Saturday night I went on a full moon bike ride hosted by BicycleSPACE with more than 100 people. We started the ride just as the sun started going down and enjoyed the full moon and quiet DC streets. It was such a cool experience to see all the flashing bike lights and hear the bells. We were instructed to wave and smile and greet people we saw with cheer. People loved it; they filmed us, asked us what we were doing, cheered us on. The ride was leisurely and about 10 miles in total. We met near the BicycleSpace shop in Mt. Vernon Square and meandered through downtown to Capitol Hill and eventually along the river path. I'm not sure that the ride had any intention other than to be enjoyable (what's not to love about a casual twilight bike ride through some historic parts of DC on a gorgeous summer night?), but I think 100+ bikes made an impact on the community. It could've brought awareness to the number of bikers in the city. It was a way of being a community with others, and it was a way of spreading kindness and good energy to others. We gave out a lot of high fives, "Happy Saturdays!" and waves, and were returned with cheers, whistles, smiles, and encouragement. It was awesome to see so many people out in the community enjoying the evening, and to be doing something to cause a scene and raise awareness without harming anyone or anything. It was certainly a spectacle, I'll never forget approaching the shop and seeing the vast expanse of bikers.
BicycleSPACE did an awesome job putting this on. The ride finished at Yards Park with an awesome musical surprise and a picnic. They plan to hold more rides like this during July and August and I would highly encourage anyone to go.
--Megan
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