TAMPA, Fla. - If you like spending some time on two wheels, or you're trying out bicycling for the first time, there's an event tomorrow for you.
The Bicycle Bash not only celebrates the sport, the group putting on the event is riding to raise awareness about bike safety.
"She rode her bike everywhere. Starbucks, errands, the bike was very natural to her," recalls Genevieve Almadovar.
At the corner of Spruce and Himes on October 1, 2010, her mother, Diane Vega, was killed while riding her bike by a red light runner. She says it was her worst nightmare come true.
It's been a tough year for Almadovar, raising her 16-month-old daughter and mourning the loss of her mother, but she's finding ways to cope. "If we can get something from this that's positive, is to bring awareness."
She's a part of the 5th Annual Bicycle Bash.
"It's just a day to promote and celebrate bicycling in Tampa Bay," says Alan Snel, the Bicycle Bash director.
It's also to promote safety. The group hosting the event, SWFBUD, or the South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers, is made up of 12 Tampa Bay bike shops. It's one strong voice for the biking community.
"Bikes have the same rights to the roadways as cars do and the same responsibility as well, to ride safely and do the right things and be in the right places so they're as safe as they can make themselves," says Brian Eckman, owner of Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium and a member of SWFBUD.
SWFBUD wants more bike trails and lanes across the area, and they want drivers to pay attention to them. "There's more people riding bikes not only because they want to, but because they have to. And, right now, the city isn't perfectly equipped to handle them," says Eckman.
In 2010, 12 bicyclists were killed in Hillsborough County alone. Diane Vega was one of them so, to Genevieve, that's not just a statistic. "She was a mother of three, a new grandmother. When you're driving, know that's someone's father, someone's mother, someone's family member, someone's best friend."
The Bicycle Bash is Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Flatwoods County Park off Morris Bridge Road. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn will lead the 7-mile loop on the "Buckhorn Bash Ride" at 11:15 a.m.
For a map and to learn more about the event: http://www.bicyclebash.com/