If you are interested, please download the More Info Request for Proposal online. All submissions due by June 30, 2012. All applications received will be reviewed by committee and the winner notified by the end of the following month (July 31, 2012).

Application online here: http://www.sdmb.org/wp-content/themes/sdmb/images/SDMB-MicroGrant-Program.pdf

So if you or your group has some great, creative idea or plan about improving bike routes, trails, signage, etc. through education, art, PSAs, etc. please consider this RFP — note that the grant’s goal is “the intent of bettering the local biking community.”

I wish someone could figure out a way to educate bicyclists to actually STOP at stop signs and traffic lights, and not bike through them without stopping or even slowing down. The fine for running a stop sign is $105 to $212, a stop light is $270 to $322. I see this all the time on the City of Tucson’s bike route on E. 3rd Street. Perhaps bicyclists going east-west should be given priority over cars on these designated bike paths.

Applications for this grant by snail mail only to: SDMB, PO Box 65075, Tucson Arizona 85718, must be postmarked by 6/30/12.

More information about bicycling can be found in the Tucson Pedaler (Southern Arizona’s bicycling community newspaper), now published once every 2 months by Tucson West Publishing.

The Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists is an all-volunteer 501c3 non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of the sport of mountain bicycling, and view the sport as a vehicle to promote low impact outdoor recreation, conservation, and mountain bicycling opportunities that are environmentally and socially responsible. SDMB is dedicated to protecting and enhancing mountain bicycling opportunities through:

–providing fun, safe bicycling experiences and social events for the bicycling community, and at the same time using these events as an opportunity to educate and encourage riders.
–promoting responsible riding and ethical behavior among the mountain bicycling community .
–working in concert with land managers and owners to improve trails and facilities.
–working with other user groups to ensure a quality trail experience for all users.
–efforts to increase the diversity of the mountain bicycling community.

Enjoy biking and please ride safely.

So now that March 2011 & Spring are here, I’m re-publishing an updated (somewhat comprehensive list of how to find out what’s there to do in the Old Pueblo, under the Tucson Sun) — to aid us all in learning about & enjoying the numerous community events.

News outlets:

Arizona Daily Star, www.azstarnet.com

Tucson Weekly, www.tucsonweekly.com

Arizona Daily Wildcat, www.wildcat.arizona.edu
(University of Arizona)

www.uanews.org (University of Arizona News, online only)

Aztec Press, www.aztecpressonline.com, Pima Community College

www.tucsonsentinel.com (Tucson Sentinel online only)

Explorer News, www.explorernews.com

Green Valley News & Sun, www.gvnews.com

www.arizonanewstelegraph.com , Arizona News-Telegraph (online only)

Inside Tucson Business, www.azbiz.com

www.TheNewSouthwest.com, The New Southwest, formerly Tucson Green Times (online only recently)

The Observer, www.tucsonobserver.com

Monthly or bimonthly magazines:

Tucson Lifestyle, www.tucsonlifestyle.com

Desert Leaf, www.desertleaf.com

Zocalo, www.zocalotucson.com

Downtown Tucsonan, www.downtowntucson.org

Never Too Late, www.pcoa.org (Pima Council on Aging)

Bear Essential News (for Kids), www.bearessentialnews.com

Tucson Peace Calendar, www.peacecalendar.org

Arizona Jewish Post, www.jewishtucson.org

Tucson Pedaler, www.tucsonpedaler.com

Vermilion Flycatcher (Tucson Audubon Society), www.tucsonaudubon.org

At Your Library, www.library.pima.gov, Pima County Public Library (now only 3x/year)

Online calendars:

www.dotucson.com (DoTucson.com online only)

www.tucsonstyle.com (Tucsonstyle.com online only)

www.wingspan.org (Wingspan-LGBT, online only)

Last but not least, don’t forget our “Voice of Tucson”, www.tucsoncitizen.com, formerly the Tucson Citizen newspaper which ceased print publication on May 16, 2009.

And please let me know if there are any publications/monthly magazines I may have overlooked.

The front cover of the January/February 2011 issue (pictured below) is of one of the two bike vigils held at University Medical Center (UMC) for Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords and the other 18 victims of the January 8, 2011 mass shooting.

The companion article by publisher Damion Alexander is entitled “Community comes together during tragedy” (page 3). The cover photo is of bicyclist Adam Zeldin, who as a teen had served as a Congressional page in the U.S. House of Representatives, and met Gabby.

Alexander eloquently writes “the word community is what it’s all about. We are a bike community. This gives us an opportunity to share and do something positive. What happened was awful. It’s so sad. And whenever something bad happens, you have an opportunity to be brought down by it or to look at how you can lift up spirits and make a better place to live.” Very true Damion.

Another article on page 8 by Mike McKisson, editor of TucsonVelo.com is an interview with Gabby entitled ” Giffords Thoughts on Bikes”. In that October, 2010 interview Giffords (a bike rider) said that “Tucson is a top-10 biking city and that the city makes bicycling a priority. Giffords said she supports all types of alternative transportation from bike infrastructure to projects like the modern streetcar.”

Pick up your copy of Tucson Pedaler as it has a comprehensive calendar of biking events (page 7) and more news about upcoming bike events, such as the Tucson Echelon Gran Fondo (May 1st), and upcoming meetings of the Tucson Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee. The issue has lots of bike shop ads as well.

Tucson Pedaler is also online at www.tucsonpedaler.com, published by Tucson West Publishing Inc., 520-578-1505, 3029 S. Kinney Rd. Tucson 85713. Editor is Tonja Greenfield, who can be reached at editor@tucsonwest.com.

Next issue will be March/April, as they publish every two months for now. I’m looking forward to reading it as I’m sure they’re tell us about the upcoming Cyclovia Tucson event on March 27, which was a very popular bicycling event last year at its inception.

I’m a bike rider (though not competitively) and volunteer every year at the El Tour de Tucson bike expo, having been a Tu Nidito mother. And my husband commutes to work every day on his bicycle. We also strongly advocate for alternate modes of transportation, to discourage dependency on the vehicle.

Keep on biking!