National BikeMonth rides feature culture and music
Hop on the Miami Beach Ciclovía. Party and get dosed with culture at Cycle de Mayo. Go for a musical boogie ride with theUnderline Cycling Club.
National Bike Month kicks off today — who knew? — and it’s safe to say it’s never seemed a big thing in Miami. Until maybe now.
Because bikes are cool again, and sustainability and alternative transportation are hot topics, Miami has belatedly embraced the long-running, coast-tocoast celebration of cycling with the fervor of the newly converted.
So are you ready for the first Beach Ciclovía? Modeled after the famed weekly street closures in Bogota, it’s on South Beach this morning. Eleven blocks ofWashington Avenue will be cordoned off and turned over to cyclists, pedestrians, skateboarders, yogis and any other non-motorized comers to disport themselves as they see fit.
“It’s a parade for the people,” said BeachMayorPhilip Levine, who got the idea from New York’s Ciclovíainspired Summer Streets program, in which seven miles of city streets, including a chunk of Park Avenue, are opened up to all to play, walk, run or ride along on Saturdays in August.
“I was astonished at how cool it was and how much fun itwas,” Levine said. “All of a sudden, this road that had been filled with traffic was now filled with people. ParkAvenue became a park.
“We thoughtWashington Avenuewould be a great experimental place to try it here because it has enough density of people who might enjoy it. And if it works, we can do it again.”
At about the same time, the folks backing the conversion of the path beneath the Metrorail tracks along South Dixie Highway into an extensive linear park called the Underline will lead a Bikes & Beats ride along a six-mile portion of the planned route. Setting the pace for the ride: a soundtrack of dance music broadcast by Silent Revolution through linked, bikemounted speakers.
“It’s a disco on wheels, baby,” joked Underline cofounderMegDaly.
The good news for those who can’t turn pedals over fast enough to be at both Ciclovía and Bikes & Beats simultaneously: Daly said she plans to make the Underline Cycling Club ride amonthly event.