SWFBUD -- South West Florida Bicyclists United With Dealers: Rides Of Silence In Tampa And Clearwater Wednesday 7 PM

Friday, May 13, 2011

Rides Of Silence In Tampa And Clearwater Wednesday 7 PM

There will be two Rides of Silence in Tampa on Wednesday at 7 PM. One will leave from downtown Tampa at Curtis Hixon Park on Ashley Street; the other will leave from the USF campus area -- location to be determined. Stay tune for details on that ride.

The Tampa Bay area has been scarred by too many bicyclist deaths and the bicyclists killed cross all ages, backgrounds and economic groups. In Hillsborough County/Tampa alone, a dozen bicyclists were killed by motorists in 2010.

The two rides will include passing all four ghost bikes in the Tampa area.

Ghost bike for retired Navy Admiral LeRoy Collins, killed July 29, 2010 at Brorein Street and S. Hyde Park Ave. Adm. Collins lived on Davis Islands in Tampa. A doctor heading to work at Tampa General Hospital made a left turn on red killed Adm. Collins.

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Ghost bike for Kayoka "Kay" Ishizuka, killed Sept. 26, 2010 on Bruce B. Downs/30th Street. Kay worked as a USF Health researcher. A hit-and-run driver killed Kay.

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Ghost bike for Diane Vega, killed Oct. 1, 2010 at Spruce and Himes. Diane workeed for FedEx and lived in Tampa. A motorist ran a red light and killed Diane who was heading home from work.

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Ghost bike for Robert Niedbalec, killed Feb. 13, 2011 on Fletcher Avenue. Robert was a veterinarian who lived in Temple Terrace. A speeding motorist, possibly racing with another motorist, lost control of her car and struck Robert while he rode his bicycle in the bike lane.

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Clearwater is also having a Ride of Silence:

Greetings Suncoast Cycling Club members,

Plans for our May 18 Ride of Silence are taking shape, and this is your first "heads up" to plan to attend this global memorial event.

This year's ride will feature a new route of just over 11 miles, part of which will follow scenic Edgewater Drive and Bayshore Boulevard in Dunedin, with beautiful early evening views across the bay to north Clearwater Beach and Caladesi Island State Park. As in years past, our ride will leave 7 PM sharp from the Publix Parking Lot at Caledesi Shopping Center, Curlew Road and Alt. 19 in Dunedin, with police assistance for the entire route.

This is also a call for a volunteer (preferably two) to ride sweep for the route, since our police escort will be assisting from the front to get us safely through busy intersections and/or traffic lights. Riding sweep simply involves staying behind the last riders to ensure that all return to Publix safely. The club's sweep kit (spare tubes and C02 cartridges) will be available in the slight chance it is needed. While lights are strongly advised for all participating, sweep rider(s) will be REQUIRED to have bright, functional tail and head lights. If you are willing to assist, please let me know via return email.

Please plan to attend if you are able, and encourage your family and friends who might not otherwise be interested in club rides to participate. Remember, this is a slow-paced ride (think funeral procession), so just about anyone can participate. It is a very moving experience to pedal slowly along hearing only the whir of freewheels spinning and chains pulling.

Further details will follow as the date approaches. For more information and to understand the scope of this international event, please visit www.rideofsilence.org

Dottie
Chainwheel Drive
1770 Drew Street
Clearwater, FL 33755
727-441-2444

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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