3rd Annual Halloween Bike Scavenger Hunt on Nov.5

11:30am check-in, 12:00pm noon start. Start and end location is at Hell’s Kitchen, 150 Lafayette Street, Newark, NJ. Lunch and awards will held after the race.

Our fifth bike scavenger hunt and Halloween race will take place on Sat., Nov. 5th. Riders are given a map with locations throughout the Ironbound and some in downtown Newark. At each location you have to answer a clue, do something, eat something, find something, etc. Points will given if you wear a Halloween costume and finish first. The rider with the most points win – so be strategic, quick, and wear a costume. Learn about our favorite places in the Ironbound and discover some of the hidden gems of the city.

The ride is free and open to all ages. We strongly encourage everyone to wear a helmet.

Please pre-register using our form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dDBZMkM0Uy1jcGN4VzdxVW5jNndrSVE6MQ#gid=0

This race is the inspiration of East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador and partnership with the Ironbound Business Improvement District (IBID). Our warmest thanks goes out to Councilman Amador and his staff for their continued support of BCBC and bike events in Newark. Also, thanks to Grove Street Bicycles who is donating prizes.

Get your brains and legs in gear! Wear a costume and gain 5 points!

You can download the BCBC Halloween Scavenger Hunt Press Release.

First Friday Ride to Clifton

When: Friday, October 7 at 7pm
Where: Meet at Beaver Street, Newark, NJ
Ride Details: Hey bikers, after much consideration I’ve decided to plan a parks ride to Clifton. Originally we were going to do the Art Ride Pt. III but it’s better left during the day so we can see the art. I also had the idea of a pool/BBQ but that’s also better left for the day, so one of those will happen for the Third Sunday ride. Save the date, Oct. 16th.

This ride will meet at Beaver Street and we’ll head to a bike trail that connects all the long linear parks between Branchbrook Park and Hoffman LaRoche on Rte. 3 in Clifton. Most of the ride is through parks. The only street riding is in two places: from Beaver Street to Branchbrook Park, and then 7 or 8 blocks on Franklin Street in Belleville before connecting with Booth park/Memorial Park. That takes us all the way through Nutley and end across the street from Clifton Commons (a half mile from Hoffman LaRoche.

We’ll ride away from cars and pedestrians and take in the whistling sounds of the leaves and trees and some nice scenery. After the 7-mile jaunt we’ll eat and drink at one of the many restaurants around (Chevy’s, Applebee’s, Shannon Rose, Johnny Carino’s, Red Robin, Rutt’s Hutt) to be decided at the meeting point.

Bring white and red lights (it’ll be dark going through the park), a bike lock and ID. Dress warmly.

Ride safe.

Newark Bike Exchange

The Newark Bike Exchange opened on Sept. 17th with an appearance by Mayor Cory Booker. The exchanges accepts used bikes, reconditions the bike, and then sells it at a low cost with proceeds going to the Newark Boys and Girls Club. Also, check out this article NJ.Com wrote.

The Bike Exchange has a large selection of good quality, low cost used bikes for all bike riders, 3 years to 100 years old, from occasional weekend rider to serious road rider.  All bikes are reconditioned and are ready to ride.  You can ride the bike before you purchase.

The Newark Bike Exchange is located at 31 Central Avenue in downtown Newark. The Newark Exchange is open Thursdays from 5:00 to 8:00 and Saturdays from 10:00 to 5:00.

The Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange is an all volunteer effort that collects, conditions and sells used bikes from its shops in Newark and Trenton. The mission of the Bike Exchange is…

  • To provide a source of low cost quality bikes for families and individuals in Mercer County and Newark
  • To raise money for the Boys & Girls Club of Trenton and Newark, NJ
  • The Exchange accepts donated bikes which are reconditioned and sold by volunteers.  To donate a bike(s) take it to the Trenton or Newark Bike Exchange during normal business hours, or go to “Donate Your Bike” link on this web site to see locations that accept bikes for the Exchange.

