NOTE MEETING LOCATION - See Information Below
Our speakers for the March GABA Meeting will be Melinda and Brian Nash, founders of the Willcox Flyer Bike Ride. The ride, which began in 2013, takes place annually on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend and brings 500-600 riders to the small rural community of Willcox, AZ.
This year’s ride - the 14th Annual Willcox Flyer - will be on Saturday, September 5th 2026, and will include rides of 8, 33 and 66 miles through beautiful rolling hills and open range land.
Melinda, who now lives in Tucson, grew up in Willcox and still has family there. The Willcox Flyer ride (formerly The Magic Circle) started as a memorial ride in honor of Melinda’s older brother, Matt Peterson, who was hit and killed in a bicycle accident in 2008 in Cupertino, California.
The ride has turned into the sole funding source for the “Small Town, Big Dreams Scholarship Program," designed to help students from Willcox grow, learn, attend, and succeed in college or vocational school. The program has thus far supported over 80 students from Willcox public schools.
Come to the meeting and hear from Melinda and Brian about the ride and the scholarship program, and how they began and have grown. And maybe you will decide to join the ride this year!!
The meeting starts at 7:00 pm on March 12, 2026. But doors will open at 6:30 so you can come early and socialize with other GABA members. Feel free to bring guests.
The presentation will be at our NEW MEETING LOCATION – the St Philips in the Hills Church, located at the NE corner of Campbell and River. Note that this NOT St Phillips Plaza where you park for the Loop trail. Rather it’s on the north side of River Road. There are entrances off both Campbell and River.
Drive into the parking lot and try to park under or near the parking area that is covered with solar panels. From there, look to the west for GABA signs that will direct you to the meeting room, which is on the north side of the building complex. Note that it is the same meeting room we used for the January presentation on bicycling in Ukraine; it's a different room than the one used for the February meeting on tandem cycling.