Bike Town Spartanburg will Celebrate National Bike Month this May will the following events:

• Bike to School Day – Friday, May 2
  Parents are encouraged to bike with their children to school for exercise, fun, and quality time together. For tips on biking to school, contact Partners for Active Living. Jesse Boyd Elementary School, Pine Street Elementary School, and Spartanburg Day School will have organized Bike to School activities.
• Steadman Hawkins Classic Professional Cycling Race – Friday, May 2
  The 4th Annual Steadman Hawkins Classic professional cycling race will be held downtown during Spartanburg’s largest annual festival, Spring Fling. The classic is one of eight criteriums, best defined as a closed-circuit, multi-lap cycling race, that is included in the USA CRITS Speed Week series. Spectators are invited to see up-close some of the best racers in the sport. From 4:30 to 9 p.m. along East Main Street in downtown Spartanburg.
• Kids’ Bicycle Safety Rodeo & Mountain Biking Obstacle Course – Friday, May 2
  At the 4th Annual Steadman Hawkins Classic Professional Cycling Race, learn bicycle safety from Spartanburg Safe Kids and get free prizes! Also, Spartanburg County Parks & Recreation will teach the basics of mountain biking to children and adults on a grassy course with staged obstacles. All participants should bring their own bicycle and helmet. Free and open to the public. This will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on East Main Street in front of First Baptist Church, adjacent to the racing course.
• Children’s Fun Races – Friday, May 2
  Team Spartanburg will host races for children aged 3 to 12 will be held during the Steadman Hawkins Classic “Half-Time” at 7:30 p.m. Big Wheels, training wheels, and two-wheeled bicycles are all invited. Age-specific distances of 250 yards or less will be used. Children should bring their own bicycle (or Big Wheel) and helmet. Parents will join their children on the course. Free and open to the public. Register to participate in Children’s Races at Denny’s Plaza at the corner of Liberty and East Main Streets, between 5 and 7 p.m. Races begin at 7:30 p.m.
• Earth, Kids & Tires – Beginning Monday, May 5
  Spartanburg County Parks & Recreation Commission’s L.E.A.F. program will host a new mountain biking series for kids. Each Monday night in May, children can learn the basics of mountain biking and develop their skills with guided rides on local trails. For registration and ride details, visit www.scprc.org.
• Wheels and Reels – Thursday, May 8
  Partners for Active Living and Hub-Bub will host biking-themed film nights at The Showroom. On May 8th, we’ll feature “Breaking Away.” This Oscar-winning 1979 has remained the crowning film for cycling culture for the last thirty years. In addition to the Oscar for Best Writing, it won 9 additional awards, including Best Motion Picture from Golden Globes, and was nominated for 9 other awards. Starring a young Dennis Quaid it tells the story of a rivalry between four highschool graduates and the arrogant college students of a small Midwestern town. Free to attend; 7 to 9 p.m. at The Showroom (149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue); More information at www.hub-bub.com.
• Building Our Future Speaker Series Event – Friday, May 9
  Partners for Active Living, Upstate Forever, and the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce present the final speaker event in the 2007-2008 Building Our Future Series. Parris Glendening, former Governor of Maryland and current President of the Smarth Growth Leadership Institute will present “The Economic Case for Smart Growth. This presentation will explain the many ways that a city’s quality of life and sensible growth patterns can lead to increased economic growth (in addition to improved bicycle and pedestrian opportunities). Free to attend; 7:30 a.m. at the Marriott at Renaissance Park (299 N. Church Street)
• Velo-Veggie Walk & Ride at the Hub City Farmers Market – Saturday, May 10
  Join in a fun, easy-going community bike ride or walk! This event will be much like the Weekend Walkabout & Rideabout series and will offer a roughly 3 mile walk and 6 mile bike ride. Bicycle routes are designed to be friendly to beginner level riders and experienced cyclists will be on-hand to offer safety and road-riding pointers. Free and open to the public; 10 a.m. at the Hub City Farmers Market at the Magnolia Street Train Station (298 Magnolia Street)
• “Pedal with Your Politician” Bike to Work Day Ride– Friday, May 16
  Spartanburg County will celebrate National Bike to Work Week by pedaling with our politicians. The public is invited to join in a short bicycle ride with elected officials. Area mayors, council members, and state and U.S. legislators have been invited to participate. The ride will stretch along two new bike lanes in downtown beginning at the Swim Center on Marion Avenue and ending at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. At the auditorium, there will be a short presentation to dedicate a new permanent plaque to the Assault on Mt. Mitchell founder, John Bryan. Free and open to the public.
• Foothills Cyclists Spring Training Ride – Saturday, May 17
  Foothills Cyclists will offer one of their spring training rides. The ride leaves from BikeWays bicycle store in Boiling Springs. Ride and registration details are available at www.foothillscyclists.com.
• Stump Jump SC State Championship XC Mountain Bike Race – Sunday, May 18
  Spartan West Rotary will host its 11th Annual state mountain bike championship at Spartanburg’s own Croft State Park. Racers will compete at distances from 9 miles to 36 miles depending on their racing class. Registration and race information is available at www.stumpjump.org. Spartanburg.com is a proud sponsor of this year's Stump Jump.
• Upstate Ride of Silence – Wednesday, May 21
  Spartanburg and Greenville will join together to host a 10-mile bicycle ride honoring injured or killed cyclists as part of the international Ride of Silence event. The public (throughout all of the Upstate) is invited to join in this and helmets are required. The ride will follow along 5 miles (each way) of flat road on Highway 101 near Greer, with wide lanes and one stretch of a bicycle lane. The ride will begin at 6:30pm at Bruce Auto Auction.
• Wheels and Reels – Thursday, May 22
  Partners for Active Living and Hub-Bub will host biking-themed film nights at The Showroom. Hailed around the world as one of the greatest movies ever made, Vittorio De Sica's Academy Award-winning The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di biciclette) defined an era in cinema. In postwar, poverty-stricken Rome, a man, hoping to support his desperate family with a new job, loses his bicycle, his main means of transportation for work. A brief panel discussion will follow. Free to attend; 7 to 9 p.m. at The Showroom (149 S. Daniel Morgan Avenue); More information at www.hub-bub.com.
• Assault on Mt. Mitchell Training Ride – Saturday, May 24
  Freewheelers of Spartanburg will host an Assault on Mt. Mitchell training ride as part of their annual spring training series. Registration and ride details are available at www.freewheelers.info.

(Image provided by Step Up Spartanburg! and Partners for Active Living.)

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