Pedal a mile south of downtown and you'll spot a fresh look at Ironclad Bicycles, a favorite gathering place for local cyclists.

Gone is the sparse, white exterior the bike shop had since moving to 710 White Spar ten years ago and it's place is a playful, eye-catching mural designed by local artist and activist Johanna Hawley.

Against a vibrant green backdrop with lively silhouettes of tree that mimic their three dimensional neighbors, Johanna chose the quote: "Whoever invented the bicycle deserves the thanks of humanity" to hint at all the benefits bicycling offers.

As her final brush strokes dried, Johanna explained that she offered her services because she wanted the community to know the broad benefits of bicycling as well as the caring culture Ironclad offers anyone who wants bicycling to be part of their life.

12 Bicycle Travel Leaders are Uniting on November 22 & 23 for the first ever, Bicycle Lifestyle Web Event.

"Bicycle Travel As a Modern Lifestyle Choice" will feature a jam-packed schedule of articles, interviews, videos and live Q & A sessions having to do with bicycle travel, commuting by bicycle and lifestyle design in a new economy.

With more and more people riding bicycles and using them to get to work, school and everywhere in between, the world seems to be changing. The way we live, work and travel is forever being altered.

If it's singletrack, you'll find them there.

Bank officer Christophe Noel has a stiff alter ego. I know this because I'd had a meeting at his bank months before we mountain biked together and it took three more outings to put it together. Dirt and lycra changes a man.

Noel's passion is mountain biking and bike and trail advocacy here in Prescott is his outlet. In a sport that typically attracts shredders and gear-studded posers, Noel and his friend Greg Ooley are approaching their advocacy project, Raven Singletrack, with a mellow, almost-Rastafarian cool. They work desk jobs during the week (and have the haircuts to prove it) and then hit the trails every weekend on matching single-speeds.

Last things first... our Bike Month "Wrap Up Party" is Thursday May 31st starting at 7:00pm at the Bird Cage Saloon on Historic Whiskey Row.

Why, you might ask, would an aspiring and virtuous non-profit organization, like Prescott Alternative Transportation, want to be associated with a place like that?

Let me tell you why: I am Bike Month committee chairman, it was my call, and I could not think of a better place... and they agreed to do it with no begging involved!

The Bird Cage Saloon is a Prescott icon. There is history in the antique "back bar", and the preserved wildlife on it's walls. There is the bar's history in Prescott, owned and operated by the Stamm family since the sixties; there are few older businesses in town, and few older bars in the state.

There is still a lot going on in Prescott for week 4 of bike month. Check out the events below, and plan to attend! See http://www.prescottcycling.org/ for ride calendar.

Tuesday 5:30 pm. "Bike In" at the Gurley St. Grill for great food and happy hour specials. Remember our goal for "Bike In's" is to have a swarm of bikes take over a place... with nothing more on the agenda than a fun social gathering. Come on out and support a vibrant bike community in Prescott.

Thursday 7:00 pm "An Evening with Cosmic Ray" (Prescott Public Library, lower level "Founders Hall") This is the cultural event of bike month. Our goal is a bike friendly community, and our thought is one way to build community is to grow our local bike culture. We hope this first ever event will become an annual component of Bike Month. For this event we implored upon Northern Arizona bike icon "Cosmic Ray" to come to Prescott for a "meet the author" presentation. Most of us are familiar with Cosmic Ray's Arizona mountain bike trail guide "Fat Tire Trails and Tales" which is now in it's 20th edition with over 130,000 in print. (He also has a couple other trail maps and books to his credit)