• Ride the Drive – Downtown, June 1, 2014
• Ride the Drive – Eastside, August 24, 2014

The City of Madison and Madison Parks are excited to bring Ride the Drive, presented by Trek, back for its sixth year!  Madison Parks will be hosting Ride the Drive-Downtown on Sunday, June 1^st from 10am to 3pm and Ride the Drive-Eastside Sunday, August 24^th from 10am – 3pm.

Ride the Drive was inspired by the Ciclovia in Bogota, Colombia, where city streets are closed to car traffic to allow people to participate in all kinds of free health and community-oriented events. In celebration of Madison’s commitment to bicycling and healthy lifestyles, Madison hosted its first Ride the Drive in 2009. Five years of successful events later, we are proud to call this a Madison tradition.

Ride the Drive, is a car-free, care free event that transforms some of Madison’s streets into a public promenade. During the Downtown event, roads in the five mile route are open for participants to bike, skate or walk through some of Madison’s signature streets. The Eastside event is 2.2 miles of the same car-free fun. Both events are free and open to the public. Along the route, there will be activities, informational booths, musicians, food vendors and other entertainment for thousands of participants to enjoy.

The downtown route will be the same as last year’s, featuring iconic downtown streets, including Capitol Square, East Washington and John Nolen Drive. The Eastside Ride the Drive will have more of a neighborhood block party feel, highlighting the neighborhoods surrounding Atwood Avenue and South Fair Oaks Avenue. Complete maps of the Ride the Drive routes can be found on the Ride the Drive website.

There are many different ways for the community to get involved in this year’s Ride the Drive events. Corporations are encouraged to help sponsor the events, while local businesses and organizations can host an activity or have a vendor or food booth along the routes.  Both dates also have many volunteer opportunities to help the events run smoothly.

We invite participants of all ages to come out and Ride the Drive with the City of Madison and Madison Parks!

For a list of all the volunteer roles available and more information about Ride the Drive, please visit www.cityofmadison.com/ridethedrive