Ride Pleasant Streets - 3rd Saturday Long Edition

Join us on Saturday, Sept 21 at 2:00 PM as we explore and celebrate art, human-centered design, and community building around Cincinnati, including a special new mural by the renowned Shepard Fairey! On our way back to the Ridge, we will stop by the Norwood International Art Show. This event is free to the public and part of Welcoming Week—hosting 30 artists both local and international with 11 different countries represented. Depending on the group interest, we may remain at the Art Show for food and beverages, or return to PR for our classic post-ride hang at our beloved Nine Giant. To help us with planning and quick check-ins, please PRE-REGISTER HERE 🙌 You can also register on-site if preferred. The ride is FREE! At Queen City Bike, creating a caring community is a core value. Your registration enables us to reach you and your important people if needed, and also provide you with $10K of supplemental medical insurance. We've got you covered so you can focus on the bike joy! ———— Route preview: RPS_068 - Sat Long - Rolling Renaissance 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! ———— Departure Time: 2:00pm - 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 1:45pm to answer any questions Distance: 23.5 miles Difficulty: - Advanced Beginner and above - All riders should be comfortable with basic bike-handling and traffic skills - We will regroup as needed throughout the ride Terrain: Most of this route is rolling, but be we WILL be climbing up Sycamore. 😅 I've staged this so we only need to tackle the upper half, but be aware it is steeper than most of the hills we ride. We will also have a long descent down Gilbert. 😁 Climbs (steeper than +4% grade): - Upper half of Sycamore Street (Seitz to Sycamore to Auburn) (~0.6 mi; max ~10% grade (most of the climb is 4-5%)) - Cathedral Ave (~0.2 mi; max 4% grade) - Montgomery Road as we head back to Pleasant Ridge (~0.6 mi; max ~4.5-5% grade). Descents (steeper than neg 4% grade): - Lester Road (~1.2 mi; max neg 4-5% grade) as we head out of Pleasant Ridge - Gilbert Ave (~1.5 mi; max neg 5.5% grade) - Washington Ave to Greenwood Ave (~0.2 mi; max neg 5% grade) - Ledgewood Drive heading toward Xavier (~0.2 mi; max neg 6% grade) Traffic stress: - ~80% of this ride will be on low-traffic streets and multi-use paths 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 weekends, and our presence as a group will all help to reduce the stress in this section. - The second busiest area will be OTR, but traffic speeds are usually comfortably low on the particular streets we will be riding. - We will be there to share traffic tips and help you feel comfortable Post-ride: - Depending on group interest, we will either hang out for a while at the Norwood International Art Show at Victory Park for food and beverages, or we will gather as usual at Nine Giant. - We should be done with the ride by about 5:00pm. ———— 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 1pm - 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. ———— Queen City Bike is grateful to Pleasant Streets and Community Happens Here for helping to make this bike event possible.