Above is a sign near Flagstaff, which a reader of mine alerted to me a few weeks ago.

And this sign, above, is from Tempe. Tom Thivener, City of Tucson’s Bike/Ped Coordinator, sent me this when I asked him about the Flagstaff sign. I had asked him if the Flagstaff sign was an official DOT sign, and if we could expect to see more of them around the state.

He did some looking into it and wrote me back to say, “The State and the Feds don’t want jurisdictions experimenting with signage without an official experiment process being undertaken. Sounds like Flagstaff will retroactively apply for experimentation process for the one sign they have. Could be a long process before anything like that is accepted for mainstream use.”

I guess progress is progress! I hope they can approve a sign soon and put some up around Tucson.

–Erik Ryberg

It could be yours if you hurry and buy your ticket to the BICAS/Ballet Tucson Urban Lunch Box Picnic and fundraiser, to be held this Friday.

Or, perhaps your tastes run to the more rugged, bikey look, in which case you will want this gorgeous piece by long-time BICAS employee, volunteer, and supporter Kenneth Armstrong:

Then there is beautiful piece by Raices Gallery and BICAS superstar John Salgado (who serves as BICAS’s Administrative Coordinator) for those looking for something more colorful and exotic:

Or maybe you’ll want this piece by BICAS’s master blacksmith, tall-bike builder, and local artist Zach Lihatsh If you do, be warned: you will be bidding against me, and I’m bringing my wallet. (I already have one of his pieces and I’m aiming to corner the market early, while I can still afford his work).

Each of these will be auctioned off this Friday at the annual Urban Picnic lunch and fundraiser, with proceeds benefiting BICAS and Ballet Tucson. A 45$ ticket buys you an auction paddle and a lunch, and if you act now you even get to sit at a table full of gregarious criminal defense and civil plaintiff’s lawyers, where legal advice of unknown merit or value will be dispensed at no cost.

Oh and and there’s more where those came from! There is also a silent auction packed with other art, from small, modest pieces to heavy-hitters including a Rufino Tamayo. (Yes you read that right.)

The fundraiser is from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at La Encantada Mall. The live auction commences at noon for those who have only their lunch hour to purchase a Rufino Tamayo or Troy Neiman.

There are still seats available at my table. Please email me at ryberg@seanet.com if you would like to join me. I’ll be there at noon, cheering on all the pieces and showing how proud I am of BICAS.

–Erik Ryberg

When I started this blog almost three years ago it was in part out of revulsion for the idea that Tucson might become a “Platinum” bike-friendly city (an application for that status was being prepared at the time). I did not think we deserved it, and I feared that if we got that award we would have no incentive to continue improving. I still don’t think we deserve the highest award, but I am growing a lot more convinced that we are deserving of our current “gold” status, and the changes I have seen just in the last few years astonish me. Bicycles and bicycling are rapidly becoming more common in this city, and riding is becoming more safe. I am no longer the only person riding a bike around town in a suit and tie. More and more upright bikes are appearing with regular folks using them to get around. Drivers are getting used to us, and more tolerant. There is a greater diversity of age and gender among the people on bikes now, which signals that more people feel comfortable and safe on a bicycle. And the city is pretty much behind us. Mayor Walkup rode the Cyclovia and had intelligent things to say about it.

I want to say that we owe the volunteers who put the Cyclovia together, from scratch, on short notice, with next to no money, a huge thank-you. They include Jennifer Donofrio, Tom Thivener and Ann Chaneka from Tucson and Pima County governments, and many local folks who contributed their time and skills to pulling this thing off. If I try to list them I will leave people out, so I am not going to start, but many hard-working people donated their design skills, their computer skills, and their time. Daniela Diamente was corralled and talked into taking the lead just two months ago and she pretty much got the whole thing off the ground.

A round of applause to all. I’m proud to live in Tucson.

–Erik Ryberg

From Agent K. Walzak, of BICAS:

Subject: BICAS NEEDS YOUR BODY!
Come show your support by showing up at BICAS this Sunday, April 18th at 5:45pm SHARP, SHARP, SHARP!!!

We will be taking a HUGE group photo with everyone who is a friend of BICAS and we want you, your friends, family and even your dog to be in it.

We are taking this photo to use for future publications and show all the awesome community support that BICAS has!

THE PHOTO WILL ONLY TAKE ABOUT 15 MIN. but you can stay longer if you like for the Tucson Bike Beautiful Event. Live music, art, games and more will ensue into the night.

Come for the photo stay for the fun.

Hope to see you at BICAS….. 44 West 6th St……. 520-628-7950….. http://www.facebook.com/l/e7f97;www.bicas.org

Love, Peace and Bicycle Grease!

Sincerely,

Your Friends at BICAS!

See you there!

–EBR

In case anyone doesn’t know this yet, next week is Bike 2 Work Week in Tucson. What this boils down to, at a minimum, is free breakfast all week for most of my readership. Plus a whole lot of other stuff if you care to check it out!

This used to be the one week in the year when Lauren would commute to my office by bike. She only did it so she could get her free breakfast at the public library.

The rest of the year she walked to work, as she only lived around the corner.

–Erik Ryberg

My readers know how excited I am that Tucson is having its first-ever Cyclovia. We are looking for volunteers for the event to help with the road-closures and other things. Please sign up for a slot to help out if you can! You can sign up for as little as one hour.

You can do so here.

Learn more about Tucson’s Cyclovia at www.cycloviatucson.org.

-Erik Ryberg

*But illegal.

They advise you to bring bear spray and be prepared to turn around if wildlife is blocking the road.

–EBR

But it’s a different matter in Pima County Justice Court. This is where you end up if you get pulled over by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

There, the judges do not, apparently, have the ability to keep the information from the DMV. They use a different form.

I learned this, of course, the hard way — and my client now has to not only pay the fine but suffer the consequences to her driver’s license. (The judge did reduce the fine amount substantially, because he said he appreciated the argument and would like to be able to do what I asked.)

Shortly after that hearing I received an email from another person who tried this argument on his own. He had the same experience but he said the judge decided to let him take the Tucson bicycle safety class in lieu of payment, even though officially Pima County does not recognize these classes! That’s quite a step, and I am sure it is because the judge is gradually getting educated about these tickets.

Even when you lose a case like this, you still make progress. Judges are human beings, and they think about things, and their behavior and approaches to problems will change. I suspect that Pima County will soon adopt the Tucson bicycle safety program, especially if the judge who handles these matters starts sending people over there whether they have adopted it or not.

–Erik Ryberg

This photo is from the awesome El Grup blog post about their trip last weekend to ride the velodrome down in Hermosillo. They also did a road race.

Why don’t we get to have a velodrome?? Isn’t this supposed to be a gold-star biking city?

Hermosillo’s is 250 meters with a 44 degree bank. Nice.

Maybe South Tucson will get one.

–Erik Ryberg