converted into a mixed-use office and community collaboration room called Fractal, where the doors open on Sunday afternoons for the Rusty Spoke bike co-op, a place where bike enthusiasts of all backgrounds come to talk shop and learn the underappreciated craft of bike building. Zack Newsome, founder of Communitas, a Phoenix-based nonprofit, and co-owner of Fractal, welcomed the co-op into the building for two reasons: He loves helping others, and he loves biking. “Bikes weren’t a big part of my life or my family’s life until we moved to Central Phoenix,” Newsome confesses. “I wanted to explore a more urban way of life. Part of it was how do we rely less on our cars, live locally and see life in a much smaller circle. Inevitably, bikes were a huge part of that.” Fast-forward two years, and the Newsome family has eight or so bikes parked in their yard. Newsome has taken to riding several types of bikes—he mentions his former love, a cruiser, and his current favorite, a fixie—and his wife and kids are now hooked as well. He admits that his bike collecting was partly to entice friends outside of the city to come visit and experience life here in a different way—with a sense of ease he couldn’t believe. “My family started riding more and more,” Newsome says. “It was really exciting to ride to dinner or a coffee shop or the park and not get in the car.” When Newsome met the Rusty Spoke guys, he saw an opportunity to meld Communitas’ mission— “caring for the broken, the hurting, the sick and the poor” outside of the church—with his newfound passion for biking. Rusty Spoke had been operating in a yard near 5th Street and Roosevelt, and Newsome thought Fractal could improve the co-op’s reputation and user experience. The result is an educational venue that has connected the area’s homeless and working-poor populations with the bike community. “At Rusty Spoke you can have a guy who lives on the streets teaching a hipster how to fix a bike,” Newsome beams. “How crazy is that?” Biking Infrastructure Just steps from ASU’s main campus, the Bicycle Cellar acts as a hub for East Valley bike commuters. Located in the Tempe Transportation Center, the membershipbased business is a great place to connect with the rail and Tempe’s slew of bus routes, or simply stow your bike and walk to work or class. Joseph Perez, co-founder of the Bicycle Cellar and an engineer with the city of Phoenix Street Transportation Department, sees it as just another piece of the Valley’s infrastructure puzzle. Perez has been biking for 24 years, mostly in Phoenix, and works tirelessly to improve biking options in the metro area. 34 Wavelength
Though Perez recently downsized to eight bicycles, he bikes to his city job every day—about a 1.5-mile commute. He acted as bike coordinator for the city of Phoenix in 2008, adding bike lanes in Central Phoenix and championing Bicycle to Work Day as part of the city’s Earth Day festivities. The Bicycle Cellar, which Perez started in 2009 with John Romero, a fellow bike advocate, is a labor of love. “It’s a bicycle shop, but it’s also a membership bicycle-storage area,” Perez explains. “It’s based on the bike station model in California and Chicago. We sell practical bikes. We’re trying to serve as many people as possible, especially those interested in bicycle commuting.” The clientele is varied—dues run $144 a year—with members from all over the Valley. For those working and living around downtown Tempe and ASU, it’s a no-brainer. The challenge is to sustain during ASU’s summer vacation and the brutal summer heat. But Perez thinks it can work. “Bike culture in Tempe is largely from the college,” Perez says. “In Phoenix, it’s everybody, but it’s not dense.” In a perfect world, if the city found, say, $50 million, Perez would love a “bicycle boulevard,” a bikes-only parkway to commute with ease; more bike lanes; and improved canals with more crossings and tunnels. Ah, if money were no object.
BIKING RESOURCES Bike Co-ops —601 W. University Drive, Tempe; bikesaviours.org. This nonprofit bike shop provides affordable used bikes and parts, low-cost repairs, and repair/maintenance workshops, as well as a bike library for people who need a bike temporarily. —918 N. 5th St., Phoenix; hoodride.com. This group gives free bike tours of downtown galleries, public art, coffee shops and bars. —located at Fractal, 1301 NW Grand Ave., Phoenix; rustyspoke.org. This volunteer-based organization provides space for DIY bicycle repair and recycling, helping people build, maintain and beautify their bikes.
Bike Groups —azfixed.com. A forum for Arizona’s fixed-gear bike enthusiasts. (T.B.A.G.)—biketempe.org. This nonprofit group provides cycling information, organizes grassroots events, and promotes civic participation in an effort to unite Tempe-area cyclists.
Bike Routes Google Maps has added a Biking Directions feature, which lets cyclists select convenient routes that avoid traffic and make use of dedicated bike lanes. Just look for the bicycle icon when you do a directions search.