Thanks for hanging out at the 2017 Vasa Ride!

March 24, 2017 | Nick Russo

This past Sunday, WABA hosted the 2017 Vasa Ride. Although it was a little cold, a little breezy, and a bit rainy for the first part of the day, the ride was still AWESOME and over 300 riders joined us for blueberry soup at the House of Sweden! Like all WABA Signature Rides, 100% of your hard-earned dollars directly funds our work to improve biking. Like campaigning for this network of protected bike lanes, or passing this crucial legislation, or expanding this cool trail, or investing in the longterm work to build a regional network of trails. Thank you for supporting WABA, and for having fun riding your bike with us! We’ve collected some photos of the day below, but first a shoutout to our awesome sponsors of the ride:

Now, here are some photos of the day!

Conte’s and friendly WABA marshal (photo: Conte’s)

UngdomsVasan Ride along the Reflecting Pool (photo: Jeff Miller)

UngdomsVasan Ride posed in front of the Jefferson Memorial (photo: Jeff Miller)

Wet, but smiling 59-milers! (photo: Adam Gould)

Our lovely Potomac Pit Stop sponsors, Bike MS (photo: Michelle Cleveland)

Intrepid 16-milers on E Capitol St (photo: Dana Bres)

Two new Vision Zero pledges! (photo: Renée Moore)

Our friends at DC Bike Ride (photo: Renée Moore)

Lookit all those bikes! (photo: Nick Russo)

Our Swedish friends dishing out the blueberry soup! (photo: John Pickett)

Thanks for joining us and see you next March!

Best of WABA Events: 2016

January 4, 2017 | Michelle Cleveland

Looking back at 2016, the WABA Events Team wanted to share with you our favorite moments from our signature events of the last year: February 2016: The Bicyclist Choice Awards and Annual Members Meeting

DDOT Director Leif Dormsjo accepts The WABA Vision Zero award.

WABA staff.

The Awards event is our opportunity to be fancy and to recognize and thank those people who really and truly make a positive difference for bicycling in the region. It was really special this year to have the Director of the District Department of Transportation in attendance to accept an award we gave him. -Michelle March 2016: The Congressional Ride

Photo Credit: The League of American Bicyclists

The Congressional Ride is a really unique ride event that WABA organizes as part of the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike Summit each year. It’s special because we get to meet bike advocates and bicyclists from all over the country, talk to them about the work WABA is doing in our Nation’s Capital and around the region, and show off some of DC’s best bicycle infastrucutre. Everyone is always so impressed with the bike lanes and protected infrastructure, and they love hearing about our programs, events, and the impact we have on the region. -Michelle The Vasa Ride

Vasa Ride 2016

The weather machine cooperated and the cloudy skies held their rain for this year’s Vasa Ride. Flowers were in bloom. The breeze was almost warm. The highlight is always the grumbling and tight muscles in the morning as sleepy-eyed riders stretch out their riding legs for the first time all winter, and then the joy, smiles, hugs, and happy conversations had over warm blueberry soup at the end of the ride inside the absolutely gorgeous House of Sweden. -Michelle May 2016: Bike to Work Day

Photo Credit: John Pickett

What’s not to love about Bike to Work Day? The ENTIRE WABA staff and board unite to go spread the bike love. This year, WABA had a presence at a record number of pit stops for us: 26 different pit stops! We mobilized 31 WABA captains and 112 volunteers to get out there super early on a Friday morning and talk to people about better bicycling. So much sunshine. So much coffee. So many bagels. And so many bicycle-induced smiles and high fives. -Michelle Tour de Fat

DC celebrity spotting! Local bicycle advice columnist Gear Prudence for City Paper came out to support WABA.

Just look at those lines!

I was a bit terrified when Tour de Fat rolled around this year because there was rain in the forecast — LOTS of rain. But, to my delight, people still came out to celebrate and drink beer and ride bikes in the rain! I couldn’t believe it and I am SO grateful that the #bikedc community is so supportive of the work we do. -Michelle June 2016: Bike to Work AGAIN Day

Bike to Work Again Day + beer!

We loved Bike to Work Day so much this year that we decided to celebrate it again a month later! With three “pit stops” at local bars and restaurants in Arlington, Bethesda, and the District, we hung out with bike commuters on their way home and talked about our favorite subject: bikes! -Nick July 2016: Bike to the Pools Ride

Cooling off at a splash park right off the Marvin Gaye Trail!

