Thursday, October 27, 2016

HALLOWEEN RIDE: Saturday, October 29 4:45p Clay Park *Now with pizza!*

** UPDATE: ** Conte's Bike Shop, a new addition to this awesome neighborhood, thinks we're so awesome, they're throwing us a pizza party at the end of the ride!  If you could respond to the facebook event so we know #s, that'd be great but not necessary! https://goo.gl/8EZVEM

It's that time of year again: time to put on your costume, light up your bike, and prepare to eat copious amounts of candy! Kidical Mass Arlington loves Halloween and this year we're partnering up with the BikeArlington/WABA PAL program for a little Bike-or-Treat fun!

Slightly different than in years past, we'll meet at Clay Park in Lyon Park, where families can come early to ENJOY THE BEAUTIFUL WEATHER. Then we will bike off through the Virginia Square and Ashton Heights neighborhoods! We'll see some of the spookiest decorated houses in Arlington, and bike-or-treat by the PAL Ambassadors (who will give us candy). Then we'll continue through the spooky parts of Ashton Heights and Lyon Park, including past (maybe through) a cemetery and past more fun decorations. [*Edit to add:*] Finally, we'll roll to Conte's Bike Shop on Wilson Boulevard, where we've been invited over for a pizza party! Arlington's newest bike shop has invited us in to enjoy some pizza and drinks, and of course to visit their great shop! Thanks, Conte's, we can't wait!

When: Saturday, October 29, 2016
Meet: 4:45pm - Clay Park - North Highland Street and 7th Street North (roll out 5:00pm)
Parking: Neighborhood streets
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17382004

The ride back to Clay Park from Conte's is very easy: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17384347

The route is 3 miles and fairly flat.  We will be riding during dusk and it will be dark by the time you're riding home: be sure you're adequately lit and reflective!


Monday, September 26, 2016

Next ride: Arlington Fun Ride Family Ride - 10/1 10am


Kidical Massive was massively awesome -- thanks to all who came out.

For our next ride, Kidical Mass Arlington teams up with the Arlington Fun Ride on this Saturday, October 1, for a super-extra special Family Ride.

When: Saturday, October 1
Meet: 10:00am - Crystal City - 18th Street and Crystal Drive
Parking: All over Crystal City (garages and on-street)
Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3379060

Yes, this is our fourth year teaming up with the Fun 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.  After a jaunt over the Connector Road, through the Pentagon Parking Lot tunnel, we'll ride beside Pentagon City Mall.  After riding through Aurora Highlands, we'll join the festivities in Crystal City celebrating the Arlington Fun Ride and Phoenix Bikes. And, just like last year, we'll have a police escort! Amazing!

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


Interested in a double, but maybe not a full Arlington loop + kidical ride? This year, if you preregister, you can start at any of the Fun Ride's 4 pit stops, and ride from there to Crystal City, which means you can choose to ride 16 miles, 12 miles, 8 miles or 4 miles (or just our 3 miles Kidical Mass ride).

Hope to see y'all there!

Monday, September 12, 2016

Kidical Massive 2016! Saturday 9/17, 10:30am, LBJ Grove to Hains Point


Happy September! The heat has broken, the weather is lovely, and it's time for Kidical Massive! Like last year, Kidical rides around the world are riding together in spirit on Saturday 9/17, and Kidical Mass Arlington will join in the fun by again riding into DC. And eating pizza!
Image result for pizza

We'll meet at LBJ Grove, as we've done before, but we're going to get creative and ride around Hains Point - a first for Kidical Mass Arlington. We'll stop at the playground (where there are also water and restrooms) and eat pizza.

Image result for hains pointFolks are welcome to meet us at the Hains Point playground to eat pizza and talk family bikes. We aim to arrive there around 11:15am, but it could be later.


To help with pizza ordering, PLEASE RSVP on the Facebook event or comment below (RSVP yes even if you're coming straight to HP). We'll order extra, so last-minute adds are welcome, but if you know you're coming or are a maybe, please let us know.


