WESTSIDE CRUISER RIDE POSTPONED UNTIL THUR 5/31 at 5:30 pm
With severe thunderstorm warnings and a flood watch in effect, the decision has been made to postpone tonight’s Westside Cruiser Ride until next Thursday, May 31 at 5:30 pm at BAC. Stay dry. See you next week.
This year, like every other, Muscle Powered is cramming tons of really cool bike events into Bike Month. All of which are listed on the Muscle Powered calendar. Here’s some more information about each of the events.
Ladies Mountain Bike Ride
The Ladies Mountain Bike Ride is a recurring event that takes place every Tuesday evening starting at 5:30 pm. Riders will meet up at Foothill Dr parking area (a.k.a. Pooh Corner) and ride some of the best single-track the Eastern Sierra has to offer. Helmets required.
Sunday Road Ride
As the name indicates, every Sunday a group gathers to ride road bikes. Meetup at Fremont School parking lot at 8 am. Riders usually split up into two groups (tortoises and hares) and each do 10-15 mile loops. Helmets required.
Bike Habitat’s Tour of Carson City
Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 9:00 am
Fuji Park Exhibit Hall
One of the region’s premier organized rides of Bike Month is put on by Bike Habitat. The Tour of Carson City is a scenic 30 miles loop around Carson complete with a popsicle stand at the halfway point and a fully catered lunch waiting for riders upon their return. The best part is that it’s all free. Partners include: Muscle Powered, the Carson Senators Mountain Bike Team, and San Marcos Grill.
Celebrity Ride Invitational
Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 11:00 am
McFadden Plaza
Everyone who’s anyone comes out for the Celebrity Ride. Local celebs are invited each year to participate. Riders will meet at McFadden Plaza and ride at a pleasant, easy pace around the historic west side of Carson City. The route will follow the famed Blue Line, offering several opportunities for photos with historically significant backdrops.
Bike Commuter Challenge
May 14 – 18, 2018
During Bike to Work Week, Muscle Powered sponsors this friendly competition. Get your co-workers together and form your teams. Commute to work over the course of the week and add up your miles. Participants in the challenge compete in various categories such as ‘most miles’ and ‘most trips.’ Sign up by emailing info@musclepowered.org
Ride/Walk of Silence
Wednesday, May 16, 2018 6:00 pm
Telegraph Square
The Ride of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph, wear helmets, follow the rules of the road and remain silent during the ride. There are no registration fees. The ride aims to raise awareness of safety issues facing all road users. It is also a chance to show respect for and honor the lives of those who have been killed or injured. This year, Muscle Powered has widened the scope of this event to include walkers/pedestrians.
No Zombie Texting Video Awards
Wednesday, May 16, 2018 7:30 pm
Brewery Arts Center – Black Box Theater
This video competition provided students the opportunity to create impactful 30-second video public service announcements to educate about the dangers of texting and driving as it impacts walkers and bicyclists. We have five :30 student videos that will be shown, and video teams will talk about their creative collaborative efforts. NOTE: The video awards ceremony is just after the Ride/Walk of Silence.
Bike and Music Festival
Friday, May 18, 2018 at 6:00 pm
McFadden Plaza
Ride your bikes over to McFadden Plaza for Muscle Powered’s 2018 Bike and Music Festival. Join Muscle Powered as we celebrate our 20th anniversary in Carson City. Get your raffle tickets for a chance to win some great bicycle swag, including a brand new bike (courtesy of Bike Habitat). Participate in one of the events: Paperboy Challenge, Slow-Race, Tricycle Time Trials. Or just hang out and enjoy the live music and a cold brew.
West Side Cruiser Ride
Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 6:00 pm
Brewery Arts Center
Where your costume, decorate your bike, and just have fun. Everyone is welcome to join this community ride through the west end of Carson City. You never know who you’ll run into on this ride with an eclectic collection of crazy bikes and even crazier people!
Full Moon Night Ride
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at 7:30 pm
Foothill Dr parking area
Experience the trails like you never have before…by the light of the full moon. Muscle Powered and The Bike Smith collaborate efforts on this night time excursion into the wilderness on two wheels. Riders will meet up at the parking area on Foothill Dr and ascend into the hills of Ash Canyon. Helmets and lights mandatory.
For any questions regarding these events, please visit the Contact Us page.
