To the Editor-

In the Stevens Point area, there are thousands of bicycles that have been gathering dust for quite some time. In the spirit of spring cleaning, Dust Off Your Bike Week, May 10-15, will motivate area residents to get those bicycles rolling again.

Presented by Point Area Bicycle Service (PABS) and Poky Pedaling Stevens Point (PPSP), Dust Off Your Bike Week offers several free bicycle rides and classes to encourage everyone to experience the joy of riding their bicycle.

If there is anything more fun than riding bikes, it is riding bikes with other people who like riding bikes. That’s what Dust Off Your Bike Week is all about. There are rides for everyone: slow, fast, young, old, newbie, pro, or anyone in-between. So Dust Off Your Bike and come join the fun.

The schedule for Dust Off Your Bike Week with brief descriptions of each event appears below. All events meet at PABS (except for the Slide Ride). PABS is located at 1311 Strongs Ave. in downtown Stevens Point between Main St. and Clark St.

• Get That Darn Seat Adjusted Ride (Sat May 10 @ 10AM) – John from PABS will do free tweaks to your bicycle before we ride. Get air in your tires, get your chain lubed, and get that darn seat adjusted. (Minor adjustments only.) Then we’ll go for a slow 5-mile urban loop ride on calm streets and non-motorized paths.

• Slide Ride for Kids (Sun May 11 @ 2 PM) – Kids and their parents will ride a 4-mile loop visiting several playground areas. Kids can decide which is the best slide in Stevens Point. Parents can compare notes with other parents about kid-carrying tips. Could there be a better way to spend Mother’s Day than riding bikes with your kids? (Note: This ride will meet at the Pfiffner Park duck pond footbridge.)

• Moonlight Ride (Mon May 12 @ 9 PM) – This nighttime ride will accommodate moderate to fast paces with a figure-8 route giving loop options of approximately 13 and 25 miles. The moon will be close to full and high in the sky as we bike on rural paved roads. Be sure to have a front light and a rear light or reflector for this magical ride.

• Fix-a-Flat Class (Tue May 13 @ 6 PM) – Come learn how to fix a flat tire at this hands-on free class. John from PABS will have old tubes, tires, and wheels to practice on. Get hands-on training on how to get the tire off the wheel, find the leak, patch the tube, and get the tube and tire back on the wheel.

• Poky Pizza Pedal (Wed May 14 @ 5:15 PM) – Enjoy Bike Fun with Poky Pedaling Stevens Point. As we assemble, John from PABS will pump air into your tires for free. Then we’ll head off on a slow 4-mile loop urban bicycle ride on calm streets and non-motorized paths. We will end at a downtown pizza place where we can enjoy food, beverage, and socializing.

• Average Jane/Joe Rural Road Ride (Thu May 15 @ 6 PM) – We’ll ride the pleasant Casimir Road loop on this 12 MPH moderate paced social ride.  Total mileage will be around 13-15 miles with a rest stop or two. We plan to be back at PABS before sunset. If you’ve never ridden this route before, you’re in for a real treat.

More information about Dust Off Your Bike Week can be found online at PokyPedalingStevensPoint.org.

If you have any questions about Dust Off Your Bike Week, please contact John Pawlak of Point Area Bicycle Service at (715)498-4122.

Please inform readers of the Stevens Point City-Times about Dust Off Your Bike Week. Please also add the individual events to your community calendar.

Thank you for your consideration.

John Pawlak, Owner, Point Area Bicycle Service

Bob Fisch, Chief Bike Fun Officer, Poky Pedaling Stevens Point

PS: We wish to make two clarifications to avoid any confusion.

(1) We expect you will also hear of other Stevens Point bicycle events taking place around the same time period as Dust Off Your Bike Week. In particular, Dust Off Your Bike Week is a different event being planned by different people from the excellent Bike-to-Work Day event scheduled for Friday May 16. Please do not create confusion in any coverage by somehow linking these two events inappropriately.

(2) Poky Pedaling Stevens Point will be sending you a press release about the 2014 Bike Fun Calendar around May 1. PPSP is helping organize Dust Off Your Bike Week, and the May 14 Poky Pizza Pedal is the first Poky Pedal of 2014. However, the other Dust Off Your Bike Week events are not PPSP Poky Pedals. You will learn about the full slate of 2014 Poky Pedals in that press release around May 1.