This Friday January 7th come out and “Tweed In The New Year” with us! Enjoy Flagstaff’s first First Friday of 2011 in style, as we explore the arts via bike on this fine winter day. We will meet up at 5:30pm at Revolution Bikes (3 S. Mikes Pike in downtown Flagstaff Az.) Remember to dress up in your finest and prepare to enjoy some fashionable socialization… as always, this is a free event and friendly to the entire family!

Check here for more info

Tonight is the night for the Tweed Ride Benefiting Habitat for Humanity of Flagstaff. Registration starts at 4:30pm, The Ride begins at 5:30pm at Altitudes. Wear your finest, Ride your best!

We’d like to say an extra special Thank You to AZ Bikesfor donating a Brand New 2010 Kona Lana’i 27 Speed Mountain Bike valued at $400! You are simply amazing and we are so grateful to have you as a local business partner!!  To check out the line of awesome bikes and other stuff, or say thanks, please visit their new location at AZ Bikes at 620 E. Route 66 Suite #200 here in Flagstaff. Thank you so much!

We’d also like to say Thank you to Revolution Bicycles for donating a white vintage 3-speed Sears Free Spirit (circa 1970) bicycle. Thank you so much for your donation to help Habitat and the Tweed Ride. Please visit Revolution Bicycles at 3 S. Mike’s Pike.

Thank you for your kind donations. You help Habitat with our  mission of building decent affordable homes for low income families in Flagstaff.

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  I promised a follow up post on the very successful June 25 Flagstaff Tweed Ride. The images prove that just because we live in a mountain town doesn’t mean we’ve abandoned our sense of style. We can do it up old school or give it our own high country spin.

  With the help of Grant Dunstan of New Belgium Brewing and 17 local merchants and business owners the June 25 Tweed Ride Auction and Raffle Benefitting Habitat for Humanity Flagstaff raised over $800 toward the next construction phase in our community. I could not be more overwhelmed at the readiness of so many local merchants and volunteers to be a part of making this fundraising effort possible. Habitat home construction is truly a partnership without which homes cannot be built. Habitat families on average contribute 500 hours of sweat equity toward the building of their future home, demonstrating their commitment to homeownership.

  On June 25, seventeen merchants showed their support of that commitment. Below is a list of our partners in the business community, who despite a tough economy and belt tightening of their own, believe in Habitat for Humanity’s mission to bring safe and affordable housing to individuals and families in need. If you live in Flagstaff or plan to visit, please stop by their places of businesses and thank them for their contribution to a great cause.

  Absolute Bikes: 202 Historic U.S. 66
  Altitudes Bar and Grill: 2 S. Beaver St.
  Aspen Sports: 15 N. San Francisco St.
  AZ Bikes: 620 E. Route 66
  Bici Mundo: 222 E. Brannen Ave.
  Biffs Bagels: 1 S. Beaver St.
  Cosmic Cycles: 901 N. Beaver St.
  Flagstaff Bicycle and Fitness: 2404 E. Route 66
  Flagstaff Sports Exchange: 19 W. Aspen Ave.
  The Green Room: 15 N. Agassiz
  Incahoots: 9 E. Aspen Ave.
  Late for the Train: 107 N. San Francisco and 1800 N. Fort Valley Rd
  Oregano’s Pizza: 605 W. Riordan Rd.
  Revolution Bicycles: 3 S. Mike’s Pike
  Seasoned Kitchen: 106 N. San Francisco St.
  The Weatherford Hotel: 23 N. Leroux
  Zani: 107 W. Phoenix Ave.

Around 5:15 p.m. this past Friday, I was really sweating it. Where was everybody? Only two riders had arrived at Altitudes Bar and Grill (2 S. Beaver St.) and Habitat for Humanity staff was already set up to sell raffle tickets and talk about our raffle and auction items. Only two people had arrived so far and I wondered if a ride if an eight person ride, five of whom included my husband and two couples we know, would really count as a fun memorable ride. Angela, our very sensible Americorp student, reminded me that in Flagstaff everyone arrives on time and not a moment before. Oh, yeah, sure, I thought,hoping I wouldn’t have egg on my face and tears running down my cheeks.

Then “they” arrived. Then I knew it would all be okay. Straight out of central casting.

Soon Angela was busy selling raffle tickets to the arrivals . . .

and the Altitudes bar was filling up.

Here is the Planner Guy and David McKee, the artist who created our Tweed Ride commerative poster enjoying a New Belgium at the bar and looking like they stepped out of another era.

Speaking of New Belgium, here is their Flagstaff Beer Ranger Grant Dunstan and Linda, one of the owners of Altitudes sitting at the bar mingling with their fellow riders. Both New Belgium and Altitudes were very excited to be a part of Habitat’s construction fundraiser, especially one with the velo connection. Altitudes is a favorite stomping ground for local bicyclists. New Belgium Brewing has a special devotion to biking, both awarding a new bike to employees at their first anniversary with the company and asking employees to bike to work at least one day a week.

