December 2017: 3rd Annual Almost Solstice Ride

The 3rd Annual Almost Solstice Ride will be on Sunday Dec 18 in Downtown! Meet at the top of the UWT Grand Staircase (1900 Jefferson Street, Tacoma) at 11am for a ride to Thea's Park. Afterward we'll head to the Harmon Brewery and Restaurant to brainstorm ideas for our 2017 ride calendar. The first round of hot chocolate is on us.

As usual we'll be riding in the street, following the Rules of the Road. Kids should be accompanied by an adult and helmets are required. Dress in layers as it will be cold; gloves are a must this time of year.

The route is a little over 3 miles. (No training wheels or balance bikes on this route, please.) We'll pass a segment of Prairie Line Trail under construction and practice some technical bike handling skills on the Glass Museum ramps. Big finish on the Bridge of Glass!

If you are planning to stick around after the ride, the Harmon Brewery & Restaurant has all day Happy Hour on Sundays and kids eat free with the purchase of an entrée. We'll bring an extra lock or two and a long cable.

RSVP on Facebook.  Thanks to the Tacoma Washington Bicycle Club for sponsoring our events!

3rd Annual Almost Solstice Ride

Sunday, December 18, 2016

11am roll-out from 1900 Jefferson St, Tacoma

(top of the UWT stairs, across from The Swiss)

November 2016: Cranksgiving Junior

Part bike ride - Part food drive - All fun! 

Join us for our 2nd Annual Cranksgiving Junior family bike ride through Hilltop on Saturday November 26, 2016, at 11 a.m. from 2nd Cycle Community Cycle Center (1213 MLK Jr Way). 

We'll pedal to a park for some play time then pedal to the Hilltop Safeway for a chance to try your hand at family shopping by bicycle. Riders will be asked to purchase a few items from a given list that will be donated to the Backpack Program at St. Leo Food Connection. Be sure to bring along some way to haul your food items with you on your bike - a bag, a basket, a trailer, etc.

"The Backpack program currently provides two day's worth of food every weekend throughout the school year to more than 750 children at 26 Tacoma and Clover Park Schools. The counselor at each of the schools identifies those students most at-risk of hunger.  The St. Leo Food Connection provides each student with six kid-friendly meals and snacks, including fresh fruits and vegetables, every Friday during the school year."

After we shop, we'll pedal to the Food Connection to deliver our items and take a quick tour. Cash donations to the Backpack Program will also be accepted and are used to purchase fresh produce. You can also donate directly through their website.

As always, we will be riding in the street and following the Rules of the Road. For this ride, younger riders with push bikes or training wheels can ride directly to Safeway along the sidewalk. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Please plan accordingly and dress for the weather! Helmets for all riders are required.

What: Cranksgiving Junior with Kidical Mass Tacoma

When: 11am, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016

Where: 2nd Cycle, 1205 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Tacoma

Who: Kids and their Families, Neighbors, Friends

Why: Food Drive for the Food Connection Backpack Program (and Learn to Shop by Bike!)

RSVP on our Facebook page

(Approximate Route)

Thanks to the Tacoma Wheelmen's Bicycle Club for sponsoring our events.


BONUS RIDE! There will also be an afternoon alley cat-style Cranksgiving event starting from 2nd Cycle on the same day! More of a grown-up ride, but also helping hungry Tacomans.

October 2016: Black Cat Sweeper Ride

Our first night ride event! The Tacoma Wheelmens Bicycle Club have invited us to join them as volunteers for the MetroParks Tacoma Black Cat Fun Run. We will be sweeping (riding behind) the 2.5 mile kids run course in Point Defiance Park, making sure no one is left behind in the spooky darkness.

**Meet at the Point Defiance Zoo parking lot at 7pm on Saturday Oct 22. We will provide glow-sticks and reflective tape to riders to help them glow along the way.**

PLEASE NOTE:
-It will be DARK!
-We will be riding on a closed paved course within the park and you may want to bring a front headlight to better see the road.
-If you are wearing a costume, make sure that no part of it drags near your chain or wheels. As always, dress for the weather.
-Helmets are required! Consider decorating it to match your costume.
-If you are riding to this event on open streets, you are required by law to have both front and rear lights.

