An event by the Barrie, Ont., Active Transpiration and Sustainability Committee (ATSC), is looking to encourage more people to try cycling while lighting up Barrie’s streets this weekend.
The Bike the Night event is in partnership with the Barrie ATSC and Living Green Barrie to encourage residents to explore greener forms of transportation.
With the event only a few days away, organizers say they have already had over 200 people show interest by signing up online.
“We really want to celebrate cycling as a great form of active transportation and recreation, and we just want to grow the local interest in cycling in our in our community,” said Kelly Patterson McGrath, a member of the ATSC and co-organizer of the event.
“We want people to come out and decorate their bikes in lights and costumes if they like, and just have a nice leisurely pace through the downtown at dusk and, on to some roads as well, to feel how comfortable it is for them to be riding on roads.”
Some lights will be available for riders, but Patterson McGrath said people are encouraged to bring their own, with prizes for those with the best-decorated bike and costumes.
The event starts Saturday at 5 p.m. at Meridian Place with entertainment, activities, and giveaways. Beginning at 7 p.m., groups of people will be taken out on guided rides along the Barrie Lakeshore bike path.
Each ride is expected to take around 30 minutes, and cover around 4 kilometres.
“Everybody is welcome to come because it’s not a race; it’s just a leisurely ride and getting people on their bikes, getting them engaged, getting them out in the fresh air, and seeing what it’s like to maybe once in a while walk or hop on a bike to the grocery store or the kids going to school,” Patterson McGrath said.
She hopes to make Saturday’s ride the first of more to come in an effort to help people find more ways to get around Barrie that don’t involve cars.
Anyone interested in participating in the event can sign up for a free ticket on Eventbrite, with more details available on the event’s Facebook page.
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