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Warning: If you show up in spandex to this group ride, a bunch of little kids might laugh at you. The Kidical Mass group bike ride is more cruising and giggles than miles and speed, but that’s the point. Its purpose is to make kids fall in love with cycling.
The first ride rolls out on Sunday, October 2 at 9:30 a.m. from SloHi Coffee & Bike near Sloan’s Lake. This arm of Kidical Mass is a spoke from the original family ride, which started in Eugene, Oregon eight years ago and has since spread around the globe. Kids can ride their own two-, three-, or four-wheeler (we mean training wheels), or get towed along in a trailer, bike seat, Xtracycle, or trail-a-bike. As long as everyone has a helmet—that means you too, parents—there is no age-limit to ride.
“The goal is to just get the entire family out on bikes,” says Arleigh Jenkins, the ride organizer and owner of the Bike Shop Girl Mobile Bicycle Repair. “I have an 18-month-old daughter, and I just want her to be around a lot of people on bikes.”
The first half-hour of the meet-up will be spent at the SloHi making sure everyone’s gear is in good shape and decking out the bikes and helmets in Denver Broncos’ colors to cheer on our local Super Bowl Champs. Once all the rigs are ready, families will pedal an estimated one to two-and-a-half miles. “The goal is to get from SloHi to Sloan’s Lake and maybe around it if the group is up for it,” Jenkins says.
And there’s no shame in heading back to the coffee shop for snacks. This casual cruise comes with a strong “turn back whenever you want” mentality. Finally, a Saturday morning pedal that is less struggle and more smiles.
Bonus: Yuba cargo bikes will be available for test rides all day on October 2 at SloHi Coffee & Bike.
Next Up: The second Kidical Mass ride will depart from the new Stanley Marketplace in Aurora on November 20 and will have a Thanksgiving theme. Before the cruise, families will have an opportunity to write thank you cards to bicycle advocates and local government officials to show how grateful they are for safe places to ride bikes.
If You Go: October 2 at 9:30 a.m.; SloHi Coffee and Bikes, 4436 W. 29th Ave.