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El Grupo Youth Cycling is turning five and they are celebrating with a party on Sunday.

The family-friendly event will be held on the Playground rooftop deck from 6 to 8 p.m. and will honor El Grupo’s founders Daniela Diamente and Ignacio Rivera de Rosales.

There will be snacks and lemonade provided. Alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase at discounted prices.

Playground is located at 278 E. Congress in downtown Tucson.

Organizers request you RSVP by emailing mark_mandel109@hotmail.com

Cool video of a nike station.
Post any interesting links in the comment section.
State

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National

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• A look back at a look ahead: Portland’s bikeway evolution
• Bicycle ride and picnic with Rita Hayworth, 1940
• Lexington converting car spot into bicyle parking on weekends
• LA cyclists seek divine protection
• Forty years of biking: PG man prefers two-wheeled commute

International

• Bike-riding police patrols mark 20 years

For the second year in a row, BICAS is running a bicycle drive to have students donate their unwanted bicycles to the non-profit group.

Here are the details from BICAS’ press release:

What: 2^nd Annual Recycle Your Bicycle Bike Drive

Who: BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage) and University of Arizona Residence Life Sustainability Education and Parking and Transportation Services

When: Tuesday May 8^th, Wednesday May 9^th, and Thursday May 10^th, 10 am to 4 pm each day

Where: Three locations this year!

•       Park Student Union (Southwest side, near sand volleyball courts)

•       Coconino Hall (South side, along 2nd Street)

•       Santa Cruz Residence Hall (on Highland Ave., just north of 6th Street)

Why: To prevent widespread abandonment of bicycles on the University of Arizona campus and to help BICAS fulfill its mission of recycling bicycles.

At the end of each school year, hundreds of bicycles are abandoned on the University of Arizona Campus. This year BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage) in cooperation with the University of Arizona Residence Life Sustainability Education program, and Parking and Transportation Services aims to address this with a preventative approach.

Now in its second year, BICAS is launching a “Recycle Your Bicycle Bike Drive” and will be collecting unwanted bicycles and parts on the University of Arizona campus during the final week of the 2011-2012 academic school year, May 8^th, May 9^th and May 10^th from 10 am to 4 pm each day. This year, BICAS will have three separate locations near the major residence halls.

Editor’s note: Karilyn Roach wrote this post. She holds a MS in Urban Planning from the University of Arizona and works as a Program Coordinator with Watershed Management Group, a Tucson non-profit. She currently sits on the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee and rides a Jamis Aurora Elite.

Those palo verdes are looking awfully amarillo these days. And was that splash of pink I just saw on the side of the road penstemon? The signs all point to my daily commute up Via Entrada getting warmer… and lovelier.

Prickly pear led the charge with its delicate yellow and peach flowers. The hedgehog cactus was the other early starter, but I am noticing fewer than I did just last week so I hope he isn’t finished yet.

Brother ocotillo is almost done until monsoon season, but the staghorn cholla is just beginning to explode onto the scene with his purple, peach, and blood red.

The saguaros are getting in on the action too. (Didn’t it seem like these old ladies started showing off a little early this year?)

Then there is my little friend, Granada (pomegranate), waiting to welcome me when I get home.

Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for lizards in your path while you soak in the beauty of (early) summer in the Sonoran Desert.

There are a few more pictures below. Share your favorite sights and sounds of spring and summer in the desert in the Comments section.

A complaint from residents living near Hougton Road and Catalina Highway about cyclists blowing through the stop sign at the intersection will likely lead to targeted enforcement.

Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Roher said the Sheriff’s department will likely spend some time there soon.

The route is popular among recreation cyclists looking for the challenge of climbing Mount Lemmon and attempting to escape the summer heat.