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A Beautiful Day for a Bike Fair

Day's events drew bikes for sale, cyclists for Tour de Needham.

With the rain finally staying away on Saturday, the second annual Bike Fair organized by Needham Bikes drew a fair number of cyclists looking to buy or sell bikes, get tips for tuning up their current rides or join the 7.5-mile Tour de Needham. "Twenty bikes found new homes, with another 14 getting donated to Bikes Not Bombs," said Tad Staley, Needham Bikes founder and president. "Many people came to take advantage of the bicycle tune-up workshop." About 35 people of all ages participated in the Tour de Needham, a bike ride through town starting and ending at Newman Elementary School. "Special thanks to the Needham Police who made some intersections easier to negotiate," Staley said. All in all, he said, it was a "great day, a fun event …

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5 Things to Do This Weekend: May 21-22

Bikes, trucks and the British—just the usual busy spring weekend in Needham.

It’s Thursday, and the weekend is right around the corner. Patch has your back with a few fun things to do. Check our picks for the activities to hit and some places to explore. Here's what's happening in and around your town. Touch the Trucks   Second Annual Bike Fair   The Battle for Needham: Revolutionary War Battle and Encampment   Lag Ba’omer Community Fun Day   Hillside’s Spring Fling

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It's Bike Week in Needham!

Local organization encourages residents to trade in their traditional commute for two-wheeled transportation; Bike Fair planned this Saturday.

Tad Staley wants to see more people on bikes. The Needham resident and founder of Needham Bikes certainly practices what he preaches. Every weekday, he rides his bike from home into Boston for work—a ride he said takes him about 50 minutes and gets him ready to start his day. Though he doesn’t bike in the dead of winter, he is committed to his nontraditional commute when weather allows it. “It’s just a mindset,” Staley said. “I’m kind of zealous about this. There are too many cars on the road, the planet is getting warmer, it’s getting crowded, and getting stuck in traffic is no fun. I can get in and out of Boston faster by bike than I could almost any other way. It just feels great to arrive alert and refreshed.” Though he admits it takes…

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Christine OConnor Spear

1:23 pm on Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I'm over 50 now, but I remember fondly my first two wheel bike. My family of seven had just moved from upstate NY to Needham. The neighborhood kids came by and asked me to go biking with them. I was 6 years old and no bike. The very next day, my dad drove down to the bike shop in Needham and I picked out my first two-wheeler a gorgeous green Schwin with tassels hanging from the grips. I spent …   more ›