Award-winning SWFBUD Gang After Getting A National Bicycle Advocacy Award From Trek at Trek World

Icon Gary Fisher joins CBE owner Brian Eckman (left), with Richard of Bicycle Outfitters in Seminole (center) and Geoff Lanier, Suncoast Trailside Bicycles owner (right). CBE manager Manny (in front). SWFBUD Trek dealers that were part of the award were David Luppino's Just Ride Bicycles shop in Riverview and Trek Bicycle Stores in Clearwater and Tampa, owned by David Sanborn.

SWFBUD is on the national radar for its commitment and hard work for bicycle advocacy in the Tampa Bay market. SWFBUD stores also honored this year were University Bicycle Center, recognized by Bicycle Retailer and Industry News as a Top 100 Retailer, and Chainwheel Drive, owned by the dean of Tampa Bay shop owners, Tom Jessup -- a board member of the National Bicycle Dealers Association.

Shop at SWFBUD stores -- they believe and are committed to bicycle advocacy in the Tampa Bay area. They have invested in advocacy and growing bicycling here.

Selmon Crosstown Expressway Bike Trail Idea from South Tampa into Downtown Tampa

Every so often I attend a meeting of bicycle advocates interested in making downtown Tampa more friendly and inviting to bicyclists. Karen Kress of the Tampa Downtown Partnership does a nice job hosting these sessions.

The city of Tampa government has a history of not being very hospitable to cyclists, but that culture is slowly changing as old city staffers who favor only the car in road planning are getting phased out and newer, more progressive staffers with more modern ideas (complete streets approach) about the bicycle are slowly phased in. But it's going to take a while until the dinosaurs are gone.

Today from 12 noon to 1:30 pm I had the chance to watch a terrific presentation made by Tampa HOK architects Anna Vasquez and Nico Stearly, who unveiled a proposal to build a multi-use trail below the Selmon Crosstown Expressway toll highway from south Tampa into downtown.

It would offer a terrific way for bike commuters to pedal into downtown and points north to USF, for example, while taking advantage of a corridor that has potential for enhancement. You can get more details about Anna and Nico's plan at a blog post here.

Anna and Nico are still putting meat on the bones of this trail system proposal and are seeking funding sources, so stay tuned for more details. SWFBUD likes this idea because it's consistent with its 10-point bicycle plan for enhancing bicycling in Tampa/Hillsborough County by having bicycle trails leading into downtown.

SWFBUD's Top 10 Suggestions To Improve Bicycling In Tampa/Hillsborough County

I appeared before the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Board this morning to offer a SWFBUD Top 10 suggestions to make the Tampa/Hillsborough area the Portland of the East Coast.

1. Attitude -- Elected officials need to expand their perspective that the bicycle is solely a leisure tool. We must see the bicycle as a transportation tool and adopt a complete streets approach to roads where bicycling and pedestrian use is mixed into road design and building. For too long, the city of Tampa government has held an institutional belief that bicycling is a leisure activity and not part of a transportation plan.

2. Trails -- The inventory of bicycle infrastructure should include trails as bicycle highways into downtown. Build trails along the Hillsborough River and the By-pass canal from Morris Bridge Road to serve as bicycle commuter highways into downtown Tampa. See city of Denver where bike trails along the Platte River and Cherry Creek lead into downtown.

3. Widen Roads -- Key narrow roads such as Livingston and Westshore need to be widened so that bicycles can have a shoulder or a bike lane. The DOT has done road widening work on US 92 from Tampa to Plant City to make it better for bicycles.

4. Read Jeff Mapes' Pedaling Revolution -- Jeff is a Portland Oregonian newspaper reporter whose book shows the best cities are ones that people get around by ways other than a car and that bicycle infrastructure is much cheaper than constantly building wider roads for cars.

5. Create a City of Tampa Bicycle Czar position -- The city of Tampa government is rudderless on bicycle infrastructure. A government staffer needs to shepherd bicycle lane projects to completion, make sure the city complies with its bike lane master plan and represents bicyclist and pedestrian concerns. See city of St. Petersburg's bicycle/ped program.

6. Recognize bicycle-friendly buildings and businesses -- Give awards to downtown buildings and businesses in the county that designate inside space for bicycle storage, lockers and showers. SWFBUD gave the first award to the Tampa City Center for its bicycle-friendly building this year.

7. South Tampa to USF -- Designate a bike route for people to bike from South Tampa to USF. And make sure all light rail has bicycle infrastructure support such as bicycle racks and secure lockers and light rail cars allowing bikes on board.

