Tucson celebrates bicycling

From the Tucson Citizen, 03.28.08:

Bike events aim to boost Tucson's image
A series of events this weekend will kick off Tucson's Clean Air Days and Bike Fest, and the three-day Tucson Bicycle Classic race also is this weekend south and west of town. The events highlight Tucson's reputation as a bike-friendly community.

But that reputation needs some burnishing if Tucson is to be successful in receiving the top ranking among bike-friendly communities from a national bicycle advocacy group. The Pima Association of Governments last week applied for platinum status from the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly Communities Campaign. A decision is expected next month. Davis, Calif., is the only community that has platinum status, according to the league's master list.

Since May 2006, the Tucson/Pima Eastern Region is one of only seven communities awarded gold status for having bicycle-friendly environments. But a bicycle-friendly environment does not necessarily mean a bicycle-friendly community.
"Achieving platinum is not bike utopia," said Diana Tolton, chairwoman of the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee. "It's not the ultimate bike-friendly community. It just shows we have a lot to offer." (Read more.)

Article that conveys Tucson's ambitions for bicycling, and some of the remaining tensions between the "lycra-clad" set and a minority of motorists in the area.

Image: Tucson Citizen.
Visit: Putting the pedals to the pavement, Tucson Citizen
Visit: Tucson aims for pinnacle as bicycling mecca, Arizona Daily Star
Visit: Bike sharing program peddled for Tucson, Bike Commute Tips Blog
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips Site
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