Crit Racing Comes to Tacoma

As if you needed more reasons to check out the bike-scene in Tacoma, here's a good one:

Tacoma Twilight Criterium

supported by Michelob Ultra

Saturday June 12th 

3pm - 11pm

www.tacomatwilight.com 

Night Time Bicycle Racing comes to Downtown Tacoma!

With Special appearance by Olympic Speedskating Medalist, JR Celski.

A party in Downtown Tacoma like you’ve never seen before. Bring the kids, bring a chair, settle in for the night!

Another Tacoma MOB Ride!

Watch out! These Tacoma MOB Riders are getting organized...

Zeit-Bike Tacoma

Mrs. TBR and I went downtown to see the locally-made Zeit-Bike bicycle sculptures on display at the Tacoma Art Museum.  Our timing was perfect and we found the artists riding their artistic contraptions around Tollefson Plaza during a break in the drenching rain showers we've been having all day.

Two of the three artists even offered test-rides to the by-standers.  I rode one with a trailer wheel-powered fan that inflated the large plastic wind sock on the back.  Brilliant.

There's still plenty of Bike Month left.  More Tacoma events here.

Bobike Revisited

I removed the Bobike kid seat from my Xtracycle a while back because I was usually hauling multiple kids with the Madsen when I needed to carry a Bobike-sized passenger.  Tonight I decided to give it another shot.  My youngest (2yo) loves that she has her own handlebars now and  my oldest (4.5yo) loves that she can climb on the back by herself and  doesn't have to wear a seatbuckle, like in the Madsen.  I like it because this is the most comfortable bike I own and it holds a 20 pound weight advantage over the Madsen.  It feels like I'm riding a group hug with my family, and I love that feeling.

New PDZA Racks

I was quite excited to see this sign drawing my attention to a new set of bike racks at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, our local menagerie.  The whole thing is built on a hillside with the car park at the top, requiring a hike up and down a lengthy set of ramps or stairs to get to the boxoffice and then to see the critters.  The new racks are right by the entrance, just far enough away from any pesky kids.

I've biked to this zoo once before on my Xtracycle.  The five mile trip was rather pleasant with just one toddler in the Bobike seat and an umbrella stroller in the freeloaders.  I recall my passenger sleeping the whole way home.

Meetin' at the Swap

The 2nd Annual Tacoma Bike Swap happened yesterday on the UPS campus, one of the first events celebrating Bike Month in Tacoma/Pierce County.  The kids and I arrived a little late, but there was still a good crowd and plenty of deals on bikes and parts of every kind.  One vendor had a matching pair of folding Raleigh Twentys and some awesome Moultons.  Another vendor with a 46cm Surly Cross Check frameset caught my attention, because I didn't know they'd ever been made that small.  After chatting with the seller, I eventually spotted my only purchase of the day among his wares:

I plan to retrofit this beauty on to my own green Cross Check, a project which will likely require numerous trips to the hardware store.  I can't wait!

The local paper covered the Bike Swap, too.  You can read the full article here (TBR is quoted and linked - woot!)  If you stopped at the Swap, what caught your eye?