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Bike Buzz: Bike Month 2013 (plus April activities) from Bicycling Monterey

As Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District knows, there are many ways to celebrate Bike Week / Bike Month in the Monterey Bay region.

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County took a Bike Month break in 2013.

Bicycling Monterey helped fill the gap! Below are May 2013 activities in Monterey County  (and April activities too).

Even after April-May 2013 has passed, by skimming the below, you’ll learn a lot about the Monterey County bike scene–including many activities that happen year-round.  Scroll to the end to find more bike things to do.

Pictured here:  MYO Salinas, one of the hundreds of businesses and organizations in 18 Monterey County cities that offer HER Helmet Thursdays discounts to people who bike.

Bike date - S. Main Salinas - MYO 2)

April-May 2013 Calendar

Have additions, updates, or want to report a broken link? Please contact me.

The calendar here does not even include all the biking activities in Monterey County! Also see calendars of Monterey Off Road Cycling Association and Velo Club Monterey (and regularly scheduled rides list) for just some of what else is happening.  Then look over the Bicycling Monterey website for more.

  1. Ongoing, on Thursdays year-round:   HER Helmet Thursdays discounts for males and females who bike. Countywide project, since 2009. There’s no scheduled end-date; this is a long-term ecology-economy sustainability project. On the listings page, find the latest Quick Reference Guide, Map, and FAQs. Click here for Quick Links (the 411 about HER Helmet Thursdays).
  2. April 3: Registration opens for July 29 and Sept 23 City of Monterey bike repair classes for kids, teens, and adults taught by Erick Chavez of Winning Wheels Pacific Grove. Click here for details.
  3. April 3: Meeting of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee of the Transportation Agency for Monterey County at TAMC Conference Room, 55-B Plaza Circle, Salinas. Included on the agenda is a presentation on Ciclovía / Open Streets planned for Salinas. (Check the Ciclovia post for details, and consider volunteering and/or being a fiscal sponsor to help bring about Monterey County’s first Ciclovia.) Can’t make this 6 p.m. TAMC meeting? Sign up for committee meeting updates from TAMC.
  4. April 4, Thursday: Discounts for cyclists at HER Helmet Thursdays spots.  Many HER Helmet Thursdays spots will be waiving today’s  date restriction (Pebble Beach Food & Wine week). It’s fine, as usual, to call ahead and ask.
  5. April 5:  First Fridays Art Walk. See Steinbeck Center website for more.  Great time to bike Salinas!
  6. April 5-14: Haven’t ever taken your bike on a bus? Bike-and-ride option of Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST/”The Bus”) is helpful year-round. And on the Monterey Rapid Transit Jazz Line, not only do bikes ride free with paying passenger (as always), but 4/5-14/2013, passengers are free on this route. Click for details.
  7. April 6: Monthly ride of  Salinas Bike Party, a social bike run. (If a mass, then SBP is a Courteous Mass.) Meet point for April ride is Bear Bikes in North Salinas. All types of bikes are welcome whose riders are in tune with SBP party rules.  Click here to learn more about SBP at Bicycling Monterey.
  8. April 9:  Earth Bike Banjo Tour stop in Monterey. Erin Inglish banjo workshop (4-5:30) and concert (7 pm). Part of the proceeds go to the scholarship fund for Dennis Murphy School of Music. Click here for details! Don’t know Erin’s music? Check out her fun bike music video.
  9. April 10: Twilight Ride, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.  All ages welcome. This month’s host is Salinas High School Mountain Bike Team. Beverages and light snacks will be provided.  Otter Velo (concierge bicycle repair, event services, and guided tours) will be partnering on this month’s ride as well.
