Quick Note -

3 WEEKS BABY!

Until we ride!

First Ever Bike Night Renga!

I know you're just waiting to hear how the movie film fest worked out, but, you'll have to wait a little while longer. In the meantime, how about getting down with your bad - poet -self! Carpe Diem!

This morning I was listening to National Public Radio and the announcer interviewed a poet who had started a Renga. A Renga is a poem written by a community of people where each person writes their own stanzas based on the 5-7-5, or 7-7 syllable (or sound units) pattern. With BIke Night beginning in a few weeks I thought having the Bike Night "community" write a Renga, might be fun.

To learn more about what I'm talking about click here.

I'll give my weak verse first in the 5-7-5 format. The next must be a two line stanza in the 7-7 syllable format. Alternating by stanza. 5-7-5, 7-7, 5-7-5 etc. Verses/stanzas can be posted in the comments below.

Also, your verse must draw from the idea in the previous verse.

I will assemble them and the final Renga will be read prior to the first BIke Night. This should be fun!


1. Shiny Cruiser Bike,
A big crowd gathers
Waiving neighbors laugh

Excellent turnout tonight!

On behalf of the Bicycle Longmont Board I have to say we packed the place! Way to go Longmont. It was an excellent turnout. You guys filled the Dickens out of the Dickens. And, what a great time. The crowd, the movie, all of it great friends and a lot of good cheer.

As you can tell we had a great time.

Quickly - I need to say one thing - THANK YOU MIKE DION! - We were given the incredible surprise tonight when Mike Dion the filmmaker of Ride the Divide showed up out of the blue to answer questions. It was a great time, made even greater by having him there. So - Mike - Thank you!

Tomorrow night will be equally as great.

If you liked Ride the DIvide come and check out BIcycle Dreams. It's similar to Ride the Divide in that you can see extraordinary human beings accomplish amazing feats. It's truly a movie that will stick with you.

If you haven't gotten tickets, tickets will be $15 at the door. However, know that there will be a panel discussion and an after party at Oskar Blues Brewery at Pike and Sunset. I think you'll get your $15 worth, really.

Having said that.... We will drop a bunch more Bicycle Dreams tickets off at Crackpots tomorrow morning. These tickets will remain $10. It's Friday and we need easy math on Fridays. So that means you get a deal so - ya' know - I wouldn't complain.

A little bit about the Panel Our panel will include Rick Boethling - Race Across America - Race Director, Terri Gooch & Tim Case both have competed in Multiple RAAM rides. We will also feature Ryan Van Duzer. Ryan has ridden across the USA a number of times and will share his insights into RAAM as well.

Also if you need to hedge your bet on the cruiser bike - we'll be selling tickets tomorrow night too at Vance Brand.

We hope to see you there.

Allrighty, it's late and time to refuel for tomorrow. S

Sleep well St. Vrain Valley!

Ryan

Film Fest Tickets are on sale, now! Get 'em while they last!

Just a friendly reminder Bicycle Longmont is reaching out to Longmont's Cruiser Culture to pack the Dicken's Opera House on Thursday April 14th, for Ride the Divide. If you've checked the trailer for the movie, you know it's about mountain biking, however, it's much more than that. This movie and Bicycle Dreams are more than "cycling" movies. They are movies that are set within the cycling world but go far beyond by showing us what some ultra athletes, and not-so-ultra athletes can do. They posit these questions within us - What am I capable of? What can I achieve?

Over these two nights you will have the opportunity to traverse the U.S.A West to East and North to South.

To say that these two movies are "moving tales" is more than a pun.

Come and see. Decide for your self, what will you do this weekend? Summer? Year?

Ryan

Movie Particulars:
Tickets are available here: $10 in advance, $15 at the door

Ride the Divide (trailer)
DIcken's Opera House
300 Main Street
Longmont 80501

Bicycle Dreams (trailer)
Vance Brand Auditorium, Skyline High School
600 East Mountain View Ave
Longmont 80501

Long awaited Update!

Happy Saturday, Everyone.

There is a lot going on so hold on tight. First, an apology today is not March 15th. I said on March 14th I’d have an update “tomorrow”. Usually “tomorrow” means within 24 hours you can look forward to something, however – that didn’t happen, sorry.

As you know Bicycle Longmont has a film festival coming, and it’s going to happen. Bicycle Longmont is also working to put together a cruiser ride on June 18th. There are a lot of details and agreements that were and are still needed and those have all gotten in the way of a timely update.

