Fat bottomed girls, they'll be riding today

May 15, 2015 4:19 PM

What are some organized car-free bicycle rides around the United States?

I'm looking for bicycle tours/rides/events along the lines of:
NYC's 5 Boro Bike Tour
Detroit's Tour de Troit

That is:
- an organized bicycle ride (there can be a race component, but it's not exclusively a race)
- the road is closed to cars (it's okay if the tour has to stop for cars at intersections, but you're not riding alongside the cars)
- length of at least 30 miles

I found this question, but it's old, and I have narrower requirements. Thanks!

posted by unannihilated to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (12 answers total)

I've always wanted to do the GranFondo Whistler if Canada counts as "around the United States".

Otherwise, RAGBRAI does not officially close roads for cars, but is sufficiently large that roads around the route are de facto closed.
posted by saeculorum at 4:33 PM on May 15, 2015

CICLAVIA in L.A. *opens* the streets up to people on bicycles. The Portland Bridge Pedal also *opens* the streets up.
posted by aniola at 4:42 PM on May 15, 2015

Response by poster: Races in Canada are A-OK!
posted by unannihilated at 4:51 PM on May 15, 2015

Bike the Drive is a 30-mile ride (you don't have to do it all!) on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago.
posted by sockermom at 4:55 PM on May 15, 2015

Okay, it's not 30 miles (more like 5 or 6) but it's the most charming bicycle event I've ever participated in: the Knoxville Tour de Lights. Every year thousands of Knox-area bicyclists deck their bikes out with Christmas lights and decorations and ride at dusk - kids, adults, unicycles, you name it - through the Old City and surrounding historic neighborhoods. Local bluegrass bands and bagpipers set up and play to the cyclists (ideally, not on the same corner at the same time) and spectators line the route. It's fun and beautiful and it makes me proud of Knoxville.
posted by workerant at 5:16 PM on May 15, 2015 [4 favorites]

It's not an organized ride, but part of the Bronx River Parkway is closed to traffic on certain Sundays from May to September.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:00 PM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

There's the Longsjo classic in central ma. At least part of it is on roads closed to cars (I haven't attended all the legs)
posted by Tandem Affinity at 7:01 PM on May 15, 2015

Tandem Affinity, the Longsjo Classic is a USA Cycling sanctioned bike race. I don't see any non-racing type rides on the site, so probably not what the OP is looking for.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:10 PM on May 15, 2015

Many cities across the country close streets to cars on the weekend. Cambridge in Massachusetts closes the river drive, Philadelphia closes the west river drive every Sunday. Then there is the monthly critical mass rides (last Friday of the month) in many cities across the world. Many of these rides have police support which delivers a rolling blockade, many other rides are well organized and provide their own rolling blockade.
posted by GregorWill at 7:54 PM on May 15, 2015

Sunday Parkways in Portland Oregon has rides like this where the streets get opened up, but at a guess they're probably loops of 10 miles or so each. There are five events, one per month in the summer. Cumulatively, then, it meets your requirements.
posted by aniola at 10:32 PM on May 15, 2015

Tour de Fat is always fun.
posted by u2604ab at 11:06 PM on May 15, 2015

The Bridge Pedal in Portland OR loops around our many charming bridges. The longest loop - 11 bridges this year - is 35 miles. I'm not a bike person, but just from being in town on the day, it seems like some of the bridges are completely closed to traffic, or else others are split up into car-lanes and blocked off, full size lane(s) for the riders. Part of the that long loop route goes up US30 -- not sure about whether any lanes are restricted to traffic on that part,but maybe it is protected, since the loop back down gets half of Willamette Blvd along those 5 miles or so.
posted by janell at 11:37 PM on May 15, 2015