    For more information, information on holding a bike drive, and how to volunteer visit: http://www.bikeexchangenj.org

    Ride Against Climate Change – this Saturday!

    Newark joins thousands of global climate rallies in a day of action against climate change- a day to put our demands for climate action into motion, calling for the world to go beyond fossil fuels.

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    BCBC is joining forces with NJ Bike Walk Coalition and many others to highlight bicycling as the cleanest, greenest, and most fun way to get around Newark. We’ll be riding around town for a fun, family-paced ride that explores Newark’s public art (map below), while highlighting the need for improved transportation funding, safer bicycling laws and bicycle access.

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    WHERE: Washington Park, Newark, NJ

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    WHEN: Saturday, 9/24/11, 10AM

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    WHAT: Moving Planet New Jersey attendees will gather in Washington Park and ride bikes along a public art route, generously provided by Brick City Bicycle Collective. “Moving Planet” is a worldwide day of action calling for solutions to climate change with hundreds of thousands of people moving with fossil fuel-free modes of transportation.

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    WHO: Brick City Bike Collective, Bike Bloustein Walk Bloustein, Bike JC, Bike & Walk Montclair, East Coast Greenway Alliance, Newark Bike Exchange, Trenton Cycling Revolution, students, families and faith leaders who want to see common sense solutions to climate change and transportation issues.

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    VISUALS: The ride route will highlight murals, statues, sculptures, fountains, and fantastic architectural features, winding our way through several parks, universities, and a few hidden historic gems. We expect 50-100 attendees on bicycles calling for access and better transportation policies.

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    Events in Newark are part of a worldwide day of action calling for a fossil fuel-free world.  Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to participate by moving their bodies towards solutions to climate change in nearly 2,000 events across the globe ranging from 5 mile hikes to 350 hour bike rides. On September 24th, using all methods of fossil fuel free transportation, grassroots climate activists across the world will call for solutions to climate change at all levels of government.


    Fahrrad fahrt zum Biergarten (again!)


    Do you like bier? How ’bout gartens? Yeah…we thought so. Come on out this Friday for the best First Friday Ride ever…to the biergarten!  WalkBikeJersey and the Brick City Bike Collective are proud to lead you out of the city, into the suburbs, and straight on into a little piece of heaven.


    Back by popular demand, the first edition of the Biergarten Bike Series will repeat last year’s route to the Deutsche Club of Clark at 7pm on Friday, June 3rd. Meet on the steps of Newark’s City Hall. The ride is a nice and leisurely 15 miles using mostly quite residential streets – check out the map.  We will also be checking out a portion of the East Coast Greenway as it runs south out of Newark and into Union County.


    Besides having the greatest bier culture in the world, Germany is also host to one of the world’s finest bicycle cultures. Our ride guide Andy is a Deutsche Club member and has some great insight into the Euro bike scene – making our ride even more authentic!


    As for the biergarten itself, there will be live music at the event along with German foods and plenty of bier (note – vegetarians will have some limited options like delicious noodles and amazing cakes). Last call is at 10pm but festivities typically go longer. At the end of the evening we will ride 3.3 miles to the Rahway Train Station to take the train back to Newark (or wherever you may call home). People also have the option of taking the train from Westfield on the Raritan Valley Line if headed to more western parts. Either way, we’ll be riding at night, so bring your blinky lights!!!


    This is a great one, was super fun last year, and definitely worth your while. Email us at brickcitybikecollective@gmail(dot)com for more info, or call (973)937-8443



    First Friday Ride to Kearny

    Where: Meet at Beaver Street near Broad (by the Starbucks and Rainbow)

    When: Friday, May 6th at 7pm

    The Route: We start out at Beaver St, head up Ferry into the Ironbound, cross the Jackson St Bridge and head up past the RedBull Arena. Then we criss-cross over to 3rd, go left down the hill on Central then turn onto Grant. We’ll pass PicNic BBQ and the mobile home police station, then merge with Belgrove. On Belgrove we’ll have excellent views of the Passaic River valley and Newark, we’ll see a ridiculous flagpole, lots of beautiful churches and houses, and the most upscale neighborhood of Kearny.

