A passport to Davis’ famous 12-mile Bike Loop
The City of Davis and Bike Davis will collaborate to host the tenth annual Loopalooza event on May 5. The event will feature 10 stations with different activities hosted by local organizations designed to encourage community members to explore Davis on bikes.
The activities range from bike obstacles set up by the Davis Bike Park Alliance to birdwatching with the Audubon Society in Putah Creek Pathway. All of the stations are situated along the 12-mile Davis Bike Loop through local parks and greenbelts.
Last year, the event piloted an interactive passport to encourage participants to visit all the stations, which offer stamps and prizes for completing portions of the loop. This year, the passports were designed by UC Davis student Timothea Wang, according to City of Davis Street Smarts Intern Amber Medina.
“You can flip through the pages, and it has the station activities, the hosts, the locations and the map so they know where their route is,” Medina said. “Each station has a different sticker — and so you get a sticker for each station you stop at — and then, at the end, you get a certificate of completion.”
Loopalooza is one of the city’s many endeavors to encourage active transportation, which includes biking, skateboarding, walking and scootering. Under the city’s Street Smarts Program, other events include Bike Rodeos, school assemblies and participating in National Bike to School Day on May 8. Additionally, the city’s Bike & Pedestrian Program offers a three-hour Biking with Confidence bike education course, which is open to ages 12 and up. Moore expressed that her objective is to bring active transportation to Davis in exciting ways.
“[Loopalooza] is designed as a fun event, but our secret goal is to teach families and community members that they can get from their home, from their school, to a fun park or to a grocery store,” Moore said. “As you ride along the loop, you start to realize your bike paths connect to your community the same way that your roads connect to your community.”
A range of local companies are sponsoring the event, such as Ken’s Bike-Ski-Board, Bike Davis, Davis Bike Collective and Audubon Society to Jump Bike and KIND Healthy Snacks. The event will offer free bike lights and reflectors, as well as point inspections, helmet adjustments and bike checks, at the various stations. Medina shared some events that would appeal to college students, even those who are not in the habit of biking.
“Everyone’s kind of a kid at heart,” Medina said. “There’s chalk art on campus and we have a lot of bike safety, which is really helpful for students who are trying to feel more confident biking.”
Over the past 10 years, Loopalooza has increased the number of stations and the hosts have varied year to year; however, its core goal to make Davis a bike-friendly environment has remained the same, according to Bike Davis Treasurer Sanne Fettinger.
“Christal Waters, Kristen Muir and myself started the Loopalooza event back in 2010,” Fettinger said. “It was started because we wanted to promote the 12-mile Bike Loop in Davis to families with kids to find a way to get to school. The first idea was to have a station at the different elementary schools and junior highs to promote biking to school.”
The event has been a family-friendly event since its inaugural opening, often attracting families and younger children. It will be open to everyone and free to participate in, but the organizers are looking to attract more UC Davis students to enjoy the ride and take advantage of the resources.
“We often have university students, but I think they might not realize it’s for everyone, so pointing out that the opportunity to ride the Davis loop is a great way to learn this community,” Moore said. “It’s a really special community.”
The festivities will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 5.
Written by: Renee Hoh — city@theaggie.org