We recognize that this ride won't be a good fit for our youngest or less experienced riders, but this is a great opportunity to get older and more experienced riders a taste of riding at night.

RSVP on Facebook.

September 2016: Kidical MASSIVE in Tacoma's South End

Kidical Mass Tacoma is a monthly bike ride for kids and their families. We ride in the street, following the Rules of the Road, and stop to regroup so we all ride together.

Join us on Saturday, September 17, 2016, for a ride through Tacoma's South End. On this particular day, kids and families in cities all over the world are also going on a Kidical Mass ride in their community. It's a global Kidical MASSIVE event!

The ride will start at 11am from the playground at Wapato Park (near S 68th and S Sheridan.) Please come a few minutes early to sign-in, pump your tires and say hi to everyone.

We will ride this route clockwise from Wapato Park to Fern Hill Park

We will ride along Park Avenue South bikeway to Fern Hill Park for a short play break. We'll then make our way through the neighborhood back to Wapato Park using the bike lane on Alaska Street.

(If you have young riders with training wheels or push bikes, they can ride the now paved trail that circles Wapato Lake within the park while the bigger kids take to the streets.)

Helmets are required. Kids should be accompanied by an adult. RSVP on Facebook.

Sponsored by the Tacoma Wheelmen's Bicycle Club.

June 2016: Salishan Summer Ride

Kidical Mass Tacoma is a monthly bike ride for kids and their families. We ride at a comfortable pace for kids and stop to regroup as needed.

In June we'll be riding a 3.8-mile figure-eight route around Salishan and Swan Creek Park. The ride starts in the parking lot behind the Family Investment Center (E 44th and R St). The first half is very flat and passes by the future site of the Eastside Community Center. The second half of the route has a few hills and will showcase some of Swan Creek Park, including the community garden and access to the mountain bike trails. We will be riding in the street and following the Rules of the Road, but much of the ride is on  paths separated from car traffic. The entire route is paved.

The ride starts at 11am, but plan to arrive early to pump up your tires, decorate your bike, and meet other family riders.

If you haven't ridden in Salishan or Swan Creek Park before, don't miss this ride! There are tons of pocket parks and playgrounds to explore afterwards. Bring a picnic lunch and we'll provide ice cream treats.

Helmets and adult supervision are required. Many thanks to the Tacoma Wheelmen's Bicycle Club for sponsoring these events!

RSVP on Facebook and tell your friends.

May 2016: Gigantic Interstate Ride

Kidical Mass Tacoma is a monthly bike ride for kids and their families. We ride in the street, following the Rules of the Road, and stop to regroup so we all ride together. It's a fun way motivate kids to use active transportation and to meet other Pedal Parents.

Join us during Bike Month on Sunday May 15 as we cross I-5 for the first time on a ride from Lincoln Park to Lincoln Heights Park.

The ride will roll-out at 11am from the Lincoln Park Playground, but please come a few minutes early to sign-in, pump your tires and say hi to everyone.

We will ride along South 37th Street to the Bike/Pedestrian Bridge and continue over I-5 to Lincoln Heights Park (behind Costco, near the Pierce County Annex.) We'll have a snack, play for a bit, then ride back to Lincoln Park.

These two neighborhoods were once better connected. The Lincoln Heights neighborhood was built as war housing during the 1940s. Click here for an aerial view looking south in 1958 showing the winding neighborhood streets before I-5 or the Tacoma Mall were built.

Helmets are required for all riders and kids should be accompanied by an adult. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or contact Matt (two five three, two oh nine, four oh three two). Thanks to the Tacoma Wheelmens Bicycle Club for sponsoring our rides!

RSVP on Facebook!