This is probably the fourth time I’ve started writing an update and it’s about now that I start focusing on all the unknowns and begin to consider waiting to do the update until all is known, sewed up, and tied with a pretty bow. Well, that ain’t happening. So lets boldly move forward. Here’s what I know and please spread the news.

Film Festival
The film festival is moving forward. Tickets are on sale at Bicycle Longmont’s website www.bicyclelongmont.org. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

I’m pleased to tell you Oskar Blues is our partner and will be offering drink specials on Thursday night at the Dicken’s Opera house, before, during and after Ride the Divide. We have a 300 person capacity so hurry and buy your tickets! Friday night, following Bicycle Dreams there will be an after party for those 21 & up at the Tasty Weasel. Oskar Blues is extending their hours to accommodate our event. Your ticket stub will get you in AND, not only will you be in a brewery after hours, but (BONUS) you will also be getting a dollar off Oskar’s Blues beer. If beer isn’t your thing, but you’d like to hang out with fellow cyclists after the show, Oskar Blues makes a great rootbeer, too.

Our other partners are Crackpots, Old Town Outfitters (opening this fall at 5th & Main Street), Old Town Realty, Lefthand Back & Body, The Dicken’s Tavern, the Longmont Clinic and the Merchants of Prospect.

We’re Raffling something!
Did you know Bike Night starts May 18th? Wouldn’t it be great to start the new season on a new cruiser? We have a Phat Cycles Cruiser that we will be raffling off on Friday night during intermission of Bicycle Dreams! Tickets will be available at Ride the Divide and Bicycle Dreams. (Specifics about times, addresses for shows etc. are below).

June 18th Cruiser Ride: Also now known as “The G’Knight Ride”.

The best way to describe what’s been going on with this is “It’s sort of kismet”. June 18th Bicycle Longmont has planned our first night time cruiser ride. As fate would have it, Oskar Blues is also holding their Brewery Festival known as “Burning Can” that same day. Burning Can is an opportunity to sample finely crafted micro-brews that breweries from across the country are canning. Among other things this is an opportunity to check out brews that are not available in Colorado. It’s pretty cool.

We began talking with Oskar Blues in February and everything came together a couple weeks ago. Oskar Blues has rebranded their “Gordon’s brew” to “G’Knight” it’s good. At the same time we’ve been trying to name our ride. The two seem to work, pretty well.

During our meeting the ride was named the “G’Knight Ride”.

Fear not, we know Bike Night is a family affair so we are planning family friendly festivities prior to the G’Knight Ride.

We need to meet with the City of Longmont to discuss our route but currently our start is in “downtown” Prospect near the Two Dog Diner. We will have family friendly activities in the park adjacent to Propects downtown area. As I mentioned the ride will begin there and proceed to Oskar Blues’ brewery, where a second wave will join the ride.

Riders will have the option to do one of two routes a long route and a short route. To see the routes check out our map in the sidebar. The long route is approximately 10 – 12 miles and the short route is closer to 2 miles.

Once back in Prospect there will be fun activities. There will be an after party that will begin around 8:30 pm sponsored by Oskar Blues and we’ll have a band, too.

This is going to be a lot of fun. As I mentioned we will be meeting with the City so the route might change but the start/end will remain the same. The projected timeframe for this event is 4pm to 11pm. The ride will begin around 6pm. The after party/beer garden will most likely open around 8:30 with the band beginning around 9:30pm.

Proceeds from beer sales will benefit Bicycle Longmont and our Holiday Bike Program.

Details about the activities and times will follow.

Thanks! See you on April 14th & 15th.

Film Festival Particulars:
Ride the Divide, 7pm, Dickens Opera House, 300 Main Street, Longmont
Tickets $10 advance, $15 at the door.

Ride the Divide movies and t-shirts will be on sale the night of the show. We will have the movie on Blu-Ray and standard definition DVD’s.

Bicycle Dreams, 7pm, Vance Brand Auditorium, Skyline High School, 600 East Mountain View Avenue, Longmont.
Tickets $10 advance, $15 at the door.

After Party – Tasty Weasel, Oskar Blues Brewery Pike & Sunset Street in SW Longmont, following the show.

Update: Rolling On!

We're moving forward. This has been a great last two weeks. We've had a lot of great community support. I'd like to thank the Times-Call for the great article they printed on Monday. The article did a great job describing where we're at and what we're trying to accomplish.

