In a little over two weeks, Partners for Active Living will host a professional bicycle race in downtown Spartanburg as part of the City of Spartanburg’s Spring Fling festival. After hosting the event for over a decade, we have learned some lessons –

1. We could not host the event without the support and partnership of the City of Spartanburg. Thanks to the Mayor and City Council, City administration, Mandy Merck and the special events department, and the emergency response personnel. The City provides many things like porta potties, access to power, handles road closure, has EMS onsite, has trash and recycling receptacles available, and many other unexciting but critical tasks.
2. No matter how much planning we do ahead of time, the last two to three weeks prior to the event are insane…and our office shows it.
3. Special events are so much fun but so much work.
4. Having kids on the race course riding bicycles during halftime is important because it symbolizes a lot about what is important to PAL. This is a part of the event that we are trying to make much more organized this year. Please let us know what you think.
5. PAL loves people who wear spandex but at the end of the day, they are not the people we are trying to influence. We want our community to make active living part of their everyday life. However, we also understand that what we celebrate as a community says a lot about what we value. PAL sees the criterium as a community celebration of health, activity, vibrancy, and cohesion.

Please join PAL and the City of Spartanburg on April 28 in downtown Spartanburg to enjoy Spring Fling and a chance to watch some insanely fast riding.