http://www.perimeterbicycling.com/%21ETT/ETThome.html

Participants may cycle 111, 85, 60 or 42 miles, plus the 6, 3 & 1/4- mile Diamond Children’s El Tour Fun Ride presented by McDonald’s, open to all abilities.

New this year:

The 111-mile startline (and finish line for all events) is located at Armory Park, across the street from the Tucson Children’s Museum in downtown Tucson at the corner of S. 6th Avenue at 13th Street. Upon crossing the finishline at the end of their ride, cyclists collect a special finisher’s medallion to commemorate their accomplishment. El Tour’s Downtown Fiesta will be in Armory park featuring food vendors, kids activities, the Michelob Ultra Beer Garden, El Tour Perimeter Store merchandise booth, and non-stop music and celebration throughout the day!

Don’t forget the “El Tour Bike, Fitness & Health Expo”

Tucson Convention Center (TCC)
260 South Church Avenue, Tucson
Downstairs in Exhibition Hall

Registration & Packet Pick-Up

Wednesday, November 16, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Thursday, November 17, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday, November 18, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The El Tour Expo is the exclusive packet pickup location for over 9,000 cyclists.
◦It is free and open to the public.
The Expo offers something for cyclists and non-cyclists alike with over 100 booths offering:

•Sports and fitness products
•Athletic apparel
•Cycling gear
•Exercise equipment
•Recreational activity displays
•Nutritional products
•Free samples

For exhibit information contact Expo Director Kristi Wagner at (520) 745-2033 or development@perimeterbicycling.com.

I volunteer at the El Tour Expo every year, to assist Perimeter Bicycling’s efforts to fundraise for Tu Nidito Children & Family Services, a non profict agency. The 11 year old daughter of a friend of mine, Sydney Clanagan, was a Tu Nidito child and she passed away in April, 2003. Who they are:

Tu Nidito Children and Family Services provides comfort, hope and support for children and families whose lives have been impacted by a serious medical condition or death. Through its array of support groups and individual services Tu Nidito provides emotional, social, and educational tools to children and families and empowers them with strength and skills for the future.

Enjoy El Tour for the 29th year!

2nd annual Cyclovia Tucson 2011:

The Cyclovia Tucson Planning Committee is organizing Tucson’s second Cyclovia event on March 27, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cyclovia will give Tucson folks the chance to enjoy our great weather, see neighbors, friends and people from throughout the Tucson Metro Region, and get a little exercise – all on city streets that will be closed to car traffic and open to walkers, joggers, cyclists, skaters and all other forms of natural movement.

Motor vehicles will be detoured from the route allowing everyone the freedom to enjoy the outdoors safely and comfortably. Cyclovia isn’t a race, parade or competition. Instead, it’s a chance to enjoy Tucson from a new perspective (outside of the car). Walk your dog, roller skate, blow bubbles. Have fun because during Cyclovia, the world stops for you.

I believe the entire route is a 5 mile loop, from downtown’s Armory Park at S. 6th Avenue and E. 13th Street, into South Tucson.

To coincide this year with Solar Rock (www.solarrock.com) from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Armory Park, see map of the Cyclovia Tucson route/events below. Lots more info at www.cycloviatucson.org. Also, Tucson Synergistic Water Festival from 10 to 4 p.m. simultaneously at Armory Park. Three environmentally-friendly events in one!

“Cyc˙lo˙via (siI kle‘ via) n.
A Spanish word meaning the temporary closure of a network of streets to cars, and open the streets to the people who bike, walk, skate and participate in fun, free activities. One of the first and largest cyclovias in the world was held in Bogotá, Colombia” (and held weekly since 1976).

My husband and I participated on our bikes last year, and enjoyed the activities and especially seeing hundreds of people biking, walking, skating, rollerblading, jogging, etc. in Tucson, without their vehicles. Read my blog from 2010, click here.

The March 12th 2nd Saturday Downtown event coincides with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival (click here for my previous blog). The one hour parade will begin at 5:30PM on 14th & Stone Avenue, wind through Downtown – E. Congress, Broadway and 6th Avenue – ending at Armory Park, where the festival will be. (The St. Patrick’s Day festival starts there at 3 p.m., prior to the parade, and will go on throughout the evening.)

This is the eleventh 2nd Sat. DT urban fest since the inaugural event on May 8, 2010. Website: www.2ndsaturdaysdowntown.com. It’s been almost one year of these fun- filled urban street fests, and I’ve been to almost every one. It’s wonderful to see Downtown come alive again!

For the usual event schedule, click here for the music entertainment at The Rialto Theatre, the Fox Tucson Theatre, the Scott Avenue stage, and the numerous other locales on and around E. Congress Street. Most of the events are FREE. There are lots of booths too selling delicious food (from all nations), and crafts as well. And lots of clowns, street musicians, people on stilts, human statues, etc. etc.

Food note: delicious, creative crepes will be made & sold in the Planet of the Crepes wagon on Saturday night (photo below courtesy of Jessica Kraus, owner).
She serves freshly made fruit crepes but also ones with chicken, vegetables, and other unique combinations.

Planet of the Crepes wagon

Had a mango/strawberry w/ coconut flakes crepe this past Sunday at the new European Farmers’ Market on the NE corner of Campbell/Speedway, and it was “some ono” – Hawaiian Pidgin English for yummy. (Her cute crepe wagon reminded me of the ubiquitous lunch wagons back home in Hawaii).

Photo below taken by Jeff Smith of the Zsa Zsas (McZsa Zsas?) group slated to perform at The Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress, for free (along with a real leprechaun):

Enjoy another 2nd Saturday Downtown! And don’t forget to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day again (for real) on March 17.