Bike Friendly Richardson’s 8th Annual Black Friday Ride – Recap

We’ve been doing the Black Friday Ride for 8 years. Each time we learn something new, to try and improve upon the previous years. This year, was one of the best group rides that we’ve done, so far. It was the perfect combination of great weather, great planning, great refreshments and—most of all—great riders.

This year’s route was planned by active BFR member Howard and his wife Rita. It was nice and flat, and stayed on the east side of Richardson. In past years, we tried to accommodate the group by splitting the ride onto both sides of town—crossing Central, a major interstate highway through town. We decided to avoid that and start alternating these rides, doing the east side this year and west side next. This kept the 8.5 mile loop safe and easy for all riders.

We also decided to start and end the ride at Yale Park, one of Richardson’s local public spaces. This allowed us to hang out and visit, brew some coffee and snack on some pizza. A nearby playground was great for the kids of all ages. The park allowed us to mingle without interrupting the traffic and crowds of a local business parking lot, our typical starting point.

The ride took us to fellow BFR member, Jenny’s house, where we enjoyed some nice shade, a warm fire pit and some great refreshments in her back yard. The 5 minute pit stop turned into a 20-30 minute social gathering. It was great to enjoy the company of my fellow riders.

There were a few other surprising highlights from the ride:
– We truly had one of the broadest age range of any group ride – all practicing great ride etiquette.
– Richardson drivers were super friendly, going out of their way to accommodate our larger, relatively not-so-fast, group. It was pleasant to wave a ‘thank you’ and get a genuine smile and wave back.
– Although some of the group fell behind, several folks stepped up to make sure we kept together – waiting at corners and hitting the ‘walk’ button at intersections.

THIS is the stuff that makes riding welcoming for all.

Here are some pics from the ride. Click here to see the whole set.