More than 1,000 riders expected for Saturday’s Owl Ride

More than 1,000 riders are expected this Saturday, Aug. 4, for the eighth annual Owl Ride, Omaha’s nighttime urban cycling adventure. The unique recreational bike ride is the largest annual night bicycle ride between Chicago and Denver.

Registrations will be taken right through the 9 p.m. start here. The cost is $45 for adults and $25 for children 12 and younger when riding with an adult; $50 and $30 the day of the event. All riders are guaranteed an Owl Ride sports shirt. There’s also a new 8 p.m. Owlet Ride that will let the youngest of kids on their bikes, trikes and big wheels join in the fun. Cost for the Owlet is $10.

This year’s starlit ride starts at Lewis and Clark Landing on Omaha’s riverfront. There’s again a choice of a 17-mile course through Midtown, Dundee, Aksarben, Field Club and downtown, or a shorter, family friendly 7.5-mile course, making the Owl Ride a fun, active experience for riders of all ages and abilities.

Both rides are followed by an after party on the riverfront. Plenty of free parking is available at Lewis and Clark Landing and at the Gallup headquarters just off Abbott Drive.

The Owl Ride supports the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities, which works to improve the lives of adults with developmental disabilities in our community, including by funding programming at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, one of the event’s sponsors.

The costs of putting on the Owl Ride are covered by its sponsors, allowing every dollar of registration fees to go directly to the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities and its services.