A leisurely bike ride around Asbury Park this Sunday
Monthly event includes all different ages, types of bikes and various routes
Come get some fresh air during this month’s Asbury Park Slow Roll bike ride around the city on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2 pm. Participants will meet at the Carousel building on the boardwalk.
The rides are monthly community events open to everyone, residents and friends of Asbury Park. Helmets are required for those under age 17. The rides last from 60-90 minutes.
“We stop along the way for photos, very easy,” said organizer Polli Schildge, a member of the Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition. “We ride when it’s cold and even once with snow on the roads!”
Schildge said that rides are not held in precipitation, however, and those gatherings are rescheduled.
Email apcompletestreets@gmail.com to get on the mailing list for the monthly Slow Roll, or for more information. Visit the Complete Streets Coalition Facebook page for more information about biking, walking and alternative transportation in Asbury Park, as well as transportation initiatives elsewhere.
Schildge planned the first Slow Roll ride in 2017 to bring visibility to the Complete Streets Coalition, as well as to bring people together from all parts of the city and show the need for infrastructure for bikes and walking in the city.
“I called it the Polar Bear Ride. We met on a freezing day in February at Kula Cafe,” said Schildge. “Our new transportation manager Mike Manzella rode with us, showing off plans for bike and walk infrastructure.”
As the Complete Streets Coalition became more of an advocacy entity in the city, Schildge moved the start of the rides to a more central location at Springwood Park in an effort to attract more people. Many rides were in the evening, which led to our bike light campaign, which continues currently, she said.
“Eventually these community rides became not an official “event,” but just a group of people — friends and neighbors riding bikes, as it should be,” said Schildge. “Every ride is a little bit different, with every kind of bike and every age, kids on tiny bikes and trailers, evening summertime rides ending on the boardwalk for photo ops, or the most recent with stops at Holiday Bazaars, at local spots for beers, or for refreshments hosted by riders.”
The group has been been meeting at The Carousel for the past several rides because of its central location. But Schildge says she’s “happy to begin rides anywhere that will attract the most people to get together on bikes — any age, any kind of bike for an easy cruise around Asbury Park.”
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