Celebrating Resilience on Two Wheels

In a world that can feel heavy, bikes — like the wildlife along the Santa Cruz River — remind us that movement, joy, and renewal are always possible. These designs pay tribute to the resilient creatures returning to the river as the ecosystem heals, from the beaver to the Gila topminnow.

A small celebration of motion, adaptation, and the life flowing back into our waterway — one pedal at a time.

Inspired by wildlife living in and along the Santa Cruz river. These designs are bright for safety in traffic and playful to encourage engagement from many riders. One side of the bike is in English and the other in Spanish sharing a word of inspiration for each creature and also labeling them as an education component.

Purpose: The project transforms Tugo bike-share bikes into moving public art, making creative works accessible to people throughout the city and to boost ridership.

This project was in partnership the the Tucson Arts Foundation, TUGO Bikeshare, City of Tucson Transportation and Mobility, Better Bikeshare Partnership and FUGA.