  10. April 10: Ciclovia Salinas Committee meeting, 7-9 p.m. at the Hartnell College Planning Center. Please email with any questions:  cicloviasalinas@gmail.com
  11. April 15:  First anniversary of Monterey County Youth Center’s bike repair and safety class.  Don’t just dream about a better world, help make it happen. You too can help more youth become confident of their place in the bike community. If you can pass a background check and might otherwise be an appropriate volunteer, as a class coordinator or bike repair instructor, please contact me.
  12. April 16-21: Sixty thousand cyclists and bicycling enthusiasts gather for Bicycle Leadership Conference, Interbike IBD Summit, Sea Otter Classic, and related SOC-week activities. Help others have a great time, including by sharing the tips linked below. There’s a red carpet out for visitors and locals who bike on Thursday, 4/18, Sea Otter Classic’s opening day (as on Thursdays year-round):    HER Helmet Thursdays discounts will be in effect for these bike-lovers–all 9,000+ pro and amateur athletes and 55,000+ other bicycle enthusiasts.
  13. April 16-18: Bicycle Leadership Conference. Share BLC/IBD Summit tips.
  14. April 16-18: Interbike IBD Summit. Share BLC/IBD Summit tips.
  15. April 17: Hear Geoff Kabush–a pro who’ll race Sea Otter Classic–interviewed by Angel Garibaldo of Salinas Valley Chamber on “Your Town.” View live on local Comcast Cable Channel 24 or livestream on the web at AMPMedia.org 4/17, 5:17-5:39 p.m. The show will be replayed on Channel 24 at midnight and will also air on AMPMedia’s Channel 27 on 4/17 at 10 p.m. and 4/18 at noon.  (Special thanks to Wendy Booher of Booher Media for facilitating this interview.)
  16. April 18-21: Sea Otter Classic, a Celebration of Cycling for all ages.  Share SOC tips, including about the new zipline, night ride, recycling of bike tires and tubes, and more.  Ditch the car! It’s a bike festival–including plenty of free activities for kids, North America’s largest bike exposition (with over 400 exhibitors!), and much more. Of course, this is the same Sea Otter Classic, now in its 23rd year, that is world famous for its pro and amateur road and mountain races, and in recent years, cyclocross as well. Come to SOC for a real bike buzz!
  17. April 18, Thursday: Discounts for cyclists today at HER Helmet Thursdays spots.
  18. April 19-21 at SOC: Girls ages 8-14 can choose 1, 2, or 3 days with Olympian Lea Davison and sister Sabra Davison at the Sea Otter Classic’s  Little Bellas Day Camp.  Scholarships available.
  19. April 20:  “Singletrack High” film showing. Don’t delay buying your ticket; this show is expected to sell out. Click for details on this Monterey showing. (Note location change: This year’s Sea Otter week film is back at the Golden State Theatre.)
  20. April 20 at SOC: Giro d’Italia Gran Fondo recreational rides, Carmel Valley or Coastal Route.
  21. April 20 at SOC: If you read Bicycling Monterey’s Sea Otter Classic 2013 tips, you know about the new Magicshine Night Ride. Locals know that it takes a lot of volunteers to make Sea Otter Classic the great success that it is. Helping make the Magicshine mountain course ride a success is our very own Monterey Off Road Cycling Association (MORCA). Click here!
  22. April 21 at SOC: Girls ages 14-17 can ride with Olympian Lea Davison at the Sea Otter Sunday Race Camp.
  23. April 21 at SOC: Specialized Mountain Bike Gran Fondo recreational ride.
  24. April 21: Día del Niño/Day of the Child at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Children 12 and under free all day. Aquarium encourages biking as a transportation option, so do it!
