Time to get Spooky!

The Spooky Cross Halloween Bike race is coming to Oak Cliff Saturday!  Apart from hot crepes and waffles served up all day by the Oak Cliff Crêperie, we’ll have costume prizes in each race and we’re capping the day off with a free kids race with prizes for all. So bring your appetite, a costume, your cowbell and your kids a make a day of it.

Cyclocross races are spectator friendly events where heckling and having fun is encouraged.

Learn more about cyclocross here:

Race address: 1919 Stevens Forest Dr.

2nd Annual Tour de West Dallas Festival

Here’s another great bicycling inspired event this weekend!

Starts:	10/29/2011 8:00 AM   (Saturday)
Ends:	10/29/2011 7:00 PM   (Saturday)
	Central Standard Time
Duration:	11h
Repeats:	No
Location:	Taqueria “La Chilanga” 602 Singleton Blvd. Dallas, Texas 75212
Map:	View on Map

VECINOS UNIDOS, INC. and Los Altos /La Bajada Neighborhood Association Coalition will be holding their annual “Tour de West Dallas” a bicycle tour that will include a day of fun and information for the entire West Dallas community & surrounding communities.

The 2nd Annual “Tour de West Dallas” Festival will be Saturday, October 29, 2011, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All activities will be held at Taqueria “La Chilanga” (602 Singleton Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75212, 214.761.8983).

Tour de West Dallas will start at 8 a.m. with the 10-mile bike ride through West Dallas. All children 17 years and younger will ride for free, but must be accompanied by an adult; everyone 18 years and older will be asked to donate $10. We will have a few bicycles to rent for the ride.

Vendors will be available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide community resources on mental health services to housing programs; selling crafts, plants, to sports wear; provide information on financial services, energy services, to dental services.

Other special activities include:

Book signing by Sol Villasana, author of “Images of -America Dallas’s Little Mexico,” from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

A partial exhibit of 1929 to 1970s photos of La Bajada, Los Altos and Cemento Chico, collected by Pauline Marceleño Laws, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Free)

A mini Historical “Passport” tour of West Dallas, will provide a physical tour of La Bajada, Los Altos and Cemento Chico, some of the early Mexican barrios that still exist; $20 (Enchilada plate & beverage included). There will be five (1-hour) Tours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Historical “Passport” information contributed by Pauline Marceleño Laws.

Throughout the day, there will be activities for the children; entertainment will include West Dallas’ only ballet group, Ballet Folklórico Jorge Gutierrez, to a local Rapper.

The activities will end with a Baile/Danza dedicated to our seniors!

For More Information:

VECINOS UNIDOS, INC.

Adriana Collazo- 214.454.7825

Mary Velez- 469.853.2194

Rosa Lopez- 214.761.1086 ext. 103

relopez@vecinosunidos.com

Bicycles for All: Local groups that refurb and donate bicycles

Thought we’d promote a couple of great non-profits helping to salvage and refurbish donated bicycles for children and adults.  Check out these great local organizations:

Spokes for Folks is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that refurbishes donated bicycles that are then given to children of families that could not otherwise afford to buy them.

Check out this flier with information about their Wrench Day, October 30th, 10:00 am

Pedal-Power is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that recovers used bicycles,
repairs them to working condition, and donates them to individuals locally
and in developing countries.

Last weekend, BFOC and Pedal Power teamed up to do a bicycle valet at the Blues, Bandits and BBQ and bicycle fair & showcase events to raise money for both organizations.  Over $160 was raised!

Check out this to find our more about a charity dinner they’re hosting, October 30th, 6:30 pm

Dallas Tweed Ride set for November 13th

Dallas Tweed Ride

Once again, it is time for Dallas’s 3rd Annual Tweed Ride! Don your smartest apparel and make haste to the grassy knoll in Downtown Dallas (at Dealey Plaza) on November 13th at 1:30PM. The ride will take us through historic Oak Cliff with stops at the Turner House for lawn games and merriment, the Bishop Arts District to stroll the outdoor market at CliffFest, and finally returning to Downtown Dallas. This ride has become an institution in Dallas bringing out over one hundred chaps and lasses all wearing their finest knickers and caps. Last year’s event included dancing, tug-of-wars, umbrella jousting, cucumber sandwich tosses, and beer relays. Expect all of that and more as we prepare for another rousing ride through our fare city.

