If it's May in Montclair, then you can count gearing up for the biggest community bike ride of the season. The seventh annual Tour de Montclair gets spinning around town this Sunday, May 17, and it's better than ever. This year's tour starts and ends at Edgemont Park, and Bike Montclair has a new CAR FREE short route for novice riders around Edgemont and Anderson Parks. Experienced cyclists taking the "long route" will explore Montclair on shared roadways.
The '09 tour is more than a ride, it's a community party, with food, give-aways, sponsor booths, amazing shows and a rocking Montclair band. See the complete schedule after the jump. The bike route winds throughout Montclair's blossoming neighborhoods, and ends back at the park - then the festivities begin. Volunteer Ride Captains will help keep riders moving along; Montclair Police and crossing guards will be stationed at many intersections. This year's Tour theme is "Complete Streets." Streets are "complete" when they provide safe access for all users.
All Tour de Montclair route maps and registration forms can be found at www.bikemontclair.org. Rain Date: Sunday, May 31, 2009. Everything you need to know about the ride, after the jump.
Riders must wear helmets. Anyone younger than 14 years old must be accompanied by an adult, and teens 14-17 must have a signed permission slip, which will be available on-site or at www.bikemontclair.org.
Time: 12:00 Check-In/Registration at Edgemont Park, 1:00 Tour takes off.
Avoid the rush on Sunday: pre-register on-line at www.bikemontclair.org now through May 15, 11pm. Cost is $12 for individuals and $30 for families; all participants will receive a collectable Bike Montclair Tour '09 T-shirt and route map, and give-aways from sponsors.
From Bike Montclair:
Join Bike Montclair, friends, neighbors, and cycling geeks Sunday, May 17 for Bike Montclair's COMPLETE STREETS Tour!Special Attractions:
• Freddie Hoffman - "Million Mile Freddie" has lived half a century and biked over a million miles raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This year, Freddie will be touring with us. Be sure to say hello during the ride and visit his booth to learn more about this inspirational cyclist!
• Free Cycle Action Sports Team - Enjoy the après-tour Air Show where 4 athletes will launch themselves skyward to perform huge aerial bike stunts including 360s, superman's, tailwhips, no-handers, back flips and person jumping. Kids, don't try this at home.
• Local Bike Shops - Diamond Cycle, The Montclair Bikery and Allwood Bicycles will be there with great bikes, gear, give-aways and more!
• Yum - Enjoy healthy snacks provided by Whole Foods Market and don't forget to toss your apple core in their handy compost bin!
• Face Painting and Obstacle Course for kids - "Snazaroo" your mug for the ride with Face Art by Jan or test your agility in Little Gym's obstacle course!
• Massages - De-stress and soothe your muscles with a Focus Physical Therapy massage.
What is a Complete Street? The theme for the 7th annual Tour de Montclair is: Complete Streets. Streets are "complete" when they are designed to enable safe access for all users - so that bicyclists, pedestrians, motorists, and transit users of all abilities can comfortably travel on them.
Luckily, Montclair has "good bones". Our town street grid was designed at a time when public streets were gathering places, markets, communities - with special attention paid to adequate light, air and open space - to move people to, not just through.
How does a street become complete? Where appropriate, a street can be striped with shoulders, bike lanes, in-lane bike stencils, shorter crossings, bold crosswalks, sidewalks, shade trees, lighting, and signs as part of routine roadway improvements. Incorporating these elements affects motorist awareness so that a cyclist sharing the road or a pedestrian crossing it is expected. Visual cues and narrower driving space are proven to slow traffic yet maintain flow. Bicycle and pedestrian-friendly communities experience increases in property values and economic performance, and fewer crashes. In essence, Complete Streets improve a community's quality of life. And in most instances, they're not an added cost, but a different placement of paint and choice of signs.
Bike Montclair supports a Township "Complete Streets" policy. We understand that Complete Streets + Public Awareness + Enforcement = Behavior Change.
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Comments (7)
I think it's supposed to rain on Sunday. Ugggghhhh.
Say it aint so! There's a raindate: May 31
'Pubic streets' is appropriate when considering the prior story I suppose (Man Exposes Self To Girls In Montclair).
There's something ominous about the line "Complete Streets + Public Awareness + Enforcement = Behavior Change." Whose and which behavior?
hate to be the one to ask, but regarding:
"Montclair Police and crossing guards will be stationed at many intersections"
Who's paying for the police overtime? It's not like Bike Montclair is a Town Department, or is it?
Bike Boy must be euphoric over this.
I used to do this, but since bike boy became mayor and used this as his sole qualification only to prove no better than the last clown, i'm not going to do it anymore. sorry dudes.