Ride around Druid Hill Park with the Baltimore Family Bike Party on May 18
Baltimore Family Bike Party is celebrating National Bike Month (and National Kids to Parks Day) with a ride around one of Baltimore’s best cycling spots – Druid Hill Park.
Photograph courtesy Ben Halvorsen/Baltimore Brew.
Druid Hill Park Family Bike Party
Saturday, May 18, 9:30am to 11:30am
Meet at the Howard Peter Rawlings Conservatory, 3100 Swann Drive, 21217
RSVP on Facebook today!
Enjoy the lovely spring weather with a family ride around Druid Hill Park and Reservoir Hill. Starting from the Howard Peter Rawlings Conservatory, we’ll follow the trail around the lake, out onto quiet streets through Reservoir Hill, past some fantastic community gardens and stop only to enjoy a snack break at a neighborhood playground.
You can also mark your calendars for Bike to School Day on Wednesday, May 8 and Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 17. Any Bike to Work Day riders in the Baltimore area can register online to stop by one of eleven pit stops around Baltimore for free refreshments and bike repairs. We’re not aware of any local Bike to School events so check out this helpful resource on starting a school bike train with families at your school and get something started for your community!
Don’t forget to join our e-mail list to find out about upcoming rides and save the date for our next Family Bike Party on June 15. If you’re looking for advice on how to get the whole family rolling, take a look at our Guide to Baltimore Family Biking for some helpful links and tips.
Stop and smell the flowers with the Sherwood Gardens Family Bike Party on April 20
Courtesy Baltimore Brew
Spring has arrived and the Baltimore Family Bike Party is riding north to stop and smell the flowers!
Sherwood Gardens Family Bike Party
Saturday, April 20, 9:30am to 11:30am
Meet at Stratford Road and Greenway, Baltimore, MD
RSVP on Facebook today!
The tulips (all 80,000 of them) are blooming this spring at Sherwood Gardens – a favorite spring destination for many Baltimore families. Starting with a loop around this beloved neighborhood garden, we’ll ride along quiet curving streets past parks and playgrounds in Guilford, Homeland and nearby neighborhoods.
What is the Baltimore Family Bike Party?
The Baltimore Family Bike Party is a safe and fun bike ride for kids and families inspired by Kidical Mass and the Baltimore Bike Party. Our rides are short and comfortable for young children on two-wheeled bikes (sorry, no training wheels on this ride) or adults with children in trailers or bike seats. If you’re looking for advice on how to get the whole family rolling, take a look at our Guide to Baltimore Family Biking for some helpful links and tips.
Save the date for our next ride! Family Bike Party rides through Lauraville on Saturday, May 18. RSVP on Facebook and stay tuned for details.
Family Bike Party tours the Inner Harbor on March 16
Image courtesy Ziger/Snead.
Join us for an easy ride around the Inner Harbor for our March Family Bike Party! This is our best ride yet for novice riders of all ages with no hills and a separated bike path. Still shopping for a bike seat, trailer or trail-a-bike? Take a look at our favorite resource the Family Biking Ages & Stages at Totcycle or stop by your local bike shop for some advice.
Inner Harbor Family Bike Party
Saturday, March 16, 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Rain date! If there is hard rain on Saturday, we’ll move the ride to Sunday, March 17, 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Meet at the Frederick Douglass-Issac Myers Maritime Park, 1417 Thames Street, Baltimore, MD
RSVP on Facebook!
What is the Baltimore Family Bike Party?
The Baltimore Family Bike Party is a safe and fun bike ride for kids and families inspired by Kidical Mass and the Baltimore Bike Party. Our rides are short and comfortable for young children on two-wheeled bikes (sorry, no training wheels on this ride) or adults with children in trailers or bike seats.
We’re starting at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Museum but the ride is a veritable tour of fun family-friendly spots to check out after the ride from the Maryland Science Center to the USS Constellation to Port Discovery. Questions or suggestions? Get in touch!
Registration now open for Tour dem Parks, Hon!
Tour dem Parks, Hon! is Sunday, June 9th, 2013. They are capping registration at 2,000 riders, so sign up early! This annual bike ride through Baltimore’s parksand neighborhoods offers a close-up view of regional parks like Carroll, Patterson, Clifton and Druid Hill, as well as some quietly tucked away gems. Participants choose from 4 routes: 14 miles (the family ride on the Gwynn’s Falls Trail), 25 miles, 35 miles, or a metric century (64 miles). All rides start and end in Carroll Park.