When: Saturday, September 17, 2016, 10:30am (roll out 10:45am)

Meet & End : Columbia Island Marina parking lot (on the river side of the water)

Parking: Either in the Columbia Island Marina / LBJ Memorial parking lot, accessible from the southbound GW Parkway OR in the LBJ Grove Parking lot accessible from Boundary Channel Drive on the Pentagon Reservation.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/16480008


All are welcome. Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

ACPD to AWC

Arlington is one of the most engaged communities in the country, and this month, Kidical Mass Arlington will enjoy that community engagement at two events! We'll meet at ACPD's Block Party at Kenmore Middle School, and ride to the Arlington Women's Club's bike rodeo in Barcroft.


The route is on the shorter side, a few hills. The route is mostly on residential streets, with one stretch on the Route 50 trail (not Route 50, but the path beside it). Families are encouraged to come early to enjoy ACPD's block party and stay to enjoy AWC's bike rodeo after our ride.

The route back from AWC to Kenmore is about 1.5 miles, using much of the route.

When: Saturday, August 27, 2016, 10:00am









Meet: ACPD Block Party @ Kenmore Middle School;  
S Carlin Springs Road & Rte 50.

Parking: At the school.

End:  Arlington Women's Club; S Buchannon St &7th St S

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/16101199

All are welcome. Hope to see you there!

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Kidical Mass Arlington Junior Park Ranger Ride: Sunday, July 24 9:30am

This month, Kidical Mass Arlington will Find Its Park and our riders will become Junior Park Rangers!!!


The National Park Service has a little birthday coming up, and to help them celebrate, we're going to ride around Arlington's own national park: the GW Memorial Park. This route hits the close-in highlights of the park that is lovingly called George Washington Memorial Parkway: We'll start at the Marine Corps War Memorial ("Iwo Jima"), then bike to the Netherlands Carillon. We'll then take trails to the Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Grove, and then ride on the Mt Vernon Trail back to Theodore Roosevelt Island. In a little twist to the normal Kidical Mass Arlington ride, we will stop at all of the parks!

And there's more! BikeArlington and NPS Park Rangers have organized some activities for us -- we'll do a few activities at each park. At the end of the ride, all of the riders will have earned Junior Park Ranger credentials for the GW Parkway. Yay!


The route is on the longer side and hillier side for one of our rides, but there will be stops. The route is all on trail, though there are some places where we'll cross streets in crosswalks - we'll be careful there. We can expect the Mt Vernon Trail to be used by others, and we will be respectful to others, staying to the right and allowing others to pass. Kids on their own bikes must be able to follow directions well. Expect the whole ride to last 60-90 minutes. Bring snacks and water to last to the end.

After the ride, families may wish to spend more time on TR Island. The route back from TR Island to Iwo Jima is a little less than a mile, and involves a short, steep hill. Through Rosslyn, families may be more comfortable biking on the sidewalk, though the roads are medium stress.

When: Sunday, July 24, 2016 9:30am (activities start at 9:30am!)

Meet: US Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima) N Meade St & Arlington Blvd; Arlington

Parking: On the surrounding residential streets.

End: Theodore Roosevelt Island

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14922725

All are welcome. Hope to see you there!

Friday, June 17, 2016

Kidically Summer! Sunday, June 26 4:30pm Hayes Park

Summer in Arlington: School's out (finally), it's hot (finally), and all you want to do is get wet and eat ice cream!

Image result for summer ice cream bikes
Kidical Mass is here to help. We're going to revive a ride we did last year, with a slightly tweaked route, because it was just that much fun: We're going to start this ride at Hayes Park -- come early and enjoy the SPRAYGROUND (water starts at noon on Sundays). We'll roll out around 4:45pm and meander through the neighborhoods of Virginia Square, Ashton Heights and Clarendon, ending at the Larry's Homemade Ice Cream, which has moved and combined with Spice.



The route is on the short side, and much as flat as they come in Arlington. All crossings of major streets are at stop lights. This route is great for beginners. The route back from Clarendon to the park is short and well signed, but involves one hill that's on the steep-side. Last year, some families sent one rider back to the park, who then came and picked up the rest of the family in Clarendon.

When: Sunday, June 26 2016 4:30pm (roll out 4:45pm - come early to play!)

Meet: Hayes Park - North Lincoln Street between 14th Street North and I-66, Arlington

Parking: On the surrounding residential streets.

