Be prepared for road closures around the D.C. waterfront on Saturday: The streets will be taken over by 10,000 cyclists for the seventh annual D.C. Bike Ride.
Riders will cycle 20 miles of streets across the District and Northern Virginia on the morning of Sept. 9.
Locals and tourists alike will enjoy car-free roads stretching from the Tidal Basin, crossing the Arlington Memorial to Georgetown and ending up near the U.S. Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue.
“We have lots of avid riders that are excited to take advantage of riding around D.C. on the roads with no cars. But we also have folks that haven’t ridden a bike in many years,” said Danielle Berman Ruiz, events and partnership coordinator for the D.C. Bike Ride. “Or maybe this is their first opportunity to bike because they feel safe with a closed street.”
Berman Ruiz stressed that this is not a race.
“It’s supposed to be enjoyed, be a photo-op on the course,” she said. “They can get out, they can get on a bike, they can see their city in a new way.”
The ride will even offer bicycles to rent, in case you don’t have your own.
D.C. Bike Ride also has altruistic aims. They have partnered with CareFirst and, over the course of the last six years, raised over $200,000 for different community organizations here in D.C.
This year they are supporting organizations fighting food insecurity in Wards 7 and 8.
“We raised $25,000 for that cause last year and hope to match, if not beat, that cause this year,” Berman Ruiz told WTOP.
Registration is still open. The ride starts Saturday at 8 a.m. near the Tidal Basin at Hains Point.
The event will impact traffic, shutting down multiple streets along the waterfront in D.C. and Arlington. The route starts on Ohio Drive SW near West Potomac Park and ends on Pennsylvania Ave, between 6th St NW and 4th St NW.
Street closures will begin at 6 a.m. — most will be reopened by 10 a.m. after the ride wraps.
Below are a list of road closures.
