Tomorrow night - Elvis!

We will ride Old Town tomorrow night - no confusing greenway adventures, just good ole Old Town. We'll meet at 6:30 and roll around 6:40. We're winding down the biggest Bike Night Season, ever! Thanks.

Remember to get your Elvis on!

rjk

Wednesday - Jersey Night - St. Vrain Greenway & Lefthand Brewing

Hey all,

So here's the "situation" - Wednesday's theme will be "Jersey Night" no, not THAT Jersey rather, we will honor the USA Pro Cycling Challenge by wearing your favorite jersey.

What, you don't have a bike jersey? No worries wear your favorite sports team jersey -Bronco's, Rockies, Minnesota Vikings, Blue Sky Velo, Nuggets, North Stars, Lefhand, Oskar Blues etc. Or if you don't have a single jersey take a white t-shirt and make one.

Our route will be Roosevelt leaving between 6:30 & 6:40, going almost directly to the Greenway out to Golden Ponds and back along the St. Vrain Greenway. Most likely there will be a contingency of folks stopping at Lefthand either on the way out or on the way back from Golden Ponds.

Next week (August 31st) the theme will be "Elvis".

Followed on September 7th with Margaritaville possibly with an after ride at Santiago's on Main Street.

September 14th will be the "Last" Bike Night for the season. There will be an after party for sure, somewhere....

Put those dates in your calendar and we'll see you Wednesday.

Bike Night Kids NIght: Late Breaking News

There are a lot of things going on tomorrow night. First I understand many schools have their "Back to School" nights tomorrow and Art In Public Places has their bike rack dedication at Sunset Pool, plus we're having Kids Night at Bike Night.

NORMALLY, this would be the run down for tomorrow night:

5:30 - 6:30 Kids Bike Night: Game Night @ Lincoln School located at Bowen Street & Lincoln School

6:45 Bike Rack Dedication ride begining at Roosevelt Park.

7pm - regular start

to Bike Night (tomorrow night is the 3rd Wednesday and that means late start)

So here's what we're going to do: We want to support Art in Public Places and those who need to start Bike Night Later.

If you'd like to ride to the

bike rack dedication meet at Roosevelt Park prior to 6:45. There will be someone there to lead the group to Sunset Pool. Following the dedication there will be a fun cruise around Old Town. (If you'd like to be the person leading the dedication ride send me a message on Facebook or comment here).

The kids will meet at 5:30pm and do their Game Night between 5:30 & 6:30, followed by a mini- cruise. The mini-cruise will go from Lincoln School to Roosevelt Park via 6th Avenue to Bross Street south to 5th Avenue by Thompson Park then over to Roosevelt Park via Pratt Street.

We will then circle Roosevelt Park to 8th Avenue, Bross Street, 6th Avenue and back to Lincoln School. During that time we will most likely meet the "Dedication Group". Feel free to jump into that group and continue your ride through Old Town.

There will be a break between the games ending ant the Kid's Cruiser Ride beginning. At that time if you'd like bail and go to the dedication, feel free to do so. The Dedication Riders should be passing about the time we finish with the game portion of the night. The dedication will be a lot of fun and I hear there maybe snacks.

Make sense?

So, Short update:

Kids = 5:30, Lincoln School

Dedication Ride to Sunset Pool= 6:45, Roosevelt Park

Kids Cruiser Ride = Following the game night at Lincoln School, Longs Peak & Bowen Street.

Thank You, for a successful "Thankful RIde".

Lastnight nearly 100 riders joined us in our first ever "Thankful Ride". I'll send a note to 3M letting them know we've rebranded their blue 2inch painter tape "Thankful Tape".

Thanks for making that ride so great.

Next week will be the first ever Bike Night Game Night. Currently we're planning this to be in the parking lot at Lincoln School. Thursday is the start of the 2011/12 school year so we're begining the kids Game Night at 5:30pm. The Cruiser ride will start at 7pm at the usual place - Roosevelt Park at 7pm. We'll do a kids cruiser ride from Lincoln to Roosevelt and back to Lincoln.