    Then we’ll head across Kearny Ave to Chestnut where we’ll see the entrance to the abandon rail line/train bridge ride we’ll be proposing for a Sunday afternoon. We.ll drop down to Elm because there’s more to look at, then back up to Kearny Ave on Belleville Turnpike.

    At this point we can decide to come back down Kearny Ave and glide downhill through West Essex Park, or enjoy the long downhill down to the Passaic River to either return on River Road in Kearny or cross the bridge into Belleville to return down Broadway, Mt.Prospect or Branchbrook Park.

    Also, at the end of the ride I’m heading to a show at the Irish on 95 Kearny Ave see Jersey’s own rock ‘n’ roll power trio Screaming Females and post-punk rockers No Pasaran joined by Brooklyn’s Ben Franklin and Connecticut’s Eula. You’re welcome to join me for a good time. Check out the Facebook invite, if you’re interested: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=157130091013067

    The map with the route is available here, thanks to Tim: http://www.tsoup.com/bcbc/kearny-may-6-11.png

    Facebook Invite for Ride: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=223566284327429&ref=mf


    Hope to see a bunch of you on Friday!
    Ride safe.

    Egg-Mazing Race bike scavenger hunt 2011 (photos)

    On a bright and sunny Saturday morning about 15 riders took off for the 4th BCBC bike scavenger and the second Egg-Mazing Race. With nearly 40 locations scattered throughout the Ironbound section of Newark, the ride proved to be fun and challenging. Churches,  restaurants,  murals, parks, and schools were among some of the places we got to check out. We also got to enjoy some cheese bread and sausage from Assaggini di Roma. We end the ride at Café Opção where we enjoyed some sandwiches and cold beverages. Congrats to Pedro for taking first place!

    More photos coming soon.

    Ironbound Egg-Mazing Race bike scavenger hunt is rain-delayed until Saturday, April 30th!

    bike,bikes,newark,ironbound,egg-mazing race,egg mazing, BCBC, brick city bike collective,amador,augusto amador

    Sorry folks about the postponement. Weather.com says there’s 80% chance we’ll get wet, so spend some quality egg time with your relatives at Easter and we’ll see you next Saturday!


    When: Saturday, April 30
    Time: 10:30am to sign-up, 11am to start
    Starts from: Peter Francisco Park (the triangle of grass where Ferry Street meets Penn Station)
    Ends at: - to be confirmed… probably Opçao (corner Lafayette & Wilson)
    Entry fee: FREE! and it includes lunch and drinks!

    Our 4th bike scavenger hunt is looking to be our biggest yet! For those of you who are new to this event, here’s how it works… you’re given a map with maybe 30-40 locations identified. The locations are mostly in the Ironbound but some may be in downtown Newark as well. At each location you have to answer a clue, do something, eat something, find something or…whatever! The first ones to get to the finish line win. We’ll be giving away a lot of great and interesting prizes so come ready to race. You may ride solo or ride as a group… you’ll have fun either way. This is great fun for the whole family. See photos from previous BCBC Easter & Halloween scavenger hunts here and here!

    We the organizers love this race because we get to choose our favorite places as clues and let you discover the hidden gems that we love telling people about!

    Two Separate Events
    Kids 12 & under – a shorter, easier race
    Adults – a longer, more challenging race

    Please Register!
    The event is free but we need to know approximately how many riders will be attending so we know how much food to order. If you are coming in a group, and you’re not on our Facebook invite list, email tim @ tsoup.com and let us know how many. If you and your teammates ARE on the Facebook invite list please be sure to all click WILL ATTEND on our Egg-Mazing Facebook post here

    Easter Theme
    This is an Easter themed event. Even if it’s floppy ears pinned to your helmet, we want you to ride in some sort of costume, on an Easter-themed bike, or whatever. You don’t ‘have to’ but you cannot win prizes if you’re not in theme.

