Partnership between SVBC, Valley Water, Santa Clara County, and San Jose Bike Party Wins Big with Annual Bike to the Bay
This blog recaps how Santa Clara County staff and two bike nonprofits collaborated to support and celebrate our rich bike culture. This ride was one of our final events in a 3-year, 12-ride series aimed at providing fun riding opportunities for bicyclists of all abilities, while supporting a healthy creek trails network. Read on for the story of a joyful annual October group bike ride, Bike to the Bay.
To sign up for all of SVBC’s future group rides, please visit www.BikeSiliconValley.org/Learn-Ride/Group-Rides and follow our Eventbrite account!
The series is funded by Valley Water’s Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program, and uses bike rides and trash cleanup events to showcase water infrastructure in Santa Clara County to people in the bike community.
On Sunday, October 13 at 9:00 AM, ride organizers paused the party music and greeted 45 riders with a welcome address. The destination was Day on the Bay, the Fall Festival and Resource Fair in the historic Alviso bayfront community. This is a beloved annual event co-hosted by Santa Clara County District 3 and Santa Clara County Parks Department.
With 5 minutes until scheduled departure, 45 riders closed in for their last rounds of donuts, coffee, and giveaways offered freely by SVBC, Santa Clara County, and SJ Bike Party. A few dashed off for final bathroom breaks inside the County building. A pump was passed around, giving folks a chance add air to any squishy tires. Everyone got back on their bikes, and off we went!
A brief jaunt down Hedding Street preceded the main route – 8 car-free miles of Guadalupe River Trail, the iconic Class I bike and pedestrian pathway connecting the shores of San Francisco Bay to downtown San José.
With our oldest riders in their 80s, and youngest riders under 10, in outfits ranging from jeans to gym shorts to spandex, our group embodied the diversity of riders who find joy on two wheels in our region.
Thanks to event promotion from San José Bike Party, Santa Clara County, and SVBC, 2024’s annual Bike to the Bay Bike Ride saw more riders and more diverse attendees than any previous Wheels & Waterways rides this year.
Please enjoy the photos of the day of our Bike to the Bay ride, and consider joining our next Wheels and Waterways group ride: a cleanup partnership between Grassroots Ecology and SVBC – a creek cleanup classic combined with some casual pedaling along the Stevens Creek Trail! To sign up for all of SVBC’s future group rides, please visit www.BikeSiliconValley.org/Learn-Ride/Group-Rides and follow our Eventbrite to be alerted whenever we post new opportunities to ride, learn, and support better biking.
See you in the bike lane!
