Omaha's Owl Ride

Post by **Coyote** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:08 pm

Join the inaugural Owl Ride, Omaha’s nighttime urban cycling adventure, on Saturday night, July 17, 2010, for an active experience in Omaha’s dynamic metro core. The Owl Ride promises to be the largest annual night bike ride between Chicago and Denver.

See the city in a unique light—star light and moon light, as well as street lights. The Owl Ride circles a specially designed 16‑mile route through Downtown, Midtown, Dundee, Aksarben, Field Club and Old Market neighborhoods, with a shortcut available to create a 7-mile ride.

With a non-competitive format, both casual and serious riders of all ages and skill levels will enjoy the Owl Ride—from young professionals and empty nesters to families looking for a unique night ride experience.

You’ll enjoy Playing with Fire music before the ride, refreshments and snacks after the ride and opportunities for great snacks, refreshments and fun on a cruise through the city with your nocturnal friends.

Each registered rider will be eligible to win two round-trip tickets on United Airlines (registrations prior to July 1 receive double chances to win; drawing at start of the ride; need not be present to win).

Start and Finish:
Lewis and Clark Landing on the downtown Omaha riverfront

Pre-Ride Entertainment:
Playing with Fire concert (food and beverage available at the concert). A free bike corral for bicycle storage will be operated during the Playing with Fire concert.

Owl Perchs (Rest Stops):
Midtown Crossing/Turner Park will host the first and best-lit Owl Perch!

Pitch Pizzeria will sponsor the second unique Owl Perch in downtown Dundee!

Field Club is the site of the third Owl Perch, with possibly the best star and moon light of the evening.

Contests and Prizes
Click here to learn more about Owl Ride contests and prizes!

Colleagues, friends and families may form teams to share the evening’s adventures.

Proceeds will benefit the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities.

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 9:43 am

Did the Owl Ride last night. Overall, it was pretty cool (around 900 riders) and was for a good cause. However, I do have one complaint. They had two routes, a 7 miler and a 16(17?) miler. We wanted to do the shorter route due to the heat, but they did an awful job of directing people in that direction. There was nobody there to tell you when to turn, and I over heard a ton of people wondering where the turn off was.

We eventually figured it out by looking at the map, but ended up riding the short route alone down Leavenworth (the route) because nobody knew where to go.

Post by **Brad** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:38 pm

Sounds like a cool concept, may be Omaha can do them more often. Â I think a fall one would be great!

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:46 pm

Definitely. It's always fun to see the River Front packed with people. It was also a cool site seeing hundreds of bikers riding down Farnam.

Post by **Brad** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:52 pm

Did they close the streets along the route? Â Have any traffic controls?

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 2:07 pm

They didn't close any streets or have any traffic control (except for at the very start). They had occasional people at intersections to guide you where to go, but I wouldn't consider them traffic control. On Farnam everyone would just stay in the far right lane and cars would pass on the left. They also staggered the start so there was more room to bike. Although there weren't too many cars out, which surprised me. They also had rest stops throughout the course with water.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:24 pm

My wife and I were with a friend at the Glo Lounge in Midtown Crossing last night when this was going on. Â I hadn't heard about it yet, so we were very puzzled when we saw hundreds of cyclists going west on Farnam at 11 at night.

It looked like a very diverse mix of experienced cyclists and absolute newbies. Â Sadly, quite a few didn't have a clue when it came to traffic etiquette, and were riding in the left lane or swerving back and forth. Â It was good to see that everyone had helmets and most did have lights.

I'll have to watch if they do it again, because it looked like fun.

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:16 pm

Seth wrote:My wife and I were with a friend at the Glo Lounge in Midtown Crossing last night when this was going on. I hadn't heard about it yet, so we were very puzzled when we saw hundreds of cyclists going west on Farnam at 11 at night.

It looked like a very diverse mix of experienced cyclists and absolute newbies. Sadly, quite a few didn't have a clue when it came to traffic etiquette, and were riding in the left lane or swerving back and forth. It was good to see that everyone had helmets and most did have lights.

I'll have to watch if they do it again, because it looked like fun.

I'm pretty sure helmets were required. Also, there was a guy from Denver handing out free lights to put on your bike, which was pretty cool.

And Seth, you bring up a good point. Having 900 riders go out without any traffic control and a large variance in experience seems a bit risky. However, someone I spoke with told me that they were expecting around 100 riders at most, so I'm guessing they were unprepared for the large turnout.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:30 pm

So that's what that was. Â I saw this but probably not the same way everyone else did

I was out celebrating the new 2am closing time all kinds of annihilated when I see a bunch of bikers with glow sticks all over them go rolling down Farnam St. I hadn't realized that event was going on at all but it was cool to see after I could make sense of what was going on.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 11:21 am

I was so sad to be out of town for this inaugural ride! It sounds like it was a huge success. I, too, wish they would do this more than once a year.

It's obvious that there is a huge lack of knowledge and awareness from cyclists and drivers as to what the proper traffic etiquette/behavior is, but I'm glad to hear that almost all were wearing helmets and had lights. Of course there were a few people acting like imbeciles, but then, that's no different from car drivers.

It sounds like there was a large number of cyclists, but even so, no traffic control should have been necessary. If these streets and traffic signals can handle rush-hour traffic, they sure as heck can handle a few hundred cyclists - who have, after all, just as much right to the road as motorists.

Post by **Coyote** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:41 pm

OWL Ride Returns

WOWT wrote:The unique recreational bike ride set for Saturday, July 16 is the largest annual night bicycle ride between Chicago and Denver. Last year, more than 1,000 participants turned out for the inaugural Owl Ride, with post-ride surveys indicating 96 percent of respondents intended to ride again in 2011.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 7:49 pm

Thanks! I'll have to put his on my calender.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 7:50 pm

Darn! Â I just saw that I'll be at a friend's wedding that weekend. Â Are they doing any more later this summer?

Post by **Coyote** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:05 pm

I have not heard anything other than this being an annual event.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:55 am

Wonderful. I will barely miss this, since I will be back in a couple weeks but will be leaving on July 4.

Post by **Coyote** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:23 pm

Owls warm up for ride

Nonpareil wrote:More than 1,000 cyclists have already registered for the second annual Owl Ride, Omaha’s nighttime urban cycling adventure. Set for 11 p.m. on Saturday, the recreational bike ride is the largest annual night bicycle ride between Chicago and Denver, according to a press release.