Thursday, May 26, 2011

65 Riders Literally Rang in the 9th Season of BIke NIght

Lets face it, last Wednesday was the first Bike Night of our 9th season. However with the conditions being what they were, I'd say LASTNIGHT, was the real first Bike Night. So, all you trivia buffs, somewhere in the future I'm probably going to ask " What year were there two "first" Bike Nights - the answer will be 2011.

Anyway, if you missed us lastnight, never fear, we'll be back next week at 6:30pm. Plus we'll be giving away ANOTHER gift certificate! This time for a free one hour massage! More to follow. I know we really don't need gimmicks like give aways to get people to spend some time spinning through Old Town, but, hey - Why not!

Lastnight we had 65 riders. That is an excellent turn out by any measure. We were lucky enough to have a reprieve from the rain, gloom and clouds. I don't think the weather could have been much better! Fun was had by all.

There were a number of first time riders, too. I had an opportunity to talk to most of these folks. It was fun and interesting to hear how they heard about BIke Night. My favorite answers were: "My friends won't shut up about it" and "You guys have passed my house every week for the last 8 years. So, I finally decided, "What the hell, so I bought this bike at the Pawn Shop and here I am."

Have you heard a better story? I think not!

The point is: Whatever brings you to Bike Night, persistent cruisers, obnoxious friends, whatever it is, you'll be welcome here! So get off the porch, off the couch, out of your car and join us this summer. To borrow a phrase I just read in Bicycling Magazine - It's about Exhilaration not acceleration. Bike NIght.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Wednesday IS BIKE NIGHT!

Happy Tuesday, Cruisers.



I just checked the weather forecast. Tomorrow, we’re down to a 30% chance of rain, so, I’m hoping, crossing my fingers that, we’re back into our spring 3 O’clock shower, 6pm sun cycle.

Having said that, it’s Bike Night rain or shine, baby. Lastweek it dumped. Not in a good way. Well, on second thought, maybe it was a good thing, I’m sure there are people who have moved here from the Pacific Northwest and have been longing to use their favorite umbrella or raincoat. However, I think, it was unanimous among the three of us, who rode through Old Town the weather conditions were pretty crappy.

Tomorrow will be different, though. We will meet at 6:30pm at Roosevelt Park, I’ll do my little spiel and we’ll get rolling by 6:40ish. Our route will stay in Old Town.

We’ll see such sites as Sunset Golf Course, hopefully a sunset over the Indian Peaks and the always interesting and evolving Grant Street “Art in the Alley” project. Good times.



About Kids & Rider Safety:

Kids are always welcome on Bike Night, however if your child is riding a bike with training wheels or a stryder – you should have them ride in a trailer or on a tag-a-long/tandem. If your child is going to ride with the Bike Night group, which can be as large as 130 riders, ask yourself if you’re sure he or she knows how to ride safely. Bike Night is not a race, and is not a time to show off their mad BMX skills. Take a minute tonight and talk about bike safety with your kiddo and how to ride safely.
I’ll touch on this tomorrow night prior to our ride. The important thing to remember is your child is your responsibility and he or she should always be within your eyesight and within the sound of your voice. It’s fun to be the leader of Bike Night and over the past 8 years I’ve noticed kids really like to be in front with me. That’s great, but if your child likes to sprint between stop signs or repeatedly gets ahead of the group – I will give them a gentle reminder to stay with the group. If this happens repeatedly, I may ask your child to stay with you during the remainder of the ride and the entire next ride.
Tomorrow we will be on the streets of Old Town, where, generally there are few cars. We do ride on streets with bike lanes. These are typically busier streets. So tonight go for a walk or if you pick your child up from preschool or elementary school point out the Bike Lanes and remind your child that they should always be in the bike lane – even on Bike Night.



Wow. That was kinda heavy – The cool thing with all of this is, if you do Bike Night regularly you will see your child become a better rider – and – they will start self-policing themselves and the other kids on the ride. It’s a fun process to watch and be a part of.



Bicycle Longmont will offer another Kids Bike Safety class this year. The class will be prior to Bike Night on June 1st at Central Elementary School at 4:00 pm. If your kidinski attended last year’s, come again this year. A refresher is always a good idea. There is no cost for this class.

The class will end with enough time to grab a quick bite to eat prior to Bike Night beginning.

The following link will lead you to the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycling Tip sheet. I’m trying to find something a little more kid friendly but, haven’t found it yet. Anyway, you’ll have to do some translating to break it down for your child, but click here. If you find a top 10 list or something please let me know. I’ll post the link here.

