How to cope with the summer heat, and other great news
Our ride for Monday, June 17th, was canceled due to rain. And now that summer will officially begin this week, another factor that could cause a ride to be canceled is...
THE HEAT!
Last year, we set the standard of canceling the ride if a heat warning was in place during the hours of the ride. Safety is the number one reason for making this rule, but a close second is that it’s just no fun riding in extreme heat.
Sadly, I anticipate another brutal summer, much like the last, which may result in more cancellations. Our big 5-year anniversary celebration, along with some brainstorming from the group, inspired a new plan for dealing with the summer months.
The Plan
Rather than just canceling when the heat index gets dangerous, we’re going to move the party indoors to a hangout location. This will require a little more coordination and planning, so any cancellation due to heat will be made by Sunday. The notice regarding where and when we will meet will be posted to all social platforms.
We will continue to set our destinations to locations within our biking/riding area and will always opt to go to a local business. I am currently compiling a list of potential locations, so if you have a suggestion, please let me know.
Celebrations at Spoke and Hub
One of the potential locations is certainly going to be Spoke and Hub. We had a fabulous time there during our 5th anniversary events. We visited twice during the month of May.
The first visit was during our regular weekly ride. They graciously set up a refreshment table for us, which included some cute cookies with bikes on them!
Our second visit was on the last Saturday of the month. There was no ride associated with the day because I wanted the event to be open to all, not just to those who can ride. We have people who follow this group but have never been on a single ride.
Pedego brought out a selection of electric bikes and let people take them out for a test ride. Let me tell you, this heat is a great motivator for getting an e-bike. Not only do they go a bit faster than you can with your own power, but they are also fabulous for helping you increase your miles without increasing your physical output.
The whole night included performances from students at the Baton Rouge Music Studios. They are part of a program called Young Band Nation. The talented young musicians get to be in real bands and perform real gigs around town. I was honored that they agreed to perform at our event.
Other Things Happening
Two new restaurants are opening up this week in our biking area. The first opened Monday night. It’s located on North Blvd. near the community college. It’s called DC Eats. The restaurant has previously operated at a location on Plank Road. They serve the best comfort food and will be open weekdays. It’s probably going to be a favorite lunch destination.
The second restaurant is called Offset Smoker BBQ. Guess what they serve! The restaurant started as a food truck in 2002. Now the newly renovated restaurant is located on Government Street next to the Sonic. The official grand opening is happening on Saturday, June 22.
If you like updates about what’s happening in Mid City, make sure to subscribe to the new Mid City Minute. It’s being put together by Tyler Hicks. It’s a quick and easy way to keep up with all the things happening in the Mid City area.
Our group is actually located outside of what is considered Mid City. In fact, Downtown East is a legitimate part of the Downtown Development District. If you’re interested to know more about what’s happening in the downtown area, make sure to sign up for updates from the DDD, or you can attend their monthly meetings. They are actually super interesting and come with a free breakfast!
Website Update
Okay, so apparently running a business is a lot of work. I’m a bit behind on launching the new DESR store. It’s nearly complete, and my goal is to launch it by the end of the month. I’m saying that here because now I have to follow through, right? Okay, hold me to it, y’all.