Biking to the border
mayors’ binational bike ride slated Saturday
Hop on your bike and ride for the border.
Cycling enthusiasts are invited to take part in the 5th annual Mayor’s Binational Bike Ride, a 25-mile trek set to leave at 8 a.m. Saturday from the Yuma Civic Center, ending up in San Luis Rio Colorado near the municipal government building.
Participating bicyclists will ride with a law enforcement escort along Highway 95, making stops at the Cocopah Korner Store, at Somerton City Hall, at Amistad Park in Gadsden and at St. Jude Thaddeus Church in San Luis, Ariz.
The ride is open to riders of all ages, although minors must be accompanied by parents or guardians.
Participants supply their own bikes and helmets. Cyclists will register for the ride beginning at 7 a.m. at the civic center, 1440 W. Desert Hills, with the first 300 to sign up receiving commemorative t-shirts.
This marks the fifth year of the ride that started out as an idea of a San Luis Rio Colorado city councilman and is now hosted by the mayors of that city and of Yuma, Somerton, San Luis and Wellton, and by the Cocopah and Quechan tribes.
The ride takes place to promote unity and economic cooperation among the cities and tribes, but Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls said it is also serves as a fun event for all members of the family.
Cyclists pedaling at their own paces have the option of going the full distance or stopping short of the border, Nicholls said.
“This ride is not about a bunch of rules,” he said. “There’s no competition.”
The route, passing beside cropland and through south Yuma County’s small cities, offers a perspective of how all the communities relate to and depend on one another in a common economic region, he said.
Last year’s ride was canceled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the one before that brought out about 250 riders, Nicholls said. He expects the turnout to continue to grow as more cycling enthusiasts from other areas find out about the ride.
Nicholls expressed thanks to officials from the cities and the tribes for their contributions in sustaining the ride from year to year.
“It’s not just a city of Yuma event. It’s truly a community-wide effort to get it planned and then a community-wide effort to get it executed.”
Law enforcement officers drive in the left southbound lane of 95 as escorts for cyclists pedaling in the right lane, he said. “It’s the safest ride you’ll ever be on.”
Cyclists who plan to follow the route across the border are reminded to carry passports or other required dots to be able to return through the pedestrian crossing at the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis.
Cyclists should make arrangements for transportation home unless they plan to ride their bicycles on the return. The Yuma County Area Transit will offer limited bus service for those returning home
“It’s truly a great communitywide event, and I look forward to a great turnout,” Nicholls said.