See you tomorrow night!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

We ride, TONIGHT!

Hey all,

I'm looking forward to a great ride tonight. Hopefully that "chance" of rain will pass us by.

I finally dusted off the Chopper, spruced up Andrea's Electra Deluxe, and even pimped Anna's tag-a-long. It's late so I'm gonna make this short.

Tonight we're going to keep it simple. We'll meet at Roosevelt Park at 6:30PM as usual, I'll have some fun announcements, go over a few Bike NIght guidelines and chat with the kids about riding in a group.

We'll stay in Old Town. From Roosevelt we'll circle Thompson Park and meander west through the streets and alleys to Sunset Hill. At the top of Sunset we'll hang out and catch our breath then jump on our bikes and cruise the long downhill to Francis Street. From this point we'll begin meandering east to the Historic Eastside Neighborhood. Circle Collyer Park then, end at 5th & Kimbark Street behind the Great Frame-up.

If you're coming to Bike Night for the first time and you have kids, please talk with them ahead of time about being safe and watching out for other people. The important thing is to have fun and ride safely.

Helmets are encouraged for the kids, too.

See you in a few!
Ryan

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Bike Night is back on Wednesday Night!

I look forward to this post each year.


I have a check list that gets me ready for Bike Night -
Bike - Check
Tag-a-long - Check
Bike bell - Check
Bike upgrades-
- cup holder - check
- light - not yet - but soon
- new seat - not yet - but soon

Good friends - CHECK!

NEW THIS YEAR!
This year we're going to try something new. Over the years more than one or two people have asked to move the time to 7pm. So we'll give it a go. Every third Wednesday we'll meet at 7pm rather than the usual 6:30pm. We'll probably get rolling around 7:15pm. The dates for these "late start nights" will be June 15th, July 20th, and August 17th.

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday!
The other new thing we're adding is a Saturday Night cruiser ride. Stay tuned for future dates. We're shooting for one Saturday each month, beginning in June. Dates TBA.

Where Did Bike Night Come From?

I hope you're looking forward to the first bike night of our 8th year as much as I am. Last year we started the season with over 70 people. That number continued through June - by the end we had an average of 75 people per ride. Our largest was 134 riders. Not bad! I can remember just a few short years ago when 5-10 people was an excellent turn out.


Bike Night started as a way for my wife and I to get to know our neighbors and other people who wanted to ride around town in a fun and friendly way. We were somewhat nervous about riding in traffic and basically wanted an excuse to get ice cream. So we started riding around. It seemed like folks always appreciated others on cruiser bikes.

Andrea and I would ride through old town to Dairy Queen and down to Lefthand Brewery. We enjoyed getting to know other cyclists we'd meet and we also liked talking to folks about our bikes. Turns out there were a lot of other people who enjoyed doing the same things.

After a visit down the road to Boulder for the Thursday Night cruiser ride, I challenged Pete at Acme BIkes to start a shop ride on Wednesdays. Without a beat he turned it around and said "Why don't you?"

"OK"

So after about a month of talking it over with friends Bike Night began in June 2003. Since then we've had the times of our lives on two wheels.

I hope you'll come join us on Wednesday May 18th at 6:30pm. We meet at Roosevelt Park near the Senior Center.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Bicycle Longmont Social - Tomorrow!

Our Spring Social will happen tomorrow. The weather is going to be sketchy so that means you'll have no excuse but to come hang out with us for a bit. Besides the only thing we're competing against on TV is the evening news and we are way more exciting than that.

The only flooding you'll hear about at the Social will be talk of Bicycle Longmont flooding the streets of Longmont with recreational cyclists!

Truth be told you might hear from me about my intense fear that the St. Vrain will flood the G'Knight Ride. BUT beyond that we'll be having a lot of fun and merriment.

Please join us. All are welcome. 5p-7p at the Dickens Tavern, Downtown Longmont - 300 Main Street.

See you soon!
Ryan

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Bicycle Longmont's Spring Social! May 12th, Dickens Tavern


It's that time again. Time to connect with your fellow cyclists and to learn about what's happening this summer.

Bicycle Longmont will host its spring social on Thursday, May 12th at 5pm. We're going back to the Dickens Tavern. If you joined us in February bring a friend. This time we'll be in the larger, Presidents Room.

We will update you on the events Bicycle Longmont will be hosting around Longmont. We've planned a full summer that will keep you busy.

I hope you will join us, tuxes and cocktail dresses, not required.

Thanks,

Ryan Kragerud

PS 2 weeks til Bike Night, Baby!