Here are some of our favorite pictures from Tweed’s past:

Dallas Tweed Ride

Bike to City Hall Day – Wednesday Oct 26th

It’s that time of year again! Along with all the other cycling events going on this month, we can’t forget to show City Hall our continued support for our updated BIKE PLAN!

We all spent hours upon hours pulling together one heck of a Bike Plan for Dallas. Next Wednesday the 26th join Councilman Scott Griggs in gathering to demonstrate how stoked we all are to see our bike lanes, cycle tracks and sharrows start appearing all over our neighborhoods.

We’ll cycle up to meet groups from all over the city at Union Station at 8am again this year. At about 8:15am we’ll all head up to the City Hall Plaza for a quick press conference. We’ll get the update on bike plan progress and we’ll hear from our most vocally supportive City Council representatives including Scott Griggs (and maybe even the mayor?) We’ll wrap things up by 9am so folks can head off to work, but we’ll have a map of the bike plan for you to check out if you’d like to stick round.

Join us in this demonstration of the strength of our cycling community and our massive support for a bike friendly city.

• Bike Friendly Oak Cliff group meeting at Oddfellow’s at 7:00am to ride over at 7:30am.

• Other groups – please add your meetup locations and times in the comments!

Cyclists gathered on the City Hall Plaza for Bike to City Hall 2010

Map for Saturday’s Ray Charles History Ride

We have 70+ people signed up so far for Saturday’s “Hit the Road Jack” bike history tour ride. Highlights of the ride will be visits to Ray Charles house in South Dallas, the historic Oakland Cemetery where some of the city’s most renowned leaders are buried, the Cedar Crest Better Bridge demonstration, and the Blues/Bandits & BBQ festival. There’ll be music, games, food, and more throughout the ride.

Click here to view the map of the ride.

We start in Main Street Garden Park in Downtown Dallas at 10AM on Saturday, October 22nd. The rides are leisurely paced, and family friendly. We’ll return to Main Street Garden Park at 1PM. The facebook event is here.

BFOC's Bonnie and Clyde History Tour Ride

Bicycle Parade during the fair and showcase!

What makes a Cyclesomatic Bicycle Fair & Showcase event even better?  Add a bicycle parade, of course!  Starting at 2:40 PM during this weekends bicycle fair & showcase at Lake Cliff park, everyone is welcome to join in parading around the park to show off their decorated bicycles.

If you’re planning on attending the event, Oil & Cotton will be on hand to provide decorating materials beginning at 12:00 pm.  Be sure to bring some cash!  We’ll announce a gathering time and then parade through the fair & around the Blues, Bandits, and BBQ event.

Looking forward to seeing so many beautifully decorated bicycles!

Oak Cliff Coop Snoop Bike Ride

Saturday will be this year’s Cyclosomatic’s biggest day of activities, BFOCers are spoiled for choice. Besides the Hit the Road Jack historic ride of South Dallas, and the Bike Fair in Lake Cliff Park, BFOC is also leading a ride of North Oak Cliff’s finest Chicken Coops.  Come learn what the difference is between an An Araucana and Golden Laced Wyandotte.  The ride will depart Repotted (700 Davis) at 10:00.  Distance is about 7 miles with 8 backyard coops to visit along the way. Afterwards we’ll be heading down to Lake Cliff park to join in the fun at the Bike Fair and Blues Bandits and BBQ!

Cyclesomatic Bicycle Fair & Showcase this Saturday

This weekend will be a first for the North Texas bicycling community!  Come out to Lake Cliff Park @ 5th St and Crawford in Oak Cliff on October 22nd from 12:00 – 6:00 pm to participate in the Cyclesomatic Bicycle Fair and Showcase sponsored by Richardson Bikemart.

This is a FREE event open to anyone interested in seeing the best our bicycling communities have to offer!  Along with bicycles, Bike Friendly Oak Cliff has teamed up with Go Oak Cliff’s Blues, Bandits, and BBQ event at the same time and location.  Purchase tickets online here or they can be purchased the day of.  There will also be Bicycle Valet Parking available for $3 per bike to be run as a fundraiser for Pedal Power, a non-profit organization that helps under-privileged kids get a bicycle.