Art In Public Places will dedicate a new bike rack at Sunset Pool that night, too. We'll ride from Roosevelt directly to Lincoln then, Sunset Pool. I suggest if your little one isn't good with hills, ascending or descending, you have him or her on a tag-a-long or trailer during the cruiser ride to/from Sunset Pool.

I'll post the games in a few days. All I can say is they will be fun.

Thanks for a great Bike Night. Don't forget to put your tape on your bike or car window.

rjk

Bike Night Wednesday - "Thankful Ride"

Saturday we had between 35 & 40 people join us on our first cruise to Niwot. We began & ended in Prospect. Our route took us down Plateau Road through the Water Song Neighborhood and southwest on the LoBo trail.

We grabbed a bite and a brew at the Niwot Tavern and then cruised "downtown" Niwot. It was a lot of fun.

We're thinking about doing this again on another Saturday in September. Stars, maybe?

Wednesday is fast approaching, the theme this week will be "The Thankful Ride". This is in direct response to the tragic events that occurred in NE Longmont over the weekend.

On Saturday or Sunday a 38 yr old father killed himself after killing his 3 yr old daughter. Initial reports stated he had been divorced and in financial trouble. Evidently he found killing himself and his 3 yr old was the only way out.

Reading this story made me think about all the things I was thankful for, and, while we all struggle from time to time, suicide is never the answer. That night I posted to facebook my feelings on this subject. Following that post I walked into my daughter's room and hugged her and told her I was so thankful for her and that I loved her.

Holding her I came up with this week's theme. I know it's not super goofy, or kitchy. No, Instead of wild costumes and craziness, I'm going to bring with me a roll of masking tape and a few sharpies. I invite you to attend the ride and write what you're most thankful for on the tape then display it somewhere on yourself your bike etc. After the ride maybe it will find its way to your rear car window or bumper. Who knows.

I just think with all the tragedy around us and with this global financial mess we're all in maybe we should take one night, one Bike Night, and just proclaim for ourselves what matters most.

I'm Thankful for my daughter, my wife, and even our crazy-ass dog.

Following our Thankful Ride here's something to look forward to!

The first ever - Longmont Bike Night - GAME NIGHT!

August 17th will be a really fun end to a great summer. The 18th, the kids must report to school. Parents will sigh with relief, I on the other hand will be filled with tears as Anna begins her Kindergarten year..... Yeah Class of 2024! Yikes ah hootay.

Anyway, because the 17th is a school night. - we will begin with the kid games early, at 5:30pm. I'm hoping to use the parking lot at Lincoln School on the corner of Lincoln Street and Longs Peak Avenue. If you'd like to drive there is ample parking on 6th Avenue and Lincoln Street. Please don't park in the parking lot.

We will have lots of fun games to play on our bikes. And, we may have prizes.

Also that night the Art In Public Places program will dedicate a new artful bike rack at Sunset Pool. We will ride over to Roosevelt at 7pm to pick up any stragglers and then to Sunset Pool for the dedication.

Following the dedication we will go on a cruise around old town.

5:30p to 6:30p - Bike Night Game Night for the kids

6:30p - 7p - break for a snack and dinner on your own

7p ride from Lincoln to Roosevelt to get folks starting at 7pm (it's the third Wednesday of the month - late start night).

7:05ish - Ride to Sunset Pool for the dedication.

7:30ish - Continue the cruise.

8:00 wrap up near 5th & Kimbark.

So I hope you can join us for both rides - tomorrow and next week.

Prospect to Niwot Cruiser Ride tomorrow evening - 6pm

Tomorrow night we will cruise from Prospect to Niwot. Our destination will be the Niwot Tavern. Bicycle Longmont will set up ahead of our ride and we will have a cooler of water with snacks waiting for us. If you'd like something else the Niwot Tavern is at your disposal.

The return trip will take us through Historic Downtown Niwot and back to the LoBo Trail. From there we will make our way back to Prospect. Help us save money by following this link to download and print your own route map.

See you tomorrow night.

Wendesday, August 3rd is Wacky Wednesday!!

Our theme this week is delightfully ambiguous - Wacky Wednesday!

Get wacktacular this week and join us! We'll meet at the usual time - 6:30pm and start rolling about 6:40p. We'll keep it in Old Town and probably mix it up a little bit.

