People on bikes are part of the fun leading up to the annual California Rodeo—July 18-21, 2019. This is an exciting time to experience Salinas, the Monterey County seat and its largest city.

Two popular events that take place in the week preceding the rodeo are the Kiddie Capers Parade and the Colmo del Rodeo Parade (night parade). The 2019 parades date is July 13th. Per Rodeo website on 5/22/19, the Kiddie Capers is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and the night parade at 7:30 p.m. Check the Rodeo website for details and any updates.

General tips on biking to the parades

If you plan to bike all or partway there, see tips on biking in the dark.

With all the extra people in town, it’s a good time to skip traffic jams and parking hassles by biking or bike-and-riding, whenever feasible.  Please remember that distracted biking, or driving, isn’t cool; watch out, we’re all family!

See tips for bicycling Salinas on this site.  Brush up on California bicycle laws and riding skills/safety tips, including about sidewalk riding.

Here’s a summary of bike laws: Be Cool Be Safe – bike law summary – And another, en español. Leyes de ciclismo de CA – Laws for bicyclists in CA (Spanish, English) – Summary

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Kiddie Capers Parade

(scenes from 2012)

 

 

Salinas police officers are among the many bike-friendly Constables of the Peace in Monterey County. Help them keep the local bike scene cool by reviewing this bike law summary.

Above are scenes from the 2012 Kiddie Kapers parade and immediately thereafter.

Year-round, the pleasures of biking in Salinas roll on!

The couple below are in front of MYO Pure Frozen Yogurt on  South Main, Salinas, an extra bike-friendly business:  a HER Helmet Thursdays participant. That means they give discounts on Thursdays to males and females who bike!

You’ll also find the Salinas participants, among hundreds of places countywide, on the Listings/FAQs page (click here). The first Salinas participants are highlighted in tips on bicycling Salinas too.

Are you a ready take the initiative with 

a couple of your friends to organize

a bicycling presence

in the Colmo del Rodeo night parade?

Although there are people on bikes all set to participate in Kiddie Capers, what about Colmo del Rodeo?

Gather some of your bike buddies–Salinas High School Cowboy Racing Team, Salinas Social Cycling,Salinas Psycho Cyclers Bike Polo, Monterey Bay Racing Team, Bear Bikes, Bobcat Bicycles, Doug Chandler Performance, Valley Bikes, Adrian Garcia Annual Memorial Bike Ride, Menstrual Cycles, and Bike Salinas, along with others who love to bike Salinas, including staff from City of Salinas Planning and Public Works, Salinas Police Department, and Transportation Agency for Monterey County, plus “We Could Car Less” columnist MacGregor Eddy, Deadend Magazine, Ciclovía Salinas.

Review the Parade Rules. Contact Ray Pulver (contact info below) with any questions.

Parade rules and other info are at http://www.carodeo.com/events/

Be sure to send in your Parade Application by the deadline. For current year’s deadline date or any questions, contact:

Ray Pulver, Parade Coordinator
Upbeat Parade Productions
5320 Cedar Grove Circle – San Jose, CA 95123
408-629-2520 (phone/fax) Email: Upbeatparades@aol.com

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Kiddie Kapers & Colmo del Rodeo Parades

delight observers packing Main Street in Oldtown Salinas…

A grand tradition

These parades are in advance of the California Rodeo Salinas, a Salinas Valley tradition for over 100 years.

Bike or bike-and-ride

Some people, myself included, love to bike-and-ride to get to the parade route (for example, park on the outskirts of town, then bike the rest of the way).  Be sure to check out the tips on bicycling Salinas, and tips on biking in the dark.

Safety tips

There will be heavier-than-usual traffic at this popular event, naturally. All the more reason to bike at least partway there, to help lighten the event’s carbon footprint. Heavier traffic is also a good reason to review California bike laws and personal safety tips, and to consider using high-visibility apparel and accessories.

This post was first published in 2012, with some subsequent updates.