew industry. If you’re heading to the festival, why not get there by bike?

Join TBAG and Critical Mass Phoenix on a Ride hosted by Sun Up Brewery. Sun Up has planned and prepared a special Beer Brunch Buffet to get the day started off right. Dishes like Heffeweizen pancakes with lemon beer butter, Amber poached breakfast sausage (vegan too!), and more will be served. Plus happy hour prices on pints and appetizers the whole day. They open at 10 a.m. and the ride will depart at 1 p.m. For more info, head to http://arizonabeerweek.com/event/?id=67. Then saddle up and enjoy an easy paced ride to Steele Indian School Park.

Ride Map: http://bit.ly/A87HkR
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/288435221216087/.

Note: Tickets to the Festival are additional and can be purchased online or at the gate.

Sun Up Brewing Co.
322 E Camelback Rd
Phoenix, AZ, 85012
RSVP: (602) 279-8909

Action Alert – Bicycling Funding Threatened

Ryan — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:16:23 +0000

Write to your Representative here: http://capwiz.com/lab/issues/alert/?alertid=60927571

From The League of American Bicyclists:

House Bill Reverses Decades of Progress on Bike/Ped
It’s so much worse than we thought.

Today, the House releases its transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Act. Please click here to contact your member of Congress.

Last week, we knew the bill would be bad news for biking and walking. But we didn’t think it would go so far as to completely cut every reference to bicycling and walking out of the federal transportation policy.

House leadership is pressing to eliminate bicycling and walking in the Transportation bill:

Destroys Transportation Enhancements by making the program optional
Repeals the Safe Routes to School program, reversing years of progress in creating safe ways for kids to walk and ride bicycles to school
Allows states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles
Eliminates bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs
Eliminates language that insures that rumble strips “do not adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians or the disabled”

But we can still save biking and walking in this bill. This week in the Transportation Committee, Representative Petri (R-WI) will stand up for bicycling and walking by offering an amendment that restores dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Mr. Petri can only be successful if everyone with a stake in safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways contacts their Representative on the Transportation Committee again today to urge them to vote YES on the Petri amendment! If your Representative is not on the committee, please ask them to urge their collegues to vote for the amendment.

This is as urgent as it gets. Even if we do win this amendment, there will be a long road ahead. But if we lose here, we risk losing decades of progress.

We know we are asking a lot of you and we thank you for all you’re doing to preserve biking and walking.

Attention Cyclists – Provide input on Design Guidelines for Tempe Streetcar – Wed. Feb 8th

Aaron — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:19:59 +0000

Please join us there – it will be essential for cyclists’ concerns to be heard.

METRO invites you to attend a public meeting to review and comment on the Urban Design Guidelines (UDG) for the 2.6-mile Tempe Streetcar project that will serve the downtown and Central Tempe community.

The UDG is a document that will provide the future project designers with guidelines for how the streetcar stops should look, including concepts for seating, lighting, platform paving treatments, canopies, etc.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
6 – 8 p.m.; presentation at 6:15 p.m.
Tempe Transportation Center, Don Cassano Room
200 E. 5th St., Tempe, 85281

For more information, see: http://www.valleymetro.org/metro_projects_planning/tempe_streetcar/

and http://www.tempe.gov/tim/TempeStreetcar.htm

TBAG teams with the ASU Design Studio – Join Us!

Aaron — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:38:11 +0000

TBAG will begin a design exercise to develop marketing materials related to bicycling, bike safety, or respectful driving – the specific campaign is still being decided. If you are interested in joining the TBAG team, email Aaron. We will meet with the design studio three times: on Monday, Feb. 6th at 2:30 PM, on Monday, Feb. 13th, at 2:30 PM, and on the 27th, to see the final designs.

Tweed Ride: a leisurely ride with a bit o style – Sat. Feb 11th

sincerely.s — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:13:20 +0000

Banish the spandex and don your most dapper casuals for the return of the Tweed Ride, an evening adventure of woolen skirts, bucket hats, and sport coats on Saturday Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. starting at Tempe Beach Park.

Tempe Bicycle Action Group welcomes riders of all types and skill levels to wear their favorite woolens skirts, capes, shawls, tweed jackets, caps, and knickers on this fine night of cycling and style. Cyclists will meet at the entrance to Tempe Beach Park for photos and to show off their style at 5:30 p.m. Following the meet and greet, riders will be off to show off their herringbone, twill, plaid and checkered styles with class at the finest Tempe drinking constabularies.

Where: Tempe Beach Park on the northwest corner of Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway.
When: Saturday Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. Ride at 6 p.m.
What: A fine night of cycling and style at the classiest public houses of Tempe.
Cost: The ride is free!

TBAG’s monthly social bike rides will now be held on the Second Saturday of every month.

