PRESS  RELEASE

The month of May is national bicycle month and has been for the last 44 years.  On April 28 Jeannie Roberts proclaimed May 18-24 as Bicycle Week locally. 

Nation wide as well as here locally during the month of May bicycle clubs, schools, parks and recreation departments, police departments, hospitals, companies, civic groups will promote bicycling as a whole-some leisurely activity as well as an environmentally-friendly alternative to the automobile.  With the price of fuel continuing to increase this is very significant.

During the Bicycle week programs will be presented to fourth graders within the local school district.  Newspaper articles will feature bicycling.  Materials promoting bicycle safety will be distributed.  A ride of silence will take place on Wednesday the 21st.  Similar rides will be conducted at the same time in over 200 cities nationwide.  The local ride will remember Ron Sheppard, a local city employee who died recently and Stanley Overall, a bicyclist who was killed while riding his bicycle as he was crossing highway 72.  The Ride of Silence is open to ALL age of people.  Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.  The ride will take place at 6:00pm May 21 with those participating meeting at the Courthouse Annex parking lot.  The ride will be 3.6 miles long and will take place within the city limits of Farmington.  All participants are expected to wear bicycle helmets.

During Bicycle week local cyclist are challenged to utilize their bicycles as much as possible instead of using the automobile for short ride to the grocery store,  exercise facilities, library, etc.  An award will be presented to the cyclist with the most transportation rides logged for the week.  Local cyclist will be participating in a Scavenger Hunt on the final day of the week--Saturday May 24--as a final activity of the week.  These last two items are open only to members of the Parkland Cyclist Bicycle Club.

For more information contact:

Virginia Blaine  

500 Loretta Court   

Farmington, MO
Cell: 573-631-2709    Home:  573-756-4995

email:  ParklandCyclists@yahoo.com