Six Family-Friendly Bike Rides Near You

The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition offers six opportunities September and October for people to enjoy  group rides.

"People often call our office and approach us at events," says BikeSonoma Outreach Director, Sandra Lupien, "saying they’d love to try cycling, but are intimidated to do so alone."

"While the cycling clubs organize awesome rides for folks who want to ride 30 miles or more, no one is really offering shorter rides that are appropriate for kids to seniors," Lupien says.

"That’s the need our rides will fill – we’ll go at an inclusive pace, and it’s come-as-you-are – lycra is not required,” she adds.

Here's the schedule for the next two months:

— Tour de Santa Rosa Creek: A Creek Week Event: The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition and the City of Santa Rosa are joining together to host The Tour de Santa Rosa Creek. Bring the whole family for a fun filled, casual-paced, flat, 11-mile roundtrip bike ride.

If you go: On Tuesday, Sept. 20 cyclists leave the Olive Park Footbridge, located at 1698 Hazel Street in Santa Rosa, at 5:30 p.m. and bike downstream to Willowside Road, returning to the Olive Park Footbridge about 7:30 p.m. The day will start with a bike safety talk and along the way will stop and learn about the ongoing efforts to restore the creek.

— Ride to Celebrate Sonoma County Museum's Bicycle Exhibit: The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition is working with Sonoma County Museum to coordinate four great rides in connection with the Museum’s upcoming “Customized: Art & History of the Bicycle Exhibit.”

If you go: For the Friday, Sept. 23 ride: meet at 5 p.m on the South A Street end of Juilliard Park for a tour of Downtown Santa Rosa’s public art installations. This 3-mile jaunt will depart promptly and end at the museum’s special members-only preview reception.

Not a museum member? That’s OK – if you arrive by bike, the museum will admit non-members to this private event for just $5. The bicycle coalition will provide valet bicycle parking at the museum from 5 until 7:30 p.m.

— Streamers and Spokes Free Family Day at the Museum: From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 interested bikers should meet in front of the Museum at noon, for a 3-mile loop that will tour downtown Santa Rosa’s public art installations before returning to the museum. Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition’s Safe Routes to School program will be on site that day to provide information about .

— The Tweed Ride in honor of bike commuter Luther Burbank: On Saturday, Oct. 15, don your wooly knickers and other jaunty period togs and meet up at the museum at 10 a.m. for a coffee and pastry reception. From there, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Executive Director, Gary Helfrich, will lead you on a leisurely 16-mile out-and-back along the Joe Rodota Trail to Burbank’s Gold Ridge Farm in Sebastopol.

Helfrich and the museum’s Eric Stanley will share stories and facts that will help you imagine how the route looked when Burbank rode it back and forth between the Farm and Burbank Gardens in Santa Rosa, all those years ago.

— The Builders Tour: On Saturday, Oct. 22, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Outreach Director, Sandra Lupien, leads a bike tour of the shops of some of Santa Rosa’s custom bike builders. More details to come, but plan to meet at the Museum at 12:30 p.m.

— Graton Day Ride: This annual street festival celebrating the hamlet of Graton (home of Willow Wood Market, Underwood Bistro, a great art gallery, and lots of groovy folks) was missing a bike ride, so we’re adding one! Meet at the old fire station (Ross Road, just north of Graton Road) at 1:45 p.m. sharp. We’ll tool around town and along the West County trail. Decorate your bike if you wanna. We’ll end up downtown Graton at 3 p.m., just as the festivities get underway.

For info about any of the rides, please call Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition at 707-545-0153 or email Sandra@BikeSonoma.org.

Children under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and are required by law to wear helmets. We recommend helmets for all riders, and require all riders to sign a liability waiver.

BikeSonoma is a 10-year-old nonprofit organization that promotes bicycling for transportation and recreation, operates a successful Safe Routes to School program, and works with partners throughout Sonoma County to ensure that bikes are included in community transportation plans.