Our 3rd Annual National Mayors' Ride is set to kick off soon (May 14 from Seattle) and the excitement continues to pour in. From antique HiWheel riders to World Record holding unicyclists to a Mayor riding one of our legs to a movie star riding another to a musical entourage introducing our ride to cities along the way, etc, etc, we are filled to the top with firepower.
Many of our relay legs are covered by a lead rider but there a few key legs that need coverage as per our 2004 schedule http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004 .
We need coverage in Tampa where they are really turning on the afterburners as a new participant, like Seattle, in this year's event. As the southeast send off point for the ride that joins Northeast riders coming down from Boston, NYC, Philly and Baltimore in Washington DC on July 2, they have devoted staff from their Greenway division to our ride. And these guys are all over it!
For example they have already gotten an enthusiastic commitment from mayor Pam Iorio to be at our celebration and have even asked us if there is any limit to the number of people who can be present for the ceremony. And it was already a good while ago now that they were asking for the NBG logo so they could run it on the t-shirts they are to producing for all of this!
Which brings me to a point. The rider we had felt pretty confident would take this leg just pulled out. Instead of building other riders around him, we are back to where we need a lead rider for this leg.
So if U have been thinking about doing a tour this summer but haven't located a group or for that matter a cause that could make you feel like your time was well spent, how about biking from Tampa to Washington DC ?
Like all of our rides you would be on your own for lodging, food, routing and your cycling needs but your ride will be much celebrated. As well, we will loan you a Pocket Mailer so you can chronicle your daily manuevrings as you head north. The distance to DC is approximately 936 miles. The Tampa NBG Day celebration is June 1. And if we hear from you soon enough, we can build your name into the Tampa NBG Day proclamation. You can leave whenever you need to after you show up on June 1 just so long as you are in DC on July 2 where Mayor Antony Williams will help send our riders west to Chicago.
Individuals and groups a re encouraged to apply but only one of you will get a Pocket mailer. Apply at http://NationalBicycleGreenway.com/Forms/newriders.php !!
BTW: We als0 need to get the Seattle to Portland leg covered. We had been hoping that last year's superstar, Mighty Jim Muellner would take that route as he had intimated he might but we couldn't get him to commit. We had thought he would surprise us as last year we never got a commitment out of him either. And even as he rode from Washington DC to San Francisco, we never knew from one NBG Day city to the next if he would continue.. Hey but I guess if you're 68 and independently wealthy there is no need to be on anyone else's schedule but our own.
That still leaves us with the need to get Portland to Seattle covered. So if you want to make a little bit of history with us, and want to ride the 172 mile distance on a route the Cascade Bike Club can supply while covering all your own expenses for a weekend ride please go to http://NationalBicycleGreenway.com/Forms/newriders.php
Our 3rd Annual National Mayors' Ride is set to kick off soon (May 14 from Seattle) and the excitement continues to pour in. From antique HiWheel riders to World Record holding unicyclists to a Mayor riding one of our legs to a movie star riding another to a musical entourage introducing our ride to cities along the way, etc, etc, we are filled to the top with firepower.
Many of our relay legs are covered by a lead rider but there a few key legs that need coverage as per our 2004 schedule http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004 .
We need coverage in Tampa where they are really turning on the afterburners as a new participant, like Seattle, in this year's event. As the southeast send off point for the ride that joins Northeast riders coming down from Boston, NYC, Philly and Baltimore in Washington DC on July 2, they have devoted staff from their Greenway division to our ride. And these guys are all over it!
For example they have already gotten an enthusiastic commitment from mayor Pam Iorio to be at our celebration and have even asked us if there is any limit to the number of people who can be present for the ceremony. And it was already a good while ago now that they were asking for the NBG logo so they could run it on the t-shirts they are to producing for all of this!
Which brings me to a point. The rider we had felt pretty confident would take this leg just pulled out. Instead of building other riders around him, we are back to where we need a lead rider for this leg.
So if U have been thinking about doing a tour this summer but haven't located a group or for that matter a cause that could make you feel like your time was well spent, how about biking from Tampa to Washington DC ?
Like all of our rides you would be on your own for lodging, food, routing and your cycling needs but your ride will be much celebrated. As well, we will loan you a Pocket Mailer so you can chronicle your daily manuevrings as you head north. The distance to DC is approximately 936 miles. The Tampa NBG Day celebration is June 1. And if we hear from you soon enough, we can build your name into the Tampa NBG Day proclamation. You can leave whenever you need to after you show up on June 1 just so long as you are in DC on July 2 where Mayor Antony Williams will help send our riders west to Chicago.
Individuals and groups a re encouraged to apply but only one of you will get a Pocket mailer. Apply at http://NationalBicycleGreenway.com/Forms/newriders.php !!
BTW: We als0 need to get the Seattle to Portland leg covered. We had been hoping that last year's superstar, Mighty Jim Muellner would take that route as he had intimated he might but we couldn't get him to commit. We had thought he would surprise us as last year we never got a commitment out of him either. And even as he rode from Washington DC to San Francisco, we never knew from one NBG Day city to the next if he would continue.. Hey but I guess if you're 68 and independently wealthy there is no need to be on anyone else's schedule but our own.
That still leaves us with the need to get Portland to Seattle covered. So if you want to make a little bit of history with us, and want to ride the 172 mile distance on a route the Cascade Bike Club can supply while covering all your own expenses for a weekend ride please go to http://NationalBicycleGreenway.com/Forms/newriders.php
The National Bicycle Greenway (NBG) needs a cyclist (multiple riders OK) to get the Friday May 14 Seattle NBG Day proclamation down to Portland City Hall for Portland NBG Day on Monday May 17. Both events take place at noon and the Cascade Bike Club can supply routing information for this 172 mile connection. You can be a part of both ceremonies both of which usually result in media attention or you can just make it a weekend ride and pick the Seattle's document up anytime after 2PM on Friday from Angle Lake Cyclery and deliver it any time before 10AM on Monday May 17 at Coventry Cycle Works in downtown Portland. To find out more about the NBG go to http://NationalBicycleGreenway.com. To learn more about the exciting 3rd Annual National Mayors' Ride which will visit visit 24 west coast cities, 6 east coast cities, and 41 in all before it ends in Chicago on July 30, go to http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004 . After the ride kicks off from Seattle, a new Mayors' Ride city this year, other relay legs will find athletes on Rowbikes, a unicyclist pedaling from San Francisco to the Windy City, Tampa FL creating a huge celebration send off of its own and antique HiWheelers turning heads in the SF Bay Area and along the Sacramento American River Parkway, etc, all as Claire Machado's band, C.A.M. Engine, prepares population centers from LA to Chicago for the riders' arrivals with music.
To join the ride, go to: http://NationalBicycleGreenway.com/Forms/newriders.php
Unbelievable as it is our 2004 Mayors' Ride season is set to begin next Friday. This year Lars Clausen, a Guinness World Record holding unicyclist and author will help kick off our first relay in Seattle on Friday, May 14. And as we have been busy setting that event up with the extremely supportive and helpful Seattle Mayors' office and brilliant Cascade Bike Club marketing director, Scott Marlow, we have been also consumed by many other exciting developments.
A former Mayor signed on to ride the Columbus to Indianapolis relay leg. And while Steve Shaw was at it, since he lives in Cincinnati and knows the Mayor there who he refers to as "good ol' Charlie Luken", he is exploring the possibility of beginning his ride from Cincinnati with their blessing. And already he has been busy contacting our past rider veterans of that riding turf for routing suggestions. Steve tells us that he is using this relay to not only get in shape but that he will try to get more of his friends to ride at least parts of it with him as he continues the good work that Jeff Stephens will once again be brining to Columbus this year. Last year, Jeff brought a virtual city of cyclists to Columbus NBG Day and he plans more of the same for this year.
Out here on the West Coast, Patrick Thomas is chomping at the bit. Aided by friends as he tends to a million different logistical considerations at once while preparing for his trek, not to mention his full time job as an educator for the San Francisco school district, Patrick will not feel rested until his ride actually begins. And get this, following in the footsteps of Lars Clausen who has already transected the nation once and been in all 50 states on one one wheel, Patrick's "rest" will take the form of a coast-to-coast bike ride . On a UNICYCLE. A Giant of a Man, whose heart is filled with love as you can see from his web site noted below, Patrick's mission will rely on the good will of others. And it is here that Claire Machado and her music caravan will sag some of Patrick's ride. Don Loomis, another sweetheart of a man, and our lead San Francisco to Chicago rider, will help Patrick where he can as will those of you who sign up to ride any of the relay links in between. You will get a chance to make history, if your ride coincides with Patrick's, as you also lend your support to a truly unique individual who definitely has the power to make the world a better place indeed.
And for those of U who missed it, Skot Paschal, a dynamic middle school teacher down in the Santa Cruz area and a man who is a blast to be around will be meeting bike commuter Mayor Dave Bieter on June 16 in Boise before he heads off to Salt Lake CIty and Mayor Rocky Anderson, 338 miles away. As testimony to Skot's wanting the best for all those around him, he even has a web he has built around his kids math needs: http://myschoolonline.com/site/0,1876,1680-153865-1-47824,00.html . This man is all about service! In fact it was his example in Arcata that got Mayor Bob Ornelas fired up enough that he is riding from Eugene to Arcata and maybe even all the way to the Bay Area this year!! Here is Skot's ride from Eugene to Arcata to Napa last year: http://nbg.bikeroute.com/gallery/Arcata2003
In the bigger picture, the 3rd Annual Mayors' Ride which you can find at http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004 , will visit 24 west coast cities, 6 east coast cities, and 41 in all before it ends in Chicago on July 30 . And before NBG riders even head for the Windy City, both coasts will be alive with excitement. After the ride kicks off from Seattle, other relay legs will find athletes on Rowbikes, Tampa FL creating a huge celebration send off and antique HiWheelers turning heads in the SF Bay Area and along the Sacramento American River Parkway, etc, all as Claire Machado's band, C.A.M. Engine, prepares population centers from LA to Chicago for the riders' arrivals with music.
And the above is only a small part of the excitement soon ahead
To sign up for our ride: http://NationalBicycleGreenway.com/Forms/newriders.php
Links from above:
Lars web: http://www.onewheel.org
Cascade Bike Club: http://cascade.org
Steve Shaw web: http://nbg.bikeroute.com/Events/Mayors_Ride/bios/Steve_Shaw.php
Jeff Stephens web: http://nbg.bikeroute.com/Events/Mayors_Ride/bios/jstephens.php
2003 Columbus NBG Day: http://nbg.bikeroute.com/gallery/Columbus
Patrick Thomas web: http://www.pedalthewaves.org
Claire M web: http://www.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Cam_Engine
Don Loomis web: http://nbg.bikeroute.com/Events/Mayors_Ride/bios/don_loomis.php
Rowbike web: http://Rowbike.com
Chicago proc: http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004/ChicagoProc2004.html
Up in Idaho, where they they will send Skot Paschal, our popular middle school teacher and famed Pocket Mail Poet down to Salt Lake City from Boise NBG Day on June 16, they have a new Mayor who cycles to work, play and etc on a regular basis. And he does so on the 35 year old Schwinn Typhoon he got when he was 10. And he now wears a suit and tie while doing so! Similar to the Critical Mass movement which has not stressed what or how you ride but that you do so to replace car trips, Mayor Dave Beiter fully embraces the true spirt of cycling. Here's the Boise Weekly story:
And Dave has his staff working hard this month on Boise Bike Week and May in Motion all to promote alternative transportation up his way. And they are posed and ready to help us with our event!
And wow have they come a long way since I was shipped home for dead from up there in an air ambulance a couple decades ago. Now a city of almost 200,000, the stop sign my brother ran that found us in the path of a large truck is now controlled by a stop light. And as Boise continues to burst at the seams, Mayor Dave is trying to lead his fellow Boisians thru example by riding a bike!
More info about our ride and all the excitement that is set to ensue at:
http://www.BikeRoute.com/NationalMayorsRide2004
Yahooo!!!