Tempe's Pedal Haus Brewing Honoring Bike The Bluff Victims

TEMPE, AZ — It's been 18 days since a driver slammed into a pack of bicyclists taking part in the 2021 Bike the Bluff race in Show Low.

The crash left seven riders with serious injuries and lit a fire under the cycling community in the Grand Canyon State.

One such person that took to action was Chris Purcell, who is the chief operating officer of Tempe-based Pedal Haus Brewery.

Purcell, in coordination with Lindsay Gaesser and Stephen Schaefer, organized a ride that would raise money for the Bike the Bluff victims, while also sending a message that the cycling community had each other's back.

The three cycling enthusiasts came up with a 29-mile loop that cyclists could travel on, starting and ending at Pedal Haus' Mill Avenue brewery.

They chose that number, as Bike the Bluff is a 58-mile event, meaning those that turn out on Saturday can complete the Tempe course twice to reach the same distance as the Show Low event.

The schedule of events for Saturday's benefit ride kick off at 6 a.m., when the brewery's patio opens for pre-ride coffee and light snacks, before heading out for the day's ride at 6:30.

From there, cyclists will head north along the loop toward Paradise Valley, before coming back south toward Tempe.

Once the ride wraps up, the brewery is offering post-ride breakfast and beers, with 50 percent of the proceeds from the day's bottomless breakfast and 100 percent of the proceeds from the company's Day Drinker Light Lager sales going towards a GoFundMe campaign for the victims of the Bike the Bluff incident.

Purcell said Saturday's event is meant to be a show of support for victims of the Show Low crash, while also placing a point of emphasis on cycling safety.

"We saw this as an opportunity to help give back to help those injured, and then also continue to raise awareness for cycling safety here in the Valley," Purcell told Patch. "Especially in the Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale area where cycling’s pretty heavy and there’s been a few other serious accidents. It’s always good to just get that awareness out there and let people know that drivers and cyclists need to share the road safely."

Gaesser touched on a similar topic, when describing why she was motivated to organize the ride, along with Purcell and Schaefer.

She hopes the Tempe event can serve as a show of solidarity for members of the cycling community.

"We wanted to do this, because [the Bike the Bluff crash] affected everyone," Gaesser said. "whether you were a victim who was hit by the truck or one of the women's riders who rolled up on the scene, everyone was impacted somehow.

"And we just wanted to come together and do this benefit ride, so we can all have kind of a positive experience, where we're all together riding in solidarity, to advocate for bike safety on the roads, and just kind of send a message that this is not OK."

The trio of Purcell, Gaesser and Schafer hit the ground running in organizing the benefit ride, crafting the route and other specifics for the ride within a few days of the Show Low ride.

Schaefer said the process the trio went through to create the benefit ride was fast, with useful insights from the cycling community at large about the day's events.

"It all happened very, very quickly," Schaefer said. "And I got a lot of great feedback from people and a lot of cyclists wanting to participate in different ways.

"So it's been very fast, but there's been so much interest in making it happen."

Purcell hopes that the community at large will show up on Saturday morning, whether they ride or not.

He believes that cycling safety is an issue that impacts all of us, and that all of us can take steps to ensure the symbiotic relationship between cars and bicyclists on the roads of Arizona improves going forward.

"Whether you’re a cyclist or not, this is a community-based event," Purcell said. "We hope that whether you ride or you don’t ride, that you come out, that you have a bottomless breakfast, that you maybe buy a Day Drinker Light Lager to support those that are out riding. Show support for cycling safety and help raise some awareness of being able to coexist on the roads."

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.