Discounts

Become an AS&R member and get discounts at local bike shops and businesses!

Blue Heron Bikes: 10% off parts and accessories.

Bikes on Solano: 10% off labor, parts and accessories.

Offers are valid to members of Albany Strollers & Rollers and their households. Tell your friends!
Contact us with questions.

Events

Mar
7
Sat
Urban Cycling 101 Classroom Workshop @ Barrows Hall, UC Berkeley
Mar 7 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Learn to bike safely and confidently with this FREE class!

Learn to bike safely and confidently with this FREE class!

Want to ride more but don’t feel confident enough? Know anyone else who fits this description (partner, spouse, parent, teenage or older child?)

Here’s a FREE bicycle skills class, courtesy of Bike East Bay (with support from the UC Berkeley Police Department.)

Learn basic rules of the road, how to share the road with cars on busy streets, how to equip your bicycle, lock your bike, fit your helmet, and avoid crashes by riding predictably, visibly, and communicating with other road users by your actions and signals. Every workshop has the same content so you only need to attend once. For adults and teens, no bike needed.

Please note: All of Bike East Bay’s UC Berkeley classes are open to the public, but are also part of the BEST (Bicycle Education Safety Training) program allowing ticketed cyclists to have their fines reduced.

Class is FREE but please register here.

Jul
8
Thu
Albany Parks, Recreation & Open Space Master Plan Workshop @ online
Jul 8 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Ohlone Greenway is one of the trails & paths connecting your home with your destinations

Albany Recreation & Community Services continues its Parks, Recreation & Open Space Master Plan update with the second of three workshops designed to gather community feedback. The first Albany Parks community workshop was intended to capture a high-level vision of what changes people would like to see in their park system. This next workshop is intended to focus at a site-specific scale on how those changes might look like. We will be joined on the webinar-style Zoom with the Albany Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Commission.

Are there enough bike racks at Albany’s parks & open space?

Significant is that this plan deals not only with parks per se, but also trails and paths like the Ohlone Greenway and the Codornices & Cerrito Creek Paths. Which connections do you and your family need to safely bike or walk where you’re going?
Are there sufficient bike racks and other facilities in our parks and open spaces?

REGISTER FOR THE WORKSHOP HERE

Please take the Albany parks community survey here and follow @albanyparksmp on Instagram for the latest updates. Stay in the loop through www.albanyparks.com. You can also receive Master Plan updates through “Albany Parks Master Plan” eNotifications.

Sep
19
Sun
FREE Family Cycling Workshop – Bring your kids…Volunteers needed! @ Cornell Elementary School
Sep 19 @ 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

Join Bike East Bay’s certified instructors and AS&R friends & neighbors for a day of fun games, safety drills, skills building, and a neighborhood ride. This workshop is for kids who are able to ride a bike and ready to take to the paths and roadways with their parents (suggested grade range 2nd-6th).

Bike East Bay staff and AS&R volunteers will make sure helmets fit properly!
courtesy Amy Smolens

The event includes instruction on fitting a helmet, performing a bike safety check, communicating with other road users, riding in a straight line and avoiding obstacles,  as well as navigating safely through intersections, all while playing fun games!

We will also bring our bike teeter-totters and end the class with a group ride around the neighborhood together!  All minors must be accompanied by an adult to participate, both with their own working bikes and helmets. Each child will receive a free reflective vest.

Pick up some Youth Versions of our Check for Bikes clings and stickers, as well as reflective bands, from AS&R volunteers!

AS&R will have an information table to talk to parents & kids about riding around the Albany area. You can pick up some great “Check for Bikes” clings and bumper stickers, as well as reflective leg & arm bands for safer biking.

The event is FREE but you must pre-register so for more information and to sign up please go here.
Hope to see you there!! EVERYONE IS REQUESTED TO PLEASE WEAR A MASK TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND OTHERS – THANK YOU!

We’ll finish off the event with a relaxed spin around town!

WE NEED SOME VOLUNTEERS TO MAKE THIS A SUCCESS!
We’re seeking 2-3 people to help out at the family cycling workshop.
9:30-10:15 to help with set up and checking in of participants, while instructors get a feel for the participants and check bikes out mechanically.
9:30-12:45 to speak to kids & parents about bike stuff, and help with packing up.
Contact Britt at bthesen@gmail.com if you can help out!

Oct
16
Sun
2022 Albany Community Triathlon @ Memorial Park
Oct 16 @ 8:00 am – 1:00 pm

Want to test your cycling, running and swimming skills in a low-key & fun setting, while helping AHS & AMS sports teams in the process?

AS&R has lent fellow community organization Albany Community Triathlon our racks for the transition area – photo courtesy Francesco Papalia

Come on down to Memorial Park on Sunday October 16th for the first post-pandemic, real, in-person Albany Community Triathlon!
The Albany Community Triathlon emphasizes fitness and fun with a 400m (425y) swim, 10k (12 laps around Memorial Park/AHS) cycle and 2.5k (1.6m/3 laps) run.
There is also a “Super Youth” division for kids from 7-10 – 70m (75 yd/3 lengths) pool swim, 2.5 mile bike (1.6m/3 laps) and 1k (0.6m/1 lap) run.