    Bring A Carrying Bag
    You’ll need to carry a newspaper and any items we ask you to collect during the race. A small knapsack carried by one of your teammates, or a bike basket that things won’t pop out of will do fine.

    Wear Helmets
    We insist that everyone wear a helmet during the race.

    Good news… 2-time champion Matt Gosser will not be competing in this event, so it’s a open field for a new winner(s) to be crowned!
    Better news… Matt is helping to coordinate and design the race, so it’s sure to be an extra challenging course!

    This race is the inspiration of East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador who, along with the Ironbound Business Improvement District (IBID), have sponsored the lunch and some of the prizes. Our hearty thanks go out to Councilman Amador and his staff for their continued support of BCBC, and biking in Newark, through events such as these.

    Event flyer – Internet Explorer users, “left click->save target as”..

    BCBC on Facebook

    New Cherry Blossom Bike Tour Date Added!

    bcbc,cherry blossom, newark, branchbrook park

    Saturday, April 16 @ 1pm

    This year’s tour is dedicated to the fallen sakura bikers of Japan.

    The weather has turned against us. A cold spring has left us with fewer blossoms to look at than we would have liked, and tomorrow’s forecast calls for intermittent thunderstorms. So we have decided to notify everyone that we’ve added another tour date … next Saturday, April 16 @ 1pm. (12:30 sign-up)

    YES, there ARE some blossoms on the trees and YES, they are beautiful and YES, we will still be hosting the tour tomorrow for those cherry blossom fans who didn’t get the message or can’t make it next week. Some of the small trees have blossoms already but the really nice ones… the exotic weepy ones, the tall majestic ones, the old knarly-branched ones, the ones reflected in the lake, and the ones you can’t resist taking pictures in front of for your Facebook page… those are just beginning to show buds and will be absolutely gorgeous next weekend!

    So take your pick of days but we highly suggest next weekend for the WOW factor!

    Sorry for the late notice. Please pass the word!

    This is not a race or tour of Newark. This is a fun theme ride for the whole family. You’ll be seeing all of Branchbrook Park and a few surrounding neighborhoods. But, mostly, you’ll be here to see a breathtaking collection of cherry trees at peak bloom!

    We’ve made the route a bit easier this year to accommodate trikes and kids (you won’t be lifting your bike over railroad tracks ;) . We also have more assistants and staff this year to help you fix your bike, help with traffic crossings and find your way around. In order to maximize your blossom time, we’ll be giving you a map of paths through groves that we suggest you walk your bike through instead of seeing it all from the road.

    New date: Saturday, April 16.
    Time: 1pm (signup @ 12:30pm)
    Length: approx. 8 miles
    Ride level: easy
    Cost: Free ($5 per person suggested)

    Maps of the tour route will be handed to everyone who registers on the day of the event.

    In case of questionable weather the day of the event, come back to the BCBC website that morning for a postponement notice.

    To print the map below, click on it, then print it.

    Newark,BCBC,branchbrook park,branchbrook,2011,cherry blossom,brick city

    You can park anywhere in the park along the road (please don’t park in the roller rink parking lot). Or you can park in the Cathedral parking lot at the corner of Clifton & Park if it’s not too full (turn left onto Victoria then Right onto Ridge).

    DIRECTIONS

    From the east:
    * Interstate 280 to Clifton Avenue exit.
    * Turn right onto Clifton Avenue
    * Your first left off Clifton will be the park entrance.
    * Park when you see the lake & fountain on your right (you can park along the curb in the park, or you can park in the Cathedral parking lot)
    * We meet next to the lake, across from the fountain and cathedral.