  25. April 22:  Earth Day. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day is honored  in Monterey County with various activities on 4/22 and nearby dates. Check local media, including the Salinas Californian, Monterey County Herald and Monterey County Weekly for Earth Day-related events, and check Sustainable Monterey County for any Earth Day events too. Examples: Return of the Natives celebration at Salinas Natividad Creek Park on 4/20; Interfaith Celebration, Carmel on 4/20; “Chasing Ice” at Carmel High on 4/22;   MEarth celebration at the Hilton Bialek Habitat, Carmel on 4/27; Earth Day Fair in Big Sur at Henry Miller Library, 4/21. (Heading to the Big Sur fair? Even tho it’s not a Thurs, stop by and say “thanks!” to Big Sur River Inn Restaurant for being in the HER Helmet Thursdays project.) Refer to “Bicycling and Ecotourism/Good Earthkeeping Right at Home” for links to more Earth-care advocates in Monterey County.
  26. April 24: Monterey County Probation Department Youth Center 10th Annual Appreciation Day, honoring bike class providers and others.
  27. April 24: Ciclovia Salinas Committee meeting, 7-9 p.m. at the Hartnell College Planning Center. Please email with any questions:  cicloviasalinas@gmail.com
  28. April 25, Thursday: Discounts for cyclists today at HER Helmet Thursdays spots.
  29. April 25: Ladies Night at Bobcat Bicycles. Bike-related health, fitness, basic mechanics training, and trunk show. RSVP to Bobcat (831/753-7433) so they know how many women to expect. Let’s fill up the place and remind them how many women bike Salinas.
  30. April 27: International Day at Naval Postgraduate School. Join our buddies from NPS Cycling Club on the NPS campus at this free event open to the public. Bring photo ID for security gate, plus money if you’d like to purchase food tickets. Click for details. Just across Del Monte Avenue from the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail; bike there! You’ll find one of the two best bike parking accommodations in the county. (Used to say “the best,” til CSUMB put in its bike bunker.)
  31. May 1-31 is Clean Air Month. Click here for Monterey Bay Region biking and other resources on the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) website. As stated in the Monterey County Weekly, “HER Helmet Thursdays cuts carbon emissions.” Ride a bike and help Monterey Bay air quality!
  32. May 1-31 is Bike Month. Note: (a) The Monterey Bay region Tri-County Bike Week portal,  http://www.bike2work.com, indicates (as of 5/9/13)  “TBD”/to be determined for San Benito and Monterey counties. However, MBUAPCD has helpfully made the info for San Benito and Monterey counties available on their site; click here, then scroll down. (b) The Intergenerational Ride that was part of Monterey County Bike Week in 2012 is happening again in 2013, on 5/11/13. Click here! (c) For Monterey County, Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) scaled back Bike Week/Month for 2013. Look for more TAMC Bike Week activities again in 2014.
  33. Happy Bike Month, Monterey County–from Salinas Police and Your Entire Bike Community. It takes a village, indeed–and a multi-pronged effort to make a safe, fun place for children, teens, and adults to ride. Check it out!
  34. Happy Bike Month to Kids Biking to School. On the Bicycling Monterey website, see some examples of what’s happening in Monterey County schools to support kids in biking to school; click here. Among upcoming activities: Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) has contracted with Ecology Action of Santa Cruz to put on up to eight bike rodeos soon at Monterey County schools, e.g., Kammann School in Salinas.  Contact Andy Cook, Bicycle/Pedestrian coordinator at TAMC with any questions.
  35. May 1-31:  Bike to Worship. Bike to church, mosque, satsang, synagogue, or other place of worship.
  36. May 1: Ciclovia Salinas Committee meeting, 7-9 p.m. at the Hartnell College Planning Center. Please email with any questions:  cicloviasalinas@gmail.com
  37. May 1: Meeting of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee of the Transportation Agency for Monterey County; TAMC Conference Room, 55-B Plaza Circle, Salinas. Can’t make the meeting? Sign up for committee meeting updates from TAMC.