April 2016: Earth Day Ride to Blueberry Park

Ride with us in the street from Stewart Heights Park to Charlotte's Blueberry Park where we'll help with Parks Appreciation Day! 

The ride starts at 9:30am at Stewart Heights playground. We will ride 1.5 miles to Blueberry Park where we will help clean-up the park until 11:30am (about 1.5 hours). Then we will ride back to Stewart Heights.

Metro Parks Tacoma will provide tools, some water and snacks, and porta-potties. Please bring work gloves for all of your helpers! We will mostly be pruning and hauling out brush. If you want to bring your own pruning tools (a good idea), mark them with your name.

Matt will bring a long cable to secure all bikes together while we are working.

Dress for the weather! (It's April so layers, raincoats, sunscreen, etc.)

If you can't make it to our event, here's a list of Parks Appreciation Day activities happening in the Tacoma-area on April 23. Pitch in where you can!

RSVP for the ride on Facebook.

March 2016: West Side Library Ride

The ride starts from the University of Puget Sound fountain (N 15th and Lawrence) at 11am. We will ride in the street 3.1 miles to the Swasey Library, stopping to pick-out a few books. Bring your library card and a bike lock! Then we'll ride back for a snack at the end, and maybe an optional post-ride lunch along 6th Ave.

We ride slowly at a kids' pace and follow the Rules of the Road, regrouping as needed. Snacks and bike decorations provided. Helmets are required for all riders. 

This ride is a bit longer than some of our usual rides, so plan accordingly. RSVP on Facebook.

February 2016: Legendary Presidents Ride

We'll be celebrating Presidents Day a few days late with a short bike ride to Wright Park powered by legendary ride fuel from Legendary Doughnuts.

This ride starts from Legendary Doughnuts (2602 6th Ave) at 11am on Feb 21, 2016. Show up a bit early to sign-in, get your bike ready, and have a donut. Keep your fingers crossed for sunshine, because we'll be playing at Wright Park for a bit before returning to the 6th Ave Business District.

The route is 3.0 miles round-trip. https://goo.gl/maps/yRj9cqivB232

This is a casual bike ride for kids and their families. All riders need to wear a helmet and all children need an adult to ride with them. We ride in the street and follow the Rules of the Road (no training wheels or push bikes, please.)

The weather was perfect last year! 

Thanks to the Tacoma Wheelmen's Bicycle Club for sponsoring these events.

Our Plan for 2016

Based on our post-ride planning session in December, Matt and Sarah assembled a rough 2016 ride calendar. Most of the dates are firm, but some routes are still TBD based on time of year, theme, activity, etc.

Sun Feb 21 - Legendary Donuts to Wright Park (Legendary Presidents Ride)
Sat Mar 19 - Central Tacoma/6th Ave to Swazey Library/West Side
Sat Apr 23 - Route TBD (Earth Day Ride activity)
Sun May 15 - Interstate Ride (basically Lincoln Park to Costco via I-5 Ped Bridge)
Sun June 12 - Swan Creek/Salishan (Bike Rodeo/MTB at Swan)
Mon July 4 - Self-Organized Independence Day Neighborhood Rides (multiple locations)
Sat Aug 13 - Ruston Family Fair
Sat Sept 17 - Kidical MASSive from Wapato Park
Date TBD Oct - Harvest Ride (Gleaning with Harvest Pierce County?)
Sat Nov 19 - Cranksgiving Junior benefit for St. Leo Food Connection programs (MOB Riders and Skid Kings collaboration events on same day?)
Sun Dec 18 - Hilltop Solstice Ride

Feel free to leave feedback in the comments below or email kidicalmasstacoma <at> gmail <dot> com if you can help us fill in any of the TBDs in this list.

There were a few great route ideas that we couldn't squeeze in, but are on the table for future rides:

- Snake Lake to Manitou for Sunday Farmers Market at STAR Center
- Verlo Sprayground at McKinley to Lincoln Park
- West Side Candle Park Route

Thanks to everyone who helped us brainstorm ideas. We're looking forward to riding with you and your family in 2016!