Registration is available at https://albanytri.com/register/.
Registrants will get fun swag while supplies last!
All proceeds will go to the Albany Athletic Boosters to benefit all High School & Middle School teams.  In addition to the fund raising, this event focuses on fitness and fun.
If you have always wanted to participate in a triathlon, but felt intimidated at the prospect, this is the one for you. I’ve taken part in the RELAY – I  did the cycling portion, and found friends for the swim and the run! It was fun rooting for my teammate during the swim, riding my bike, then rooting for my other teammate while she ran!

Feel great when you cross that Finish Line!
photo credit Amy Smolens

YOUTH DISCOUNTS for anyone under 18!
There is still a FAMILY & FRIENDS HEAT!
Parents, kids, spouses: When you register, you can indicate your desire to be in the same wave as one or more family members or friends. Then you can compete together & keep an eye on each other during the race (but not assist each other, per triathlon rules).
POST-RACE FESTIVITIES – Stick around after the race to recover with some healthy food, finisher awards, raffle prizes, massages, and schmoozing with fellow participants, volunteers, sponsors, and race organizers.
AS&R and Check for Bikes are excited to again be sponsoring the Albany Tri – supplying bike racks for the transition area and swag for the goodie bags. Other sponsors include Albany Community Foundation, Albany Ford-Subaru, Trader Joe’s, Blue Heron BikesTranSports and Bikes on Solano.
So come on down and get in on the fun!
For more information about the Albany Triathlon, please see the web site, www.albanytri.com.  This is a great community event and really fun to watch even if you don’t want to participate!
Come on down, have fun and support Albany Middle & High School sports!!

Nov
20
Sun
3rd YEAR ANNIVERSARY RICHMOND BRIDGE BIKE RIDE @ Richmond BART Plaza
Nov 20 @ 11:30 am – 3:30 pm

Come join friends, neighbors and future friends as we bike the Richmond Bridge!

Join Rich City Rides, the Richmond BPAC, friends & neighbors Sunday November 20th 2022 for a Free bike ride to fight for our right to safe pathways on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge!! “USE IT OR LOSE IT” means we need to show up en masse, to KEEP THIS BIKE/PED LANE OPEN! ALL WHEELS WELCOME!!
Meet at Richmond BART Plaza at 11am, roll at Noon.
Ride is FREE but please register HERE so they have an idea of numbers.

Come ride with us and celebrate this crossing! Photo courtesy Amy Smolens

Let’s toast to not only bridging the gap in the Bay Area, but also creating more pathways for cyclists and maintaining the ones currently in use!

Preview of the route is here.

Rich City Rides will be hosting a family friendly after-party & networking event at East Brother Beer Co. (1001 Canal Blvd.)
ENJOY A DAY FULL OF BIKES, MUSIC, FOOD, GAMES AND COMMUNITY!

Apr
16
Sun
“BIKE FROM BART TO THE BAY” FOR BREWS (& MORE) WITH EL CERRITO STROLLERS & ROLLERS! @ El Cerrito Plaza BART Station
Apr 16 @ 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Join us for brews, bevs and/or snacks after a leisurely ride to Armistice Brewing Company!

Join our neighbors to the north, El Cerrito Strollers & Rollers, for a Bike from BART to the Bay for Beer or non-alcoholic bevs, and/or snacks!

Meet at the El Cerrito Plaza BART ticket area at 3:30 p.m. We’ll take a leisurely ride over the Sacramento Street bridge (this may be new to some of you!) to the Bay Trail, then on to Armistice Brew Company, and return on the Richmond and Ohlone Greenways – 8.1-miles total. If you prefer not to bike, please meet us there for Happy Hour between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m at 845 Marina Bay Pkwy #1, in Richmond.

Feb
6
Tue
Kains/Adams Bicycle Blvds Strategy Meeting @ Zoom
Feb 6 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Adams/Kains bike project is in the County’s and City’s plans for addressing alternative transportation along the San Pablo Ave Corridor in Albany. As the pilot project approaches the 1 year mark it has gone well in many ways and is valued infrastructure to help the City meet its climate goals and help people get around with fewer cars or no cars now that the state’s and city’s zoning has been changed to allow any housing big or small to have zero parking spaces. One sticking point with the city has been the parking direction. The pilot program has reported no collisions on Adams/Kains. Many blocks in Berkeley for ~50 years have had the same traffic flow as we have now on Adams/Kains where public data shows no injury accidents have been reported in the ~9 years since data has been collected. Literature opposed to the Adams/Kains project warned of the extreme dangers to residents, delayed emergency response and promised “chaos and carnage” if it was implemented but we have seen none of that. People who helped distribute that literature have said at public meetings “things are fine the way they’ve always been” while ignoring the city’s climate goals and new zoning that removes off-street parking requirements.