New! To get text message alerts for this ride, text TWEED to 719-355-TBAG (8224)

This nighttime ride is hosted by Tempe Bicycle Action Group, a nonprofit organization working to make bicycling a prominent, safe and convenient form of transportation and recreation in Tempe, Arizona and surrounding areas through education, grassroots events, and civic participation.

Desert Polo Invite 4 This Weekend!

Ryan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:48:31 +0000

Out friends from Arizona Bike Polo are hosting the Desert Polo Invite 4 this Saturday and Sunday in Tempe.

This year will be bigger than ever!!! 40+ teams, 4 courts, SERIOUS POLO!!! Round Robin on Saturday, Double elimination on Sunday. Come by and see some of the worlds best polo. Anyone can come by, there will be food, shirts for sale, and a raffle anyone can participate in!!

Who: Arizona Bike Polo: http://www.azbikepolo.com/
When: Saturday, January 28th 7:00am until Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 7:00pm
Where: Grace Community Church 1200 E Southern Ave, Tempe, AZ 85282

TBAG Winter Games 3 and Boulders Gear Swap – Sun. Feb 26th

Ryan — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:30:06 +0000

T.B.A.G. is hosting the 3rd Annual Winter Games Sunday, February 26 at Clark Park in Tempe.

The Winter Games are a celebration of bikes, community, fun, and a great reason to let loose with your friends and strangers on bipedal machines.

Before the celebrating and stunts begin, Boulders on Broadway is hosting a Bike and Gear Swap Meet in their parking lot starting at 9 a.m. and is having breakfast specials and live music throughout the meet.

After the meet head on over to Clark Park for The Games and see returning this year – The Huffy Toss, Princess Bike Death Races, Tall Bike & Small Bike Jousting, and Bike Polo.

Winter Games 3 is sponsored in part by New Belgium Brewing and Boulders on Broadway.

Please RSVP to the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/224139287673886/

New! To get text message alerts for this event, text TBAG to 719-355-TBAG (8224)

Tempe Bicycle Action Group and Farmer Avenue BICYCLE PUBLIC ART

eric — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:04:16 +0000

TBAG and the Mitchell Park Neighborhood are moving forward with an exciting bicycle public art project for 2012. In the fall of 2011 a committee made up of a public artist, Mitchell Park neighbors and TBAG board members conducted a competitive artist and concept selection process. More than 15 fifteen Arizona public artists were considered. A Tempe-based artist team by the name of coLAB was selected in December.

The concept for the public art (see attached images) involves bicycle sculptures and large boulders that will be placed in 4 locations along Farmer Avenue (between University Drive and 13^th Street) that will serve as a permanent monument to the importance of bicycling in Tempe, the contributions of TBAG to the community, and help deepen the emphasis of creating bikeable, sustainable corridors for our town and to serve as a model for land use and transportation. In the words on the artist team, coLAB: “The people-powered vehicle (bicycle) is immensely efficient and useful, and can drastically change the outlook for future balance between man and nature.”

The city of Tempe and TBAG is currently working with the artist team to finalize designs. Construction of the artwork is expected to happen late Spring/early Summer 2012, with a dedication ceremony anticipated soon thereafter. This important project will help transform the street and further emphasize TBAG’s role in shaping Tempe and beyond as a bicycle region.

Eric Iwersen

e...@biketempe.org

eric...@tempe.gov

480-239-9593

Check out the concept pdf: TBAGbicycleART.pdf

SanTan Brews Cruise – Sun. Feb 19th in Chandler

Ryan — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:32:23 +0000

Our friends and sponsors at SanTan Brewing are hosting a Brews Cruise on Sunday, February 19th during AZ Beer Week. A fun and easy bike ride from SanTan Brewing in Chandler with stops at Majerle’s, Uncle Bear’s, and Coach and Wille’s to watch the Suns play the Lakers.

$20 gets you a beer and food at SanTan and a beer at the three other stops. Come out and enjoy the great weather and some great local beer and food.

Buy tickets in advance at:
http://www.santanbrewing.com/events-arizona-beer-week-brews-cruise/

RSVP and get more details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/252924081444116/

TBAG supports many local rides by providing ride leaders and rider assistance. If you are interested in helping as a ride leader, or you need help with a ride you are planning, please contact ride...@biketempe.org

Bicyclist Hit and Killed In Mesa

Ryan — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:26:59 +0000

Daniel Everlove was hit and killed while riding his bicycle at Guadalupe and Alma School on Saturday night. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

We’ll update this post with more information as we get it.

Media coverage:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2012/01/24/20120124mesa-bicylist-struck-killed-saturday-evening-abrk.html

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_43400fd2-45ef-11e1-931b-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.kpho.com/story/16580610/bicyclist-hit-killed-by-car-in-mesa