    Agenda only, with links to staff reports, attachments and correspondence – best for viewing in web browsers:

    http://www.tamcmonterey.org/committees/bpc/meetings/2013/May/Agenda.pdf

    Full packet (one file containing the agenda, staff reports, attachments and correspondence: 16 pages) – best for viewing on mobile devices:

    http://www.tamcmonterey.org/committees/bpc/meetings/2013/May/PACKET.pdf

  38. May 2, Thursday: Discounts for cyclists today at HER Helmet Thursdays spots.
  39. May 3:   First Fridays Art Walk (see Steinbeck Center website for more info). Bike Salinas!
  40. May 3-5: Wildflower Triathlon, Bradley–including Mountain Bike Triathlon. Naval Postgraduate School Cycling Club and others will be participating.
  41. May 3-5:  33rd Annual Steinbeck Festival at HER Helmet Thursdays spot the National Steinbeck Center. Bike Salinas. And on May 5, celebrate Steinbeck Young Authors, with a talk by playwright Octavio Solis and a Young Authors awards ceremony, followed by arts, crafts, dance, and other family-friendly activities. Details: Steinbeck Youth Authors 5-5-13
  42. May 4:  Salinas Bike Party first-Saturday-of-the-month typical ride date is this month a special “Fixed Nation” ride for fixies and road bikes. Visit their website or Facebook page to learn more.
  43. May 5:  Salinas Valley Criterium. Visit pedalialpini.org to learn more.
  44. May 8: Twilight Ride at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, hosted this month by Velo Club Monterey. Click here for some additional notes.
  45. May 8: Join Green Pedal Courier and friends for their Wednesday Evening Bike Ride on the Monterey Coastal Trail. Call Michael Baroni of GPC to confirm, or if you have any questions. Meet around 6:30 p.m. at Window on the Bay Park volleyball courts (alongside Del Monte Beach). Ride will begin around 7 p.m.
  46. May 9,  Thursday: Discounts for cyclists today at HER Helmet Thursdays spots.
  47. May 10: Orientation for potential new students of the Monterey County Youth Center bike class (new series begins May 19). For other Monterey County bike community firsts, click here.
  48. May 10: Velo Club Monterey members and friends are planning to support Rancho Cielo Youth Campus by swooping in on their Drummond Culinary Academy with a big party of hungry cyclists at dinnertime. Dinner reservations are always requested at Rancho Cielo; 444-3521. To be among the VCM crew, check in with Vera Noghera of VCMonterey.org for details. Anyone is welcome to make dinner reservations for Friday night dinners at Rancho Cielo year-round; click here.
  49. May 11:  Intergenerational Ride. Click here for details. This event is in celebration of Monterey County Bike Week/Tri-County Bike Week and (as in 2012) is again co-hosted by Fine Wordworking and First Presbyterian Church of Monterey. This ride is for people of all ages and experience levels, riding all types of bikes. A complimentary mobile mechanic will be provided by Bay Bikes, so no worries about flat tires or tangled chains. A diverse mix of experienced bike community leaders will be there, adding to the support and fun. (Refer to 5/11 details for names of some folks who are coming.) Locals and visitors alike are welcome.
  50. May 11:  Salinas Bike Party. Some SBP riders are doing a “Monterey Day Run” to join in on the Intergenerational Ride for Bike Week. Email salinasbikeparty@gmail.com or check their website or Facebook page for possible carpooling to the meet point. (Want to bike from Salinas to Monterey instead of carpooling? See tips here.) Don’t know Salinas Bike Party yet? Salinas Bike Party is a social bike run. (If a mass, then SBP is a Courteous Mass.)  Click here to learn more about SBP at Bicycling Monterey.
  51. May 11: Fort Ord National Monument first anniversary celebration. MORCA will lead a ride to the celebration site from Creekside as part of the festivities. Check in with MORCA for details.
  52. May 14: Regional Bicycle Travel Demand Modeling Project meeting. (Add’l background: See “Cycle Tracks / CycleTracks.”) If you cannot attend, you may still participate online or via your phone. Download PDF for details:  BikeModelPhaseIIKickOff Invite. This project is funded by the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District’s AB 2766 Emission Reduction Grant Program. Its goal is to help the Air District and local planners conduct benefit-cost analyses of bicycle projects while helping AMBAG meet SB 375 mandated regional greenhouse gas (GHG) targets.
  53. May 15: Ciclovia Salinas Committee meeting, 7-9 p.m. at the Hartnell College Planning Center. Please email with any questions:  cicloviasalinas@gmail.com

  54. May 15 – Heads up!

    Mari usually attempts to take a month-long break during Indian Summer (click here and see “Technology competes…”). This year, something different is happening. See May 31. 

