Our latest Spoken Wheel newsletter is hot off the presses! Pick one up around town, in our downtown space, and elsewhere… This quarter’s issue is packed with information about Connect SLO County, upcoming events, a wordsearch puzzle, and more!
Can’t wait to get a copy? Read it online here.
Out for delivery!
When: Sunday May 20th, 7:00 am (ride) 11:30 am (lunch)
Where: Tolosa Winery, 4910 Edna Road, San Luis Obispo
We’re partnering with Tolosa Winery again for the 3rd Annual Cote de Tolosa Velo Challenge! An epic 52 mile cross country loop, including 5,000 feet of climbing and a lunch at Tolosa Winery afterwards.
The ride starts promptly at 7:00am, and is for serious riders only. Register online to be a part of this legendary ride. Not up for the epic ride? Join us for lunch on the Tolosa patio and cheer on the riders as they cross the finish line. We’ll see you there!
“This ride would be really terrifying if it weren’t so fun.”
All profits benefit the Bicycle Coalition as a part of Rideshare’s Bike Month. To view the route online, register for the ride and for more information, visit Tolosa’s website.
Interested in getting a free lunch and goodie bag from Tolosa? Sign up to volunteer on the day of here.
When: Saturday May 12th, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Where: Branch St Deli, 203 E Branch St, Arroyo Grande
We’ve got cheap beer from New Belgium, great music from Moonpie, food from the Branch St Deli, and tons of prizes up at the raffle, including a shiny New Belgium cruiser bike!
There are tons of ways to get raffle tickets and win:
-Park your bike at the Bike Valet
-Sign up for Rideshare’s commuter competition
-Join the Bicycle Coalition
This event is free and open to anyone who wants to celebrate bicycles as a part of May’s Bike Month! The bike parade will be leaving the bandstand on Nelson st at 12:30, and riding as a fun group to the Branch st Deli where the festivities are.
Win this New Belgium bike… become a Bicycle Coalition member and get more tickets to greatly increase your odds!
Do some shopping, any shopping, on Wednesday May 16th, and 5% of your entire purchase will go to the Bicycle Coalition! No need to print a flier, mention anything, buy certain items. 5% of EVERYTHING you buy benefits the Bicycle Coalition…
You can help us raise over $2,600 to help make SLO County even better for bicycles!
A recent report from our national partners at America Bikes found that 83% of all respondents support maintaining or increasing the federal funding streams that pay for sidewalks, bikeways, and bike paths.
We know this is true, we see it everyday, with increasing ridership both locally, and nationally. Americans want active transportation options, a way to get around their communities safely, and while being active. The threat to eliminating funding for biking and walking is real, and would roll back the options in our transportation system back into the 1950s.
More and more Americans are turning to biking for transportation on a daily basis. In 2009, Americans took 4 billion bike trips, and the number of bicycle commuters has grown 43% since 2000.
One of the most noticeable parts of the report, is that support for biking and walking funding is bi-partisan, is not related to geography, and is strong across all age groups. In a time where biking trips are rapidly increasing, it is a mistake to put the safety of road users at risk by eliminating funding.
…Many lawmakers have zeroed in on eliminating funding for biking and walking as a wishful solution to our country’s fiscal woes, though cutting these critical but small programs has virtually no impact on the federal deficit. Currently, only 1.5% of federal transportation spending funds sidewalks and bikeways.
If you want to continue to see better bikeways and bike paths locally, support our Connect SLO County initiative, aimed at completing our bike paths. We are dedicated to making sure people of all ages can get around by bicycle, and are your voice for bicycles in SLO County and beyond!
You can view the entire report from America Bikes online here.
When: Wednesday May 9th, 3:30 pm
Where: Meet at the Community Center, 5599 Traffic Way, Atascadero
We are proud to be a part of the first annual Bike To Bites event in Atascadero as part of Rideshare’s Bike Month!
We’ll be meeting at the Community Center to ride as a group, have a blast & ring our bells on our way to the Galaxy Theater… Free pizza & root beer at the theater after the ride!
We’ll have the Bike Valet set up, park your bike, and use your valet tag for a free screening of “Breaking Away” at the Galaxy!
Can’t meet us at the Community Center for the ride? Check out the flier for local bike routes to use to ride to the theater to meet us!
Practice your bike handling skills at this kid-friendly Bike Rodeo. We’ll be there teaching basic bike smarts, and having a blast riding our bikes together in Morro Bay! This is a great chance for Morro Bay kids & families to get together, ride bikes and show your support for bicycles in SLO County.
All SLO County youth can join us by the coast for the FREE bike safety rodeo on the Morro Bay High School track.
When: Saturday May 5th
Where: Morro Bay High School Track (map)
When: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Brought to you by: SLO County Health, SLO County Bicycle Coalition, Rideshare and Central Coast Montessori School
Connect SLO County is an initiative of the Bicycle Coalition, aimed at completing the 3 main bike path projects in SLO County. The largest component of the initiative is an interactive website, which will be the main source for up-to-date information for these bike path projects.
Our residents and visitors have already to begun exploring our outstanding environment by bicycle in impressive numbers. Riding through wine country is the joyful activity of choice for healthy adventurers and training along the coast is all a racing cyclist could ever want. Meanwhile, pedaling a beach cruiser down the Bob Jones Trail is heaven for parents, kids, and leisure seekers alike.
We want more Bob Jones Trails. Connect SLO County aims to build bicycle network for everyone, from an eight-year-old child to an eighty-year-old grandmother, to provide a safe healthy access to shop, commute, and play by bicycle. San Luis Obispo County’s vibrancy is built upon our unique environment and economy of recreation, ranching, agriculture, and small city atmosphere. To develop that economy we need to Connect SLO County and complete our bike paths!
Visit the website today to see how you can get involved, show your support, share your story, and spread the word!