From that article and from the buzz over our film series, we've had quite a few people take interest in our little endeavor. We've done some great fundraising and we've still got a little way to go.

Today I got off the phone with the film guys and just received the artwork for our posters. Expect to see those online and at your local bike shop, soon. I'll also have them on all of our sites, pages, and blogs. If you'd like to have a copy of either the Ride the Divide Poster or Bicycle Dreams poster I'll send one with the Longmont info on it, digitally. We're sort of launching a guerilla marketing campaign.

We want to pack the Dickens and Vance Brand. By the way - Vance Brand has 1,375 seats. So, We, Me and You have some work to do.


I hope you all have a great weekend and I'll be back next week with another update!

the BIG announcement - Bicycle Longmont Film Fest!

Bicycle Longmont will hold a “mini-film festival” on Thursday April 14th, & Friday April 15th.


As we mentioned at our winter social, 2011 is going to be a big year for Bicycle Longmont and Cycling in Longmont. We hope you will pass the word and will help us by getting people to join us at both showings. Both movies are great and we're super excited to be showing them!

On Thursday, April 14th at 8pm Bicycle Longmont and the Dickens Opera House will present Ride the Divide. This movie has gotten great reviews and has played all over the world. We will have copies of the movie along with other Ride the Divide items for you to buy, too. This showing will be ages 21 & up.

To see the trailer go to www.ridethedividemovie.com

On Friday, April 15th, 7pm at Vance Brand Auditorium, (All Ages) Bicycle Longmont will show Bicycle Dreams. This is a documentary that follows cyclists as they race across America or RAM. RAM has a cult following and this documentary is incredible. Bicycle Dreams has won many awards including the Boulder International Film Festival in 2009. We are excited to be showing this movie.

To see the trailer go to www.bicycledreamsmovie.com

We are still in planning stages and many details remain to be worked out. However, we want you to start spreading the word and save the dates. Please join us! Bicycle Dreams will be an all ages show.

Proceeds from ticket sales will go to support the Bicycle Longmont Cruiser Fundraiser coming this Spring on June 18th and the Kids Holiday Bike Program.

Big Cruiser Ride Update

Big Cruiser Ride update:
As some of you might know Bike Night/Bicylce Longmont teamed with a promoter to help put on the big Cruiser Ride this summer. We are targeting , Saturday, June 18th for the ride. Our promoter is the same outfit that puts on and coordinates the Urban Assault Rides held all over the US, previously the New Belgium Fat Tire Festivals, and the new Diva Dash in Austin TX. We’re excited to be working with these guys.
Lastnight, they presented us with a budget for the big cruiser ride, which is why I’m writing this message to you. We want to make this event free for all to participate. In order to get the cruiser ride off the ground we need to raise money to promote and organize the event. We’re hoping to get one major sponsor and two to three other sponsors. Our promoter is confident they could get 1,000, upwards to 2,000 people to this event. That’s a lot of exposure.

My vision for this cruiser fundraiser is to have it annually. To bring people into Longmont and show them what an excellent town we have. The long term vision is to grow into a festival that was our way to kick off Colorado Bike Week. Think of it like the Sturgis/Interbike/Veloswap/Handcrafted Bike Show of Longmont/Northern Colorado.

But that is a few years down the trail.

First we have to have a successful first ride. I’m throwing this out there to the Bike Night nation because I know Bike Night draws from a eclectic crowd. We need to raise approximately $20,000. That’s a lot of cha-ching. However we’re hoping, as I mentioned, we could get upwards to 4 sponsors. Our major sponsor would get naming rights to the cruiser ride and the ubiquitous banners etc. This level would be in the neighborhood of $7,000-$10,000. The other levels would be $6,999 and less.

Bicycle Longmont and the Holiday Bike Program are the benefactors of the Ride. Bicycle Longmont is a 501-C3 and the Holiday Bike Program is Bicycle Longmont’s hallmark program. We estimate over 8,000 bikes have been given to area kids since 1988. In 2010, we gave away approximately 440 bikes and took in nearly 600 donated bikes. Those we didn’t give away to area children were brought to Community Cycles in Fort Collins and other non-profits.

If you have leads or are intouch with companies willing to donate money please have them email me at rjkragerud@gmail.com.

Thanks for your kind consideration.

Ryan

Happy New Year!

