Volunteers Needed

We have 62 unfilled positions for the Gainesville Cycling Festival! We need YOU to step up and call Roger at 378-7063 if you can help out. Two weeks from today (Friday) seminars will be in session, and we'll start doing on site registration at the Bike and Food Truck Rally. See the volunteer page for full details on available jobs.

All volunteers get a free t-shirt, and most qualify for a free ride as well!

Banquet

Sandwiched between our two centuries is the Share The Road Celebration of Cycling Gala Banquet. Besides having the opportunity to socialize with other riders, awards will be presented to persons who have been outstanding supporters of cycling, and there will be a talk by T.J. Juskiewicz, Director of RAGBRAI. Come out and support our honoree, Chandler Otis, who will receive this year's award as Volunteer of the Year.

You can register for the Banquet (and for the Friday seminars) when you sign up for your Festival rides. If you have already registered for your rides, you can still go back in and use the Celebration of Cycling only registration page to sign up for the Banquet. REMEMBER TO USE THE DISCOUNT CODE GCC5 TO GET $5 OFF THE COST!

Thursday, October 16, 7 pm, at the Gainesville Health & Fitness Center (Main).

Your $35 entry fee covers the one hour spin session and snacks.  All proceeds from this event go to fund the Therapy Resistant Breast Cancer Research at UF Health.  Reserve your bike at ghfc.com/GoPink/.

GCC Friends,

History was made on Sunday, Oct 5, in downtown Gainesville as University Avenue was closed to car traffic so that several thousand citizens could enjoy using a one-mile section of car-free University Avenue for walking, cycling, chalk art in the street, yoga, Zumba, hula hoops, jump ropes, dancing, live music, and just enjoying a public space on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Open Streets Gainesville. Open Streets was the result of the hard work of a collaborative group made up of Gainesville Citizens for Active Transportation, Get Active GNV, and the GCC.

How many came out? The estimates vary, but I was told 3,000 attendees were present on the street at any given moment.  At least one restaurant along the route  ran out of food!  The corner store at University and Main reported "the best day we've ever had."  We had more people approach our GCC Welcome Tent asking how to join GCC than I have seen at any previous public event.  

If you missed Open Streets Gainesville, your neighbors and friends can fill you in. If you came out and enjoyed Open Streets, thought it was fun, and want more such events, I hope you will take time to let the City of Gainesville, Florida Dept. of Transportation, and our City and County Commissioners know how much you enjoyed yourself.  You may also want to take a moment to write a letter to the editor of the Gainesville Sun. Tell a friend, neighbor, or coworker not to miss the next one!   

Big thanks to Chandler Otis, Gwen Creel, Mike Beckham, Julie Baker, and Tim Darymple for volunteering to help staff our GCC tent.  Thanks to you, I was able to decorate my bike and ride the one-mile route several times, meet friends, coworkers, political candidates, City Public Works staff, an FDOT rep, business owners, kids, dogs, and activity group leaders. I was able to hear great live music, do the bike limbo, and leave a chalk drawing at the intersection of University and Main. I got to experience Open Streets.

Thank you to the Saddle Tramps and Hokey Pokeys for riding to the event and participating in the Bike Parade.  Today, YOU were the faces of GCC!

Finally, thank you to my fellow GCC Board members for supporting sponsorship of this event.  FDOT and the City provided a lot of help, but it still costs money to put on a street closure event of this magnitude.   I am very proud to know that the Gainesville Cycling Club helped make Open Streets happen!