There will be a gift certificate for a free massage up for grabs, too.

Last week we shot back over 100 riders with 136 people joining us on Wild West Wednesday. We rolled down to the greenway in time for an incredible burst of thunder - lightening and rain. Lots of rain.

Apologies to anyone who may have gotten turned around or generally lost. We'll do better the next time we venture down that way.

Here's to the Wacky.

rjk

Saturday July 30th - ColoRODan - Cruise In - Bike Night will be there

Hey there,

I forgot to mention on Wednesday about a couple of cool Saturday rides.

The first is tomorrow night at 7pm. We'll take to the Street under the steady guidance of Randy Burgess. We'll cruise Main Street with over 400 custom hot rods. We will meet at Roosevelt Park in front of the Senior Center, 910 Longs Peak Avenue, same place Bike Night meets.

Longmont's own custom & antique car club "the ColoRODans" will hold their "cruise in". We're going to join them - unofficially. We have plenty of custom and antique looking bikes out there so bring yours or whatever you ride. We'd like to put the custom bikes up front and on the back end of the cruise.

If you've ever wanted to cruise Main Street this is gonna be the time.

Next Weekend August 6th - Will be another chance to cruise. This time between Prospect & Niwot. Race Across AMerica (RAAM) is hold their first Race Across America Challenge in Longmont. There will be races leaving on Friday night August 5th from Prospect and will return on Saturday August 6th. This new Challenge series will be the next "Rock N Roll" style series for cycling. If you are into running then you might be familiar with the Rock N Roll Marathon series.

RAAM has partnered with Bicycle Longmont to do the Cruiser Ride between Prospect and Niwot. This ride will be a lot of fun. We're hoping the families of the RAAM event will join us and as awesome Longmont cycling enthusiasts we'll show them a good time.

The Cruiser Ride is free and will begin at 6pm in Prospect. We'll leave from Prospect Park near Tenacity and 100 Year Party. Our Route will take us through Prospect and adjacent neighborhoods to the new LOBO trail. Expect a 10.5 mile round trip cruise. Lights would be a good idea.

Have a great weekend!

rjk

YEEEHAW! Wild West Wednesday & Your Weekly Run Down!

HAAh-dee!

This week is Wild West Wednesday! Come in yer best duds, chaps, boots & hats, life is good. It's also the kick off to the Boulder County Fair this week. So - I guess - Wild West Wednesday is appropriate. I couldn't have planned it better if I tried.

Last week we dipped under 100 riders for the first time since May 25th. Depending on how you count it that was either the first or the second Bike Night of the 2011 Season. We had 96 people join us last week. Lets see if we can bump it back up over 100.

We will make our way to the greenway for the first time this season. Usually by now we would have been there several times. However, with the worlds longest run off ending and the heavy rains giving way to the Dog Days of August, the Mighty St. Vrain is finally within its banks.

Wednesday we'll meet at 6:30pm at the Senior Center make our way to Bowen Street then south to the St. Vrain Greenway. We'll head west to Golden Ponds Park and then back east to Martin Street and into Old Town ending somewhere on Kimbark Street.

We will pass by the Lefthand Brewery so I'm sure there will be a contingent of Bike Nighters stopping off there. For the rest of us we'll continue on to Martin Street. This will be a fairly easy out and back ride.

So - This week is crazy busy in Longmont here's your weekly run-down.

The LAST Concert at Roosevelt Park for the season .
Tuesday, July 26 6:30 -8pm, Roosevelt Park
Rebecca Folsom Band – I’ve been looking forward to this Concert all summer. Hope for hot temps and lots of wind to keep the Mosquitoes at bay.

Wednesday July 27th – BIKE NIGHT – Theme – Wild West
Howdy Partners & Mams, we’re heading to the greenway for the first time this season. Git yer giddy-up and come on along. We’ll go west to Golden Ponds then east to Martin Street. The Lefthand Brewery will be on the way so feel free to stop in. If the Lefthand isn’t your thing then stay on the greenway to Martin Street. We’ll get you back to Old Town without having to climb those annoying hills.