Here’s a sneek peek at the bicycle showcase performance schedule and a list of exhibitors that will be participating at the bicycle fair:

Bicycle Showcase Schedule *All times are approximate

12:00 PM	Bicycle Fair & Showcase Opens
12:30 – 12:50 PM	Trial Bike show #1
1:00 -1:45 PM	RBM’s BMX show #1
1:45 – 2:15 PM	RBM’s bicycle maintenance workshop #1
2:15 – 2:35 PM	Trial Bike show #2
2:40 – 3:00 PM	Bicycle decoration parade
3:00 – 3:45 PM	RBM’s BMX show #2
3:45 – 4:15 PM	RBM’s bicycle maintenance workshop #2
4:15 – 4:35 PM	Trial Bike show #3
4:40 – 5:00 PM	Paletero Race start
5:00 – 5:45 PM	RBM’s BMX show #3
6:00 PM	Alley Cat Race starts
6:00 PM	Bicycle Fair Closes

Bicycle Fair

Richardson Bikemart	Will bring out a BMX Team of riders and setup a box jump that will blow you away!  There will be three different performances throughout the day, so you don’t want to miss it!  They will also put on 2 bicycle maintenance clinics. They will be giving 6 gift certificates valued at $70-$125 each for giveaways throughout the day. Everyone will get a 15% coupons and Catalogs from RBM.
BFOC	Will be screen printing and selling 5″ and 1.5 bicycle logo stickers for a fundraiser
Oil & Cotton	Will provide bicycle decorating materials for everyone to decorate their bicycles to participate in a bicycle parade starting at 2:40 PM during the fair
DORBA	Will provide table top displays featuring Oak Cliff Nature Preserve and Boulder Park trials in Oak Cliff
BikeDFW	Will have their bicycle blender for making smoothies, provide literature on bicycle safety & commuting, as well as conducting a kid’s bicycle safety rodeo on-site throughout the day
Oak Cliff Bicycle Company	Will provide prizes, lots of attitude, calves (not the animals, leg muscles) but we will have puppies!
Pedal Power	Will conduct a bicycle valet to raise funds for their bicycle charity, handout promotional material, and have a raffle
Bike Friendly Richardson	We will be showcasing some pics and maps of some of the latest bike lane and trail developments in Richardson.   They’ll also have BFR swag on hand!
North Central Council of Governments	Will present information on their Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, as well as various other Air Quality initiatives targeted at community members in North Central Texas.
Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts (DATES)	Will promote tandem bicycles, possibly giving demo rides
City of Dallas	Will promote the recently passed 2011 Dallas Bike Plan
YBS Bikes	Will show off some of their bicycles
Re-geared	Will show off furniture, art, clocks and gifts made from reclaimed bike parts!
Switching Gears Cyclery	Will be showcasing their Touring bikes, products, and education and will have pictures from Cyclesomatic “Tour to the Lake” ride
Greater Dallas Bicyclists	Will be promoting our club (Greater Dallas Bicyclists) and our club rally (Lancaster Country Ride), and will provide brochures
Hidden Clothing	Will be performing on a trial bike, and will have t-shirts and pictures for sale, as well as free stickers.
Bicidichi Cycling Apparel	Will be selling cycling jerseys and will raffle off 1 men’s and 1 women’s jersey

Bicycle Photo Scavenger Hunt | Sunday, 10.16

Photopolus.com and BFOC are bringing back the Bicycle Photo Scavenger hunt this Sunday! Grab your bike, grab your camera, and come on over to Eno’s at 12:00 this Sunday for another adventure on two wheels.  Sign up at info@photopolus.com.  Teams can be from 1 to 4 people.  An after party will be held in the alley beside Eno’s from 4 to 6 with an awards ceremony, a display of the team’s pictures, and music by DJ Big J of the Clever Monkeys! Did we mention that the winning team will receive dinner and drinks from Eno’s (up to a $75 value). The second-place team scores tickets to the Dallas Museum of Art. Sweet action.

RSVP