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Community Corner

PBS to Feature Seminole Heights Bicycle Club

The new television series Pedal America will feature the SHBC during the club's ride on Dec. 10.

Seminole Heights will be highlighted again on national television when the upcoming PBS series Pedal America visits the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club on Dec. 10.

The club's monthly urban ride, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the , will be documented by the show's production crew as it winds its way to Hyde Park Village and back. After the ride, the club will host a front yard Bicycle Art Show from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 5901 N 9th St.

Club organizer Alan Snel said the Pedal America crew will also be on hand Dec. 11 to film the club at its tent at the Seminole Heights Sunday Morning Market.

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For Pedal America creator and host Ira David Levy, bringing his show here is about Tampa's pluses and minuses as a bicycle town. “We're featuring
towns,” Levy said, “that for whatever reason are either bicycle friendly, or working to become bicycle friendly. Tampa fits that bill perfectly.

"One thing Tampa does have is some very strong advocates. Alan Snel does a wonderful job, especially with the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club. But Tampa itself has some issues in terms of its ability to provide right of way. In Tampa, a lot of the roads don't have sidewalks, and there's not a shoulder.”

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Plus the type of bicycle users that Snel says the SHBC has mobilized seems to be of the same profile that Levy is trying portray with Pedal America — people who ride for commuting and recreational purposes, not just fitness. 

“There's quiet a lot of bicyclists in Seminole Heights,” said Snel. “They want to go on more than long road rides. They want to go on community rides. They want to go around and engage with their neighbors, visit cafes, restaurants, museums. We've always had the racing and the traditional bike clubs, and I have done a lot distance biking in the past.  But a part of me enjoys kind of a more relaxed bicycle environment, one that's less technically intimidating. I think this is the future of bicycle clubs.”

In keeping with the open nature of SHBC — everyone's welcome and there are no dues or membership — Snel encourages everyone with a working bicycle and helmet to show up for the Dec. 10 ride and art show. Arrive around 8 or 8:15 a.m., Snel suggests. The 12 mile trip will take about two hours, including a 20 minute stop at Hyde Park Village to give people a chance to grab a cup of coffee or snack there.

Anyone interested in showing bicycle-themed art or photography in the art show can e-mail Snel at alansnel@yahoo.com, or through the SHBC website.

Levy said Pedal America's first seven episode series will debut May 5, 2012. It has yet to be determined when the Tampa episode will air, or if it will air in the bay area. Program directors at local PBS affiliates WEDU-TV and WUSF-TV said Pedal America will likely be considered for airing when the series is out of production and ready to be offered.

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