As May comes to a close, it’s time to look back on all the fun events we had during Bike Month and thank our volunteers and sponsors who made it all possible!
Tour of Carson City
On May 4th the Bike Habitat hosted the Tour of Carson City, a nearly 30 mile ride around the perimeter of the city. The warm and pleasant morning help set the tone for the ride, as organizer Denis Coyne gave his pre-ride talk. After instructions, dozens of riders headed out to enjoy the ride. A rest stop was included this year over by the hospital on the north side of town. Before making the final ride south to the Bike Habitat, riders refilled their bottles with cold water, and treated themselves to ice cream, popsicles, and licorice. I worked the rest stop this year, and had just as much fun talking to all the riders as I would have doing the ride itself! The ride wrapped up at the Bike Habitat where owners Denis and Viola provided a delicious lunch.
Denis Coyne gives his pre-ride talk
Rest Stop volunteers Kristy and Anna
Tour of Carson City Rest Stop
Ice Cream and Popsicles were a big hit at the rest stop
Daly and John came down from Reno to join the ride
More photos from the Tour of Carson City HERE.
Celebrity Ride
The annual Celebrity Ride was on the morning of May 5th. This event has really grown since its inception when only one city supervisor was involved. This year we had the Mayor, the brand new City Manager, members of the Board of Supervisors, the Sheriff, leaders of Parks and Recreation and Open Space, the City Transportation Manager, the Superintendent of the Carson City School District, members of the press, and more! It was a great opportunity to get all the city leaders out together to talk about bikes and enjoy the warm Spring morning with a leisurely bike ride.
City Manager and Mayor
City Leaders talk bikes
The Press
Cortney Bloomer, Safe Routes to School Coordinator
Heading out on Minnesota Street
Riding up King Street
Rob, and Juan and Roger from Open Space and Parks and Rec
More photos from the Celebrity Ride HERE.
Ride for Reading
A new event this year was the week-long Ride for Reading starting on May 5th. The ride began over at Carson City Health and Human Services, where we loaded bikes, bags, and baskets full of donated books. From there we pedaled over to Bordewich Elementary school, where a few hundred kids were awaiting our arrival. We entered the playground and made a parade lap as the kids cheered loudly for bikes and books. After a short safety talk by event organizer Cortney Bloomer, the kids were able to go pick out their own book. The Ride for Reading was definitely one of the highlights of the month for me. This event continued the rest of the week, with deliveries being made to other area schools.
Arriving at Bordewich Elementary
Delivering books to a most appreciative audience
Ride for Reading Riders
More photos from the Ride for Reading HERE.
Bike to Work Week
May 12th was the start of Bike to Work Week. Businesses all over town competed in the annual Corporate Bicycle Commuter Challenge throughout the week. Good weather encouraged participation this year, and cyclists in the challenge collectively logged 4,398 miles, and made 680 trips by bicycle! Good job everyone. The final results for this competition and other statistics can be found HERE. Local coffee shops Capital Coffee and Comma Coffee treated bicycle commuters to free coffee on Bike to Work Day as a reward for their efforts.
Free Coffee at Capital Coffee
Westside Cruiser Ride
If one had to pick the most fun event of Bike Month, the Westside Cruiser Ride would be it. Well over a hundred people gathered at the Brewery Arts Center, the staging area for the ride. Costumes and bike decorating are encouraged for this fun parade style ride, and the riders did not disappoint! There were helmet antennae, tutus, capes, wigs, and even one crocodile costume. We encountered very little traffic along the route, and it was fantastic to see all the smiles and waves from the neighborhood residents. It was also great to see even more participation by the kids this year. After the ride, many of us went over to the Firkin and Fox for refreshments and live music. After dark, we lit up the lights for another fun ride home.
Preparing to Ride
A finely dressed gentleman and his penny farthing
Some great costumes!
The parade on Mary Street
Lots of bikes on Ormsby Blvd
It’s a mob!
Post-ride posing
Live music from Jenera Paxton & Josh Procaccini at the Firkin and Fox after the ride
The ride home
More photos from the Westside Cruiser Ride HERE.
Bike to Work Week Party
On May 16th we had our Bike to Work Week Party. Riders began rolling in after work on Friday to the Firkin and Fox ready to celebrate the week. People lined up to get their raffle tickets for all the wonderful prizes we had collected from our local businesses. Notch 8 played music between events and giving away raffle prizes. There was a helmet decorating table for the kids, and we had a couple bike games this year. The Slow Drag was funny to watch, with the last rider to cross the finish line declared the winner. We also had a few games of Bike Polo. Originally the adults were going to do a polo exhibition, but it ended up being the kids that dominated the games. Bike Polo continued throughout the evening until we had to reopen the street at 9:00 PM. The Corporate Challenge results were announced, and all the raffle prizes were given out including the two highly sought after cruiser bikes. Not only was it a fun party, it was a very successful fund raiser for Muscle Powered.
Get your beer and raffle tickets here!
Lee and Kelly helped decorate helmets
Bike Polo
Lots of kids got in on the bike games this year
Music by Notch 8
Raffle prize time!
More photos from the Bike to Work Week Party HERE.
Bicycle Movie Night
On May 20th we had our Bicycle Movie night at Sassafras. The weather really changed this week, and it had rained most of the day. Most of us opted to drive to the movie that night. Mike Wiencek hosted movie night, where we showed the cycling classic, Breaking Away. Moviegoers enjoyed a night of movie trivia, great food and drinks, raffle prizes, and a fun film.
Thank You!
What a great month it was! Thank you to everyone who attended the events and made them so fun, all the Muscle Powered volunteers that gave their time at the events, the bike shops for keeping our bikes running, and a very special thank you to all our Bike Month Sponsors who make the events possible and help raise money for all the great bicycle and pedestrian projects happening around town. What a great community!
A very special thank you to (and I hope I have them all!):
- Bella Fiore Wines
- Bike Habitat
- Cafe at Adele’s
- Capital Coffee
- Capitol Automotive
- Carson City Orthodontics
- Carson City Visitors Bureau
- Comma Coffee
- The Cracker Box
- The Firkin and Fox
- High Sierra Brewing Company
- The Horseshoe Club
- The LED Light, Inc.
- Lumos & Associates
- Nevada Bicycle Advisory Board
- Nevada National Guard
- NDOT
- Notch 8
- “Out West” Storekeeper
- Sassafras
- The Tap Shack
- Vitamin Research Products
- Webster Wealth Management LLC