Hawaiian Shirt Night!

Aloha!
Tomorrow Bike Night’s theme will be: “Hawaiian Shirt Night!”  Join us for this colorful ride. If you don’t have a Hawaiian shirt wear the loudest patterned shirt you own.

Our route will take us back into West Old Town. We will have a great time trolling the streets, parks and alleys on our way up to Sunset Pool.

Looking forward, we’ll have another flash mob coming up on June 12^th. Last year we did the “Electric Slide” this year get ready for the “Chicken Dance!”. The theme will be “June-toberfest”. Come ride with us as we roll to the very best polka Spotify has to offer!

Also – the G’Knight Ride is coming up on June 15^th. We’re really pushing to get folks registered in advance. That way the day of the event will go much more smoothly and you won’t have to wait in line! Go to: www.gknightride.org to register.

See you tomorrow night at 6:30pm. Remember – no kids riding in the parking lot. If you get there early have your kids ride the Roosevelt loop.

Thanks!

Bike Night Sets New First Night Record!

Last week was probably one of the most fun Bike Nights I've been a part of. We had a record number of elementary kids on the ride, and they kept eachother in line! It was awesome!

Please parents, continue talking about bike safety with your kids! The kids were great last week. GOOD JOB!

Speaking of records, we had more than 213 people join us on the first Bike Night. The early rain came and went leaving us the opportunity to ride the streets of Old Town in style!

We had the first ride with the new audio rocket. We're making a few changes to it that will limit the disruption of audio goodness. Tomorrow night the good times will roll!

As for our route - we will hit up the East Side! We'll start at Roosevelt Park, creep down Pratt to 4th Avenue then into the new alley. From there we will meander east to Rocky Mountain School, then back west.

This route uses primarily neighborhood streets with a brief time on Longs Peak Avenue. If you're curious about the route, click on the tab above that shows all our routes.

Also - new this year. Feel free to post your favorite routes. The only rule is that the route has to be 6 - 8 miles, with a Roosevelt Park starting point.

See you tomorrow night!

Ryan

TONIGHT: Bike Night kicks off our 10th Season!

Bike Night 2011

Here it is the first day of our 10th season, and I'm filled with anticipation!

It's this time each year when I wonder - What will I say during the pre-bike night discussion - what minutia will I need to mention. What announcements will I need to make. What important detail will I forget? Do I really need to cover the rules of Bike Night - again? I pray no one gets hurt this year. What if no one shows up?

There is a crazy amount of insecurity that comes out the night before any big event. I remember feeling this way before I'd go off to a football game in high school, prior to a cross country race in Jr. High, or even the night before the Boulder Marathon. What if? What if? What if?

What I realized is that stuff will make you crazy. Bike Night is a great event and draws people from across Longmont and from the surrounding towns. Whether you've found this blog because you're looking for an alternative to Boulder's ride, because your child is finally able to hold their head up and is old enough for a bike trailer, or may be you've recently moved to Longmont and are yearning to get out and meet like-minded people.

Bike Night is that outlet. We're not a booze cruise - entirely. We usually work a brewery or two in to the ride a few times a season. What we are is a community of cyclists out having fun. We don't obey every street sign and every rule of the road, but we do make sure everyone is safe.

I sometimes get an earful from folks who get upset when we don't stop for every stop sign or yield when we're supposed to. I have to remind those folks - do they ALWAYS come to a complete stop when driving their car? Do they ever roll through stop signs, change lanes or turn without signaling, do they ALWAYS wear a seatbelt? Probably not.



Bike Night is intent on drawing the greatest number of people to the greatest ride in Longmont. We do that through making the ride as fun as possible while keeping the group as safe as possible. To that end we want you to be aware - training wheels are highly discouraged. Tricycles and scooters are not allowed. Parents should know their kid's abilities when riding on streets.

Older kids tend to find there way to the front of the pack. I'm usually upfront with all the kids. I'm cool with it, really. However, if your child insists on racing ahead, I will politely ask them to remain with the group. If they race ahead more than twice I will ask them to rejoin their parents in the group. If your child poses a risk to themselves or to the group - I will ask the parent to discuss the problem with their child. I view kids riding in the front of the group as a fun thing. However, if they aren't able to handle it, I will ask them to rejoin their parents. If the behavior persists I will ask the parents to address the issue and perhaps forgo one or two rides.

Having said that we typically hold one or two kids bike nights each year. These are times where we have a bicycling instructor work with Bike Night Kids to be safe and to ride with respect. These nights are a lot of fun and help to build confidence.

I hope you will join us tonight. Bike Night is a lot of fun and we always meet at 6:30p and start riding at about 6:40. We meet at Roosevelt Park in Old Town Longmont - 900 Longs Peak Avenue.

Ryan