Falls Church covers just 2.1 square miles, but some local cyclists are about to ride 56 miles without leaving the city limits.
Bikenetic Full Service Bike Shop is hosting an event this Saturday that invites bicyclists to navigate a course that goes down every street in the Little City.
The route is a bit of a “ridiculous journey,” a Facebook post about the event admits, but Bikenetic owner and race organizer Jan Feuchtner told ARLnow that that’s part of the fun.
“It’s intended to be funny and silly,” Feuchtner said. “Let’s just have a fun day riding around the city we’ve all come to love. Let’s all get together on our bikes and go ride around this little town.”
The choose-your-own-adventure-style ride is open to anyone — whether they want to complete the whole course, hunt for murals or compete in a bike decorating competition.
The event begins at 12:30 p.m. outside Bikenetic at 201 W. Jefferson Street, where maps of the course will be available. Riders will start pedaling at 1 p.m. and wrap up at 6 p.m. at Clare & Don’s Beach Shack on N. Washington Street for an after-party with drinks and appetizers.
Participants can choose to compete to cover the highest percentage of city streets or to cover the most streets in the fewest miles. They can also compete in less high-intensity categories like trying to take the most pictures of urban art or designing “the most creative, beautiful, or distinctively decorated bicycle.”
“The categories will enable anyone to participate and be in the running for prizes without the necessity to complete the entire route,” the Facebook post said. “Mostly this is a way to celebrate cycling, Falls Church and, in some small way, the retirement of Mr. [Wyatt] Shields who will be ending his long career in the City later this year.”
Shields, the city manager of Falls Church, is retiring after 19 years on the job. He proposed the idea when Feuchtner told him he wanted to organize a community ride.
Category winners will receive prizes like Bikenetic branded socks, hats and water bottles, or gift cards for the bike shop. Riders can compete in groups or individually.
The “Restaurant Week Award” will go to the cyclists who visit the most restaurants participating in the City of Falls Church Restaurant Week during their ride. The city’s restaurant week runs independently from this event, beginning tomorrow (Friday) and lasting through Aug. 30.
The ride will also end in time for participants to attend Little City Sips on W. Broad Street near its intersection with N. Washington Street. Participating bars and restaurants will allow customers to take drinks for a stroll within a designated boundary, which will be blocked off. That event runs from 5-10 p.m. on Saturday.
“We just want to have a really fun day riding around and taking advantage of these events without any real mission — just having fun,” Feuchtner said.
