Expanding Tahoe bike week to a month proposed

By Kathryn Reed

If Ty Polastri were to have his way, Heavenly Village would be a ski village in the winter and bike village in summer.

He laid out a plan recently to people who regulate the South Lake Tahoe retail area for future cycling events.

“I see this area as the epicenter. I see this as an active lifestyle model,” Polastri told the board of the Park Avenue Development Maintenance Association. He runs the nonprofit Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition. “I envision a weeklong event staged here.”

Ty Polastri

Although the board members were not opposed to Polastri’s ideas, it was stated the organization has no marketing budget.

Polastri is looking toward having all this come together in 2012 – with June 4-10 that year being Tahoe Bike Week at Heavenly Village.

He for years has been instrumental in putting on a bike challenge for employers and last year helped launch a bike festival. The week of events in 2012 would tie in the annual America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride put on by Curtis Fong on the front end, with the tail end involving a bike event Polastri is still developing.

Although the PADMA board in conjunction with the city wants to put on more events at the village, it is limited in its resources. Polastri said he would be back with a more formal plan.