Our ride leaders CJ and Kyle pedaled up at 5:30 as more riders continued to pour in. We decided to push back the ride 15 minutes later to allow riders to enjoy some refreshment before taking off. CJ ownes Revolution Bicycles, and as another early parnter, donated a reconditioned vintage bicycle to our auction. His roommate Kyle manages Single Track Bikes (575 W. Riordan Rd) and both guys generously agreed to act as ride leaders, which proved extremely helpful at traffic lights and stop signs on this very busy Friday night.

Oh, the fashions!

And soon we’re off!

We stopped for a group photo op at the old telescope at Northern Arizona University Campus. A vintage telescope seemed appropriate for a Tweed Ride. I love this group photo because I think it really captures the spirit of the ride. The bicycles and the opportunity to dress up in something outrageous brought friends and strangers together.

Back on our bikes, soon we arrived at our next destination: The Historic Weatherford Hotel. Walking in, we immediately prompted questions from other customers. Were we in a play? Members of a marketing team? Time travelers seeking libation? Whatever the answer, it was clear that we were having fun and the period dress seemed to add to the enjoyment of everyone’s evening. As we left on our bikes to continue our ride, the patrons left on the Weatherford balcony waved and cheered us on.

Here we are waiting at a traffic light on our way to Francis Short Pond, gotten to over urban trail and city and neighborhood streets. It was the location of another group photo.

Back to downtown Flagstaff and the Green Room. We took advantage of a Movie Night on Heritage Square to draw attention to ourselves (all for a good cause, mind you) to all ring our bike bells and call out “Tweed Ride!”. No problems caused since the movie had not yet started.

And finally The Green Room, and the auction and raffle, more New Belgium and BBQ from Satchmo’s.

Bidding on the bikes was competitive to say the least. Here is CJ with his vintage Sears Free Spirit (circa 1970). The Free Spirit winning bid was for $120 and it was no sooner put up for auction again, and won for $100 for a total donation of $220 towards the next Habitat for Humanity home in Flagstaff.

Here I am posing with the 2010 Kona Lana’i mountain bike donated by Bryce Wright of AZ Bikes. Bryce is another one of our locals merchants who needed no persuading to partner with Habitat for Humanity Flagstaff and immediately suggested the $400 Kona for the auction. In a mountain town like Flagstaff, the Kona was a hot item and raised $200 as the final auction item for the evening.

I’ll have a second post about the Tweed Ride later this week, with more pictures and info about the local merchants who helped make the Tweed Ride Benefitting Habitat for Humanity Flagstaff possible.

Tonight is the night for the Tweed Ride Benefiting Habitat for Humanity of Flagstaff. Registration starts at 4:30pm, The Ride begins at 5:30pm at Altitudes. Wear your finest, Ride your best!

We’d like to say a special Thank You to AZ Bikes for donating a 2010 Kona Lana’i 27 Speed Mountain Bike valued at $400! You are simply amazing and we are so grateful to have you as a local business partner!! To check out the line of awesome bikes and other stuff, or say thanks, please visit their new location at AZ Bikes at 620 E. Route 66 Suite #100 here in Flagstaff. Thank you so much!

We’d also like to say Thank you to Revolution Bicycles for donating a cool vintage 3-speed Sears Free Spirit (circa 1970) bicycle. Thank you so much for your donation to help Habitat and the Tweed Ride. Please visit Revolution Bicycles at 3 S. Mike’s Pike.

Thank you for the kind donations of all our local partners. You help Habitat with our mission of building decent affordable homes for low income families in Flagstaff. We’ll doing doing a follow up post about the ride and the help we received from many generous merchants in Flagstaff.

Yiippy! The route for the June 25 Tweed Ride benefitting Habitat for Humanity Flagstaff is complete and posted here for your consideration. The route was designed to suit most riding levels, is a wee bit longer than the route for the Spring ride, and includes a stop at the Weatherford and a destination point at The Green Room for much needed libations. We’ve also included a couple of stops for group photo ops so riders can show off their vintage fashion sense – this is a Tweed Ride after all and as we say, “wear your finest and ride your best”. Now, the route:

Departing Altitudes Bar and Grill, Friday, June 25, 5:30 p.m.:• From Beaver, left of Phoenix Avenue, cross San Francisco
• Right on Agassiz, follow past Bici Mundo and wave
• Right on E. Branview
• Right on Colorado, cross Butler at light and on to Lone Tree
• Right on Franklin Avenue toward NAU
• Left on San Francisco into campus, past new construction on the left
• Right on University Drive East (stop for group photo in front of telescope)
• Continue down University Drive East bearing left and follow to first traffic light and turn right on to FUTS into heart of campus
• Follow FUTS past Student Ctr and Raymond Hall; continue on FUTS to Dupont
• Right on Dupont to San Francisco toward downtown
• Follow San Francisco to left on Birch
• Left on Leroux to Weatherford Hotel at Aspen and Leroux. Stop for drink at Weatherford for about 30 minutes.