I hope you got your new year off to a good start, lastnight.

Here's to the best year yet, and I'm hoping to see you on the highways, byways, bike lanes, greenways, and trails. Enjoy the new year by seeing it on your Bike.

Take Care,

Ryan

Holiday Light Parade = Longmont, CO 12/11/2010

Hey All,

We're doing the Holiday Lights Parade tomorrow night. We'll be meeting at 4pm at Bross and Longs Peak in Old Town Longmont. The Parade will begin at 5pm followed by Fireworks. You can get more details at www.dolo.org or ci.longmont.co.us.

Also, we're decorating the Bicycle Longmont trailer at my place beginning at 1pm tomorrow afternoon. My address is 615 Lincoln Street, Longmont We need extra lights so if you have some you'd like to donate we'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
Ryan

Halloween Ride - 2010

Sorry, for the late notice, but, next week is Halloween! So, we're setting up a Halloween RIde starting at 4pm at Roosevelt Park on Saturday October 30th. This will be a costumed ride, and will meander through Old Town and down to the Lefthand Brewery. We'll hang out there for a little while and meander back down town.

Bring your kids. We'll do a short ride at the beginning similar to the "kids" ride held earlier this summer. The kids ride will go from Roosevelt Park to Thompson and back to Roosevelt Park. Then we'll depart Roosevelt again destined for the Lefthand. The ride to Lefthand isn't suitable for super young riders. Just a little warning there!

Should be fun! Decorate your bike, too.

OH! Bring candy.

Ryan

Say Cheese - for a good cause!

The City of Longmont would like cyclists to show up at 4pm today at the intersection of Martin Street and the St. Vrain Greenway near Best Buy/DSW/Carls Jr etc. For a photo shoot. The photos will be used in the 2011 Bicycle Route map. Join US!

$60 raised for the Bicycle Longmont Holiday Bike Program

Lastweek was the last Bike NIght. For the fourth time in as many years the after-ride party was held at Abondanza's downtown. We had a great turnout despite the rain. There were close to 30 something, 30 somethings there. Bob Goff, owner of downtown's best pizzeria, donated $60 to the Bicycle Longmont Holiday Bike Program. You can learn more about that program by going to Bicycle Longmont's hompage.

Our biggest supporter has been Pete at Acme Bikes. Pete's been there since the begining - 8 years ago. Pete knows his bikes and once again stepped up with the schwag. Lots of people left the after-ride with some new things, and a few left saying to themselves "Rats. Next year, I'll get me some of that free stuff!" So if there is anything you need I encourage you to check it out with Pete first. Acme is located behind Aunt Alice's Kitchen, near Natural Grocers, BY Vitamin Cottage. (You have the vision of that freaky chica from the commercial, don't you, It's OK).

Eventhough the weekly rides ended there are a couple of rides to look forward to. We will again dawn our costumes and have a Bike Night ride the afternoon of October 30th. This is the same day as the Longmont Halloween Parade. We will meet at 4pm that Saturday at Roosevelt Park. Bring candy and we'll see who we can pelt along the way.

Should be a lot fun. BIke Night will also be representing all that is good and right in the world during the Holiday Parade, too. More to come on that in the medium distant future.

For now, Bike Night may have ended but that doesn't mean you should hang that cruiser on the wall. Keep riding, and remember!

Ride Wednesdays!

Sincerely,
Your friendly neighborhood cruiser coordinator!

See you in a few weeks.

Ryan

Last Bike Night - Tomorrow 9/8/2010

Tomorrow night will be the last Bike Night for the 2010 season. We'll be back next year for another great season of cruising Longmont. This year has been an outstanding year. Lots of new people tried Bike Night, many folks returned after a few years hiatus and then there are the regulars riding every week rain or shine. Together you all made Bike Night's 8th season the best yet!

Tomorrow night we'll have schwag! Acme Bikes stepped up for another great 8th season. Acme has been there from the start and continues their support! Acme donated several t-shirts, a ringer, and what I'm sure will become highly sought after merchandise - a frog and alligator squeakers! If you like Kelly's parrot or Jennifer's sumo wrestler (or Rastler for you Iowans) you'll love these squeakers.

Perky's donated 5 gift certificates for free lattes. Mmmmm caffeinated (or not) goodness.... Visit Perky's when you have a chance and give Neil some love. I learned tonight they make most of their pastries on site along with their organic Ice Cream.... yum.