Also on July 27, 7pm – 8pm at the Longmont Museum
Southern Exposure will be playing. They are a talented Bluegrass band.

There is also a Farmer's Market at Lefthand on Wednesday, too!

Thursday
July 28, 10:30 – 11:15am – Longmont Library
Colin O'Brien - Bluegrass Banjo

Kick off to the ColoRODan Weekend
Friday:
July 29, 5:30 – 8:30,
Car Show on Kimbark 5pm to 8:30pm
Bicycle Longmont Bike Valet Service. 6pm – 8:30pm.
Music 7pm – 8:30pm, 4th Avenue Downtown
Flash Cadillac (Classic Rock)

Saturday
July 30th
Boulder County Fair Parade & Chuckwagon Breakfast
Breakfast starts at 6am ends at 10am.

After your hearty breakfast head on down to the Farmer's Market, Bicycle Longmont will be there providing free Bicycle Valet (parking) service between 8am & 2pm. (We'll give you an extra 50% off if you bring extra bacon and/or sausage).

Parade
ColoRODan Main Street Cruise-in 6pm – 11pm.
Bicycle Longmont/Bike Night cruise starting at 7pm. Meet at Roosevelt Park near the Senior Center

Sunday
July 31st
ColoRODan Car Show and music at Roosevelt Park, Food Trucks etc.

Then we’re back to Monday……

In addition to all of these events there are a multitude of organized Bicycle Longmont Events on our Meetup page. You can check it out at meetup.com/bicycle-longmont.

Bike Night Recap - 7/20/2011 - 7pm Start

Allrighty, I've taken my eyes off the wicked awesome lightning show to recap a few details for tomorrow night. First we start at 7pm. Second, the theme is Mardi Gras, I'm not sure what I'm going to do either... you're not alone. Thirdly - come early. If you've been to the Farmers Market then you've seen the work of GIna the Face Painter - she will be at Bike Night tomorrow painting faces. Bring a five or ten dollar bill and tip her well. Mainly because she's very good at what she does, and mostly because she's awesome.

Lastly - Oskar Blues gave us a bunch of Can Bling. If you don't know what Can bling is then, by all means grab a friend and come on over. There will be a prize for the person who has the most beads/can's at the end.

See you tomorrow night! Face Painter arrives at 6pm.

Ryan

Wednesday - Bike Night - 7pm Start - Mardi Gras theme

Happy Sunday,

Last week we had between 130 and 135 people out in the rain. If you weren't there you missed out on what I think was one of the funnest if not the funnest, Bike Night ever. It dumped atleast an inch to two of warm summer rain while we celebrated Christmas in July. The ride was capped off with hail. White Christmas - YES!

This week we will meet at Roosevelt Park at 7pm. The theme is Mardi Gras, bring your best costume and we'll supply the bling. Oskar Blues has donated a lot of "can bling" look for a photo in the coming days. Also - there will be a face painter at Roosevelt at 6pm. Come early and get your face painted or, your child's or any combination thereof.



Also - Keep the weekend of July 29th free - specifically Satuday July 30th. We're going to take part in the "Coloradon's Cruiser weekend". City Council has or will repeal the "no cruising" ordinance in Longmont for that night. I'm planning a Cruiser ride for that Saturday night. We will meet at 7pm at Roosevelt Park. My theory is that the custom cars and other cruisers will slow traffic on Main so that we may be able to make a few passes.

More to follow.




In addition we found out RAAM - Race Across AMerica - is planning a qualifier race begining and ending in Longmont. They've asked us to do a cruiser ride based in Prospect. We're hoping to partner with the Prospect Peddlers to do this ride. Look for that on August 6th. More info to follow. This ride will be free and will most likely begin and end in Prospect.

Lots going on! See you on Wednesday at 7pm.

Ryan

Rain + Bike Night = Epic Fun

Tonight we had about 130 folks out sloshing through Old Town. Thanks, for making the night EPIC!

Next Week: Mardi Gras!

Ryan

Christmas in July!

Greetings,

Tomorrow night is Bike Night and that means Christmas in July! So tonight, dig through the closet and pull out whatever you can find, red/white/green/gold, maybe a little mur, whatever, just knock your socks off.