From Weatherford, 6:30 p.m.:• Aspen to San Francisco
• San Francisco to left on Birch and follow to Kendrick/FUTS across from Wheeler Park and Library
• Follow FUTS to Francis Short Pond, crossing Cherry and Sitgraves
• Stop at log cabin at Francis Short Pond for group photo
• Return to FUTS and follow N. Thorpe and take right and go to stop sign
• Left on Bonito
• Right at Apache
• Right on Fort Valley FUTS
• Take narrow right on to Kendrick at end of FUTS and follow to exit of FUTS on Birch in front of Wheeler
• Park
• Left on Birch
• Right on Humphrey
• Left on Aspen (ding your bike bell at Heritage Square movie watchers!)
• Right at Agassiz to The Green Room for New Belgium, Satchmo’s BBQ, raffle and auction!

We’re looking forward to another fun Tweed Ride and evening in downtown Flagstaff. Don’t forget to look purchase your raffle tickets for great prizes from Zani, The Seasoned Kitchen, Absolute Bikes, Cosmic Cycles, Late for the Train and many other local merchants who support Habitat for Humanity. AZ Bikes and Revolution Bicycles both donated bicycles for auction to some lucky bidder.  Finally, a special commerative poster created for the Tweed Ride by Flagstaff artist David McKee will be on sale for $10.  Be the first to get one.

The next Flagstaff Tweed Ride is scheduled for Friday, June 25 and will benefit Habitat for Humanity Flagstaff’s latest home building phase. The group ride for well-dressed ladies and gentlemen will depart Altitudes Bar and Grill at 5:30 following a social hour and registration.

Following the Flagstaff Tweed motto “Wear your finest, ride your best”, participants can expect a leisurely ride on paved streets and easy urban trails, a stop at Charlie’s Pub and Grill, and conclude at The Green Room for drinks, a live auction and a raffle. New Belgium Brewing Company and Cruz Tequila have signed on as partners for the first time event. Satchmo’s will offer extended hours for barbeque-starved riders. Revolution Bicycles and AZ Bikes have donated bicycles for auction, and a growing list of local merchants including Absolute Bikes, Late for the Train, The Seasoned Kitchen, Cosmic Cycles, Zani, Biff’s Bagels and Oregano’s are providing items for the raffle. Local artist David McKee created a commemorative poster for the ride, which will be for sale at the Green Room following the ride.

Francis Mazza, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Flagstaff, is pleased but not surprised at the readiness of local business owners to contribute to affordable housing efforts. “Flagstaff merchants really value Habitat’s mission and are eager to lend a hand to a good cause.” All event proceeds will support home construction. Habitat for Humanity Flagstaff is reviewing applications for family selection and hopes to soon have at least one family identified for partnership. Among other program requirements, selected families are expected to commit sweat equity (usually about 500 hours) toward the home construction and actively participate in fundraising for their home.

The Flagstaff Habitat Board decided to organize a Tweed Ride fundraiser because of the growing interest in bicycling as a legitimate mode of transport and affordable living. Car ownership and maintenance cost the average household up to $8000 annually and can be a significant barrier to homeownership, especially in higher cost of living cities like Flagstaff. Avid bike commuters across the United States began organizing local Tweed rides last year for fun and to promote an affordable transportation option.

Over 45 riders attended the May 17 Tweed Ride, organized as a new event for Bike to Work Week. The first Tweed Ride took place in London in 2009 and soon crossed the Atlantic. Participants typically arrive dressed in traditional British or vintage bicycle riding attire. In the spirit of the past era, riders of both genders routinely show up sporting handlebar mustaches.

Hear ye hear ye, it has been so declared the first ever Flagstaff Tweed Spring Ride of Two Thousand & Ten as in part of Flagstaff’s Bike To Work Week was indeed a smashing success. Not only were numbers high in attendance, but overall fashion was at an equal and/or greater level. Fancy yourself to some video from the event:

Also, check out Karen’s report & pictures over at www.sheridesabike.com
Thanks to all that came out for the event, as you were a dandy bunch. We’re most definitely looking forward to the next Tweed Ride on June 25th!

If you’re a glutton for more media, we will be linking pictures off of our Facebook Fan Page… peruse the link on the right hand column of this page.

Need a kick in the knickers for the upcoming Tweed Ride? Having a general blockage of style? Don’t fret! Get a very fashionable clue by checking out this excellent video from the 2010 London Tweed Run:

We’ve been busy! Well, sorta… just finished up thewebsite, twitter, and Facebook pages for Flagstaff Tweed. If all goes well in techno-land-ia, anything we post here should shoot itself off to both Twitter and Facebook!

Ok, so now for the bike riding portion of this post… The very first Flagstaff Tweed ride is scheduled for the Monday of 2010′s Bike To Work Week… check out below for the sweet flyer courtesy of NilUltra:

For more info on the actual event, be sure to stop by the calendar here or on Facebook