A Park + Vine classic (yes, we already have classics) has returned and just in time for the holidays: Just Soap, a pedal-powered natural soap that is blended with a bicycle. Why the bicycle? The bicycle is one of the most significant innovations since 1800 and to Just Soap founder Frederick Breeden it’s a good way to endure hours of stirring soap.

Breeden–a bicycling enthusiast and environmentalist–developed this more efficient and Earth-friendly method of mixing soap. He shared his vision with a bicycle builder, and the result is a one-of-a-kind bicycle-powered soap blender.

Just Soap products are biodegradable and are never tested on animals. Fred uses recycled boxes and minimal packaging. Scents currently available at Park + Vine include Cinnamon Clove, Rosemary, Orange Lemon, Peppermint, Rosemary Shampoo, and Sage Fir.

Get yourself to the McKie Recreation Center, 1655 Chase Ave., Northside, 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 for the first public meeting on the city’s bike plan and let local leaders know what changes you’d like to see to turn our city into a bicycle friendly hub.

“We want average Cincinnatians to be able to incorporate cycling into their daily routine, for exercise, short errands, and even commuting to work,” Michael Moore, interim director of the Department of Transportation and Engineering, said in a statement Oct. 5. ”That might mean we need to build more trails, more on-street bike lanes, or offer bicycle safety classes; we need the public to tell us what it would take to get them back on a bicycle.”

Go here to make your voice be heard

Check out the improvements underway at the Mill Creek Greenway Trail in Salway Park with Queen City Bike, the Mill Creek Restoration Project and the Mill Creek Watershed Council during the Cincinnati Great Outdoor Weekend 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. See the Laughing Brook constructed wetland at the north end of Salway Park, park your bike in MoBo Bicycle Cooperative’s valet area, and sample some local food.

A five-mile community bike ride departs from Park + Vine, 1109 Vine Street, to Salway Park at 12:30 p.m. If you’re riding with Cincy Bike-Abouts and Cincinnati Cycle Club in the morning, continue your bike-filled day with a ride to this new trail.

RSVP for bike ride at info@parkandvine.com before Sept. 25

Pedal into fall on Cincinnati’s third Queen City Bike + Dine noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 starting at Park + Vine, 1109 Vine Street. This 20-mile bike tour includes vegan options at three local restaurants, The Hideaway, Five Star Foodies Commissary and Green Dog Cafe. The ride ends at Grammer’s Bar in Over-the-Rhine.

Advance tickets are available for $30 at Park + Vine (513-721-7275). A portion of ticket sales goes to participating restaurants, with the balance benefiting Queen City Bike, our region’s bicycling advocacy organization.

The city’s magical (and little-known) Morning Glory Ride is canceled Aug. 2 due to low registration. We have to make sure this amazing bike ride on a CAR-FREE Columbia Parkway returns Aug. 1, 2010. Who wants to help make it happen?

Bike Month ended May 31, but the pedal-driven bliss continues with Cincinnati’s second annual Queen City Bike + Dine noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 6 starting at Park + Vine, 1109 Vine Street. This 22-mile bike tour highlights some of Cincinnati’s best vegan options at four local restaurants (Speckled Bird Cafe, The Loving Cafe, Maribelle’s Tavern, Otto’s), while emphasizing the ease of getting around on a bicycle. Advance tickets are $35 and available at Park + Vine (513-721-7275). There’s even a cool ride T-shirt available during the ride for an additional fee. Proceeds benefit Imago Earth Center in Price Hill. There are a couple last-minute tickets available.

Bike Month ends May 31, but the pedal-driven bliss continues with Cincinnati’s second annual Queen City Bike + Dine noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 6 starting at Park + Vine, 1109 Vine Street. This 22-mile bike tour highlights some of Cincinnati’s best vegan options at four local restaurants (Speckled Bird Cafe, The Loving Cafe, Maribelle’s Tavern, Otto’s), while emphasizing the ease of getting around on a bicycle. Advance tickets are $35 and available at Park + Vine (513-721-7275). Cool ride T-shirt (see image below) is available during the ride for an additional fee. Proceeds benefit Imago Earth Center in Price Hill. Hurry, because half the tickets are already sold.

There are two events taking place Wednesday, May 20 that capture our imagination: a new farmers’ market featuring only women farmers and a bike ride honoring injured and fallen bicyclists.

First up is the new Earth Mother Market at the Stables Building, 1038 S. Ft. Thomas, in Ft. Thomas. The market is open 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday (rain or shine) May 20 through October. All market members are either “certified organic,” “certified naturally grown,” and women. The lovely Gretchen Vaughn of Greensleeves Farm and Vicky Tewes of Thistlehair Farm are two of the market’s main organizers. Hail to these small farmers for bringing fresh produce to our kitchen tables and local restaurants.

Starting at 6:30 p.m. is the quiet, slow-paced Ride of Silence. It’s a worldwide event that honors bicyclists injured and killed on public roadways. The ride departs from three different locations at 6:30 p.m. and makes a stop at Fountain Square for a ceremony at 7:30 p.m. After the ceremony, cyclists continue to another location.

Posted By: Stephen Carter-Novotni

May is Bike month. On this episode we’ll hear from local bicycle commuters who took part in Queen City Bike’s rolling press conference, CityBeat’s Danny Cross who wrote a cover story for CityBeat in 2008 on why Cincinnati isn’t a very bike-friendly city, music by the bike-friendly band Turmeric and Shawn Jenkins of Segway Cincinnati, which sells electric bikes.

It’s time to get on your bike and out on the streets, Cincinnati. Bike To Work Week begins today, May 11, and runs through Friday, May 15. While you’re out riding around town this month, be sure to visit some of your favorite local shops and restaurants participating in Deals on Wheels.

BIKE TO WORK DAY AT FOUNTAIN SQUARE: THURSDAY, MAY 14

7 a.m. to 9.a.m. Bicycle commuters stopping at Fountain Square, 520 Vine Street, will find free coffee courtesy of La Terza Artisan Coffee Roasterie and breakfast goodies and ginger cider from Five Star Foodies. We’ll keep going until we run out.

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Enjoy music and sample local food during your lunch hour on the city’s front porch. Ethan Philbrick will perform a musical piece that uses bicycles as instruments. See other musicians perform, pick up a Bike Month T-shirt for $20 and sample edibles from Melt as bicycle supporters and sponsors distribute information about bicycling in the region. Shortly after noon, witness the ceremony proclaiming May 14 as Bike to Work Day in Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Join us at noon to see which local leaders arrive by bike for the ceremony.

All day May 14: Bike-and-ride free on TANK and at half-price on Metro

BREAKFAST ON THE BRIDGE: FRIDAY, MAY 15

Bike Newport is hosting a free breakfast for bicycle commuters to close out Bike Week 6 to 9 a.m. Friday, May 15 on the Newport side of the Purple People Bridge. Enjoy Taste of Belgium waffles, fresh fruit, pastries, coffee, milk, and orange juice with other bike commuters.

BIKE DEPOT AT FINDLAY MARKET: SATURDAY, MAY 16

The Bike Depot at Findlay Market continues 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 16. This week’s free workshop on bicycle maintenance starts at 10 a.m.

MOBO BICYCLE COOPERATIVE CELEBRATION: SATURDAY, MAY 16

Join Mobo Bicycle Cooperative as they celebrate three years of bicycle activism in Northside starting at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 16 at Off the Avenue, 1546 Knowlton Ave.