May 15th is Bike to Work Day, and also the final day of Bike to Work Week. This morning, several Carson City coffee shops gave away free coffee to bike commuters willing to brave the weather. The Corporate Bicycle Commuter Challenge is now in its 5th day. As of Thursday evening, the Nevada Guard Rough Riders are leading the mileage category with 617.2 miles logged. The DETR Cyclepaths are leading the trips category with 86 trips made by bicycle. There’s just one more day to rack up the miles and trips, and the winners will be announced tonight at the Bike to Work Week Party at the Firkin and Fox. More stats of the challenge can be found below.
Although the weather isn’t cooperating for outdoor activities, we’re still going forward with the party! Weather permitting we’ll have the party on 3rd Street, but if it’s raining, we’ll bring the party to the deck and inside the Firkin and Fox. Carson City’s Trippin King Snakes are ready to perform for the crowd, and we have lots of great prizes to raffle off. Proceeds from the raffle will go to benefit Muscle Powered. Thanks to all the donations and volunteers, Muscle Powered has helped move the city forward to a better bikeable and walkable community.
There will be bike games at the party, weather permitting.
Party Info
Win this bike!
Prizes!
The Bike Habitat has helped Muscle Powered acquire a men’s and a women’s cruiser bike. Two lucky raffle winners will take these bikes home. In addition to the bikes, we have several hundred dollars worth of merchandise and gift certificates to give away. Bike Habitat has donated cycling merchandise. We also have several gift certificates from Adele’s, Capitol Automotive, Sassafras, and Vitamin Research Products. More prizes tend to trickle in at the party as well.
Win this bike!
Other great prizes to give away at the party!
Music from Trippin King Snakes
Tonight’s party will conclude the official Bike Month activities. We hope everyone has had a good time, and is excited to go enjoy a fun summer of riding in the city and up on the trails! The next big biking event is Blinky Man on June 13th, only a month away!
Please join Bike Habitat and Muscle Powered for the 8th Annual Tour of Carson City bicycle ride! May is Bike Month in Carson City, and we’ll be kicking off the festivities with this fun ride on Sunday, May 3rd. Signups are at 9:00 AM, ride begins at 9:30 AM. The ride will begin and end at the Bike Habitat, and tour around the perimeter of Carson City for a moderately paced 27-30 mile bike ride.
Get Bike Month off and rolling with Denis and Viola as they celebrate the 8th Anniversary of Bike Habitat. This is a free event, and lunch will be served for the riders back at the shop after the ride!
Donations and memberships are encouraged to support Muscle Powered of Carson City to promote a more bike friendly community.
Call Denis at the Shop for Information.
Bike Habitat
911 Topsy Lane (next to Best Buy)
Carson City, NV 89705
(775) 267-5053
bikehabitat.com
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!):
For the final scheduled event of Bike Month, Muscle Powered and Sassafras will be presenting Bicycle Movie Night on the evening of May 20th. Ride your bike down and enjoy a classic bicycle movie with free popcorn, food and drink specials while you watch the movie, fun movie trivia, swag bags, and a lot of great raffle prizes including gift certificates and bicycle accessories! It’ll be fun for the whole family.
What: Bicycle Movie Night
Where: Inside Sassafras Eclectic Food Joint, 318 N Carson St, Carson City
When: Tuesday, May 20th @ 6:00 PM
Activities: Bicycle themed movie, movie trivia, raffle prizes, bike swag, free popcorn, food and drink specials, and more!
Admission: Free, but donations to Muscle Powered are always appreciated.
Friday, May 16th is national Bike to Work Day! Many of you have been commuting by bike all week for Bike to Work Week, but if you’ve been on the fence about giving it a shot, Friday is your day to go for it. Need more incentive, or a shot of energy? Two Carson City coffee shops will be giving out FREE coffee to bicycle commuters between 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM! Show them your helmet, and tell them you rode your bike to work.
Bicycle commuters enjoying a Cup of Joe at Comma Coffee
Comma Coffee has been supporting Bike to Work Week for the 8 years I’ve been involved with the event, both as a commuter and an organizer. They have a fun atmosphere, and a nice outdoor courtyard with a Muscle Powered bike rack. Comma Coffee is located at 312 South Carson Street across from the Legislature Building. Comma Coffee on Facebook HERE.
Enjoy a coffee on the patio at Capital Coffee!
Relatively new in town is Capital Coffee. Friendly service, great coffee, pastries, and outdoor seating is available. Capital Coffee is located at 504 E Musser Street. Capital Coffee on Facebook HERE.
Happy riding everyone, and don’t forget the party at the Firkin and Fox Friday evening! Ride on.
