To The Watershed + Edwardsville Criterium | 2:30 p.m. Saturday, August 16

Earn-A-Bike and Learn-To-Ride alumni of all ages (parents/guardians welcome too!) are invited to join St. Louis BWorks staff and volunteers for an 11-mile round-trip cycling journey that will take us from an MCT trailhead through parts of the SIUE campus, across the stunning Yellowhammer connection to the Watershed, and then on to the heart of downtown Edwardsville to take in the Edwardsville Rotary Criterium! BWorks will be offering two options for participants in this particular alumni adventure, so read onward and register accordingly…

We'll all meet with our bikes, helmets, locks and individual water supplies (plus a way to carry your individual supplies -- e.g. a small backpack or water bottle cage is great) at the trailhead adjacent to St. Paul United Church of Christ (3277 Bluff Rd) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, August 16. The group ride to the criterium, led by BWorks team members, will be about six miles total, nearly all along MCT Trails, with a couple pause points along the way. This should get us to the heart of Edwardsville by about 3:45 p.m. to watch some bike races zipping around the Edwardsville Public Library grounds.

Once we arrive at the races and regroup, BWorks participants who have at least one adult family member with them will stay with their family from there on out, with parents and caregivers responsible for deciding how long their family unit will stay at the criterium before heading out. (NOTE: There is a free kids’ ride at 5:15 p.m., followed by a free community ride {all ages on the same square course around the library grounds} at 5:45 p.m., and your participation is encouraged! But criterium-organized registration/permission forms will be required for those activities, so any BWorks participants will need to be with their parent/guardian to participate in the criterium itself.)

BWorks youth participants who are participating without a parent/caregiver will stay close to assigned BWorks team members, including programs director Evie, to watch about an hour of the criterum races before heading back out on our bikes together, back toward our starting point, beginning at 5 p.m. and arriving back at the trailhead no later than 6:30 p.m. All participants are welcome to join this loop back (the whole roundtrip loop is about 11 miles), including both BWorks adults and kids, but we are providing the above “branch off” option as well for families who want to stick around for more races and then do the loop back on their own at their leisure Saturday evening.

Register at this link to participate, and be prepared to sign a short release for each rider upon arrival to the meeting location. Questions about the event? Email [email protected].

P.S. Does your child's bicycle need some TLC leading up to the alumni ride? Stop by BWorks (2414 Menard Street in Soulard) in the days leading up to the ride (between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, or between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday). If you stop by at least a week prior to the alumni ride with the bike, our staff and volunteers will be happy to take a look at the bike and help ensure it's trail ready!

P.P.S. Questions about the event? Or perhaps getting an Eventbrite message that this free event is "sold out"? Not to worry; we can likely make space for you, but we do need to know in advance. Email [email protected] and we'll go from there.

Host or Publisher St. Louis BWorks