    From the west:
    You can exit at the Newark/UMDNJ exit then turn left at the light onto 1st Street but we recommend the M.L.K. exit (see below)
    * Interstate 280 to Rev. Martin Luther King Blvd. exit.
    * Turn left at the light onto Rev. Martin Luther King Blvd.
    * Turn left at the light onto 7th Avenue
    * Go to the end then turn right onto Clifton Avenue.
    * Your first left off Clifton will be the park entrance.
    * Park when you see the lake & fountain on your right (you can park along the curb in the park, or you can park in the Cathedral parking lot)
    * We meet next to the lake, across from the fountain and cathedral.

    From Broad Street Station:
    * Exit the station and look for the light rail tracks on the south (sunny) side of the station.
    * Turn right at the tracks and head along the south side of the station to the next street (Rev. Martin Luther King Blvd.)
    * Turn right onto Rev. Martin Luther King Blvd. and proceed under the overpasses.
    * Turn left at the next light onto 7th Avenue.
    * Go to the end then turn right onto Clifton Avenue.
    * Your first left off Clifton will be the park entrance.
    * Meet at the lakeside in front of the fountain.
    Distance: 3/4 mile

    From Penn Station: biking
    * Exit the station’s main entrance.
    * Turn right and go in the direction of traffic to the traffic light at Raymond Blvd. where the road dead-ends across from a tall building.
    * Turn left onto Raymond Blvd. and follow it through town, up the hill and around to the NJIT campus. At this point Raymond Blvd. turns into Lock Street.
    * Keep going straight through a few lights until it merges with Nesbitt.
    * Turn left onto Nesbitt and go to the end where the road merges with the I-280 off-ramp & on-ramp. There will be a very tall building at the corner in front of you. Keep to the right side because this is a bit of a hairy corner on a bike.
    * At the light you can either cross the street and enter the park or…
    * Turn right at the light onto Clifton Avenue and proceed up the hill (between the park and a large building).
    * Your first left off Clifton will be the park entrance.
    * Meet at the lakeside in front of the fountain.
    Distance: 2.1 miles

    From Penn Station: NJ Transit Light Rail
    * Yes, you can take your bike on the light rail on the weekends!
    * Take the NJ Transit light rail system (ground floor entry near McDonald’s) to the Park Avenue station (not the Branchbrook Park station).
    * Exit the station and bike across the street into the park.
    * Note: when you buy a ticket (maybe $1.50 or so) you still need to validate it before getting on the train. Get it punched/validated in the orange boxes found in the lobby and track-side. They look like fire alarm boxes.

    Last year we had about 100 riders. This year we’re ready for more! Please tell everyone about this event.

    If you have any questions please email me at tim at tsoup.com

    See you there!

    Press Release:
    * Press Release.rtf

    Flyers & posters to download:
    * 8.5×11 flyer
    * 11×17 flyer
    * 8×8 poster
    * 11×11 poster
    * 15×15 poster
    * Tour map page 1
    * Tour map page 2



    2nd Annual Halloween Amazing Race / Scavenger Hunt – Oct 30th

    By popular demand we’ve more than doubled the size of this years’ event… 30-ish clue stops! A real challenge for adults and great fun for kids!

    Plus, for the third event in a row, East Ward Councilman Agusto Amador has been gracious enough to lend his support to assure these events keep getting better and better.

    Two separate events:

  • Kids 12 & under – a shorter, easier race
  • Adults – a longer, more challenging race
  • Take note: this is a Halloween themed event. We strongly recommend you wear some sort of costume. You don’t have to but you can’t win prizes without one.

    See you there!

  • Saturday, October 30th
  • Starts & ends at Hells Kitchen Restaurant, 150 Lafayette Street in the Ironbound (cor. Lafayette & Bruen)
  • Signup at 10am, start at 10:30am
  • Interesting prizes to the winners
  • It’s FREE to enter!!