The Washington area gets pretty hot in July, so we decided that we’d combine two things we all love to do: biking and swimming! (And a bit of splashing.) We rode our bikes from the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens along the Marvin Gaye Trail, stopped at a splash park, hopped on our bikes again, and finished the ride at the Deanwood Pool. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon! -Nick August 2016: Open Streets Community Organizing

Petworth residents, ANC commissioners, and community leaders came together to help guide us in planning a community wide event in their neighborhood that will have a positive lasting impact, promote community building, and bring neighbors together.

This entire year we have been working to bring an open street event to DC, where a roadway is temporary closed to vehicles so it can be opened up to the people to walk, bike, dance, and play in the middle of the street. We are lucky to have the support of the DC Office of Planning in this effort and received a substantial grant for this project from the agency. It’s a big undertaking, and we still have a lot of work to do, but we’re excited for the connections and relationships we’ve begun to build with Petworth and city officials, and can’t wait to continue work in 2017 to bring DC its first open streets program. -Michelle September 2016: The 50 States & 13 Colonies Ride

Photo credit: Chuck Cage

Years of tinkering with WABA’s weather machine to let up on the rain finally paid off, but someone forgot to adjust the temperature… it was HOT! Despite the heat, we welcomed our biggest crowd yet—700 registrants—to a fun and challenging ride throughout DC’s 8 Wards. This year, we hosted riders from California, Alabama, Texas, Ohio, and many other far-flung places! -Nick October 2016: WABA in the Wild Overnight C&O Tour

In a matter of days, the 11 strangers who came together for WABA in the Wild became fast friends.

Everyone celebrated in the warm autumn sunshine at mile marker 0 in Georgetown at the end of the ride.

WABA in the Wild was the highlight of my year for sure. It was a feat of an event to pull off: the first time WABA has ever done an original peer-to-peer fundraising event, the first time we’ve ever done a multi-day bike tour, the first time we’ve ever organized a group camping trip. But we pulled it off and it was a tremendous success. We bicycled through rain and mud with smile on our faces. We saw beauty in the trees along the canal and the shimmering sunshine on the Potomac. There was whiskey, laughter, games, camaraderie, and so. many. snacks. And we can’t wait to do it again with more people in 2017! -Michelle

November 2016: The Cider Ride

Photo credit: Mr.TinDC

This year’s Cider Ride was the biggest ever, with over 700 people riding their bikes along the beautiful trails and farm roads of Prince George’s county, the Patuxent Research Refuge, and the new (and old) sections of the Anacostia River Trail. Riders also helped to advance our campaign to finish the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail in Hyattsville — we collected over 300 signatures at an advocacy pit stop along the course! -Nick December 2016: The Holiday Party

Many, many bikes outside Boundary Stone for the WABA Holiday Party. Photo credit: Jeremiah Lowery

One of our ‘accomplishments scrapboards’ from the party

We hosted our year-end Holiday Party at Boundary Stone and had an awesome time chatting with members about all the things we accomplished together in 2016 and what we’re looking forward to working on in 2017. It was great to hang out with so many of our members and enjoy some holiday cheer! -Nick

We hope you enjoyed being part of the bike community as much as we did this year. Happy New Year and here’s to more awesome WABA events — and a few awesome event surprises — in 2017! Cheers, WABA Events Team

We hope you enjoyed the blueberry soup!

March 20, 2015 | Michelle Cleveland

Hundreds of WABA members joined us at the House of Sweden last Sunday for the 2015 Vasa Ride. Riders chose from a 59-mile, 31-mile, or 16-mile ride. Although the weather was windy and chilly, the sun came out as the day progressed and ride participants returned to the house of Sweden exhausted, but with smiles on their faces, to enjoy the warm blueberry soup. A huge thank you to the House of Sweden and the Swedish Embassy for hosting our Swedish-themed ride event for the 9th year in a row. And thank you to District Cycle Works for providing bike maintenance to riders at the start, and to KIND Snacks for donating granola bars. The Vasa Ride is named after Sweden’s famous Vasaloppet, the world’s longest running cross-country ski race. The Vasaloppet ski race honors the trial of a renegade Swedish king who, in the 16th century, led the rebellion to free the country after a long pursuit on skis. For nearly a century, blåbärssopp—warm blueberry soup—has been served during the Vasaloppet to keep riders warm. WABA’s Vasa Ride brings together riders from D.C., Maryland and Virginia and is a fundraiser ride to help support WABA’s work. When people participate in our rides, they fuel WABA’s mission to make riding a bike safer and more accessible for all.

