Bike The Night, the party on wheels, is moving forward again in Guelph.
The Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation is hosting the second annual illuminated night ride on the evening of Friday, Sept. 23. Participants will start at Exhibition Park and travel through Sunny Acres, Royal City Park, the Ward, and end at city hall.
The ride is open to all ages and all abilities, and dressing up in costume and decorating your bike is encouraged.
Laura Brown, vice-president of GCAT, said they anticipate about 200 people attending.
"I think it's going to be bigger and better this year," said Brown, noting people who missed Bike The Night last year were looking forward to it.
"We're going to take a picture from the top of city hall, with everyone at the ground level, and then we'll have a dance party and then we'll be encouraging people to stay downtown."
While downtown, participants will be able to park at the fourth floor of the market square parkade. Brown said GCAT will also have information about safe cycling, GCAT's mission for safer biking infrastructure and information about a bike registration program called Garage 529. Brown adds GCAT is also looking for more volunteers to help out with Bike The Night.
“We’re excited about expanding it and offering something at the end to keep people downtown, and to keep that energy going, and we hope to be continuing to build and add onto it as we go."
Brown explains what makes Bike The Night unique from other GCAT events is the novelty and the crowds energy that gave it an extra 'oomph.'
“We run other events during the day, but it doesn't seem to have the same kind of energy and great atmosphere,” said Brown, noting the first Bike The Night event drew about 130 participants.
"We just want people to have fun, really, on their bikes. You know, we use bikes for transport and all those things, but if you remember back to when you first started riding a bike, you just did it for fun, and (we want) to try and recapture that fun."
This isn't the only fall event GCAT is planning, said Brown. The Guelph Fall Colours Bike Ride is returning and a new fundraising event is in the works. To learn more about the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation, go to gcat.ca.
