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

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

Most of my readers know how excited I am about this. I even visited Bogota, Colombia last year to participate in and learn about their Ciclovia, which to this day is the largest and most impressive in the world. Here in Tucson, ours is just a fledgling operation, but it is going to be a really good start!

I know it is hard to see, but here is the route:

The highlighted streets in the map (Fourth Ave from Congress to Seneca, Seneca to Mountain, Mountain through the University on Highland to University, and then back up to Fourth) will be closed to all motorized traffic on Sunday, April 18 — and thus open to YOU and your family to ride your bike, walk, rollerblade, cartwheel, or do what you do, safely and with all your friends.

Various activities including music, dance, yoga, a climbing wall, and other cool stuff (including bike repair stations) will be found along the route, all free. If you live along the route and want to do your own thing, do so!

We are still looking for sponsors for this awesome event, so if you own a business or work in one that might be interested in showing support for a great event that encourages healthy activity, walking, biking, alternative transportation, and the virtues of living in a culture where it is okay to go outside and meet your neighbors, please consider being a sponsor!

And if you are on facebook, become a fan so we can help get the word out.

The Cyclovia Tucson website (a work in progress, but already quite useful) is at www.cycloviatucson.com.

–Erik Ryberg

Anyway, the date is set and now we are looking for sponsors (to help pay for police officers to keep the streets closed), event coordinators (for the “nodes” which will have various outdoor exercise themes), volunteers, and people to get the word out.

Here’s a video of what the Bogota Ciclovia has accomplished. It’s a very moving piece about what can happen when a city prioritizes the health of its citizens and makes the decision to provide safe streets for them to enjoy. This is the video that caused me to visit Bogota last month and ride in their ciclovia. I’ve posted it before, but if you didn’t watch it then, you really should do so now! And please give your support to the Tucson Ciclovia.

–Erik Ryberg