You grumble about the soaring price of gas, the frightening state of the environment, the dismal state of your fitness, and then wish there was something you could do.  And wouldn’t it be really cool, you muse, if there was some way to add a sprinkling of artistic eclecticism to the mix?

You have the perfect two-wheeled tool, there in the garage, behind the unused treadmill, golf clubs and Christmas lights, gathering dust.

Get it out of there, dust it off, and go make a difference!

May is Bike to Work Month, with Bike to Work Week falling on the week May 14 to 18. 

Before that, the Scott Pierson Trail Grand Opening on May 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the War Memorial Park, will celebrate the “brand spankin’ new” bike trail in style, with Metro Parks providing items suitable for bike decoration, and with vendors from The Health department, Mary Bridge’s Safe Kids, REI, and Group Health, among others, providing fun activities and giveaways.  The trail, which runs from Sprague Avenue to the Narrows Bridge, will be dedicated at 10 a.m., at Cheney Stadium.

On May 16, a Ride of Silence will occur to commemorate those who have been killed or injured on bicycles.  This event starts at 7 p.m. at the 56th Street Starbucks, and will loop through Lakewood in the hopes of building bicycle awareness among residents, motorists, police, and city officials.  The wearing of black armbands is encouraged, with red armbands encouraged for those who have been injured on bikes.

If your rump’s not too sore from the Ride, bike to the Market on May 17.  Bike to Market Day doubly celebrates bike to work week and the opening day of the downtown farmers market.  Representatives at the REI tent will offer those with bikes (or helmets and helmet-head) a chance at prizes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

From the Market, bike yourself down to the Tacoma Art Museum to view the one-day-only Zeit Bikes.  Held in conjunction with the Third Thursday Art Walk, The Zeit Bike Contest display will enable five artists to turn their bikes into works of art, but these works of art also have to be “a functional bike, on some level,” according to Diane Waitr, Commute Trip Reduction coordinator for the City of Tacoma.

She adds, “They should be pretty interesting.”

For more information on Bike to Work Week, check out the City of Tacoma Web site.

May bicycling events may be found at the Tacoma Wheelmen’s Bicycle Club Web site.