Ride lengths?

[Derek Pelletier]

Hi All-

We're trying to determine the best route for our third kidical mass ride here in Portland, Maine and I'm wondering about appropriate lengths. We've done a 1.5 mi and a ~2 mi ride and they went fast. How far do you all ride in your cities?

Thanks

-derek

[Shane MacRhodes]

Our rides here in Eugene have ranged from 1 mile to 10 depending on our "special spot"  at the end of the ride. We try and publicize it ahead of time so folks know how long it is and if it fits for the type of riding they feel comfortable or whether the kids can ride on their own or need to go on the back of the Xtracycle/trail-a-bike/etc.

We mix it up month to month. On rainy days we have cut them shorter... to the closest coffee/hot cocoa shop!

Keep us posted on your Portland, Maine rides, maybe you can show up the other Portland =)

Summer's coming to an end- would be great to hear some brief updates from other rides too and I'll update the site (which I did just update the FAQ recently).

Pedal on,

Shane MacRhodes

Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.  ~Grant Petersen

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[Kidical Mass DC]

Hey Derek et. al.--

I wondered the same thing when I started organizing rides this year. Here in DC, we've had the most success with rides between 3 and 5 miles, and Shane is right: it depends partially on the destination. People are willing to ride farther if you give them something really awesome at the end. Lots of rest breaks help, too.

My best-attended ride was the one in which I offered people multiple meetup points, so they could join early and go for a longer ride, or later and keep the ride shorter. The structure makes a lot of sense for me: since I live near a major bike trail and have to bike to all the ride starts anyway, I usually just invite people to meet me at a location near my house and make that trip part of the "ride".

I'm trying a new hop-on, hop-off structure next weekend where participants can meet up with the group at one of three points several miles apart and drop off whenever they get tired. By the time we bike home, we'll have crossed the Anacostia River FOUR TIMES. I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Good luck with your planning,

Megan
Washington DC

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[Kelley Segars]

On a related note, does anyone have advice on how to keep the whole group together so it's easier to do traffic control? We have two community rides a year that we intend to be for all ages, and tons of kids and families turn out, but it's very difficult to keep everyone together because of all the different skill levels. The pack gets so spread out, the police are having trouble controlling all the intersections we go through.

 

Thanks!

Kelley



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Kelley Segars

Principal Planner

Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization

400 Main St, Suite 403

Knoxville, TN 37902

(865) 215- 3815

 

Find Bicycle Program on facebook!

www.facebook.com/bikeknoxville

[Shane MacRhodes]

Kelley,

The way Kidical Mass rides are structured we don't utilize "traffic control" or police on the rides. If the group gets separated at a traffic control device (light, stop sign, etc.) we just pull over and regroup- we don't stop traffic, we ARE traffic.  It sounds like the kind of ride you're doing is more of a 'parade' with controlled traffic at intersections and with some large numbers.  You might try doing some of the same thing on your rides though- regrouping. Have some fun & easy entertainment with you so you can pull over and people can dance, hula-hoop, juggle or whatever (on the sidewalk or in a small park obviously).

Other ideas for Kelley?

Shane

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From: "Kelley Segars" <kelley...@knoxtrans.org>
To: kidic...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thursday, September 8, 2011 12:58:58 PM
Subject: Re: [kidicalmass] Ride lengths?

[JD Howell]

Triple or a quad with a Burley Trailer, bumpers, air horn and megaphone.  I assume you already wear helmets and body armor.  If that doesn’t work, use a stun gun set to level 3, please aim for the legs.  They recover quickest, I’ve learned (takes the face days, looks like you’ve been mauled by a dentist)…

 

Actually, check with Paul Adkins.  He and his family have/are going through all these stages from a triple with Burley to individual bikes.  He may have sage for you !

 

 

From: kidic...@googlegroups.com [mailto:kidic...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kelley Segars
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 12:59 PM
To: kidic...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [kidicalmass] Ride lengths?

 

On a related note, does anyone have advice on how to keep the whole group together so it's easier to do traffic control? We have two community rides a year that we intend to be for all ages, and tons of kids and families turn out, but it's very difficult to keep everyone together because of all the different skill levels. The pack gets so spread out, the police are having trouble controlling all the intersections we go through.

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[Paul Adkins]

I would add that it is good to have a leader that can manage the pace of the lead group - initiating the pulling over bit when needed. Having an adult step in and lead the new second slower group is needed as well.

Paul Adkins

[Vanessa Amerson]

We have a few experienced parents wearing reeeeally bright fluorescent shirts. They are intermediate leaders and hold riders back at yellow lights and stop signs when the collective ride should stop. We also plan a few spots (empty parking lots or parks) that are good spots to wait for everyone to catch up. Having the faster paced kids ride in a circle "swarm" is a good skill to practice riding and navigating in an area of controlled chaos. 

Vanessa Amerson

San Luis Obispo