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A Celebration of Cycling! The Ride is a way for Bicycle Longmont, the area non-profit advocacy organization to reach out to all you cyclists and celebrate the sport and connect folks around cycling.
Things evolve, and this is the new G'Knight Ride. We at Bicycle Longmont thank Dale, Chad, and the crew at Oskar Blues for their support through the years. We are dedicated to still promoting local cycling and an amazing event, now with our friends and partner, Wibby Brewing!
Radler is one of two things (it is NOT a scary snake):
- 1) A radler is a half beer, half fruit soda - a perfectly refreshing drink for hot days, a shandy, if you will. Read THIS ARTICLE from AmericanCraftBeer.com for more.
- 2) Radler literally means CYCLIST in German. So YOU are a Radler!
…Sorry – it took us a minute to recover from that question.
NO, it is a SLOW RIDE bicycle festival – take your time – meet people, stop at the official (and even unofficial) stops and have a great time. If you are racing the Ride Route you are doing it wrong!
YES, just like at Wibby Brewing. Like always, they have to behave well with other dogs and humans. We encourage you to have them in a trailer for the Ride portion if you are taking them along, since so much of this year's Ride is on our Greenways.
ABSOLUTELY! Special prizes are given out every year to those in the best costumes, and we strongly encourage it!
Don't forget to also decorate your bike / trailer!
A little something different for everyone.
The main, 13-mile route is taken by about 75% of riders. It is a flat course, covering three Greenways and has stops along the way.
The 5-mile course is a good one for our guests looking to sample some our breweries, rather ride the whole route. 300 Suns, Shoes n Brews, Left Hand, and Bootstrap are easy to get to on this route.
The 3-mile course is mainly for our little ones. A good ride to and from the new Dickens Farm Park area, including the BMX pump track!
In short: Light. Our June rides allow us to ride later than our September versions. It will still make for a great time, we promise!
No. It is an OPEN Course, and Rules of the Road apply, like on all our Rides. However, more than three-quarters of the ride this year is on paths and Greenways, so it is REALLY SAFE. We also have 8-10 police officers, 20+ marshals, and a lot more out there to help support you having a safe, fun ride.
YES. Net proceeds of the event go to Bicycle Longmont, the area non-profit bike advocacy organization (think an early version of Boulder’s Community Cycles or Fort Collins’ Bike Co-Op). We use the funds to help make the Kids Holiday Bike Program awesome, but have also funded other cool stuff, like bike repair stations along the Greenways.
Believe it or not, but the Radler Ride costs a TON of money to put on. This is why a lot of bike events like Tour de Fat Denver, the Moonlight Classic, and Boulder Nites Classic no longer have bike parades or a real Ride portion (or stopped existing entirely). The cost of police support and traffic controls for Radler Ride make up almost HALF the overall cost of the event! Add to those, other fun costs like permits and insurance. Adulting can be expensive. But then again a movie ticket is like 15 bucks now, and this is WAY more fun!
Uh, NO. All bikes except those powered by gasoline are welcome! E-bikers, please keep it slow. We have road bikes, mountain bikes, cruiser bikes, beach bikes, cargo bikes, unicycles, tricycles, quadcycles, tallbikes, lowriders, single speeds, three speeds, penny farthings, bikes built for two, bikes built for three, bikes that pull trailers, strider bikes, and even skateboards, big wheels (Hi-Rollers) and razer scooters!
The Radler Ride IS a family event! Kids 5 and under are free, however, a ticket must still be obtained for each child for our insurance overlords.
Rain or shine, the Ride will go on! Just bring rain gear if it looks like it is needed. Or not, and get wet. That is fun too!
Wibby Brewing has a huge Pavilion to get under before and after the Ride in case of any major weather (like hail).
Prohibited items we can think of:
Always there, not often used, the Radler Ride has a standby ambulance on hand that will also serve for smaller cuts and scrapes at the medical tent. We often see accidents from those that are doing something dumb – big kids in the bounce house, riding too fast or looking backward, or getting dehydrated.
We started with a dream of getting together 200-300 rider for a Big Bike Thing, back in 2011. Back then Longmont Bike Nights averaged 25-50 people a week. After pitching it to the guys at Oskar Blues as a sponsor – and their response was “Hell Yeah!” – we went after it. That first year in Prospect New Town neighborhood we had 1,100 awesome people come out and had an awesome time.
In the years following, the Ride grew to just under 3,000 riders and participants and moved to Roosevelt Park.
In 2019, both Bicycle Longmont and Oskar Blues was restructuring, and we took a year off.
We found Robin and the wonderful people at Wibby Brewing wanted to make the Ride happen, and we were all set to go in March 2020, but of course COVID-19 put a stop to it.
Things didn't really start opening up until mid May 2021, we set this September date for our comeback edition! We are back baby!
Our current policy (8/12) is as follows:
The Radler Ride is an OUTDOOR EVENT, and under Boulder COunty Level Clear, there are no specific restrictions. For the health and safety of our guests, we recommend the following -
- Please do not participate if you have any COVID-19 symptoms,
- Please do not participate if you have been exposed, or suspect you have been exposed to a COVID-19 positive person in the last 14 days.
- We recommend that Unvaccinated guests wear a mask
- We recommend that Unvaccinated guests (including those 12 and under) wear a mask in any shared inside / indoor spaces
- Hand sanitizer and wipes will be available throughout the area.
For more information, please see our COVID-19 page for details and updates.
YES. Wibby Brewing has a full liquor license, and will have other alcoholic beverages other than their craft lagers to purchase.
Non-alcoholic drinks, and of course lots of water will be available as well.
We encourage ALL riders to purchase or bring a reusable water bottle for the Ride.
YES. A LIMITED number of t-shirts, water bottles, and other event merchandise will be available for sale on site the day of the event.
We STRONGLY encourage everyone to make their purchases online by September 10th or at the Packet Pickups to ensure we have what you want! Most items WILL sell out!
Copyright © 2021 Lightshine Radler Ride 2021 - All Rights Reserved.
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