Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition (CSC) has put together a series of safe bicycling activities to celebrate National Bike Month this May.
With no large group rides being planned yet in Pasadena, the people at Complete Streets Coalition saw the need to organize some events just so they could encourage people to continue riding their bikes.
Since the pandemic began last year, the number of bicycle riders in the city has grown significantly, the organization said.
“We have rides to go see a Pasadena landmark or run an errand or get a coffee,” said Christy Moision, one of the organizers at Pasadena CSC. “We’re also promoting a Shop Local ride to help the local businesses. And there’s a couple of other things that are all on the website just to try to get people out and biking.”
The bicycle challenges list on the website shows such events throughout May as Pasadena Landmark Ride, where participants can bicycle to a known Pasadena landmark, take a picture of the ride and post it on social media or send it to Pasadena CSC; Pasadena Errand Ride, where riders can bike to an errand that others would do by car; a Coffee Ride, where you can start the morning off right by going for a bike ride to get some coffee, tea, donuts, pan dulce or pastries; and a Public Art Ride, where you can ride out to any of the many public art sites in the City and take some pictures there.
The Shop Local Ride is where you can go out and shop at a local business – Playhouse Village, South Lake Avenue, Old Pasadena, or anywhere else they are in Pasadena – to show them support even through the pandemic.
“None of our rides are a group ride,” said Topher Mathers, another advocate at the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition. “They’re still going with the virtual rides where everyone does the ride by themselves, takes a nice picture and then shares it with us. So we’re just not quite there yet.”
There’s also a Pasadena Famous Film Locations Tour, where you can ride from Don Draper’s Long Island house to Beverly Hills without ever leaving Pasadena! Pasadena CSC has published a GPS guide for you to follow during this tour. Check it out on the group’s website.
At the same time, you can also plan to go to a Bike In Movie, on May 22 at Day One, at 175 N. Euclid Ave. You will be asked to RSVP through www.bit.ly/dobikeinmovie.
“It’s going to be socially distanced,” Mather said of the event. “So there’s a cap on (the number of people that) can participate. The movie is TBD, though hopefully they’ll pick something really great. But that’s something that we look forward to.”
To make sure your bicycling event is properly recognized, be sure to tag your photos @pasadenacsc and @day1do and use #PasadenaBikeMonth when you are taking part in one of the challenges for a chance to win a prize.
To learn more about the bicycling events for National Bike Month, visit www.pasadenacsc.org/pasadenabikemonth2021.
