HALLOWEEN RIDE! Oct. 27 5:30pm Ballston

That's right, Kidical Mass Arlington keeps rolling on through the Fall!  Thanks to sponsorship from FreshBikes, we're having an AWESOME Halloween ride - with lots of treats.

When: Sunday, Oct. 27, 5:30pm
Meet (and finish): FreshBikes Arlington (3924 Wilson Blvd; Arlington, VA 22203)
(Plenty of parking in the lot).
Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3497262

Treats will abound this Sunday as we bike through Ashton Heights to discover the Halloween tricks of N. Jackson St, the spookiest street in Arlington.  This ride is a bit shorter than normal - only 2 miles - and very, very flat.  We'll be on neighborhood streets the entire way.  It'll be a great ride for beginners - either kids on their own bikes or adults who are new to group rides.  All are welcome!  Costumes are encouraged (just make sure you can bike in them)!

The fun continues once we return to FreshBikes: we'll have candy, juice and hot chocolate (assuming we can figure out some logistics ) for our own little Kidical Mass Arlington Halloween Party.  Come in costume and enjoy some time to mingle with fellow family bikers.

Note: this is an EVENING ride -- you should have lights on your bikes, especially if you're planning to bike home after the festivities.

Special thanks to FreshBikes for the treats!  Happy Halloween!

Next Ride: 10/5 - Arlington Fun Ride!!!

Kidical Mass Arlington teams up with the Arlington Fun Ride for a super-extra special Family Ride


When: Saturday, October 5, 2013  (yes, that's THIS Saturday)
Meet: 10:00am - Crystal City - 18th Street and Crystal Drive
Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3379060

Something new and different: a SATURDAY morning ride.  We'll start in Crystal City, after the intrepid souls doing the full Arlington Fun Ride leave for the (long and hilly) Arlington loop.  After a safety briefing, we'll roll out along the streets of Crystal City, then through the new and amazing Long Bridge Park.  We'll bump over the "developing" pavement of Long Bridge Drive and head into the Pentagon Reservation on Boundary Channel.  Kidical Mass Arlington devotees may recognize our jaunt over the Connector Road, through the Pentagon Parking Lot tunnel, and beside Pentagon City Mall.  After riding through Aurora Highlands, we'll join the festivities in Crystal City celebrating the Arlington Fun Ride and Pheonix Bikes.

Registration for the Fun Ride is encouraged (though not mandatory -- your fee does get you a cool t-shirt and goes to support Pheonix Bikes).

The entire ride is 3.5 miles and flat (only 102 total feet of going up).  It's a perfect ride for anyone new to group riding (with or without kids).

Hope to see y'all there!

BikeSwell: A Bike-umentary about the Development Biking in Arlington

 

Next Thursday (10/10) 7-9pm at the Arlington Drafthouse, BikeArlington is presenting a short documentary about bike advocacy in Arlington, with a panel discussion to follow (you may hear a bit about family biking over the course of the night).  You should come.  :-)

Tickets are free (suggested donation) and are running low.  More info and tickets:  http://bikeswellmovie.eventbrite.com/

__________________________________________

BikeArlington, in partnership with the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee, presents the "bike-umentary" of the year:  BikeSwell - Smart Movement in Arlington, Virginia.  This film features local bike advocacy rock stars and highlights the triumphs and tribulations of making Arlington a premiere bicycle friendly community.  The feature presentation will be followed by a panel discussion so you can learn more from some of the people involved in Arlington's "Smart Movement":

• Chris Eatough (Panel Moderator) - BikeArlington Program Manager
• Jason Berry - Director, Gripped Films
• Mark Blacknell - President of the Board, Washington Area Bicyclist Association
• Gillian Burgess - Founder, KidicalMass Arlington
• Edgar Gil Rico - League Certified Instructor, Hispanic Marketing Specialist
• Jakob Wolf-Barnett - Chair, Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee

Harvest Ride was Awesome

Apologies for the tardiness of the post but,

The Harvest Ride was Awesome!

Thanks to everyone who came out and made it a success. 

This video (shot on the ride) pretty much captures the awesomeness of riding with your kids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVctDyJI6LA

Here we have more pics from the day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/sets/72157635598816973/

Here we have the route: http://www.strava.com/activities/82649083

Huge thanks to Brendan and Pete for recording for posterity.

Harvest Ride: Sunday, September 15, 2013

Playgrounds!  Farmers Markets!  Bicycles!  What better way to celebrate the coming of fall.

When: Sunday, September 15, 2013
Meet: 10:30am - Alcova Heights Park - 8th St South & South Randolph Street
Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3169244

This Sunday we'll explore the leafy neighborhoods of South Arlington, biking past many treasured parks.  The most challenging hill on the route is right at the beginning (2.5% - we'll even have a way to join us at the top), then we'll enjoy mostly flat neighborhood streets.  All crossing of major streets will be at stop lights.  We'll end at the Columbia Pike Farmer's Market (probably around 11:15am), where you can pick up the best of the season from local farmers and artisans. 

After the Farmer's Market, it's an easy ride on the new Columbia Pike Bike Boulevards back to Alcova Park (here's the best route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3319068).  Your family may want to stay a while and enjoy lunch at one of the great restaurants in the area (Bangkok 54, Lost Dog and Maruko Sushi are favorites in our house).

Don't forget bags for the delicious produce, and panniers or some other way to get the goodies home!

Quick update

We had a great little August Surprise ride last weekend.  Small group of great people.  We even had a couple of surprise hills on the course, but everyone got over them beautifully. 

I got my first taste of the Westover Beer Garden's brunch, which is great and very cyclist friendly.  There were tons of bikes parked outside (not just Kidical Mass bikes).  What I did not get was pictures. :-(  So you get to conjure up your best image of our completely wonderful ride with a small group, mostly on trails, with a few hills.  Yep, that's what it was like.

Huge thanks to all who came out.

Planning is underway for the Harvest Ride on Sunday, September 15.  Details are being discussed over on  our facebook page (please join the discussion there), and should be finalized next week.  We will end at the Columbia Pike Farmer's Market!

More Cowbell!

**March 2020 Edit: this route doesn't really work - the part that loops back from 9th Road North to Bon Air Park involves a trail that isn't really rideable. **

Anyone have an itch for a surprise Kidical Mass ride? I do!

This Sunday, August 25. Meet at 10:30am
Bon Air Park, Arlington, VA
Route (including the optional ride to Westover): http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3168281

And thanks to Bike Arlington, we will have more cowbells to give out.

This ride will be especially relaxed: we'll meet at Bon Air Park (at the playground that's off of the Custis trail), ride a 3 mile loop along the W&OD and Bluemont trails, then on neighborhood streets. If people would like, we'll keep going to the Westover Market Beer Garden for brunch.

Bon Air Park can be a little confusing. We'll meet at the playground that's off of the Custis Trail. You can't see it from any street. If you're driving, you can park at the rose garden parking lot off of Lexington Street. The playground and parking lot are marked on this map: https://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid=209482839065420738092.0004e48d7dfc56b1f9b50&msa=0&ll=38.87762,-77.134227&spn=0.005863,0.012435