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Salinas Burrito Bike Rides organized by Deadend Magazine

Deadend Magazine’s inaugural Salinas Burrito Bike Ride was May 19, 2013; the second, October 6, 2013; the third, March 23, 2014; the fourth, October 5, 2014; the fifth, May 31, 2015; the sixth, October 4, 2015; and the seventh, October 9, 2016.

I attended the first and third (see some photos below), and I enjoyed the relaxed vibe and pace of riders of mixed ages on all types of bikes. Thanks to Juan and Jesus Espinoza of Deadend Magazine for organizing these fun social rides.

To catch future dates, follow Deadend Magazine:
  • http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deadend-Magazine/203527824424
  • http://www.deadendmagazine.com/
  • http://burritobikeride.blogspot.com

Sometimes their Burrito Rides are posted on the Master Calendar for Bicycling Monterey County (shortlink:  http://bit.ly/BikeCalendar). But again, best way to stay in touch about these Burrito Rides is to follow Deadend Magazine’s news.

Burrito Ride 5-19-13 Salinas - gathering

At the Somos Gallery gathering point, biking polite includes remembering that Salinas ordinance prohibits biking on sidewalks where posted, which includes some parts of Oldtown. Click here for sidewalk riding info, including a two-minute audio. For more about bike laws and courteous riding, scroll down.

The two women below, Jade and Luz, were among an estimated 250 people of all ages riding bicycles together on the streets of Salinas at the third Burrito Bike Ride.

Fixie girls in Oldtown Salinas March 2014 - at Yangtse's - also burrito riders

Tyler, Austin, and friends were there at the third ride too, just as they’d been at the inaugural ride (pictured below).Burrito Ride 5-19-13 Salinas - here boys at the lead

Where do people gather?

It varies, so check with the ride organizers regarding the meet-up location for each date.

Gathering spot 3/23/14 was Salinas High School. Kudos to SHS for their cooperation and support. SHS is extra bike-friendly! Besides providing this social ride’s meet-up spot, SHS also has the first on-campus bike maintenance station in Monterey County and the first public high school bike team.Salinas High - Photo provided courtesy of anon rider

The meet-up point for the 5/19/13 ride had been Somos Media Gallery in Oldtown (street scene below). 

Rolling through Oldtown shares the fun of a social ride’s vibe with visitors and locals  out enjoying shops, restaurants, the National Steinbeck Center, and other Oldtown Salinas experiences on a Sunday afternoon.

People could see that riders of all ages, shapes, and sizes, with all types of bicycles–and plenty of especially fun custom models–were out having a genuine joy ride. On this 7.5-mile round-trip ride, the pace was relaxed, the weather was beautiful, and the Monterey County seat was alive with lots of people coming together simply to bike.

Safe, legal, courteous riding

Deadend Magazine’s announcement poster below encouraged being safe, legal, and courteous. Being such a rider is being a good ambassador for the Salinas bike community. When the public and decision-makers consider the behavior of people who bike, please help ensure they feel very positively about building more and better bicycling infrastructure.

Refer to these resources at Bicycling Monterey:

You may also find these Salinas Social Cycling guidelines a helpful reference: Salinas Social Cycling – Ride Rules

For more tips on biking Salinas,

scroll to the end of this post.

Burrito Bike Ride photos

Riding in the first and third Salinas Burrito Bike Rides was great fun for me. I missed the second, as it was the same date–see Salinas bike scene–as Ciclovia Salinas. Happy to get to another one!

I didn’t have my phone/camera with me 3/23/14. You’ll find a few photos in the @bikemonterey Twitter stream, but a nice gallery of photos in Deadend’s Burrito Bike Ride 3 photo stream on Facebook.

    1. You & would’ve loved today’s burrito ride. Many of the young fixie riders you rode with at parties were there.

Photos below are from the 5/19/13 Salinas Burrito Bike Ride

Below: These Salinas Burrito Bike Ride women on 5/19/13 show that pulling clothes from the closet that reflect one’s individual sense of style works for biking just dandy!

Burrito ladies - 5-19-13 chic

Boy at Burrito Ride 5-19-13 near 1st Pres Salinas

This boy turned his head to show his People for Bikes button. “People for Bikes? You bet, I’m for bikes! And I’m looking for more fun bike things to do.”

Keep tabs on the Salinas bike scene, which has something for everyone–and some weekends, like this one, there are more bike-related activities than one person can do!

The 5/19/13 Burrito Bike Ride was thanks to the work and generosity of hosts Deadend Magazine, Somos Media/Gallery, and friends.

Burrito Bike Ride - 5-19-13 by Deadend Magazine, Somos Media and Friends

Sampling of Salinas bike tips available on the Bicycling Monterey website:

Related post: See Lowrider Bike Show hosted by American Legion Auxiliary Post 589.

Muchas gracias

Tip of the helmet to Luciano Rodriguez and Bear Bike Shop for the heads-up about the 3/23/14 Salinas Burrito Bike Ride.

This post was published on 24 March 2014. One or more changes last made to this post on 4 February 2020.

  1. marilynch says:

    Thanks for commenting, Jason. It would be fun to see your photos. Feel free to phone for an address where you can send pics.

    Your enthusiasm for seeing the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network completed is shared by many. To my understanding, this network will eventually stretch from the Santa Cruz County-San Mateo County line to Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. You may be interested in a post I wrote after I attended a related December 15, 2011 meeting in Watsonville; the post has a few updates at the top. http://marilynch.com/blog/lets-get-connected-watsonville-workshop-on-monterey-bay-sanctuary-scenic-trail.html

    The best way to keep up on the Santa Cruz County progress is by connecting with the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC). And of course, for Monterey County infastructure happenings, contact the Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC).

    There’s a bit of old Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network info on the Bicycling Monterey site, such as:
    http://marilynch.com/blog/monterey-bay-sanctuary-scenic-trail.html
    http://marilynch.com/blog/1126-29-public-workshops-on-monterey-bay-sanctuary-scenic-trail-network.html
    http://marilynch.com/blog/public-workshops-monterey-bay-sanctuary-scenic-trail.html

    You can keep informed about Monterey County infrastructure issues by attending TAMC meetings, including those of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee. There are numerous infrastructure projects in the works. One of the latest is the Salinas Valley Pathway to Health: http://marilynch.com/blog/transportation-agency-updates-via-salinas-valley-pathway-to-health-wayfinding-signage-bicycle-map-update-bike-and-skateboard-parking-and-a-bike-repair-station-coming.html

    TAMC bike-ped meeting dates, agendas, and packets, are posted online. Start here for bike-ped info: http://tamcmonterey.org/committees/bpc/index.html (TAMC plans website work, so it’s possible this link may change in the future.)

    Thanks for your enthusiasm for the trail network, and for writing.

  2. Jason Orona says:

    I recently rode my bike down the Monterey Coastal Recreation Trail on a perfect clear day. I have photos to share. I took these as I went all the way to Lovers Point from Marina. Weeks later, I then thought of e-mailing Jon K Brent asking about whether or not this trail is still in the plan or not about will this extend to Santa Cruz. He then replied that he’ll check on this. A few days later, he replied to me and asked about being on the news when I was at the YMCA. We met there as he asked me this on camera.

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