sustaining a bike friendly community in spartanburg, south carolina

The Hub Cycle program promotes physical activity by allowing Spartanburg residents to borrow a bicycle, helmet and lock for three months ($15 deposit required). The program is funded by donations, partnerships and the generosity of the community. So far, Hub Cycle has received $16,253 in equipment and services through donations from people living in the area. Without this help the program would fall short in its mission to get the community active and healthy.

Hub Cycle continues to grow and over 260 people have already taken advantage of the Hub Cycle program. In a voluntary survey of bike borrowers, users said they rode their bikes for three main reasons: transportation, leisurely fun, and exercise. When asked what caused them not to ride, the resounding answers were “not enough time to ride,” or “not enough safe places to ride.” Their favorite thing about the Hub Cycle program was the length of the rental. Borrowers can rent bikes for three months at a time with the option to renew once.

Through the Hub Cycle program and other efforts, Partners for Active Living is working fervently to help the Spartanburg community understand the importance of making time for health and wellness. The organization is also pushing for more bicycle friendly enviornments, to insure there are no excuses for being inactive! Hub Cycle encourages anyone who wants to give cycling and living an active lifestyle a try to contact the organization

Brooke Miller Shows Power to Win Spartanburg Regional Classic
and Third USA CRITS Speed Week Race

by Daniel Carruthers

Brooke Miller rides in a victory lap with Mayor Bill Barnet and Valerie Barnet.

Team Tibco’s Brooke Miller powered her way to another comfortable USA CRITS Speed Week victory, Friday, at the Spartanburg Regional Classic, after teammate Joanne Kiesanowski attacked on final lap with Miller slotted on her wheel. They rounded the final corner with a slight gap on the field, but Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom Racing) and Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) also attacked and were closing fast. Seeing this, Miller jumped and held all the way to the line.

How it Unfolded [Read more →]

by Daniel Carruthers

Fly V Australia’s Jonathan Cantwell takes win in Lightning Spartanburg Regional Classic

Sprint across the Finish Line in the Men's Pro Race

Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) won the Spartanburg Regional Classic Friday, with a fine sprint win over Jake Keogh (Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Canadian Andrew Pinfold (OUCH p/b Maxxis). This win showed that Fly V is settling in after taking a three-week break down-under and arriving in the USA last Thursday jetlagged. “We are hungry for more wins,” said Cantwell, “and you will see us out there vying for them for the remainder of this series. We have a good team here, with some really good sprinters, and most of us are only just coming into form—not quite 100 percent yet.”

How it Unfolded [Read more →]

Spartanburg Regional Classic Forecasts
Ground Lightning for USA CRITS Speed Week

Atlanta, Ga. (April 29, 2009)–The Spartanburg Regional Classic is coming up fast in the USA CRITS Speed Week series. On Friday, some of the best racers in the world of cycling will wheel their bikes to the starting line in an annual showdown of speed, power and tactics.

In the women’s field, last year’s winner Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) will arrive in Spartanburg psyched from her win Sunday at the Historic Roswell Criterium in Roswell, Ga. She will be joined by Erica Allar and Kelly Benjamin the formidable teammates who help to keep her in contention. Their rivals, Team Tibco, Vanderkitten Racing and Team Type 1 will work hard to keep Team Colavita off the winners’ rostrum. Brooke Miller (Tibco) won the famed Athens Twilight on Saturday, and took second place in Roswell the next day, behind Pic. It’s likely the two sprinters will go wheel to wheel again in Spartanburg, so it’s a rivalry to watch.

In the men’s line-up, stiff competition can emerge from anywhere when teams like Kelly Benefits, Fly V Australia, Kenda Pro Cycling, Champion Porsche, Jittery Joe’s, Texas Roadhouse, Myogenesis, OUCH, Richmond Pro Cycling, and Team Mountain Khakis mix it up. Tom Soladay (Mtn Khakis) won the Historic Roswell Criterium Sunday, his first big win, and now he is primed to fight for even more victories after reaching that important milestone early in his career. Twilight winner, Heath Blackgrove, and his Team Hotel San Jose squad, will be in the hunt too.

About USA CRITS

USA CRITS National Criterium Series has been developed to feature a brand of cycling unique to the United States—the criterium. Criteriums are historically run on short laps, through city streets. Riders accumulate points throughout the year awarded through start points; laps led; first, middle, and end sprint point laps; and the final order of finish. Criteriums offer spectators the opportunity to watch Olympians and world and national champions, up-close, as they ride at top speed. This has made the criterium format the most spectator-friendly form of cycling entertainment. Events on the USA CRITS series reflect the ideals that have made criterium racing an American legacy: challenging courses that showcase arts and entertainment districts; a large and energized base of spectators; broad community support; and strong marketing opportunities for sponsors. For more information, visit www.usacrits.com.

News Release: April 27

Bike Town Races into the Digital Age with Tweets, Tags, Vlogs and More

Bike Month Participants to Share Experiences through New Social Media Technologies

Spartanburg, SC – In a new twist on celebrating one of the country’s oldest pastimes, Bike Town Spartanburg is asking spectators and participants to digitally share their Bike Month 2009 sights, sounds and interactions.

Fans of the Spartanburg Regional Classic, which will take place this Friday, and other Bike Month events are encouraged to use their favorite social media websites to share their photos, videos, blog entries, video blogs (vlogs) or Tweets related to Bike Month 2009: the race, the rides, the downtown ArtCycle sculptures and any other bike-related events.

The term “social media website” refers to communication outlets like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Flickr.  A vast and varied number of people in Spartanburg already make use of these services to communicate with friends or to publish to a wider audience.  Bike Town intends to bring all of these people together by asking them to use to same “tag” wherever possible.

A “tag” is an easy-to-understand description of an item, like a name tag at a party that quickly clarifies who is who. On the Internet, tags are used to identify a piece of information as relevant to a particular topic.  Bike Town is asking people to use “BkTnSburg” as the tag for Bike Town Spartanburg events.

For example, anything relevant to Bike Town that is published on Twitter should include “#BkTnSburg,” and photos uploaded to Flickr.com should be tagged with “BkTnSburg.”  If everyone uses the same “tag” whenever they’re writing about or uploading photos or videos of Bike Month events, then Bike Town can connect everyone by linking to the resulting conversations from our website: http://BikeTownSpartanburg.org.

Whether documenting racers as they take “turn 4” of the Spartanburg Regional Classic course, or videoing elected officials as they bike ride through downtown at Pedal With Your Politician, Bike Town hopes to give Spartanburg, as well as the internet’s worldwide audience, an inside look at the local biking scene.

Keep an eye on http://BikeTownSpartanburg.org to see what happens. If you do not see materials that you have published online appearing there, send an email to info@biketownspartanburg.org.  For additional information about Bike Month events in Spartanburg, including the Spartanburg Regional Classic, please visit the website calendar or call 864.598.9638.