“Houston, we have no problem!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet despite all of this data for Albany and Berkeley streets, the City of Albany has said from the beginning that it eventually plans to ticket people parking in the contraflow direction and has made no indication that it plans to do like it does with so many other laws on the books – de-prioritize enforcement.  Since cars in the pilot project still only enter from one direction into each block that would mean half the cars on each block ticketed or forced to make 3-point turns on narrow, congested streets.
Aside from the city’s parking issue, some drivers still aren’t aware of the internal two-way driving patterns – aren’t aware that cars can go both directions within each block.  And all cyclists aren’t aware of the Bicycle Blvds as an option. Both of these issues are exacerbated by the fact that navigation apps don’t send cars that are already on Adams/Kains in the new direction and they actually divert cyclists around Adams/Kains in the new direction!
Additional signage (two-way arrows on the road) and updated mapping apps showing current legal patterns would help awareness. These are crucial for north-south travel along the San Pablo corridor and must be saved!
The Bicycle Blvds may go to Council as early as May, so AS&R needs to prepare a strategy for proposals for adjustments to Adams/Kains in case the city does decide to go forward with ticketing half the cars on the block with the current traffic flow. At our most recent General Membership Meeting last week, we set the evening of Tuesday February 6 for a Zoom brainstorming discussion about this important project. This is literally Albany’s only Bicycle Boulevard (yes, other streets may be marked with that name but have no supporting infrastructure) so please SAVE THIS DATE TO HELP SAVE THE BICYCLE BOULEVARDS!
We will send a Zoom link to the GREENways list.
Please RSVP or send any questions to amy@albanystrollroll.org .
Nov
16
Sat
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Trail 5th Anniversary Ride @ Richmond BART station
Nov 16 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Our friends at “Rich City Rides” are organizing a family-friendly, all ages and abilities group ride across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Trail to commemorate the 5th Anniversary of bike and pedestrian access over the bridge! Meet at Richmond BART at 10am, roll at 10:30. It’s crucial that Albany Strollers & Rollers members support our neighbors and active transportation access between the East Bay and Marin County!
Many of us will take BART from El Cerrito Plaza to the start at Richmond BART so please join us!

“Afterparty” mentioned in flyer below at location TBA.

Join others from the East Bay on this fun RSR Bridge Trail ride!

Feb
22
Sat
URBAN CYCLING 101 – DAY 1 CLASSROOM WORKSHOP (IN ALBANY!!) @ Albany Library
Feb 22 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

DO YOU, A FAMILY MEMBER OR FRIEND WANT TO RIDE YOUR BIKE MORE BUT DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THIS URBAN SETTING? THIS FREE CLASS IS FOR YOU/THEM, AND IT’S RIGHT HERE IN ALBANY!
Learn rules of the road, how to equip your bicycle, fit your helmet, use different types of bike infrastructure, and avoid common hazards!!
This is an indoor class for adults or teens, no bicycle required to learn and benefit from the instruction.
FREE, BUT YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER HERE!

Bike East Bay’s award-winning bicycle education program offers both online and in-person classes, so register for a FREE workshop, access online blog posts and resources, and have fun on every bike trip!
EVERYTHING IS ABSOLUTELY FREE, BUT YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER HERE!
Thanks to AS&R’s Fiscal Sponsor, Bike East Bay, for running these valuable classes.

 

Apr
28
Mon
Group Ride to the I-80 at Gilman Bike/Walk Bridge & Roundabouts Ribbon Cutting @ northeast corner of Marin & Ohlone Greenway
Apr 28 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm

Help celebrate the many years of planning that went into the Gilman Interchange Project at the Ribbon Cutting! This event will celebrate the collaboration between the City of Albany, City of Berkeley, Alameda County Transportation Commission, and Caltrans. AS&R helped expand the scope of the project to include the construction of a low-stress, all ages and abilities connection from the Codornices Creek Trail to the new active transportation bridge. This created the lowest stress connection between the Ohlone Greenway and the Bay Trail anywhere along their length. We’ll ride along this new route, stopping at times to admire the details. Ride starts in Albany at 10:30 am. Ribbon Cutting is at the west side of the interchange at 11 am. Register for the Ribbon Cutting here.

This will be an all ages and abilities group ride with support from the AS&R Core Group. Kids welcome, but bikes with training wheels are not recommended.

Yes, it’s a Monday, but take a couple hours off and celebrate as we lead into May: Bike Month!

Ride Plan:

  • Meet-up at the NE corner of Marin at Masonic, on the Ohlone Greenway,
  • 10:30 am: head south on the Greenway for one block,
  • Turn right onto Dartmouth,
  • Cross San Pablo at the High Visibility signal,
  • Make a quick left then right onto the Codornices Creek Path west towards 10th Street,
  • Continue on the Codornices Creek Pathway to 5th Street,
  • Turn left onto 5th to Harrison (past the skate park),
  • Turn right on Harrison to 4th (past the soccer fields),
  • Turn left on 4th to Gilman,
  • Cross Gilman and turn right onto the protected cycletrack on the far side,
  • Ride it three blocks to the bridge,
  • Go over the freeway on the bridge,
  • Turn right off the bridge onto the Bay Trail,
  • Ride around the corner to the 11 am ribbon cutting, all the way to the interchange!
  • Some bike parking is available in the field’s parking lot, or keep your bike with you.
  • Now you know the route! Return is on your own or with those you met on the ride.