Bike and Walk Montclair is partnering with Montclair Climate Action for a Climate Action Bike Ride on Saturday, April 22, which is designated as Earth Day. The ride is aimed to show riders lower traffic and easily accessible roads that will get them to specific destinations in town.
The 10-mile ride will start in Crane Park at the intersection of Glenridge and Greenwood avenues. Riders can join at any point of the route which will go to the South End business district, Bay Street train station and Anderson Park. The ride will conclude in Crane Park, where the Electric Vehicle Day event will be held.
“I think cycling is viewed as a recreational activity, and people say, ‘Hey, go find these quiet roads and go ride there if you want to ride,’” Paul Mickiewicz of Bike and Walk Montclair said. “Well, no, we actually want to get to these destinations. We have places that we want to go to, and we’d like to be able to go there by bike.”
The bike ride is meant to show riders how to get to main points in town by taking them through roadways with fewer parked cars and side alleyways. The partnership with Montclair Climate Action is one that Mickiewicz said should’ve come a lot sooner.
“So much of what Montclair Climate Action is about is totally consistent with getting people out of their cars, and walking or riding a bike, or an electric bike,” Mickiewicz said. “So it’s very much a common goal and objectives.”
This is the second year that the two groups are partnering to hold the Climate Action Bike Ride. The ride will be approximately two hours long and will start at 10 a.m.