8. Bayshore Blvd. -- Pave and have bike lanes along the entire stretch of Bayshore from Platt to Gandy. There has been talk about this for years. Make it happen now.

9. Start connecting with bicyclists -- City and County elected representatives, officials and planners need to start connecting with bicyclists by going out on rides and increasing awareness. They need to get of the offices and meetings, stop using technical planning jargon that average people do not relate to and start connecting with everyday bicyclists.

10. The bicycle plans are here. Start enacting them -- Planning agencies have bicycle infrastructure plans in place, It's time for elected officials to show political will and start putting the plans into action.

Time To Ramp Up For SWFBUD's Bicycle Bash On Oct. 11 in Downtown St. Pete

If you would like to be a vendor, exhibitor, sponsor or volunteer for the 2009 Bicycle Bash by the Bay, Presented by Cure on Wheels, contact SWFBUD Dirctor Alan Snel at alansnel@yahoo.com

SWFBUD's Newest Member and a Bicycle Bash Sponsor

I'm happy to announce that SWFBUD has a tenth member to join its eight Tampa Bay bicycle dealers and one lawyer. SWFBUD's newest member is Chris Burns, a passionate bicyclist and lawyer from Jacksonville who is deeply committed to growing and promoting bicycling in the Tampa Bay area and Florida as a whole.

Chris has this to say: "I am very passionate about cycling and representing cyclists in my law practice around the state. I have represented hundreds of cyclists. I have been an attorney for 25 years. I’ve found cycling and being a cycling attorney are quite similar. Both require agility, having a sharp focus on a goal, a tenacious attitude, and never being satisfied with less than the maximum result."

In adition to its eight retail bike dealers in the Tampa Bay area, SWFBUD is proud to include two excellent bicyclists who are lawyers as well -- Chris and Thomas Singletary of Tampa.

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In other SWFBUD news, I'm happy to say that the Bicycle Bash by the Bay on Oct. 11has a new sponsor. TBT is the new media sponsor of the Bicycle Bash by the Bay and look for two ads that will run in TBT the week of the Bicycle Bash in early October.

North Straub Park in St. Petersburg -- The Site for the 2009 Bicycle Bash by the Bay on Oct. 11

This year, SWFBUD's 2009 Bicycle Bash by the Bay, Presented by Cure on Wheels will be in beautiful North Straub Park in downtown St. Petersburg.




This year, we will have a special awards ceremony during the Bicycle bash by the Bay. Bicycle Newswire has the four winners of the SWFBUDdy Award that will be presented during the Bicycle Bash.

See You At The Bicycle Bash By The Bay On Oct. 11

Tampa Bay's award-winning bicycle festival -- the 2009 Bicycle Bash by the Bay, Presented by Cure on Wheels -- is Oct. 11 in downtown St. Petersburg in North Straub Park and Bicycle Stories will be offering an occasional sneak peak at some of the activities for this year's event.

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I met a young woman in late March 2008 who was cycling from Miami to Montreal on US 27 with a long trailer that included a guitar. It was Rachel VanSlyke, a willowly, long-legged bicyclist-singer changing a tire tube in front of the Dundee Library in a small Polk County place called Dundee.

I biked about 15 miles with her north along US 27 and then wished her well when I tured around to bike back to Dundee. We stayed in touch and I'm happy to say that Rachel will perform at the 2009 Bicycle Bash by the Bay.

Rachel's beautiful folksy/soft rock voice and guitar talents will be on display at the North Straub Park stage. To hear her voice, click here.


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Cure on Wheels, a local cahrity bicycle ride that raises money for local cancer research, is working with two great organizations to provide food at the Bicycle Bash by the Bay.

The famed Columbia Restaurant, owned by bicycle supporter Richard Gonzmart, and the Westchase Rotary will be serving up delicious food at the Bicycle Bash by the Bay. Richard's Columbia will be serving up paella, while the Westchase Rotary will be offering BBQ.


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SWFBUD puts on the Bicycle Bash by the Bay to grow and promote bicycling in the Tampa Bay area. It is a free event. If you want to be a volunteer, Friend of SWFBUD, exhibitor or sponsor for the Bicycle Bash by the Bay, contact SWFBUD director Alan Snel at alansnel@yahoo.com.

Our latest Friends of SWFBUD are Amy and Ken Sturrock. Ken is a member of the Hillsborough County Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee and the Sturrocks are active members of the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club. A Friend of SWFBUD costs only $25 and you receive a new Polar Bottle waterbottle. Help move the bicycle movement forward in Tampa Bay.