Boise Bike Week is coming up! Tie into TVCA great biking events for One Sweet Ride!

Thanks to the Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance for sponsoring Boise Bike Week! 

Try to ride to work at least one day this week, or all 5 days! 

Go for a co-ed mountain bike ride with the Dirt Dolls on Monday ... 

People might dress up for the Pedal Power parade, much like they do for
the Fat Tire Festival in Boise in August!

Who knows? You might see costume-clad riders on the fun rides! 

Get your kids out for a ride! This is my son Quinn when
he was 7 or 8 years old by the Hulls ponds. 

Larger three-wheeler bikes are becoming more popular ...
This model works great for my son Drew. Check out a
demonstration about adaptive bikes on May 21st. 

Hi all,

It's the month of May, and that means it's time to get on your bike and tie into the many fun biking events coming up during Boise Bike Week, coming up on Monday, May 16 and running through Saturday, May 21! Their theme is "One sweet ride."

Many thanks to the Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance and many other pro-bike organizations and businesses in Boise for dishing up a great list of events! You can find the full calendar of events on the TVCA web site.

Boise Bike Week is a time to promote biking in our community. It's also a time when there's so much going on it creates an incentive for you to get off the couch and:

• Ride to work as many days as possible that week. Get your bike lock set up handy, get ready for work a little earlier than normal, and enjoy the commute to work in the fresh air.  
• Tie into free mountain bike rides or road rides to try these activities perhaps for the first time, meet new people, and enjoy some beers afterwards. 
• Learn about bike safety for kids and adults from the pros. It's vital to know how to navigate the streets safely or get tips on how to ride a mountain bike safely in the hills to avoid injuries or worse. 
• Getting kids more involved in cycling. 
• Participate in a bike parade! That's always a hoot, especially when people dress up. 
• Learn more about finding the right bicycle for you and your kids. 

Some highlights for you and your friends to plug into the fun:

• Dirt Dolls co-ed mountain bike ride, Monday, 5:45 p.m., Camelsback Park. All abilities welcome. Go for an hour-long ride and hit the beer party, a kickoff for Boise Bike Week, at Highlands Hollow. The party runs from 6-9 p.m. 
• Intro to Road Biking ride led by Community Bicycle Rides, 6-8 p.m. Tuesday. Meet at Eastside Cycles in Bown Crossing. Several places to eat and drink afterwards in Bown Crossing. 
• Wandering Wheels Picnic and Gear Swap, Tuesday, 6-7 p.m. Bring a picnic dinner to Catalpa Park in NW Boise and learn about how cyclists pack their bikes for different kinds of rides and tours. 
• Ride of Silence, 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, to honor those we've lost in our community from vehicle-bicycle accidents. There have been WAY too many of these accidents in our community. More awareness and publicity about safe cycling and safe driving is essential. Ride starts at Camelsback. 
• Three riding clinics on Wednesday - Youth starts at Fort Boise at 4:30 p.m.; Ladies only road and mountain bike rides will be led by George's on 3rd Street at 6 p.m.; SWIMBA beginning mountain bike clinic starting in Military Reserve by Fort Boise. 
• National Bike to Work Day breakfast at the Boise Co-op, Friday, 7-9 a.m. Free coffee and danishes for bike commuters! 
• Adaptive Bike Fair, Saturday, 10 a.m.- 3 p.m., Fort Boise - Try out all kinds of different bikes at the fair, including upright and recumbent hand cycles, trikes, recumbent trikes, tandem bikes and trikes. I just bought my autistic son, Drew, a three-wheeler in April. I wish I had gotten it sooner! He does great on it!
• Pedal Power Parade to Grand Finale party at Payette Brewing, 6-10 p.m. Saturday at the new location, 733 S. Pioneer Street. Meet at the State Capital at 4:30-4:45. Ride starts at 5 p.m. The parade will follow a three-mile loop and then end up at Payette Brewing. 

I enjoyed outdoor writer Chadd Cripe's article in the Statesman this week about the different kinds of bikes one could choose from these days -- from trikes to recumbents, from cruisers to electric bikes, fat bikes, mountain bikes and road bikes! 

Another thing you might do for Boise Bike Week, if you're an experienced rider, is get out on your road bike or mountain bike and enjoy a nice long recreation ride. Put in some miles! It's good for building up your fitness and endurance, and it's good for your soul!  

If you're looking for ideas on where to ride, consider my Boise Road Cycling Guide, for 30 road rides throughout the Boise Valley, and Mountain Biking in Boise, 65 rides in the local area (available in ebook only right now; new version coming soon.)

Have fun!
- SS