FUN

Saturday Night Bike Club’s Femme Fatale Ride for Womxn

| Pedro Dana

Join Saturday Night Bike Club for the Femme Fatale ride, the first of many in their monthly series of Womxn’s only rides. This is a safe place when experienced cyclists can interact with less experienced riders, without the pretense.

The first ride is 11 miles with 200 feet in elevation gain. Bikeshare vouchers are available if you don’t have a bike. See the route on Strava and check out Facebook for more information.

Registrations

Free! Let Saturday Night Bike Club know if you are coming on Facebook.

Location

Date: Saturday, March 20th, 2021
Time: 12:00 to 3:00 PM
Location: East Potomac Tennis Center Parking Lot
Address: 1090 Ohio Drive SW, Washington, DC 20024

Saturday Night Bike Club

A low impact, healthy method of enjoying the DC area. We use our bikes to explore the rich Black history of DC. All levels are free to ride with us, as we plan all of our routes around Capital Bikeshare stations & provide vouchers for said bikes.

Check out their Strava, Instagram, and Facebook for more.

“In our mission to further accessibility of biking & cycling, we recognize that the activity & sport are often dominated by males. This presents itself as a potential barrier for someone seeking to try out biking. This can also manifest as a barrier for improvement, especially when one considers the “bikesplainers” of the world.” – Saturday Night Bike Club

A neon logo with Saturday Night Bike Club in red and a bicycle in blue.

Saturday Night Bike Club’s Amazing Race

| Pedro Dana
A flyer with a green and yellow Earth design with the words Amazing Race splashed across.

Think you & your crew know DC? Think you and your crew are fast? Are you a Black History and culture connoisseur? Do you want an opportunity to engage specifically with Black owned DC businesses? Then you are invited to Saturday Night Bike Club’s 2021 season opener on March 6.

A neon logo with Saturday Night Bike Club in red and a bicycle in blue.

Saturday Night Bike Club

A low impact, healthy method of enjoying the DC area. We use our bikes to explore the rich Black history of DC. All levels are free to ride with us, as we plan all of our routes around Capital Bikeshare stations & provide vouchers for said bikes.

Check out their Strava, Instagram, and Facebook for more.

Registrations

Free! Just register here. Also let Saturday Night Bike Club know if you are coming on Facebook.

Scavenger Hunt Rules

Four Team Categories of (Friendly) Competition: Mixed Gender, Female, Male, Youth, maximum of six people per team. Teams may only participate in one category.

Teams will be given a list of clues in which they will navigate around the city to engage and explore various Black sites and businesses around DC. The winner will be determined by who completes the route the fastest. The hunt will cover all four quadrants of DC.

Once they get to the stop, they will be required to post a photograph/video featuring their team to their Instagram story and the must tag @saturdaynightbikeclub and if applicable for that clue, the business, to get credit for that clue.

Location

Date: Saturday, March 6th, 2021
Time: 12:00 to 5:00 PM
Location: Bikeshare Station at the Anacostia Park Rec Center
Address: 1800 Anacostia Dr, Washington, DC 20020

Partners

Wellness X Chill, KMATiKC Media, Travelores Lens, Restorative Wellness, Naturally Eccentric, GRDN, Bouqé Rolling Papers, PBF Sports, Jafe Cycling, Scoot Route, Photos By Roux, A Groovy Detailing, Earn Your Saturday Fitness, Family First Life Insurance, WABA

Can’t stop this bicycling joy machine!

| Anna McCormally

You know what’s even better than bicycles? Getting together with the people who ride them to learn new skills, discover a new trail, and chat over coffee about routes, bike shops, new bike lane projects, and any/everything else about this bike-life.

I’m not gonna lie— it was a bummer that we had to cancel and postpone so many in-person events and classes this year. But even 2020 couldn’t stop the WABA joy machine!

This year brought Virtual Bike Anywhere Week Bingo; digital coffee hours; covid-adapted 50 States and Cider Rides; and —who could forget?!— DC Bike Ambassador Trey Robinson’s how-to-wheelie videos (here’s part 1 & part 2). Because even when it’s from a distance, WABA staff love bringing you and the whole WABA community together fun on one, two, or more wheels.

We don’t know what 2021 will look like yet. But one thing’s for sure: in addition to advocating for better infrastructure and policies to support your ride, WABA won’t stop bringing the fun, the silliness, and the delight that make bikes and the people who ride them spectacular.

I hope to see you in 2021 for some good ol’ bicycling delight. You can see what we have coming up at waba.org/fun— and click here to join Event Hub, our monthly guide to fun on and off your bike.

Celebrate the Jones Point Park Bike Campus

| Pedro Dana

We are celebrating the completion of the Alexandria Bike Campus, a major milestone for the region’s commitment to safe bicycling! WABA will host a ribbon cutting on Saturday, December 7 at 11:00 a.m. at Jones Point Park in Alexandria.

RSVP

We are inviting community members and families to come use the bike campus for the first time! WABA bicycle education instructors will be demonstrating how to use the bicycle campus to teach students of all ages how to ride and how to ride safely and confidently. Looking to learn a new skill? Our instructors are here to help you!

Who should come?

Everyone! And bring your friends and family. All bicycles are welcome, whether you are on a balance bike, a family cargo bike, or your commuter. Join us for a morning of skills, fun and joy, and community building!

What’s a bike campus?

The bicycle campus is a paved space created expressly to teach people of all ages how to ride safely, comfortably and confidently. The Alexandria bike campus has two major elements. It has a small-scale, six-block model of “city” streets. Each block has a different street design, allowing bicyclists of all ages to learn how to maneuver and what to expect in different “real world” scenarios. Additionally, the design includes a training course that allows for distraction-free learning for basic skills such as riding in straight lines, turns, starting and stopping, and bike handling. The facility is open to the public for self-learning and will be used to host WABA bicycle education classes. 