Discount, early bird registration (until April 1st) is $35 for adults, and $20 for kids 15 and under. Save $15 by registering early! Proceeds support Baltimore’s parks, as well as environmental, “friends of parks”, and cycling groups. Tour dem Parks, Hon! is fully supported with rest stops and ends with a jazz barbeque. Visit the Tour dem Parks website to register or for more information.
Family Bike Party rides through Sowebo to the B&O Railroad Museum
Photo courtesy B&O Railroad Museum.
We couldn’t let winter keep us away! The Baltimore Family Bike Party is back with a ride on quiet neighborhood streets through southwest Baltimore. After the ride we hope you’ll join us to warm up at the B&O Railroad Museum!
Update – With low temperatures and rain, we decided we’ll be safer and have more fun if we move the ride to tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow!
Southwest Baltimore Family Bike Party
Saturday, February 16, 9:30am to 11:30am
Rain date! Sunday, February 17, 9:30am to 11:30am (and admission to the B&O Railroad Museum is free on Sunday!)
Meet at the James McHenry Elementary School playground, Hollins Street between S. Poppleton and S. Schroeder Streets
RSVP on Facebook today!
What is the Baltimore Family Bike Party?
The Baltimore Family Bike Party is a safe and fun bike ride for kids and families. Our rides are short and comfortable for young children on two-wheeled bikes (sorry, no training wheels on this ride) or adults with children in trailers or bike seats. If you are new to family biking, check out the Totcyle Family Biking Ages & Stages guide for plenty of suggestions on how to use seats, trailers, cargo bikes and more to keep your whole family rolling.
We know it might be chilly this month so our ride at the B&O Railroad Museum as a fun place for everyone to warm up! The museum is offering half-price admission to celebrate the museum’s recovery from a major roof collapse ten years ago. The museum is also offering free admission in February to any Maryland Zoo members. Any questions or suggestions? Get in touch!
Happy New Year from the Baltimore Family Bike Party!
Image courtesy Reuters.
We are taking a short break from our regular rides in January and February with plans to start riding monthly again in March. We have got some fun plans for the Baltimore Family Bike Party in 2013 from a bike-to-the-pool party when the weather gets warm, a bike camping trip to Patapsco State Park this summer, a movie night and much more. If you’re interested in volunteering to help plan a ride in your neighborhood or ride as a sweeper on a ride in 2013, please get in touch!
Even if we’re not organizing the Family Bike Party, it doesn’t mean that you and your kids should stop biking! We’ve pulled together a few helpful resources and blog posts on winter biking for families. If you have your own favorite winter biking tips, please share them in the comments. Bike Winter: Kids has a great round-up of options from trailers to cargo bikes for keeping young children out of the worst cold weather:
Most Bike Winter parents agree: with a little extra gear and patient preparation, biking with young children year-round is easier (and warmer!) than it may look. Jane Healy, board president of Active Transportation Alliance, is a role model to many Chicago-area biking families. She transported her three children by bicycle trailer through wind, rain and snow; all three are now confident young cyclists. “They never complained about being too cold; in fact, it was usually just the opposite” says Jane. “Even on the windiest, coldest days when I covered every extremity, they were comfortable in their little cocoon.”
For recommendations including clothing and entertaining activities, check out mamafiets, a family biking blog written from Eugene, Oregon, on Winter Cycling With Kids: How We Stay Warm and Comfortable on the Bike:
In my garage sits a dusty and lonesome Burley trailer. I thought that for sure my kids would be clamoring to get in the trailer by now, to escape the cold (as low as 25 F), the rain, and the wind… So far this winter, we’ve experienced some of the colder and rainier weather Eugene has to offer (including our favorite configuration: buckets of cold rain with strong winds), but I have only heard the words “Mama, I’m cold” once.
Chicargo Bike, one of our favorite family biking blogs, has a handfulof informative posts on getting kids dressed for fall and winter weather and even features a ten-year-old kid’s perspective on winter biking!
Winter Biking for a kid is not fun every day. You have to get up early and wear warm clothes but when you get to school you always steam to death… Wear a hat under your helmet or your ears will fall off.
There are many more resources out there on winter biking for everyone so please share any favorite links in the comments. Keep riding and have a happy New Year!
