A big Bici Thank you

Thanks to everyone who came out to our 1st Annual Bici Garden Party Race and Party at Jones Valley Urban Farm. It was a wonderful success! We had a surprising and encouraging turnout.

Thanks to our sponsors: Rojo, Primavera Coffee, Action Wipes, Jones Valley, Some New Trend and Banjo Brothers.

Special thanks also to all the folks who volunteered. This event could not have happened without you out there at the stops, marking manifests and cheering on the racers.



We had folks from all over the city and some fellas from Atlanta come out to ride and race. A large group did a fun ride around the city and threw seed bombs in an attempt to spread some Bike Love to areas that need some beauty and life. Mt.St.Mtn played and really rocked our faces off. Jones Valley had the bike blender out and some fantastic Bellinis were pedaled to creation. The Keg was tapped, the food was eaten and all was well.

Results:

1st place-Stewart Haddock of Atlanta
2nd Place- Jason Barker of Birmingham
3rd Place-Chris Schwartz of Atlanta

The race was incredible. The racers had to get to the 9th floor of a parking deck, navigate a gay pride parade (unplanned!) and find an obscure building downtown. There were 3 flats but no injuries. A good night indeed.

Stay tuned for the next Alleycat. Bike Skirt may be sponsoring...so you never know what will happen!

Shop build-out

Thanks to all the folks who came out and helped. The shop is coming along nicely and we are pumped about our May 1 Grand Opening. Stay tuned for more details.

GOOD Liveable Streets

There has been much talk lately about Liveable streets, esp now that the Complete Streets Act is in the Senate. GOOD Magazine (which I subcribe to and simply love) had this feature on their website today.

The article

"It’s easy to forget that our streets are alterable. They weren’t set down by God on the eighth day; they were designed by human beings. Unfortunately, throughout the 20th century, most of the human beings designing our streets were traffic engineers. For the most part, they viewed the city from behind a windshield and saw the street as a problem to be solved for automobiles. The result is the American city that most of us know today: sprawling, traffic-choked, hostile to pedestrians and cyclists, dependent on a vast, never-ending flow of cheap oil, and deeply unsustainable.

Streets can and must be more than just a place for the movement and storage of private motor vehicles. The urban street of the 21st century will be a “complete street,” accommodating pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders alike. At the Livable Streets Initiative we are helping citizens re-envision streets as great public spaces. Take, for example, the busy intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and West 76th Street in Manhattan"...

It has an interactive graphic that is really cool-go check it out.

In more local news, Anna and I went to a reception and talk given by Dan Burden on Walkable Communities. It was really hopeful and interesting. He said so many things that are obvious yet completely new to many people (i.e. designing your city to the people instead of the car), and he also showed streets in Birmingham that can be 'reclaimed' using the current dimensions. It is time to reclaim our city from the car!

you can read Anna's notes on the talk here

So Fresh and so clean, clean

Today's Spring Bike Cleaning was a success! Thanks to everyone who came out and played...and donated. We ended up staying out until 4:30, enjoying bike talk, softball throwing, Tofu Dogs and beer. Puppies and Toddlers as well. It was a lovely spring day, despite the weatherman's warning. The skies cleared around 10 and by 11, the sun was shining and the good times were rollin'.

Thanks to my sister, Diana, who took photos for us.

Fear and Loathing in Atl

(I totally stole that post name from Alan, who came in one night and said "I am calling my next blog post Fear and Loathing in Atlanta!"...thanks A)

Want to see how Alan and I spent last weekend? go here and check out the awesome photo set. (or view below, whatevs)



Just today I was thinking about how much I missed the community of last weekend. I can't wait until we have that in Birmingham. All in due time, all in due time...

*thanks to Sopo and Sopofaceman for the awesome shots