End: Larry's Homemade, (now co-located with Spice) Wilson Blvd and North Garfield Street

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14488250

All are welcome. Hope to see you there!



Monday, May 23, 2016

Here comes the sun! May 2016 ride

Rain, rain, go away, come again... once a week or so, but mostly at night to keep our gardens happy.

That's right, we have LESS THAN A 50% CHANCE of rain Saturday morning (hey, we take what we can get). This month's Kidical Mass Arlington ride will take advantage of the warmer temps and (hopefully) the break in the moisture to explore the wilds of the Barcroft neighborhood.

When: Saturday, May 28, 2016. Meet at 10:00am (we'll play at the playground for a few minutes, aim to roll out a little after 10:15am)
Meet: Arlington Hall West Park playground.
End: That shopping center with the Outback at N Park St and 1st St N.

Parking is easy at the park and on the neighborhood streets. The ride back from shopping center to the park is an easy 1/2(ish) mile. All are welcome.

The Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13922983.


We'll meet at the Park's playground (south of the parking lot -- note NO bathrooms or water there). Then we'll meander through the new-to-Kidical-Mass neighborhood of Barcroft, past the Elementary School, then visit a little familiar ground in Arlington Forest. We'll end at the shopping center at N Park St and 1st St N (with the Outback you can see from Rte 50). Some of us will stay for an early lunch at one of the restaurants in the shopping center (choices are Outback, Crystal Thai, Brick's Pizza) -- if anyone wants to reach out to one of those to ask for a discount, comment below (or on Facebook or email, etc).

The ride should be moderate for Kidical Mass -- a bit over 3 miles with some hills (none steep). The route has a lot of zig zags and loops, leaving open the possibility of a shorter, gentler route for slower riders. If you would like to lead that, comment below (or on Facebook or email, etc).

Monday, April 18, 2016

Sugar, spice and everything nice: April 2016 ride

It's SPRING!  Time to enjoy the mild weather and the sweet life in Arlington.
Sugar Shack Donuts
When: Sunday, April 24. Meet at 4:30pm
Meet: Walter Reed Community Center,
End: Sugar Shack, 1014 S Glebe Rd, 22204

Parking is easy at the community center. The ride back from Sugar Shack to the community center is an easy 1/2 mile. All are welcome.

The Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13191873 .


We'll meet at the playground at the community center (where there are restrooms and water). Then we'll ride around some new-to-Kidical-Mass streets in Arlington's lovely Columbia Heights, then visit some familiar ground in Penrose, Arlington Heights and Douglas Park. We'll end at Sugar Shack on Glebe. Some of us may head over to one of the restaurants on the Pike to complete the backwards dinner.


The ride should be on the easy side -- 3 miles, no steep hills.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

KIDICAL MASS ARLINGTON 2016 {draft} SCHEDULE

Let's get out our calendars and plan some rides!



How does 4th weekend of the month sound to everyone? We could keep the tradition of switch up between Saturday and Sunday, and the schedule could look something like this:


Sunday, April 24
Saturday, May 28
Sunday, June 26
Saturday, July 23
Sunday, August 26
Saturday, September 17: KIDICAL MASSIVE
Sunday, October 23



Programming! We welcome on thoughts/suggestions/requests for rides. Any areas of Arlington we should ride through? Favorite ice cream spots to try? Particular events we should ride to?  Other ideas?

 Post any thoughts/concerns/suggestions for the dates, ride themes, locations, etc in the comments below!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

My First KidicalMass Ride

Image result for my firstIt's SPRING.  Let's shake off winter, and roll out. This month's ride is particularly slow, flat and short -- perfect for first timers (including first time kids on their own bikes!). We'll roll around Lyon Park and Ashton Heights, and end at a beer garden! All are welcome.  

When: Saturday, March 12.  Meet at 5pm
Meet: Henry Clay Park, 3011 7th St N
End: Sehkraft, 925 Garfield St N

Parking is easy on neighborhood streets around the park.

The Route:  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/12529292.  This ride is designed for kids to ride on their own bikes, though of course all are welcome.  After leaving Clay Park, we will go for a short ride through Ashton Heights and then end at Sehcraft to celebrate the return of warm weather riding.