Bike Racing in Tacoma This Weekend

Our city doesn't often host bicycle races, which is why the Tacoma Twilight Criterium is a must-see event. There will be races all afternoon on Saturday starting at 4pm with the fastest races taking place near dusk.

Previously held in downtown Tacoma, the race moved to the Proctor District last summer with a short and intense 2-block course that was excellent for spectating. Local legends battled head-to-head as fans and neighbors cheered them on to victory. It was awesome.

There are plenty of spots nearby to grab a bite to eat, including two grocery stores, but you'll need to get there early if you want a window seat at one of the restaurants that are on-course. Remember that roads will be closed 1-2 blocks around the event, so plan accordingly. Dust off those cowbells!

MOB Ride: Summer Coaster

Details on the next MOB Ride from our pint pedaling pal Lord Rocktober:

SUMMER COASTER:: 2013
:: Bicycle Booze Cruz ::
Saturday, June 22nd :: 7:00pm
Meet up at: BROKEN SPOKE ::  Tacoma, WA 
We will be cycling to various watering holes throughout the night. 
Rain or dry we ride – (Folks, we’re riding bikes...how cool is that?!)
21+ and biking is at your own risk...so don't fall down yo!
Spread the word! Tell your velo peeps! 

Limited number of spoke cards!  :: Don’t be late!

Tip: USE CASH it helps us get through bar lines faster so plan ahead!

TACOMA MOB RIDERS  ::  We Own the Streets!!!

Kidical Mass Tacoma #3: Central Tacoma

Our previous Kidical Mass Tacoma rides have taken us to Proctor and Hilltop. In July we're heading for Central Tacoma.

There's been some great discussion lately about the University of Puget Sound and its relationship with the surrounding community, so we'll be starting our next ride from the big campus fountain near the student union building.

Our destination is Franklin Park, which now has a sprayground, where we'll take a break and play for a while. Along the way, we will also make a stop at Tacoma's largest Little Free Library. Expect a brief lesson on the importance of sharing.

A more detailed route map is below. 

View Kidical Mass #3: Central Tacoma in a larger map

As always, we'll be riding in the street, because kids are traffic, too.  We always ride together as a group and volunteers will be helping us with some of the larger arterial crossings. Our good pal Jeff's Ice Cream will have free ice cream and fruit bars for the riders at the finish.  

Kids, tell your parents you want to ride in the street! And feel free to share the link or print and post the flyer above. See you there.

Families Bike Hilltop

We had another great turnout for Kidical Mass Tacoma #2. After some bike fitting and decorating,  we toured the neighborhood with five or six families. Two parents even jogged along with the group, which wasn't difficult at our kid-bike pace. Our youngest rider was just 3 years old, but we all stayed together and rode as a group.

We rode in the street from Peoples Park to McCarver Park (also know as Zina's Place) with a loop around  Ferry Park on the way. (Did you know that Ferry is Tacoma's oldest park? 1883!) All three of these Hilltop parks have great playgrounds and lots of open space to run and ride around. 

After a short break at McCarver, we took a more direct route back to Peoples Park, taking advantage of the one-way streets through the neighborhood. Crossing South 19th Street was the only difficulty, but courteous drivers helped us manage it safely. Thank you Kris, Peter, and Betsy for volunteering as crossing guards.

Jeff's Ice Cream had frozen treats for our riders at the finish, courtesy of a few anonymous snack sponsors. Thank you, Sponsors! Made In Washington ice cream is the best.

It was great to chat with other parents about family cycling in Tacoma and brainstorm future Kidical Mass events. If you have questions, comments, or feedback about the rides, please share a note below or email us. We're having fun and looking forward to sharing the lane with kids again soon.

Up Next: Kidical Mass Ride #3

Saturday July 13!

Central Tacoma: UPS Campus to Franklin Park

Meetup at 10:30am by the fountain at the University of Puget Sound (N 15th and Lawrence)

Ride 11am-12pm to the newly renovated Franklin Park, then back to UPS

More details and route info coming soon 

Kidical Mass Ride #4

Saturday August 17

Where should we go? Destination, route, theme?

Maybe the East Side or South Tacoma?

We'll announce details at the July ride and here on the blog.

Kidical Mass Ride #5

Sunday September 22

Mark your calendar! We'll be gathering kids to ride a portion of the Sunday Parkways route that will connect the downtown waterfront to Point Defiance Park. 

This is a huge event organized by the City of Tacoma and you won't want to miss it.