Tour de Grizz
The date for the annual Tour de Grizz bike ride has been set: 2 April. Â The event coincides with the beginning of the NBA’s Green Week initiative and is intended to encourage alternative means of transportation. Â And it’s a lot of fun.
I don’t have all the details yet, but two years ago when I participated we met up at the parking lot of First Congo Church on Cooper and left around 5ish for the ride. Â Some people went to the Grizzlies game after the ride ended; I ended up on Beale St. with a couple of friends. Â The best part of the ride, other than pedaling with dozens of other people? Â The police escorts. Â Yep, every intersection on our route from Cooper Young to the FedEx Forum was blocked by a rolling group of cops on motorcycles. Â It was quite impressive to watch: we’d all be biking along downtown, one officer would block an intersection so that we could ride through while another officer or two sped ahead to prepare the next intersection. Â It’s a nice day to be a cyclist when drivers have to wait for you to pass before they can even move.