Ride Pleasant Streets - Saturday Short Edition

Join us on Saturday, May 6 @ 3:00 PM for an extra-special visit to Madisonville. Cincinnati historian and author Chris Hanlin will be joining us! Along with the joy of biking that all of our rides provide, we will visit several sites of historical importance and benefit from Chris' expert knowledge along the way.

Madisonville has a deep history that resonates to this day, and I am so excited that Chris is giving us this precious opportunity to deepen our perspectives and connection to the human stories of our region.

For more of Chris' research and writing about Cincinnati, check out the book he co-authored with Xavier professor Kathleen Smythe: "Bicycling Through Paradise." As our group has often remarked, you see things on a bike that you would never notice in a car. This book is an incredible invitation to explore and learn along the way!

PLEASE PRE-REGISTER HERE (30 riders max) after reading the event details.

Note: Pre-registration helps us with safe and smooth ride management, so please do this if you can. However, don’t avoid coming just because your schedule was uncertain. You can register on-site if you need to—just be extra sure to arrive 10-15 minutes early.

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Route preview: RPS_035 - Sat Short - Madisonville History Tour v1

As an added bonus of Queen City Bike’s sponsorship of this event, you can navigate this route for free on the Ride with GPS app at any time—both during the event and after!

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Departure Time: 3:00pm

• Please plan to arrive early so we can all leave in a punctual fashion
• We will meet in front of Community Happens Here
• Ride leaders will be there by 2:45pm to answer any questions

Distance: 14.9 miles

Difficulty:

• Mid-level Beginners and above
• All riders should be comfortable with basic bike-handling and traffic skills
• Route is not suitable for young children, but may be a good match for proficient teenagers (per discretion of parents)

Terrain:
This route is mostly flat to rolling, but does include descents down Robison Road and Old Red Bank, and a couple climbs around +/-4% grade.

Climbs (steeper than +4% grade):

• Lester Avenue (~1 mi; 4-5% grade). On our way back to Pleasant Ridge.

Descents (steeper than neg 4% grade):

• Robison Road (~0.4 mi; max neg ~5% grade) as we head out of Pleasant Ridge
• Old Red Bank Road (~1 mi; max neg 7.5% grade). So much better than riding up it, amirite?

Traffic stress:

• 90% of this ride will be on low-traffic streets

Higher-stress areas:

• The busiest area will be riding through the center of Pleasant Ridge (on Montgomery). The multiple traffic lights, the lower traffic volume on Saturday afternoons, and our presence as a group will all help to reduce the stress in this section.

Post-ride:

• Spontaneous post-ride plans are welcome!
• We should be done with the ride by about 5:15pm.

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Safety Notes:

• Helmets required
• Bike must be in good working condition. Please contact me if you have any questions!

Weather Notes:

• In the event of adverse weather, I will post an update on the day of the ride—at or before noon
• Updates will be shared on the Facebook event page, and also via the Ride Pleasant Streets Google Group
• No message means the ride is still on!

Parking:

• Community Happens Here asks that if at all possible, we do NOT use their parking lot during our events.
• Abundant FREE parking is located at the Pleasant Ridge Community Parking Lot, behind the Walgreens at 6204 Montgomery Road. This is ONE block from Community Happens Here.

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Queen City Bike is grateful to Pleasant Streets and Community Happens Here for helping to make this bike event possible.