Tour de Northside this Saturday!

By Laura Coburn

Grab your bike and get ridin’. The Houston Tour de Northside is this Saturday and invites families, friends and neighbors of all ages to join in.

The 6.5 mile bike ride will begin at 7:30 a.m. at Northline commons METRO Transit Center. The route is set to go through Fulton, Berry, Irvington, Moody Park, Hogan and North Main. At the end of the ride will be a celebration at Taqueria La Macro.

A shuttle bus will be provided at the restaurant to bring participants back to the starting line.

The race will kick off at 7705 Fulton, Houston Texas 77022. To learn more about the ride or to get involved, check the ride’s Facebook page.

This is just one of the many bike rides that takes place in Houston, Texas. Houston is emerging as a bike-friendly city with more and more people cycling to their commitments and just for fun, exercise.

Every year Houston, along with numerous other cities across the nation, holds Critical Mass, an informal ride to promote cycling. Nearly 2,000 participants of all ages partake in the ride starting at Market Square Park and finishing at Summer Street Studios. The event brings to light that Houston really is a bike-friendly city and that people should be aware of it and respect it.

However, while biking has countless benefits, such as providing exercise and reducing CO2 that comes from motor vehicles, there are also safety hazards. Yesterday, a young woman, said to be a college student, was riding her bike when she was hit and killed by the railway train. Though accidents are inevitable, Houston is starting to look into promoting biking safety and etiquette. There have been complaints arising about Critical Mass riders banging on car windows, shouting and holding up traffic.

Campaigns, such as those funded by Critical Mass, are promoting riding etiquette and are working with local police and government to enforce safety. These are only the first steps in a movement to support Houston as a bike-friendly city, but to ensure a safe environment both for riders and non-riders.