STATISTICS
This year we set a record for the most people ever on a Bike Night ride. The highest turn out was 110 people in early June. The average number of riders dropped from a whopping 73 in June to a record 55 through the season. Still those are some excellent numbers.

RIDE Details:
We will meet at 6:30 as usual at Roosevelt Park then ride through Old Town in our Hawaiian shirts, up to Sunset Hill then back to Abondanza's for pizza and beverages. We will hold a raffle for the schwag, then.

Please pass the word and let all your friends know about the last ride.

Ryan

70's & 80's and the Greenway

Happy Tuesday!

I hope everyone had a great day. Tomorrow night is Bike Night! We'll be riding from Roosevelt Park to Rogers Grove. There will be a stop at Lefthand Brewery on the way back to Old Town. We won't make it all the way out to Golden Ponds this time. Maybe next year, Right?

Anyway the theme for tomorrow night is 70's & 80's. So grab your favorite polo and big handled comb and come ride with us!

Next week, September 8th will be the final Bike Night of 2010 season! Tell your friends and neighbors. Lets try and boost the ride to over 100 again.

See you all tomorrow.

Ryan

Bike Night Article: Longmont Ledger

The Longmont Ledger wrote a great article on Bike NIght. Look for it in the Ledger available on Sunday in either the Post or Daily Camera, and on stands around town. I know there is a stand at 5th & Main. The Ledger is a free publication. Check it out. The article can also be found by following this link:

Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Wednesday

Trippin' Old Town this week!

Hey All,

Thanks and a big SAH-lute to those who made the trek to Oskar Blues Brewery/Tastey Weasel. We had a great time and about 39 people made the ride a blast! If you're tracking your miles and you made it the whole way our route was approximately 13 miles. So give yourself a pat on the back!

This week we'll be bringing it back to Old Town. The theme this week is Plaid. Any show-tune types might want to do "Forever Plaid". Anyway We're bringing the plaid to Old Town.

Come out and join us. There are only two more rides after Wednesday. (That's 3 total including Wednesday). Next week we'll venture to the Lefthand one last time and then wrap things up the following Wednesday with a feast of Pizza somewhere. If you know cool employers looking to give away schwag - let me know. We have two less bike shops so I'm expecting things to be slimmer this year.

So, see you Wednesday at 6:30pm, @ Roosevelt and we'll Ride.

rjk

Saturday Night Dinner Cruise - August 21st

I've mentioned this a few times at our regular Bike Night rides and tomorrow night is the big dinner cruise. This might be a good time to get a babysitter, detach the trailer and go for a ride. Here' s the schedule.


Meet at Roosevelt around 4pm on Saturday August 21st. Ride to the Lefthand Brewery for a happy hour then set sail for the Rib House in Prospect.

We'll leave Lefthand about 5:30pm and ride to The Rib House. We should be there by 6pm.

Following the Rib House we'll find dessert somewhere along the way back to Old Town/Downtown Longmont.

RSVP via "like" on the Facebook page or leave a comment here.

Thanks!
Ryan

Some Like it HOT

Tonight, it's gonna be HOT, and not entirely in a good way!

Bring water for yourself. If you're bringing your kiddo bring water and a snack for them. Oskar Blues Brewery at Pike & Sunset does not sell food or kid friendly beverages, except Root Beer - which is pretty good.

Anyway.

Tonight's ride will be longer almost 10 miles, think hard about whether or not your wee-one can put down 10 miles at 94 degrees. If not, you can look forward to next week! We'll be in Old Town doing our regular ride.

PS No 7pm wave tonight.

Take Care - bring water.
Ryan

Tastey Weasel - Wednesday (tomorrow)

Tomorrow we'll ride to the Tastey Weasel on Pike Road and Sunset Street. This will be a longer ride - lights would be a good idea. This may not be a good ride for young kids.

Riding to the Tastey Weasel will require riding on several busy streets. Our route will take us from Roosevelt Park to the St. Vrain Greenway via 6th Avenue and Martin Street, south to the Greenway. We'll connect to Lefthand Greenway and take that all the way to Sunset Street through Kanemoto Park and Creekside Park.


Our return route will bring us through Southmoor Park to Bowen Street and back to the St. Vrain Greenway.

We had a great turn out lastweek. Thanks for making the kids ride a success.

Finally, I hope all the kids who participated in Bike Night this summer have a safe trip to school tomorrow! Be safe!