30th Anniversary Commitment Ride

30th Annual Commitment Ride, New Year’s Day, 2014 – John Stimpson photo – Click for larger version

Look at that bunch of happy cyclists! 43 of them all told. This was the scene on New Year’s Day at the post office for the 30th anniversary Commitment Ride photo op. John Stimpson shot this photo as he does most years, you can probably see him over on the right (he put his camera on a tripod, hit the self-timer and then ran back to be in the photo with the rest of the group.)

The Commitment Ride has been happening every New Year’s Day since 1983. It was originally started by Mike Crandall, the original owner of Island Bicycles. It is simply a diverse group of people of all different ages and backgrounds coming together on one day of the year to share their love and commitment to bicycling.

The ride is very informal and people can choose their own routes. Some people just ride their bike to the post office to get in on the photo and then go home. Some ride around Turn Point. Some ride around the island. Many of them get together afterward for snacks and hot cider, but all of them share a strong commitment to bicycling.

John Stimpson (you know him – he’s the big tall guy that works at Marketplace) keeps an email list of people who are interested in participating and he sends out an invitation each year as a reminder several days before New Year’s. He says “People think this is my event, but it’s not – I’m just the guy that takes the picture and reminds everyone. It’s everyone’s ride and everyone rides for their own reasons.”

You are invited to participate as well if you like, just send him your email address (see below) to get added to his list. Keep in mind, he sends the email with all addresses visible so that everyone can see the addresses of fellow riders. “This way people can hook up with one another on their own if they want” he says.

There is also a group that gets together and rides most Sundays but he says “This is a more ‘hard-core’ group of riders – these are the ones who wear bright spandex tights and have skinny wheels and may ride up to 35 miles or more.”

If you are interested in participating in next year’s Commitment Ride or on the Sunday rides, get on John’s list by sending him an email at:
jkstimpson [@] rockisland [.] com

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