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

T-Minus......

Hey all,

G'Knight kicks off in less than 48 hours. Can you dig it?

We had an excellent turnout tonight for packet pickup - over 250 folks nabbed their registration bags tonight. Tomorrow we'll be hanging out at Oskar Blues on S. Hover Street 1555 between 11 & 1pm. Drop by and pick up yours, then.

I had a great day nailing down the details for the ride on Saturday. I think you're gonna have a great time. We're really shaping things up and pulling things together. Looks like we'll have a few neighborhood parties going on, and we're going to have a lot of fun and energetic marshals rocking the corners!

Tonight we had our volunteer meeting at Oskar Blues. I am impressed with the number of folks interested in marshaling and generally helping out. If you're interested in volunteering drop in to OB Liquid & Solids tomorrow between 11 & 1p. We'll hook you up.



Lastly - Bike Night on Wednesday rocked. We had nearly or maybe a little over 150 riders. Great turn out. Wednesday was the first night we ventured to the Greenway. We are pleased to report no flooding. If you haven't joined us for Bike Night yet this year or you've taken a few years off, join us next week when we return to 6:30p. Also - July is coming that means theme nights so get your requests in early.

The first will be "Favorite Children's Book" come dressed as your favorite story book character.

See you this weekend and if not then, then definitely on Wednesday.

Happy Fathers Day and to all the mom's congratulations on enduring your dudes.

Ryan

New Promo for Bike NIght

Longmont's Channel 8 has a new TV show they're broadcasting, Around Town. Check out the latest episode here. Josh and the guys at Channel 8 tagged along with Bike NIght a few weeks ago and shot some footage. BIke Night kicks in at 5 minutes, 29 seconds.

Enjoy!

See you tomorrow night at 7pm. If you've got friends who commute home later, let them know. We're starting late to let them catch up with us!

Our route tomorrow will go to the Greenways. I'll check in the afternoon for flooding, if the Mighty St. Vrain runneth over, we will be back in Old Town.

One thing to do with your kids between now and then is make sure they know how to use their brakes. We will tackle the Bowen Hill. Don't worry we'll rock Martin Street back into Old Town. We will pass by the Lefthand. Feel free to stop, I will lead the remaining group back to Old Town.

See you Wednesday.
Ryan

Wednesday - 7pm & Latest on the G'Knight Ride

Don't forget, Bike Night will start at 7pm this Wednesday and we'll be rockin' the St. Vrain Greenway. Should be a lot of fun.

Also - We surpassed the 400 mark on the G'Knight ride with a week to go. Are you registered? If not get in gear.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

See you Wednesday!

Ryan

Bike Night Sets New Firsts

Lastnight was a night of firsts for Bike Night.

Until this week I had never thought anyone would be married on Bike Night. I was honored when Randy Burgess and Libby Taylor asked me to “officiate” their wedding. Randy & Libby were officially married earlier, however their love for eachother, biking and Bike Night lead them to renew their vows publicly.

Congratulations to Libby and Randy - may you ride many miles together!



Last night beat our biggest ride ever. The largest ride prior to lastnight was 110, on the same night one year ago.

Will it be the same next week? I hope so!



Next week the ride will start at 7pm. This is to let those folks who commute home have a chance to get to the ride. Our next 7pm ride will be July 20th. If you have friends or co-workers who can’t make 6:30p let them know we’ll meet at 7pm, start at 7:15, and will be going to the St.Vrain Greenway – unless it’s flooding.

Thanks for a great week, see you next Wednesday at 7pm. I see you on the greenways, at the Farmer’s Market or around town first!



Don’t forget to register for the G’Knight Ride, too! I’m excited that such an amazing event is coming to fruition. Check out www.gknightride.org for more information!

Hasta!
Ryan

Wednesday Bike Night - Theme: Black & White

Happy Sunday!

What a weekend - finally - the first "Warm" almost down right hot weekend. Summertime for sure. Let the DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince play!

Speaking of all things Jazzy & Fresh - Bike NIght will be back on Wednesday. Something special is going to happen this week. So, please, wear black and/or white. It's gonna be cool!

