SWFBUD -- South West Florida Bicyclists United With Dealers: Bicycle Bash Roster Is Growing By The Day

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Bicycle Bash Roster Is Growing By The Day

Every day, I'm fielding more and more phone calls from people interested about the Bicycle Bash at Flatwoods on Nov 7. SWFBUD is proud to put on the Bicycle Bash festival every year and I want to thank our presenting sponsor, Cure on Wheels; our co-sponsor, Hillsborough County; and our sponsors, HART, tbt* and Polar Bottle.

Our lineup is growing literally by the day. Our roster so far:

SWFBUD MEMBER BICYCLE STORES
Bicycle Outfitters
Just Ride Bicycles
Trek Bicycle Store
Suncoast Trailside Bicycles
Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium
Oliver’s Cycle Sports
University Bicycle Center
Chainwheel Drive
The Ironman Store
Street Fit 360

SWFBUD Lawyers
Tom Singletary
Christopher Burns
J. Steele Olmstead

VENDORS
Boomer Bents & Bikes
American Classic
Boston Bill Sunglasses
Buddy Brew Coffee
Just Marine Bargains
A.L. Saland Insurance Solutions
Running Center
Acupuncture and Natural Therapies
Tuck Away Tunes
Caleb’s Creations, Inc.
J&W Importers
Valrico Spine&Rehab Center
Celsius
AAA
Dew Cadillac
NOLA Cafe

GROUPS/EXHIBITORS
HART
Prodigy/University Area Community Development Corporation
SWAMP Club
WalkWise
Tampa BayCycle
Tampa Bay Freewheeleers
Hillsborough MPO
USF Bicycle Club
Tampa Police
Florida Bicycle Association
City of Tampa Trails
Trips for Kids Tampa
Seminole Heights Bicycle Club
Hillsborough County Public Works
All Children's Hospital (giving away free kids' helmets)

SWFBUDDY Award Winners
Tampa Police Maj. John Newman
HCSO Cpl. Troy Morgan
Ed Collins
State Rep. Janet Cruz
Selena Glass
Tampa Councilwoman Mary Mulhern
Christopher Chow

If you want to be a vendor, contact Alan Snel at alansnel@yahoo.com

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WHAT IS SWFBUD and HOW DID IT START?

SWFBUD (South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers) is a Tampa Bay bicycle advocacy alliance of 12 bicycle store dealers and four law firms committed to raising the profile of bicycling in the Tampa Bay market, getting more people on bicycles and drawing more public resources for bicycling.

The 12 bike shops are: ABC Bicycles, Bicycle Outfitters, Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium, Chainwheel Drive, Just Ride Bicycles, Oliver's Cycle Sports, Street Fit 360, Trek Bicycle Store of Tampa and Clearwater, Trek Bicycle Store of St. Petersburg, The Ironman Store, University Bicycle Center and Velo Champ. The four law firms are Tom Singletary, J. Steele Olmstead and the Mark Roman Law Group.

The SWFBUD members enlist Alan Snel, a bicycle advocate and former metro newspaper reporter, to lobby local governments to provide more bicycle resources and to put on the Bicycle Bash festival.

SWFBUD is a play on words of Swiftmud, the Tampa Bay water district agency.

SWFBUD traces its roots to the summer of 2006, when then-Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium owner David Luppino (who now owns Just Ride Bicycles) hired Snel for promotions, marketing and to help put on the Bicycle Bash festival. At the start of 2007, Luppino believed it was appropriate that other Tampa Bay bike stores get involved in promoting bicycling, so Snel recruited other store dealers to get involved.

The Bicycle Bash was first held in October 2006 on the St. Pete Times Forum plaza before a Tampa Bay Lightning afternoon hockey game before SWFBUD moved the Bicycle Bash to St. Petersburg's Vinoy Park in 2007 and 2008 and to North Straub Park in downtown St. Petersburg in 2009. In 2010, the Bicycle Bash was moved into Hillsborough County's Flatwoods Park on Nov. 7 so that bicyclists can enjoy the Bash's exhibitor village and also have fun doing live biking in the park. In 2011, the Bicycle Bash will be held again at Flatwoods Park on NOV 6.

SWFBUD won national retail bicycle advocacy awards in 2009 from the Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) and the Trek Bicycle Corporation. The Bicycle Bash won the Florida Event of the Year in 2007 from the Florida Bicycle Association.

SWFBUD's Snel attends many public meetings in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, plus the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. to lobby political leaders and governing agencies to commit more resources to bicycling. SWFBUD believes communities that embrace and invest in bicycling become more successful and sustainable.

Flatwoods Park Ranger Thanks SWFBUD For Saving Park and Jobs

SWFBUD Wins National Bicycle Advocacy Award

The national magazine that covers the bicycle industry in this country honored SWFBUD with the 2009 Bicycle Retail Advocacy Award at the Bicycle Leadership Conference in Monterey, Calif. SWFBUD is deeply honored by this national recognition and I received the award from Megan Tompkins, editor of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, and Tim Blumenthal, executive editor of Bikes Belong Coalition. Click photo for more info and check SP Times story, too: http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article996595.ece