What should I bring?

Bring your bike, bring your helmet, and bring your family and friends!

Where are we meeting?

Great question! Look for the paved sections underneath the Wilson Bridge at Jones Point Park. We’ll be just east of where the Mt. Vernon Trail crosses under the bridge and where the bathrooms are. Look for the mini-street scape!

Top Five Reasons To Go To Tour de Fat

| Michelle Cleveland
  Here are our top five reasons why YOU should come to Tour de Fat on Saturday, July 22nd.

1. It’s really, really fun! And you get 20% off on WABA jerseys.

Tour de Fat is WAY more fun than sitting on your couch, sitting in the grass, or sitting on a bar stool. You get to enjoy good craft beers for only $5, dance to some live rocking blues, and soak in the sun with all your closest bicycle-loving friends. On top of that, you’ll be able to buy WABA jerseys 20% off the day of the event!

2. It builds more bike lanes.

Tour de Fat is a big fundraiser for WABA (our biggest) and raises the equivalent of an entire full-time advocacy staff member. This means that when you come and enjoy a couple New Belgium Brewing beers, you are essentially funding the construction of more bike lanes and protected infrastructure around the DC region. That’s pretty darn incredible! (Note that WABA doesn’t plan, build, or install bike lanes ourselves. But we do a good deal of advocating on the grassroots level, weighing in on plans, tracking plans, providing testimony and meeting with elected officials, and organizing neighborhood-level campaigns to ensure accountability on bike plans. (Learn more about what your beer will support at waba.org/advoacacy)

3. You get to be your crazy, wacky self.

Come on, we know that crazy and wacky is in there somewhere. Let loose, forget your worries, dance like no one’s watching, wear the weirdest costume you can get your hands on.

4. There’s really good cheep beer.

This is one of the only places where you’ll find really good beer for only $5! New Belgium Brewing Company sponsors the Tour de Fat and they go all out stocking the event with cans of multiple varieties of their Colorado-based beer. Rumor has it there will be 18 (EIGHTEEN!) different types of New Belgium beer!

5. Sunshine. Friends. Soul music.

Soak up the sunshine with a smile while enjoying a cold brew outside with your closest friends. Boogie to  Vintage Trouble as they serenade you with bluesy rock and roll and soul music. Basically, the most perfect summer day ever.  

Get tickets

Tour De Fat Is One Month Away!

| Cyrus Chimento
Did you get your tickets to Tour de Fat yet? It’s one month away! What are you waiting for?! New Belgium is bringing the party back, bigger than ever this year! Fat Tire Presents “Tour de Fat” is coming to the DC region on Saturday, July 22nd.  The band Vintage Trouble is headlining the show, along with local musicians and your regular Tour de Fat carnival entertainment. Plus, there will be so much beer! Proceeds from beer sales benefit WABA and other bicycle non-profits, so join us to fundraise for better bike lanes, better protected bike lanes, better bike trails, better bike education, better bike laws… You get the point!

Learn More »  Get tickets » 

What is Tour de Fat?

Tour de Fat, presented by New Belgium Brewing Company, is a roving philanthropic beer, music, and bike festival. We partner with New Belgium Brewing Company, along with four DC-area bike non-profits (Black Women Bike DC, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, Phoenix Bikes, and Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts) to bring this event to town and make it the most fun thing you’ll do all summer. This super fun event helps us fund WABA’s bicycle advocacy and outreach efforts. On top of all that, the band Vintage Trouble is headlining! Plus a touring ensemble of artists, cirque performers, and general mayhemists will appear alongside local buskers and street performers. New this year: New Belgium Brewing will host a battle of the bands and the winner will get to play at Tour de Fat! Because we’re ramping up the activities, the event is ticketed. Tickets are available in advance online. Ticket prices will increase a few weeks before the show, so make sure to get your tickets early! RSVP for Tour de Fat on Facebook here, and don’t forget to get your tickets to the show. Event: Fat Tire Presents “Tour de Fat” When: Saturday, July 22nd, 2017 from 4-9pm Location: 136 N St SE, Washington, DC (exciting new venue!) Tickets: Buy your tickets here (remember to purchase tix ahead of time!) More Info: waba.org/tourdefat

Learn More »  Get tickets » 

Happy Halloween From the All-Powerful Bike Lobby

| Alex Baca
Halloween at WABA  

Boo! Happy Halloween from the WABA staff, which is dressed today as the All-Powerful Bike Lobby. (For context, start here, and continue here.) Joy Ryde, Karen Moore, Eileen Wright, Sharon LaRode, Holden D. Lane, Jaun LesCarre, Will B. Turning are proud to represent the interests—by any means necessary.

More photos of our stunning staffers can be found here. We also decked out our trailer in some very spooky cobwebs.

Did you dress up in something bike-y for Halloween? Did you dress up your bike? Add shots of your costume to our Flickr pool!

Google Maps Bicycling Directions Now Available for iPhone

| Alex Baca
Google has finally deigned to give iPhone users the same access to bicycling directions as Android users! The latest Google Maps update for iPhone adds bicycling directions. The iPhone app functions much like the web version of Google Maps: solid lines indicate bike lanes, paths, or trails, while dotted lines show bike routes (often, lanes with sharrows). Some lanes do appear to be missing—15th Street NW, for example, doesn’t show up as a consistent solid green line. But subsequent updates should improve upon the existing maps, and Google’s app and data is much more intuitive than other iPhone apps, like Ride the City. Update your iPhone’s Google Maps app today. Google Maps for iPhone, now with biking directions