  55. May 15: Join Green Pedal Courier and friends for their Wednesday Evening Bike Ride on the Monterey Coastal Trail. Call GPC to confirm, or if you have any questions. Meet around 6:30 p.m. at Window on the Bay Park volleyball courts (alongside Del Monte Beach). Ride will begin around 7 p.m.
  56. May 16, Thursday: Discounts for cyclists today at HER Helmet Thursdays spots.
  57. May 17: Bike Safety event and ride for kids grades K-5, Seaside. Organized by Monterey County Health Department in conjunction with Safe Routes to School (SRTS) efforts. Click here to learn more–including about volunteers and others helping. Download English and Spanish posters, and spread the word! 5-17-13 Bike Seaside – English – 5-17-13 Bici Seaside – espanol
  58. May 17-19: Cooking for Solutions annual event doesn’t work for everyone’s budget. But you can still support their goals by biking to a Seafood Watch spot (and get a discount on May 17 and Thursdays year-round at these HER Helmet Thursdays Seafood Watch participants). Also see “Bike to the Beach–and Care for What You Love.” Follow #cfs13 on Twitter or elsewhere online for their latest sustainability tips.
  59. May 18: Third Annual Fort Ord Warhorse Day will include a 1-mile PeeWee ride/walk and an 11-mile family bike ride (hilly terrain) among other festivities. Click here for helpful details from Monterey Off Road Cycling Association (MORCA).  Click here for a Monterey County Herald story about the day’s festivities. Questions? Contact Margaret Davis, 831-224-4534 for details. [Update: Enjoy the 11-Mile Fort Ord Bike Ride that was part of the 3rd Annual Fort Ord Warhorse Day (2013) festivities on any day! Margaret Davis of Friends of the Fort Ord Warhorse graciously provided written directions for this ride; click here. There you’ll also find highlights of the ride in a 7-minute, 27-second video “Warhorse Day Bike Ride Fort Ord 2013″ by Lynn Moimboissee.]
  60. May 18-19:  54th Annual Artichoke Festival, Castroville.  What a great time to bike Castroville, Monterey County’s second oldest city.
  61. May 19: New series of bike repair and safety classes starts up at Monterey County Youth Center. If you may be able to commit to helping with coordinator duties or as a bike repair instructor, please contact me. To learn more, see first anniversary of Monterey County Youth Center’s bike repair and safety class.
  62. May 19: Burrito Bike Ride, Salinas. While the ride especially encourages beach cruisers, vintage, and custom bikes, all bikes are welcome.
  63. May 22: Bicycling will be the theme on “Your Town” today, hosted by Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC). Program is scheduled as follows: 5:00 p.m., Imjin Bikeway Project with Nourdin Khayata, Engineer, City of Marina; and Edrie De Los Santos, Assistant Engineer City of Marina; 5:20, Bicycling Monterey with Mari Lynch; 5:40, Ciclovía Salinas with Manuel Guadalupe Ontiveros and Maritza Cárdenas. “Your Town” can usually be viewed live on local Comcast Cable Channel 24 or livestream on the web at AMPMedia.org. Check with AMP Media or contact TAMC’s Sharon Gavin, Community Outreach Coordinator or Andy Cook, Bicycle/Pedestrian coordinator with any questions.
  64. May 22: Join Green Pedal Courier and friends for their Wednesday Evening Bike Ride on the Monterey Coastal Trail. Call GPC to confirm, or if you have any questions. Meet around 6:30 p.m. at Window on the Bay Park volleyball courts (alongside Del Monte Beach). Ride will begin around 7 p.m.
  65. May 23, Thursday: Discounts for cyclists today at HER Helmet Thursdays spots.
  66. May 24-26: Hammerstein 8- and 24-Hour Mountain Bike Race at Laguna Seca.
  67. May 29: Ciclovia Salinas Committee meeting, 7-9 p.m. at the Hartnell College Planning Center. Please email with any questions:  cicloviasalinas@gmail.com
  68. May 29:  Join Green Pedal Courier and friends for their Wednesday Evening Bike Ride on the Monterey Coastal Trail. Call GPC to confirm, or if you have any questions. Meet around 6:30 p.m. at Window on the Bay Park volleyball courts (alongside Del Monte Beach). Ride will begin around 7 p.m.
  69. May 30, Thursday: Discounts for cyclists today at HER Helmet Thursdays spots.
  70. May 30: 3rd Annual Clean Air Awards reception at Monterey Plaza Hotel, co-sponsored by Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District and Breathe Central Coast. Bike there! The Monterey Plaza Hotel is happy to provide bike valet parking.
  71. May 31:  Bicycling Monterey was launched May 2009 and continues to be provided as a public service. In observance of this fourth anniversary, Mari will take a break from the bike site and projects (with the exception of the Monterey County Youth Center class) and another to-be-announced bike project from June 1 to September 30, 2013. During these months, phone calls and postal mail will be responded to, but email will not.  (Out of the U.S. and need an email response? Many other Monterey County bike community resources are available.) If you have WordPress skills and can help with Bicycling Monterey site maintenance during this break, or if you can help in other ways, please contact Mari ASAP.