It's been a heck-uva-week. I spent Thursday cruising the streets of Boulder. Riding the Boulder Cruiser ride was a lot of fun and somewhat intimidating. I hadn't ridden with them since we raised money to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

I heard from multiple cruisers they'd heard of Longmont Bike Night and were impressed with the cycling options we had here. Several people were there who were regulars with the Boulder ride and had done our ride, told me they said Longmont's ride reminded them of Boulder's ride in the '90's prior to it's explosive growth.

Boulder now draws nearly 500 riders, regularly. From a ride leader's perspective it was interesting to see how 500 people can move organically through a city like Boulder. It's really something to behold. I encourage you to check it out.

Both are very fun, but in different ways.

The most interesting thing i witnessed was the "Rave in a Box". Something to behold, for sure.

Congrats to the folks who make Boulder's Ride very unique, and very Boulder.

Ryan

Times Call Article - G'Knight Ride, too

G'Morn!

There is a great article in the Times Call. The article covers the excellent turn out last night.

I hope everyone had a good time. I wanted to take a minute and give a shameless plug to the G'Knight Ride.

What are you doing on June 18th? Those of you with fathers in the household, what are you doing for Dad on Fathers Day weekend? Another tie? Grilling on the patio? Nascar?

Might I suggest - Bikes, Live Music and Beer? Trifecta - I think so.

Bicycle Longmont and Oskar Blues present the first annual G'Knight Ride. There will be two routes that will begin and end in Prospect. The first is a short 3 mile loop, ideal for the younger riders, relatively flat, and scenic. The longer route is 10 miles and will loop around South Longmont to the Historic Eastside Neighborhood, Downtown and to the Westside neighborhood, then back to Prospect.

We will have family friendly events between 4pm & 6pm. The first waves of the cruiser ride will depart at 6pm. The bands will hit the stage at 7:30pm and continue until 11p. Oskar Blues will open the beer garden around 6:30pm. Food will be available at Prospect businesses and the Denver/Boulder Gourmet Trucks will be there, too.

How much does it cost? Well, comparable rides require upwards to a $35 for registration. We're not. Our registration is $10 for individuals and $25 for families. The day of the event these prices will increase.

Learn more by going to the G'Knight Ride website. Or you can go directly to Active.com to register.

Have you already registered? Great! Tell a friend!

Proceeds from the G'Knight Ride will go to benefit the programs of Bicycle Longmont.

Ryan

107! Tied 6/2/2010

Well we finished the first Old Town Century, tonight - We had approximately 107 people travel 6.4 miles - that's 642 miles, so we made it to somewhere in IA or Jackson Hole - take your pick.

Point is we had fun! Lots of first timers came out, again, tonight. I hope to see you all back out there again next week.

I want to congratulate Kelly Sanseverino on winning the one hour massage by Ms. Pati Walker, Thanks to Pati for giving BN the gift certificate! Look forward to another in July and August. I forgot to mention Bicycle Longmont members get special pricing, too.

One last thing - we're three weeks from the G'Knight Ride - if you liked our ride tonight imagine doing it with 500 others! You can find more information at the G'Knight Ride website. Registration is $10 or $25 for a family. This event will be a lot of fun for the whole family especially, Dad on Dad's day weekend. I'm just sayin'. If you're thinking about going please register soon. Thanks!

Also, don't forget to pick up your copy of the TImes-Call tomorrow, should be a good story in the paper, too!

Did I mention we had 107ish people? Nice.

Until later,

rjk

Kids Bike Safety Class, Massage, & Coolest Bike

Seems like a random title, right?

Just a quick reminder - Tonight is our Kid's Bike Safety Class. The class will be held at Central Elementary School at 4:30pm. We'll be in the activity field behind Central Elementary. You can access the field off of 5th Avenue. The class will end around 6pm. So bring a camera, your bike, your kid's bike, helmet and a snack. See you this afternoon.

Also tonight the adult with the coolest bike will get a gift certificate for a free massage! So do what you can to decorate/pimp/trick out your ride. The kids will be on the prowl, choosing the coolest ride.

Thanks to Pati Walker for the gift certificate. We will give away a massage certificate once a month!

Take Care - see you in a few!