San Antonio — Colorful bicycles are popping up all around town to help raise awareness of Síclovía’s exciting new location on the South Side.IMG_0475
On March 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Síclovía will begin at the intersection of South St. Mary’s Street and East Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard, and travel south along East Mitchell Street and Mission Road to Mission Concepción, for a total of about 2.5 miles.
“As Síclovía nears, we wanted to invite the community to engage in a fun activity to help spread the word about our all-new location,” said Laura Waldrum, director of marketing and public relations for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio. “The art bikes really celebrate the flavor of the Southtown area and heritage of Mission Concepción.”
The bicycles, part of a social media campaign developed by digital marketing firm esd and associates, can be found at major San Antonio parks, in the downtown area and along the greenway trails across the city. Residents who post photos of art bikes with hash tag #MovingToSouthtown are entered into a chance to win bicycle accessories.
Síclovía is a free event that turns selected city streets into a safe place for people of all ages to exercise and play in a car-free environment. Síclovía has traditionally taken place along Broadway between the Alamo and Lion’s Field Park. The intent of the route change to the South Side is to expose new communities to Síclovía and showcase more of San Antonio’s beautiful landscape, Waldrum added.
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Major portions of South St. Mary’s Street, Roosevelt Street and East Mitchell Street will become car-free from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. so that families can enjoy running, biking, and participating in exercise classes with greater ease. The event is free, open to the entire public, non-competitive, and does not require registration. Featured activities include:

  • A Team Better Block activation depicting development possibilities in an underused property on Roosevelt Street with a pop-up farmer’s market and public art.
  • Atlatl toss with the National Park Service at Mission Concepción.
  • Pet adoptions at Concepcion Park hosted by San Antonio Animal Care Services.
  • A tree giveaway by the City of San Antonio.
  • Access to Mission Reach hike-and-bike trails near Concepcion Park.
  • YMCA youth activities and much more.

Along the route participants will continue to enjoy Reclovías, areas that feature fun scheduled group activities and exercise demonstrations as well as free-form recreational activities like hula hooping, sidewalk chalk art, street tennis, pickleball, jump rope and soccer games.

The new route along South St. Mary’s Street will showcase a dynamic and growing part of San Antonio with the rich history of Mission Concepción and nearby Mission Reach trails along the San Antonio River. Presenting Sponsor H-E-B and Platinum Sponsor Humana will open the streets to an expected 65,000+ participants. Held in the fall and spring each year, Síclovía has grown from 15,000 in attendance at the inaugural event in October 2011 to more than 73,000 participants in September 2013.
With so much fun going on during Síclovía, how can you miss out? Bring your friends, family and pets, because everyone is welcome at Síclovía! For more information visit www.siclovia.org. If you are concerned you will miss the former Síclovía route along Broadway, never fear. Síclovía will return to its traditional route on September 28, 2014.
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About Síclovía:
Síclovía is ideal to bike, run, skateboard or do any recreational activity without worrying about navigating around traffic. The event will also include zumba, yoga, music and several vendors with fun activities and interesting information on how to have a healthier lifestyle. The modern day Ciclovía originated in Bogotá, Colombia, 30 years ago. Bogotá began their program with eight miles of open streets. Ciclovía became so popular that, today, they open more than 70 miles of car-free streets to their citizens and connect city parks to provide green spaces for Reclovías. Visit www.siclovia.org for more information.