The just completed fifth season of Bike Fun with Poky Pedaling Stevens Point again provided a variety of slow themed urban bicycle rides for the enjoyment of all Poky Pedalers. Before we all start preparing for the colder weather to come, let us review some highlights from all the Bike Fun shared with PPSP over the past several months.

2016 was another great year sharing Bike Fun with Poky Pedalers

The 2016 Bike Fun Calendar provided 6 Poky Pedals, which averaged 13 Poky Pedalers on each. Besides these rides, there was also a special event that crowned the Pokiest Pedaler in Stevens Point.

Our rides covered a broad portion of the urban area. Poky Pedals within Stevens Point ranged from west of the Wisconsin River to east of Hoover Ave and from north of NorthPoint Dr to south of Patch St. In addition, we explored neighborhoods on the east side of the Village of Plover on one Poky Pedal.

The themes this year had Poky Pedalers visiting several types of destinations. Our Poky Pedals included visits to department stores, museums, a non-profit social service agency, and a veterans memorial. As always, food was a regular theme. Usually this meant consuming food, but we also went shopping at a grocery store on one Poky Pedal.

Poky Pedalers on Shop & Donate by Bike (photo credit: CAP Services)

Shop & Donate by Bike
The most notable Poky Pedal this year was our first one, Shop & Donate by Bike. This was a benefit for CAP Services Family Crisis Center, a local resource for domestic abuse survivors and their children as well as for runaway youth. Shop & Donate by Bike was also a celebration of Bike to Shop Day, a counterpart to other events that encourage people to use bicycles more frequently for their daily transportation needs.

On Shop & Donate by Bike, we visited three shops. At each one, each Poky Pedaler contributed $5 towards the purchase of donation items. The purchases from each shop were loaded onto the PPSP Colossal Cargo Carrier, a 5-foot-long bicycle trailer, and then towed to the next shop.

The Colossal Cargo Carrier hauled all the donation items purchased during Shop & Donate by Bike (photo credit: CAP Services)

After our shopping was complete, we rode over to CAP Services (with your Chief Bike Fun Officer pulling the trailer and goodies weighing roughly 250 lbs) and donated all the purchased items to their Family Crisis Center.

The value of all the donations made to CAP Services on Shop & Donate by Bike totaled $368. This was the first charity-themed Bike Fun we’ve shared, and I am grateful that Poky Pedalers made such a meaningful contribution to a worthy and vital nonprofit in our community.

Pokiest Pedaler in Stevens Point
PPSP organized a special event to crown the Pokiest Pedaler in Stevens Point. This took place during the annual Bicycle Adventure Extravaganza organized by Point Area Bicycle Service.

Pokiest Pedaler in Stevens Point

At one of the BAE checkpoints, a slow race challenge was provided. Fifty-eight teams sent a representative to negotiate the 20-foot-long course as slowly as possible without putting their feet down or touching either of the side markers. The longer one took, the more points one received towards BAE prizes.

The slowest eight adventurers over the afternoon qualified for a tournament at the afterparty. The tournament involved heats of head-to-head slow race competition on a 35-foot-long course, with the slowest advancing to the finals.

When all was said and done, Jared was crowned the Pokiest Pedaler in Stevens Point.

Other highlights

• The Tiny Museum Ride included a visit to Historic Fire House No 2 on Strongs Ave. This building, now a museum run by the Portage County Historical Society, is the oldest remaining municipal building in Stevens Point. Karen and John Zinda of the Historical Society were kind enough to give us a tour of the artifacts on display.

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  Poky Pedalers exploring Historic Fire House No 2 during the Tiny Museum Ride

  On the “P”-Street Bellringer Ride, we discovered the plethora of Stevens Point streets that start with the letter “P”. Of the 81 street transitions we made during the ride, over 1/3 of them were onto “P” streets.

• The Maple Ride included an impromptu visit to the Wisconsin Korean War Veterans Memorial, situated on an island in Lake Pacawa and accessible from Worzella Pines Park via a short causeway.

• Food themed Poky Pedals this year included a Poky Pizza Pedal and a Poky Pedaling Potluck Picnic.

This recap only touches upon all the Bike Fun shared this year with PPSP. For more detail, click here to read the Bike Fun Reports from each of our 2016 Poky Pedals. Without a doubt, 2016 has been another great year of sharing Bike Fun.

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