Check out photos from this year’s Vasa Ride below:

The 2013 Vasa Ride, In Photos

March 20, 2013March 20, 2013 | Alex Baca

Riders checking in for Vasa 2013. Photo by district photo bomb on Flickr.

The weather never made good on its threat of rain last Sunday, but riders of the 2013 Vasa still braved cool temperatures and gray skies to come out for WABA’s sold-out first ride of the year. Our Vasa ride is modeled on the Swedish Vasaloppet, the longest, oldest, and largest cross-country ski race in the world that’s held on the first Sunday of March; that Vasaloppet was first held in 1922 and was modeled on a route taken by King Gustav I in 1520. WABA’s own Vasa lets participants choose from 15-, 30-, and 60-mile routes that run through the District and Montgomery County. Kind Snacks sponsored the event, and brand representatives were on hand to offer riders granola and bars. Bike ambassadors greeted riders at a surprise pit stop halfway through the route at Potomac Villages. And the House of Sweden provided a beautiful space for the ritualistic post-ride consumption of blueberry soup—or blåbärssoppa. Many thanks to Kind and House of Sweden for their support of our event, and to our crew of ride marshals for keeping riders safe.

We kept up with Vasa riders throughout the day on social media. Click here to see tweets and photos sent during the ride. For more recaps, check out the accounts of some local bike bloggers. Portajohn, Chasing Mailboxes, and A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel all attended, and had very kind things to say about the blåbärssoppa. Several attendees also took some great photos. Were you unable to participate in Vasa 2013? We hope to see you next year! Remember, WABA members get early access to registration for our events, so join today if you haven’t already. Your membership supports great events and great bike advocacy. See photos from the Vasa Ride below the jump. More photos are on Flickr. Did you take any photos during the ride? Add them to our Flickr group! Continue reading →

Get Ready for the 2013 Vasa Ride!

March 16, 2013March 15, 2013 | Alex Baca

The 2013 Vasa Ride is tomorrow! We’ll see you at House of Sweden (2900 K St. NW) at 7:30 a.m. for check-in. The rides begin at the following times: 8 a.m.: 59-mile Vasa ride begins 8:30 a.m.: 31-mile Halv Vasa ride begins 9 a.m.: 15-mile Kort Vasa ride begins 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Blueberry soup served at the House of Sweden You must arrive 25 to 30 minutes prior to the start of your ride to sign in and collect your cue sheet. Registration will be open until 9 a.m. Helmets are required, so don’t forget yours!

More information about the ride can be found here.

Vasa is sold out, so if you’re really jonesing for blueberry soup, we hope you’ll be able to join us next year. Here are a few other things to remember:

You must sign yourself and only yourself in. If you registered a friend as a guest, they are listed under their own name and must sign themselves in.
There is no designated pit stop; you may stop wherever you want, whenever you want. Please prepare accordingly.
Don’t forget to hydrate before, during, and after the ride. Bring the water you’ll need.
We’ll have masking tape and markers for you to identify your lock, which you can lock at the start and retrieve at the end.
Seriously, you need to wear a helmet.

It’s Vasa Time!

February 1, 2013 | Alex Baca

Cyclists, racers, bike-lovers, fun-havers, families, friends, and blueberry-soup consumers: Registration for WABA’s 2013 Vasa Ride is officially open! The ride is on Sun., March 17 and will, as always, start and end at the House of Sweden. Click here for full event information about the Vasa Ride. Vasa is WABA’s annual bicycle-themed tribute to Sweden’s legendary Vasaloppet, the world’s longest-running cross country ski race. It’s our first organized bike ride of the season and a great chance to bid farewell to the winter months. Join 500 other cyclists of all ages and experience levels for an enjoyable ride traversing the roads of D.C. and Maryland. There are three ride distances:

The 59-mile Vasaloppet
The 30-mile Halv Vasan
The 15-mile Korte Vasan

After the ride, all participants are invited to gather at the House of Sweden for traditional bowls of Swedish-style blueberry soup, courtesy of the Embassy of Sweden, Vasa’s gracious host. Click here to register now. The Vasa Ride always sells out! Check out some photos from last year’s Vasa below the jump: Continue reading →