Bike safety effort in Hillsborough County attracts national award

This story will be printed in tomorrow's City Times section:

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS — Located in a state known for bicycle fatalities, Tampa often gets a bad wrap when it comes to cycling.

Florida leads the nation in bike-related traffic deaths, clocking in with 6.52 cyclists killed per million residents in 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

But a coalition of local dealers is trying to make the city more bike-friendly.

Headed by cyclist Alan Snel, the Southwest Florida Bicycle United Dealers, SWFBUD for short, is committed to helping improve Hillsborough County's bicycle infrastructure.

The efforts have garnered national attention.

In mid April SWFBUD was awarded the Bicycle Retailer and Industry News' BRAINy award for bicycle advocacy.

Chosen from more than 4,000 bicycle retailers across the country, SWFBUD is the first coalition of bike shops to win the award.

"It's nice to be recognized nationally," Snel said.

"It definitely lends to our credibility."

Times staff writer

Spoke-N-Word encourages your Personal Best

Well folks, I wasn't sure how I would feel about this post, but I think the time is right.

The Times has been very generous in allowing us to start so many blogs on such varying topics, but the day has come to cull the herd. As you might guess, Spoke N Word is not near the top of the list in terms of readers when compared to blogs about football, politics or local news.

In an effort to consolidate the blogs, we have been asked to merge with another blog, Personal Best, a blog all about everything health and fitness.

I'll still be posting cycling-related content there, and who knows, the new readers might see it and decide they want to join the sport as well. You can find it at blogs.tampabay.com/health.

So I'll see you over there, thanks so much for all your comments and contributions. Keep riding.

- Adam

All kinds of racing and riding Sunday in Tampa Bay

Sunday will be a long day for cycling fans in Tampa Bay. The day starts early with the annual St. Anthony's Triathlon in Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg, the highlight of which, of course, will be the 40k bike leg. The action starts at 6:50 a.m.

Then it's off to Clearwater for Ciclovia, the much-reschedule-finally-happening celebration of cycling on the (closed to motor traffic) streets of downtown Clearwater.From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 26, 2 miles of Cleveland Street from Clearwater Harbor to Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard in the East Gateway District will be closed to motor traffic and open for people. Participants of any age and skill level can bike, stroll, skate, or take part in open-air fitness, sports and dance classes that will be offered on the street. Representatives from bike shops, bike clubs and other organizations promoting recreation and healthy living will line the street. Restaurants and retailers, many offering ethnic specialties, will be open.

And if you've spent most of your energy for the day, you can still likely keep up with the Queer Mass ride in Tampa. A LBGT-friendly version of Critical Mass, Queer Mass is a gathering people from the gay, bisexual, transgendered and lesbian communities, along with supporters, to let them know that there is a place for them among cyclists. Riders will meet at Tampa Bike Co-op Space, 2512 Silver Lake Ave., and leave at 6:30 p.m. Cyclists will snake through downtown, into Channelside, Ybor and back.

Biker group's 'Queer Mass' is slow ride to raise awareness, acceptance

This story will appear in Friday's City Times section.

TAMPA — Local cyclists are a diverse community — not just the stereotypical weekend warriors clad in spandex.

To tout their many shades and to advocate for openness, riders of all types will hop on beach cruisers, fixed gears, mountain bikes and more Sunday, as part of Tampa's first "Queer Mass."

The slow moving ride will be modeled after a "critical mass," in which a group of riders take over a lane of traffic. The idea is to raise awareness, letting cars know that cyclists have the right to be on the road.

Queer Mass, however has a more focused aim: gathering people from the gay, bisexual, transgendered and lesbian communities, along with supporters, to let them know that there is a place for them among cyclists.

"It is about accepting everyone but also about creating a specifically queer positive space," says event organizer Seven Mitchell.

Keith Sherwood of Tampa Heights has a bike but only takes it out once or twice a month. He says he's never been on an organized ride before but plans on attending the Queer Mass.

"I think it's a great idea," he said. "A queer positive ride, without being a protest. It helps the sense of community."

Riders will meet at Tampa Bike Co-op Space, 2512 Silver Lake Ave., and leave at 6:30 p.m. Cyclists will snake through downtown, into Channelside, Ybor and back.

Members of the Tampa Bike Co-op meet monthly and host bicycle repair workshops. The group wants to give more people access to cycling by teaching them how to repair their own bikes.

Mitchell, a graduate student in anthropology at the University of South Florida, has been active in the Tampa bicycle community for nearly two years and is a regular at the co-op. He says the ride is open to anyone who is pro-equality.

"I want this to be about acceptance," he said. "It's bigger than just sexuality."

Joshua Neiderer can be reached at jneiderer@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3374.

Fixed Fight III

This past Saturday more than 150 riders competed in the 3rd annual Fixed Fight alley cat race.

Here are the results:
1st Male: Dave Horst
1st Female: Elizabeth Morse-Hill
1st Newb: Chris Bloome
1st Out of Town: Joe Donoghue

Here are some stats:
First to register (1): Staisha Gosch (Ft. Lauderdale)
Last to register (168): Dallas Herndon (Tampa)
Oldest racer(s): 39
Youngest racer(s): 18
Furthest out of town racer: Shawn Lowry (Brooklyn, NY)

And here are some photographs:

 

 

More here...

Reminder: Clearwater's Ciclovia is Sunday

Better late than never

For one day in late last month, Downtown Tampa was transformed into bicycle heaven.

Hundreds of Cyclists descended on Lykes Gaslight Park on March 21 to participate and watch the Tampa Twilight Critereum.

Fellow blogger Tristan Wheelock and I collaborated to create a video project on the event: