For Immediate release Mary Alsip, NBG Regional Publicist
7/21/05 831 420 5129
The Mayor's Ride Coming to Santa Cruz
Join us for FREE Birthday Cake, July 27, 3pm, City Hall
What is the Mayors' Ride?
Relay teams of National Bicycle Greenway (NBG) cyclists are traversing the US collecting support from the Mayors of numerous (52) cities across America.
As these Cyclists pass through supporting NBG Day cities they receive a proclamation from the Mayor which affirms the support of each community for the creation of a nationwide system of bicycle trails, called the National Bicycle Greenway (NBG). Past proclamations have been received by the cyclists from dozens of cities including Boston, Philadelphia, Berkeley, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Pittsburgh. These cyclists are helping Mayors show America and their own citizens how much value they place on the bicycle as a part of their transportation mix.
What is the NBG?
The National Bicycle Greenway began in 1987 and is envisioned as a nationwide network of interconnected bike friendly roads and bicycle pathways that will connect cyclists to major cities throughout the US. The NBG is dedicated to developing a standard for cycle-safe thruways that enhances the travel experience of the transportational cyclist.
Our Own Local Team!
This year, the west coast team started in San Diego and has been riding up the coast collecting Mayor's proclamations in each of the layover cities. On July 27, 2005, out own local team will start in Monterey and bring the Mayor's proclamation from Monterey to Santa Cruz.
This year's Monterey Bay relay will be dedicated to long time NBG Scout, Skot Paschal, who was recently stricken with a rare form of cancer. A popular local teacher and Santa Cruz resident, as he was uncertain if he could ride due to his illness, Braxton Alsip stepped up to the plate and volunteered to ride in his place. Interestingly, it will be Braxton's 17th birthday on the NBG Santa Cruz ride day!
Many other local riders will converge along the way to escort the proclamation from Monterey Mayor Dan Albert to Santa Cruz Mayor Mike Rotkin. They include cross country veterans Bruce Brodie, Roberto Lovato, (whose hip bone was recently replaced with a titanium rod!!) Ed Migliore, Bob Kelly of Velo Club Monterey, and Martin Krieg, who will be riding a high wheeler and is the founder of the NBG.
Once the proclamation arrives in Santa Cruz, Mayor Mike Rotkin will hand it over to local cyclists Tim McKloskey, Eileen Beaudry, and Scott Campbell who will then take the document over the hill to the Mayor of San Jose.
All this energy will converge on San Francisco City Hall at 2PM on July 31 for the 4th Annual NBG Bike Fest.
On July 27 a contingent of riders (including our own Braxton Alsip) will be bringing the NBG Mayor's proclamation from Monterey to our City Hall. A short ceremony is scheduled at 3:00 p.m. We would like to get as many members of our club as possible to show up and demonstrate support for this worthy cause. Better still, I'm looking for any riders that can make it to join me in a ride south to meet and escort the north bound riders to Santa Cruz. One of the riders is Skot Paschal (a local schoolteacher recently diagnosed with a rare type of cancer). Skot is also riding to promote cancer awareness and to demonstrate his fighting spirit. Please join me in welcoming them to our city. Wear your club colors if you have them.
Also, Eileen Beaudry and Scott Campbell will be joining me in receiving Mike Rotkin's proclamation which we will carry (along with the ones coming north) to San Jose where another relay will take them to Palo Alto and finally all routes converge in SF. Help make this vision a reality.
Timothy McCloskey
The National Mayors Ride is a project of the National Bicycle Greenway. It is a relay ride, with local cyclists joining a small core group of country-crossers as they come through the area, stopping for planned ceremonies at various city halls.
You can join this year's ride this week:
Wednesday (7/27) leaving Monterey at 3 pm for Santa Cruz
Friday (7/29) leaving Santa Cruz in the morning for San Jose
Friday (7/29) continuing from San Jose at 4 pm for Palo Alto
Sunday (7/31) leaving Palo Alto 2 pm for San Francisco
For more information, see their web site (http://www.bikeroute.com/NationalMayorsRide2005/2005SW.html#Anchor-Palo-5677) and then contact nbg@bikeroute.com
Tom Ayres
I announced at City Council meeting tonight that Davis will be hosting the National Bicycle Greenway Mayors Ride when it comes into Davis Sunday afternoon (July 24th, approximately 3 pm). All council members said they will join us Sunday.
This is our plan for your visit:
Your group will ride into Davis, accompanied by several Davis Bike Club riders and end up at the Cantina del Cabo Restaurant downtown (Tour de France will be on TV --the recaps, anyway) for a short program and an early dinner. Although the timing will depend somewhat on when your group arrives, we are planning on a short program around 4:00 p.m. (welcome, introductions and presentation of resolutions ~the 2 members of Board of Supervisors representing Davis and our Assemblywoman Lois Wolk were invited to present in addition to my proclamation - hopefully they can make it). Dinner will follow at 4:30 p.m. Members of the newly formed Davis Bicycle Advisory Commission are also invited. This will be a good opportunity for all these groups who will be together for the first time to celebrate our bicycle friendly city. The city is hosting the dinner so we're trying to have an exact head count by Friday afternoon.
We're looking at bringing one of the displayable antique bikes to Cantina. We'll see if this is doable.
The venue is at the restaurant instead of Central Park because the temperature this week (and continues to next week) has been in the 3-digit number. It's been hot hot hot.
Looking forward to seeing you again.
Ruth
For Immediate release Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau
7/19/05 916-808-7782
Sacramento to come alive with bikes from yesteryear
On Sunday July 24th, camera will be clicking, traffic stopping and heads turning as Hi Wheel bicycles from yesteryear descend on the State Capitol at noon in one of the final relays of this year's National Mayors' Ride. This year's ride will have left all four corners of the US and visited 52 major US cities before it ends in San Francisco on July 31. Led by "Awake Again" author and National Bicycle Greenway (NBG) director, Martin Krieg, they will be celebrated by four different Mayor before their ride day is complete. Krieg is well known for using his two bike rides across America to rehabilitate from two months in a coma, clinical death and right side paralysis.
With a ride that has seen police escorts, press receptions and crowds of well wishers all across the US, the NBG has endeavored to show why cities all across America can be worthy biking destinations. As such, they have, for the second year in a row, chosen to showcase on of America's top Greemways. the American River bike trail (aka "Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail") that runs from Folsom to Sacramento. After they collect proclamations from the Folsom and Rancho Cordova Mayors, they will then be honored by Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo as she thanks them for letting the bicycle nation vicariously explore the wonder that Sacramento is surrounded by. The day's ride ends in in one of America's top bike cities, Davis.
MORE INFO : bikeroute.com