the team behind the newton family bike rides
Leadership
Naomi and Jon met where their kiddos were 6 months old. We discovered that we shared a love for biking in a non-experienced biking sort of way. Neither of us can change a tire on a bike, but we both commuted downtown by bike for years.
Naomi and her wife organized the first ride in Jamaica Plain in 2014. The year before they had gone on the Boston Bike Party Halloween Ride that started at 8pm and ended at 1am. The thinking was to do a similar type of large group ride but targeted at a younger audience. After year 1, the ride ran itself. Through word of mouth and a couple of social media posts, the ride recruited 150ish participants every year. Jon and his kiddo joined the ride for the first time in 2016 and he was helping to lead it the following year.
In 2021, both Naomi and Jon moved their families to Newton Centre. Jon's kids are at Ward and Naomi's are at the Bowen. We thought it'd be fun to bring the ride to Newton Centre and we were right. The first year we had 100ish people join us, including kiddos on balance bikes and scooters (and parents running as fast as they can to keep up).
If you are a biking enthusiast like us, anything involving large group bike rides and kiddos is wicked fun! We are doing this as parents who want to plan something fun in the community. We don't have insurance and aren't requiring people to register. It's a bike at your own risk kind of thing. Kids need grownups to join them on the ride. As we expand and continue to plan more rides, we'd love help. Check the volunteer box and we will be in touch.
Join Us
The rides won't be possible without parent volunteers. RSVP and sign up to help!