Tuesday Night Community Bike Ride

On the evening of April 5, I participated in the Tuesday Night Community Bike Ride for the first time.

This ride, in one form or another, has been occuring for years. In the past, it has appeared in the local news, receiving both positive and negative press.

I had known about the existence of it for awhile but I had never attended until this week.

First off, it was a blast! Riding in the street with so many riders (I would estimate about 150) was exhilarating. There was also the "saftey in numbers" factor, which made the ride even more enjoyable. I was surprised by the diversity of the group, both of people and bikes. There was a large crew of BMX bikers, a few fixie kids, a bunch of mountain bikes, some calm beach cruisers and plenty of other types. Spanish and English, old and young, loud and quiet all interspersed throughout the beautiful Tucson evening.

Though parts of the route were narrow considering our large numbers, the whole thing was scenic and enjoyable. I have mapped it out based on what I remember below:

View Tuesday Night Bike Ride, 4/5/11 in a larger map

This ride was a fun hybrid between a standard critical mass and an LSA style Family Fun Ride. The pace was mild but we definitely were not following all the traffic laws. We took up lanes, blocked traffic and the BMX riders were all over the place. However, all these aspects of the ride were really fun and interesting, making the ride exhilarating, exciting and fun.

I am glad I went and I am excited to attend another one soon.