Baltimore Family Bike Party is coming to Wyman Park & Hampden on December 15
The Baltimore Family Bike Party is heading to North Baltimore in December for an afternoon ride around Wyman Park and Hampden ending at dusk with a visit to the famous Miracle on 34th Street. This ride is a bit hillier than our recent Patterson Park and Riverside Park Bike Parties but, as always, we welcome everyone from toddlers in bike seats to young teens on two wheels for this family-friendly community ride.
Wyman Park & Hampden Family Bike Party
Saturday, December 15, 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Meet at the Wyman Park Playground, 3510 Beech Avenue (just north of 34th Street)
RSVP on Facebook today!
What is the Baltimore Family Bike Party?
The Baltimore Family Bike Party is a safe and fun bike ride for kids and families. Our ride is similar to Kidical Mass- a movement of group bike rides for families organized in over a dozen communities throughout the United States and Canada.
Our ride will be short and comfortable for young children on two-wheeled bikes (sorry, no training wheels on this ride) or adults with children in trailers or bike seats. If you are new to family biking, check out the Totcyle Family Biking Ages & Stages guide for plenty of suggestions on how to use seats, trailers, cargo bikes and more to keep your whole family rolling. Even if you don’t have kids – you can still help out as a volunteer!
Special weather policy - if the temperature dips below 40°F on December 15 or if rain or snow make riding conditions unsafe, we may cancel or reschedule the ride! Keep an eye on our Facebook page or sign up for our new e-mail list to get any updates. For more information, check out our About page or just get in touch.
Baltimore Family Bike Party heads to Riverside Park on November 10
We’re rolling into fall with November’s Baltimore Family Bike Party riding on quiet neighborhoods streets around Riverside Park, Federal Hill and more south Baltimore neighborhoods. Local families with toddlers in trailers, kids on trail-a-bikes, young children on two wheels, and more are all welcome on this fun community ride!
Riverside Park Family Bike Party
Saturday, November 10, 9:30am to 11:30am
Riverside Park, East Randall Street and Riverside Avenue
RSVP on Facebook today!
Photo courtesy gregni2/Panoramio.
Thanks to everyone who joined us for October’s Patterson Park ride. Just like our last one, our November Family Bike Party will be a short ride comfortable for kids on two-wheel bikes - sorry, no training wheels on this ride! For more information on family biking check out the Totcyle Family Biking Ages & Stages guide with the run-down of seats, trailers, cargo bikes and more options to keep your whole family rolling. We’re also looking for volunteers in the south Baltimore area to help us spread the word over the next few weeks and help organize a snack break or two along the route. Please get in touch if you’d like to help us keep the ride growing!
Baltimore Family Bike Party in Patterson Park on October 20
Photo courtesy Smallbones/Wikipedia.
Join us for the October Baltimore Family Bike Party beginning from the grand entrance to historic Patterson Park, winding through the park and out on to quiet neighborhood streets of upper Fell’s Point. After the ride we’ll stop at one of Baltimore’s best playgrounds that offer hours of fun with slides, jungle gyms, and much more for everyone from toddlers to young teens!
Patterson Park Family Bike Party
Saturday, October 20, 9:30am to 11:30am
RSVP on Facebook today!
Just like last month our ride will be short (around 2 miles) and comfortable for children on two-wheeled bikes. For toddlers or any children who are a bit unsteady on their own (no training wheels on this ride!), check out the Totcyle Family Biking Ages & Stages guide for plenty of suggestions on how to use seats, trailers, cargo bikes and more to keep your whole family rolling. We have both bike trailers and trail-a-bikes available to loan out during the ride so if you are interested please let us know!
Any questions? Go ahead and send us a note or just post over on our Facebook event page.
Photo courtesy kubina/Flickr.
Today! September Baltimore Family Bike Party at Stadium Place
Thanks to Patrick for putting together a fun route for tomorrow’s ride. Take a look at the map below for details but we’ll start at Our Playground at Stadium Place, continue on quiet neighborhood streets to 32nd Street, down the Guilford Avenue bike boulevard to 26th Street and take a break at Margaret Brent Elementary School around the corner from the Village Learning Place. We’ll head back north on Barclay Street and retrace our route back to the playground.
We’ll have a few decorations for bikes and a couple of spare trailers for parents whose children want to ride rather than bike on their own. Please remember to wear your helmet and bring helmets for any children who will be coming along for the ride. If you’re coming too far to ride to the start, there is plenty of parking by the YMCA or you can meet us along the way.
