Tampa lawyer and bicyclist Thomas Singletary Joins SWFBUD

I am happy to report that SWFBUD has a new member -- Tampa lawyer and bicycle advocate Thomas Singletary. Many of you know Tom as a active cyclist and runner. He's also a tremendous longtime supporter of bicycling in the Tampa Bay area and SWFBUD is proud to count Tom among its members.

In 2009, SWFBUD will be holding a public meeting on bicycle insurance and legal issues -- an area Tom is well versed on. If you see Tom around town, thank him fo joining SWFBUD.

SWFBUD Responds To Friendship Trail Closing

You're looking at the Gandy Bridge and its parallel Friendship Trail. As you know, the Friendship Trail was closed a few weeks ago because an engineering inspection of the Friendship Trail bridge under the auspices of the state Department of Transportation showed structural damage. Hillsborough and Pinellas counties then shut down the trail bridge to users, leaving bicyclists with the sole option of crossing the Bay on the Gandy Bridge and sharing that bridge with motorists who are known to zoom 60 mph and faster.

SWFBUD is extremely concerned about this situation and will:

-- contact the DOT and Hillsborough and Pinellas counties and request that all agencies deal with remedying and repairing the Friendship Trail with a heightened sense of urgency.

-- advise agencies to post electronic signage on the Gandy Bridge advising motorists to be aware that bicyclists are sharing the bridge with motorized vehicles.

-- I plan to bike the Gandy Bridge on Sunday at 10 a.m. to check out the shoulders for debris and also find out what it's like to bike on the main span of the bridge. I bike the Courtney Campbell Causeway and know the span sections have very little shoulder room if any at all and I suspect that's the same for the span sections of the Gandy Bridge.

If you are interested in joining me to check out what it's like to bike the Gandy Bridge, I will be pedaling across the bridge starting at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Bill Addler, the owner of SWFBUD member store Revolution Bicycles on North 4th Street in St. Petersburg, met with the city of St. Pete yesterday and the pedestrian advisory board and the city. Bill reports that "the city was going to also make sure that additional signage (share the road etc) would be added onto Gandy Blvd. as well as the bridge. They also were going to try and get the portable message board sign put up to alert motorist of cyclist using the bridge."

Folks, be careful and be alert out there. It's getting darker earlier these days and be vigilant to your right to the road while also being smart. No more bicyclist fatalities.

SWFBUD Holds Bicycle Bash by the Bay III

SWFBUD held Bicycle Bash by the Bay III Sunday Oct. 19 and it was a glorious day at Vinoy Park on the St. Petersburg waterfront. More than 2,000 people enjoyed the day of Tampa Bay bicycling advocacy, celebration and diversity.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker visited and re-confirmed St. Pete's commitment to cycling and emcee John Sinibaldi did a terrific job keeping the day moving along.

SWFBUD member store Bicycle Outfitters of Seminole arrived first and arrived in style -- by bicycle only. A caravan of more than a dozen store employees and their family members left their Seminole store around 6:30 a.m. and followed the Pinellas Trail to Vinoy Park, arriving there about 7:45 a.m.

Here are your SWFBUD stores:

Bicycle Outfitters

A SWFBUD tip of the helmet to owner Adam Beland for coming with all the store's gear via bicycle only.


Here's some of the caravan from Bicycle Outfitters that brought all the Bash gear via bicycle.


Bicycle Outfitters did repairs workshops.




University Bicycle Center

Owners Manny and Carlos Mirabal met hundreds of BBbtB attendees and covered family biking and triathlons




Revolution Bicycles

Owner Bill Addler (right) did body scan fittings and his store had a nice waterfront position.




Chainwheel Drive

Owner Tom Jessup, a board member of the National Bicycle Dealers Association, enjoyed chatting with folks.




Suncoast Trailside Bicycles

Owner Geoff Lanier bicycled to the BBbtB (he had a nice tailwind!). He talked racing with Bash visitors.


Suncoast Trailside Bicycles co-owner David Luppino was on hand and selling shirts as part of his new business.




Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium

Store manager Manny Sierra was on hand to do fittings.


CBE owner Brian Eckman, a member of the bicycle/pedestrian advisory committee in Hillsborough County, chatted with attendees.



Oliver's Cycle Sports could not attend because owner Randy Myhre was moving his store Sunday.

SWFBUD Supports Bike Commuting at Commuters Event in Tampa

SWFBUD supports bike commuting and I attended a downtown Tampa commuter event today to represent SWFBUD and talk to people about the 2008 Bicycle Bash by the Bay. I'm here with the famed Ghost Rider, Jack sweeney of bikecommuters.com


CBE owner Brian Eckman is a big bicycle advocate, donating his time to wrench bikes at a commuter event in downtown Tampa today.

Bicycle Bash by the Bay Posters

Steve Turner of Tampa has created two Bicycle Bash by the Bay posters with some bicycle photography I supplied him.

Thanks Steve.

UBC (University Bicycle Center) Joins SWFBUD

SWFBUD is proud to announce that University Bicycle Center has joined out alliance of retail bicycle stores. UBC, as its known, has been in operation since 1972 and people know their location at 1220 East Fletcher Avenue in Tampa north of the USF campus.

The Mirabal family owns UBC, which has been active in bicycle events in the Hillsborough County area. Please welcome UBC to SWFBUD.

SWFBUD Lobbies For Suncoast/Upper Tampa Bay Connector Trail

SWFBUD gets involved. We blew the whistle on a developer who built a traffic median into a bike lane on Fletcher Avenue near the Telecom business center last year. The median was removed.

We put on the Bicycle Bash by the Bay, a bicycle festival which drew several thousand people last fall to celebrate and advocate cycling.

And we lobbied the Hillsborough County commissioners to allocate CIT funds to build a connector trail that would link the Upper Tampa Bay Trail with the Suncoast Trail to create what would be the longest continuous paved trail in the state of Florida.

I was in front of the county commissioners yesterday afternoon explaining that we need both bike trails and bike lanes on roads, and that trails make our county a better place to live, that the DOT would reimburse the county for the lion's share of the connector trail costs.

I was pleased to hear from John Harrison, a county trails committee member and a SWAMP member that the commissioners voted to start building the connector trail. Here's John's report:

"GREAT NEWS!! The commissioners voted to start the trail with money from the CIT fund at today's Public Meeting.

"They allocated money to start the C-1 section of the trail on Lutz-Fern Lake Rd. This is the first section in the plan. Details will be forthcoming but I just wanted to let everyone know the result of all your letters.

"You made a difference. Special thanks to Alan Snell and Deborah Voiles who also presented this afternoon at the meeting. Thanks again, more details will follow in a few days.

John Harrison."