Maybe you’ve seen them downtown—dozens of bicyclists, riding together. It’s called the Tuesday Night Bike Club.
"It started off as a small group of people who liked biking downtown. And it kind of grew and grew. And on any given ride we might get a 100 to 180 riders," said organizer Jeff Moore.
If 180 riders sounds chaotic, Moore says they have a fix for that.
"We like to do it in a safe manner. We have a leader and several marshals along with the group. We follow all the rules of the road, so we stop at red lights. We use radios to communicate."
He says even those who have been there a lot can find something magical downtown, and for a specific reason.
"Well, the magic of downtown is seeing it on a bike. It changes everyone’s point of view, I think. It allows them to experience the city in a totally different way that you can when you’re in a car or a bus. You get to hear things, you get to see things."
They start the evening by finding a central, accessible location to start the ride.
"It’s usually starting from somewhere like the Pearl area. And we’ll ride for about an hour and a half, about ten miles to maybe fourteen miles and we’ll end up right back at that area somewhere."
The Bike Club even has thematic nights.
"The first Tuesday of the month we have—it’s called 'The Women Are in Charge' ride. The women in our group—they lead, they plan the route, they marshal it. And they take us on their own ride. We’ve done a schools supply ride. In October we’re going to do a zombie social ride and diaper drive, so we’re going to gather diapers for the Texas diaper bank. Four or five times a year we do something like that, have a little civic mindedness."
Moore says it’s not just downtown residents who ride. People from other communities also participate.
For more on Tuesday Night Bike Club, go here.