Last week we had 122 folks join us on the ride. Our weekly average so far this year is about 132 people per ride. Last year at this time we averaged 71 riders. We’re only half way through – so tell a stranger and bring a friend to the ride tomorrow!


See ya
Ryan

Longmont Bike Night tonight! 122 Take to the East Side

Tonight we had a great ride. 122 riders explored the front streets and back alleys of the Historic Eastside Neighborhood. We also had some fun on Atwood Street. You can check it out here:

Next week the group decided the theme should be "Christmas in July". Dig out your Santa Hat! There maybe caroling, too.

Ryan

Hawaiian Shirt Night!

Tonight is Hawaiian Shirt night at Bike Night. It's also the first Wednesday so that means we will have a free massage gift certificate up for grabs. The prize will go to the best outifit including bike decorating.

See you tonight!

6:30 PM, Roosevelt Park, 910 Longs Peak Avenue. We meet in front of the Senior Center in the turnaround area.

Bike Night: Red, White & You!

Greetings,
It must be summer because there's a LOT going on in Old Town this week.

First lets jump ahead to Wednesday. Bike Night will meet at 6:30 at Roosevelt Park in front of the Senior Center - 910 Longs Peak Avenue. This week's theme will be Red, White & Blue, because it's the Fourth of July and all.

We're sticking to the Old Town as most of the Greenway underpasses are under water.

So please join us. Like I've said before - Bring a friend, Tell a stranger, and we'll see you at Bike NIght on Wednesday.

If you're looking for more to do this holiday week here's a run down of things I'm into:

Tuesday - Concerts at Roosevelt Park, Kutandara will play. They are described as fusing ancient African music traditions with Latin, jazz, gospel, classical, and world folk influences.

Wednesday - Bike Night! But you already knew that...

Thursday - Morning Concerts at the Library - 10:15 to 11am. Get your Kilt and the family plaid and enjoy some Celtic Music

Friday Night - Ride your bike to the Downtown 4th Avenue Concert Series. We'll be rockin' the Bike Valet. This weeks band is "The Receders" described as playing Funk -Jazz - R&B. Should be a good time. If not - Lefthand and Oskar Blues Brewing will be there. Which, reminds me of a friend's college band - the bass drum had a message for listeners - "the more you drink, the better we sound". Which reminds me of a saying my Great Grandmother told me - "Everything in moderation, Ryan J."


Sage advice.

Fourth of July don't forget to dust off the picnic basket you got at your wedding and bring the family to Thompson Park for the Longmont Symphony. Nothing like 76 Trombones under the elms.

Have a great week -
Ryan

Fantastic Bike Night

Lastnight we had an amazing turnout for our post Bike to Work Bike NIght. Counts ranged between 144 & 150. Either way a lot of Longmonters went for a ride. We had a special surprise lastnight when the City of Longmont Police Volunteers showed up riding their mountain bikes, plus the Longmont Emergency Unit was back too. It was great having these teams of people helping out.

Thank you.

Like I said we had a great turnout. Next week, should the flood waters subside, we will tour the St. Vrain Greenway and Golden Ponds. So until then - tell a stranger bring a friend to Bike Night next week.

See you at the Farmers Market or Downtown Concert Series.

RJ

Last Minute Theme:

Wear your G'Knight T-Shirt- Woohoo!

Ryan

Bike Night Tonight! 6:30p

Happy Bike To Work Day,

Anna and I are readying ourselves for our big commute downtown Longmont for PANCAKES!

I hope everyone can get out and ride today. Bike Night tonight will meet tonight at 6:30p and get rolling about 6:40. We will stay in Old Town.

See you tonight and enjoy Bike To Work Day!

Ryan

Thank you!

Awesome! I think that word is used far to often for far to many insignificant situations. However, the G'Knight Ride on Saturday night was, truly, awesome. Or, for all of us who remember "Valley Girl" - totally awesome!

From the organizers to the volunteers to the sponsors to all of you, THANK YOU!

More later, I'm a bit exhausted and there's only three days til "Bike Night!".

Thanks for the love.

Ryan