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City Rated No.1 for Cycling

August 3, 2010

Tucson has long been a top town for two-wheel travel - and now a national magazine has amplified our bike-friendly rep by naming Tucson the nation's best city for road biking.

Outside magazine, in its August issue, calls Tucson a "cyclist's paradise."

The article cites the city's extensive network of bike paths, tonic climate and clean air - along with surrounding lung-and-leg-testing terrain ranging in altitude from 2,400 feet to more than 9,000 feet.

"You can pedal through serene desertscapes on any number of the 300 miles of well-maintained loops within 45 minutes of town - virtually all year long," the magazine raves. "Which is why pro squads like Lance Armstrong's Team RadioShack train here in winter."

Tucsonan Ari Shapiro - who was named "bicycle commuter of the year" recently by the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee - said the Outside recognition is well-deserved.

"I know Tucson is a great cycling town. A lot of people do. But I think this is a very nice recognition," said Shapiro, who travels by bike from one to another of his three Xoom Juice shops. "Outside is pretty legit. They put a lot of work into those ratings."

If the current bike buzz is good, it could get even better thanks to some recent and ongoing efforts aimed at improving the city's cycling situation.

PURPOSEFUL PEDALING

Groups, such as the Tucson chapter of the Greater Arizona Bicycling Association, promote interest in cycling and keep track of legislation affecting riders.

An organization called BICAS - Bicycle Inter-Community Action & Salvage - is a nonprofit advocacy group and recycling center for bikes.

CYCLOVIA

A free bike-centric event called Cyclovia Tucson brought cyclists together in April in a festival setting to pedal around town and celebrate the value of non-motorized transportation.

Organizers hope to make Cyclovias - which have been held in other cities around the nation - regular events in Tucson.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

The Tucson Department of Transportation recently began looking into adding "bicycle boulevards" paralleling busy Grant Road.

Meanwhile, a Regional Transportation Authority plan includes "substantial levels of funding for bicycle projects," according to the Pima Association of Governments website. More recently, PAG established an annual regional bicycle-count program to gather data on rider numbers and characteristics.

BACK-IN PARKING

Angled, back-in parking, used along East University Boulevard near North Park Avenue for more than a decade, is now being instituted in other parts of town - partly because it is believed to be safer for passing bicyclists.

"GHOST BIKES"

It's an all-white bike - parked permanently near a sheltering mesquite tree along a scenic stretch of Old Spanish Trail southeast of Tucson.

Cars zoom past, most of them traveling way too fast for drivers to catch the name and dates inscribed on the bike: Allen Johnson. 10-28-1982. 3-10-2009.

The riderless bicycle - known as a "ghost bike" - is a memorial to Johnson, a Tucson police officer and avid cyclist who was struck and killed by a pickup truck along the road last year.

It's one of several ghost bikes in the Tucson area and one of many around the nation. They are reminders that riding comes with risk - even in generally bike-friendly cities.

"The bikes are usually installed by members of the cycling community," said Erik Ryberg, an attorney who represents cyclists injured in collisions with motorists. "They are memorials to victims. Another fundamental purpose is to remind motorists of their responsibility to watch where they're going. Cyclists are very vulnerable road users."