Two mass bicycle migrations are planned for Washington this month, an all-day festival Sunday called Everybody's Bike Day in Rock Creek Park and Bike to Work Day on Tuesday, Oct. 18, when convoys of commuting cyclists will roll in from the suburbs to demonstrate the virtues of two-wheeled transportation.
Sunday's Rock Creek Park festival will feature a 2.5-mile bicycle parade to the sounds of bluegrass music, rides on empty park roads (cars are banned for the day) and two dozen booths giving free demonstrations on various aspects of bicycles.
It also will feature nationally known bike racers, including Nelson Vails, the Harlem speedster who won one of the record six U.S. gold medals in cycling at the recent Pan-American Games.
On Bike to Work Day, three dozen caravans from as far away as College Park, Oxon Hill, Glen Echo and Annandale, will converge on Western Plaza in front of the District Building. There they will be greeted with band music, speeches by local officials, free booklets on bicycle commuting and a hot tea and health-food breakfast.
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The event, which brought out 3,000 cyclists when it was last staged here in 1980 as part of the 10th anniversary of Earth Day, is supported by a $2,000 grant from the D.C. Energy Office. It is being organized by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, most local bike groups and businesses eager to demonstrate the speed, ease and low cost of commuting by bicycle--especially in fair weather. The rain date for the event is Oct. 25.
Sunday's event in Rock Creek Park, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is sponsored by the national nonprofit Bicycle Federation, again with support from District agencies and local bike groups. Publicity is being handled by a New York public relations firm that helped promote similar family bicycle days this summer in cities around the country.
The two dozen booths, at picnic grove No. 1, near Pierce Mill, where Park Road crosses Beach Drive, will demonstrate nutrition and physical fitness training for cyclists and joggers, how to pack bikes for touring, racing and roller riding techniques, and provide advice on most aspects of cycling.
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The bicycle parade begins at 10 a.m. at the Carter Barron Amphitheater parking lot, and will follow Morrow and Beach Drives to Pierce Mill. Both roads will be closed to automobile traffic for the day.
The bicycle convoys on Bike to Work Day are due to arrive outside the District Building at 8:15 a.m. Starting times vary between 7 and 7:45 a.m. depending on where they start. Fliers now being distributed to local libraries and bicycle shops list almost a dozen convoys starting in Maryland, Virginia and the District, but additional convoys are being organized.
For further information about Bike to Work Day, call the Washington Area Bicyclist Assocation (WABA) at 393-2555.
The following convoys already have been organized, listing telephone numbers of announced volunteer leaders. All convoys will have leaders. Call WABA where no leader is yet listed or for further information, at 393-2555: DISTRICT FORT SLOCUM PARK NE, 7:30 a.m. at park and Kansas Avenue. CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, 7:45 a.m. at Brookland Metro station; H. Cerro 277-5812. LINCOLN SQUARE NE, 7:50 a.m. at E. Capitol and 12th streets; K. Schwartz, 543-5994. FORT CHAPLIN PARK NE, 7:25 a.m. at E. Capitol and 41st streets. FAR SE, 7:40 a.m. at Minnesota and Pennsylvania avenues.; M. McKee, 547-7170. EASTERN MARKET SE, 7:50 a.m. at Eastern Market Metro station. ALABAMA--STANTON SE, 7:25 a.m. at Alabama Avenue and Stanton Terrace. WASHINGTON CIRCLE NW, 7:55 a.m. at circle, Pennsylvania Avenue and 23rd Street. MOUNT PLEASANT NW, 7:45 a.m. at Mount Pleasant and Lamont Street; J. Keller, 377-8384. ADAMS MORGAN NW, 7:50 a.m. at 18th Street and Columbia Road; P. Harnik, 265-3349. TENLEY CIRCLE NW, 7:35 a.m. at circle, Nebraska and Wisconsin avenues. CLEVELAND PARK NW, 7:40 a.m. at Calvert Street and Connecticut Avenue. CARTER BARRON NW, 7:25 a.m. at 16th Street and Colorado Avenue; L. Arbetman, 291-4939. CHEVY CHASE NW, 7:30 a.m. at Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave. MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE NW, 7:40 a.m. at Calvert Street and Wisconsin Avenue; G. Wilburn, 337-0826. MARYLAND SILVER SPRING, 7:15 a.m. at 16th Street and Colesville Road; E. Raun, 588-4345. TAKOMA PARK, 7:20 a.m. at University and Carroll streets and 7:35 a.m. at Philadelphia and Maple streets; B. Sheldon 270-2351 or M. Jackson, 727-5824. COLLEGE PARK, 7:15 a.m. at Rte. 1 and Knox Road; L. Black, 779-4848. OXON HILL, 7:20 a.m. at Oxon Hill Children's Farm; H. Harris, 868-6665. SILVER HILL, 7:30 a.m. at Iverson Mall, Branch Avenue and Iverson Street. HYATTSVILLE, 7:35 a.m. at East West Highway and Queens Chapel Road; T. Whiting, 559-0928. GLEN ECHO-C&O CANAL, 7:15 a.m. at Glen Echo parking lot on McArthur Boulevard. GREENBELT, 7:05 a.m. at Goodluck and Calvert roads; A. Barnes, 474-5310. VIRGINIA BRADDOCK ROAD, 7 a.m. at Braddock Road and the Beltway; J. Starrs, 978-8509. MOUNT VERNON BIKE TRAIL, 7 a.m. at Sherwood Hall Lane and Collingwood Road; J. Lange, 566-5757. OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA, 7:10 a.m. at City Hall, King and Royal streets. CENTRAL ALEXANDRIA, 7:05 a.m. at Commonwealth Avenue and Monroe Street. CRYSTAL CITY, 7:40 a.m. at Rte. 1 and 23rd Street S.; L. Smith, 382-2576. PENTAGON CITY, 7:45 a.m. at S. Joyce Street and Army-Navy Drive. SKYLINE MALL, 7 a.m. at Rte. 7 and George Mason Drive; G. Nelson, 931-6181. WILSON BLVD., 7:25 a.m. at Wilson Boulevard and Monroe Street, near Virginia Square Metro station; B. Weller, 547-7300. THOMAS JEFFERSON COMM. CTR., 7:25 a.m. at Glebe Road and S. Second Street; T. Tachoir, 254-6223. I-66 BIKE PATH, 7:30 a.m. at I-66 bike path and George Mason Drive; M. Rogers, 560-5509. ANNANDALE, 7:05 a.m. at Gallows Road and Hemlock Drive; L. Rosenberg, 560-9525. FALLS CHURCH, 7:15 a.m. at Falls Church Community Center, Little Falls and Great Falls streets.; J. Schwind, 241-2611.