Coming up

Here are a few highlights of upcoming special events.

  1. SBP Coast Run, Saturday, June 1. Salinas Bike Party, a courteous social bike run, is coming to the coast! This month’s ride is especially geared to the college-aged crowd, although they welcome others from the bike community ride with them. Just bring a positive vibe and be ready to roll with SBP party rules. Volunteers needed to serve as volunteer Guiders and Swoopers.
  2. Ciclovía Salinas.  Ciclovía Salinas / Open Streets tentatively scheduled for September 2013. To help them meet this target date, volunteer or make a donation! Do that, and keep in touch about any updates, by writing to the Ciclovía Salinas Committee:  cicloviasalinas@gmail.com (Kindly note that unless someone volunteers to publish guest posts during Mari’s break mentioned above–see May 31 calendar entry–Bicycling Monterey won’t have summer posts about this event. But you can bet we’ll see you there!)
  3. Tweed Ride. We’ve wished for a Tweed Ride in Monterey County since starting the HER Helmet Thursdays project in 2009. And the buzz is that one may be happening soon. Who’s organizing? Maddox (Bowtie Soul), and you can find him @Madd_Dash.
  4. I love a parade! What’s hotter than July?  The crowd-pleasing  Colmo Night Parade and Kiddie Capers parades, held July 13, 2013 in advance of the California Rodeo, Salinas (July 18-21, 2013). The Kiddie Capers parade begins at 6:30 p.m., and the Colmo Parade at 8 p.m.  If you plan to bike there, see tips on biking in the dark.

For more tips on biking in Salinas, click here.

Biking East Salinas

IMG_3017 (1024x1010)

Want more bike things to do?

Many Monterey County activities may not be specifically bike-related, yet are much more fun when you bike there. For more community calendars, check

Your support is appreciated

Wish there were snazzy little decals at the entrance of every HER Helmet Thursdays place, to help folks quickly identify these bike-friendly spots?  Or, remember the bright “Tips for Bicycling Monterey County” fliers in display windows all over the county in prior years? Help get the word out: Click here for “Acknowledgements–and How You Can Help.” 

Help HER Helmet Thursdays continue growing by inviting your favorite lodging providers, educational and entertainment spots, wineries, and restaurants to become part of this countywide project. It isn’t hard, it just takes time. Help can also be used in a number of other ways, including sending out invitational and welcome emails, entering information in the database/map, updating the listings page, and so on. Please volunteer for this long-term project, now in its fourth year. Contact me.

And remember to tell the managers at the HER Helmet Thursdays spots that you appreciate them building a more bike-friendly county! Here are the participants as of 5/10/13.

HER Helmet Thursdays – Quick Reference Guide – as of 10 May 2013 – View PDF

The latest Quick Reference Guide is always posted on the Listings/FAQs page.

April brings these beautiful lupines to Highway 68 as well as over 64,000 bicycling enthusiasts who come to Sea Otter Classic at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, located on Hwy 68.

LupinesKeith7Apr2013Hwy68

Curious who else has been out biking the past few months? Click for a sampling. View more of Monterey County’s diverse bike community in “Bicycle Advocacy: What you can do.”

See you on the bikeways!

Besides the Tips for Bicycling Monterey County 20-section guide, there are tips in over 300 posts and 70 web pages of information on this site. Looking for info on particular local cities?  Below is a start. You’ll find lots more information about Salinas, our Monterey County seat and largest city; start by typing Salinas in the search window, or contact me.

No need to wait for summer. Springtime is hot with bike activities! I’m alerting my friends, with these cards, to tell them:  We’ve got dates to ride.

To learn where Elena finds many bicycling cards, and tips on biking there, see the Shopping by Bike section.

Questions?  Contact me.

First published: 3/23/13

This post was published on 23 March 2013. One or more changes last made to this post on 16 August 2021.

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