In partnership with Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation (GCPR), GATR has formalized a night riding program in the following Gwinnett County Parks: Yellow River Park and Tribble Mill Park. (Maps and more information on the trails at http://www.sorbagatr.org/trails/)

Some key things to note about this new program is that it is a trial between GCPR and GATR. It’s up to us to show the county that there is in fact a demand from the Gwinnett community for night riding in Gwinnett County Parks. Therefore it is up to us to make sure we have a big turn out of people for these rides. So please go ahead and register for all 4 rides today! Or choose specific rides from the links below. If all goes well with this trial program, we stand a good chance of negotiating a more frequent night riding program next season.

Night riding is currently not allowed in Gwinnett County Parks. Only through these official sanctioned events will you be able to legally ride your bicycle at night in the park.

* GATR has official ride leaders who are registered with the county – these ride leaders will carry cell phones, keep the groups together and help to ensure the safety of all riders.
* This event is covered under our IMBA-SORBA insurance
* Extra instructors and ride leaders will be provided for 1st time or ‘newbie’ night riders
* Please arrive 1/2 hour early for gear check and quick info session and assigning of guides
* Ready to Ride (RTR) at 6pm, and 7pm for second wave of riders (latecomers)
* Anyone NOT pre-registered will NOT be able to take part in this event (this will be enforced by the parks representative present at the event)
* 70% of all revenue from fees comes back to our club, the remaining 30% goes to the park – so it’s a win for everyone!

All participants MUST pre-register for the rides. The cost is $4 per ride, or $12 for all 4 rides.
Don’t forget to check the "Enroll?" box before "Add to Cart" (if you do not check the box, it will not add to the Shopping Cart).

To register for all four rides as a DISCOUNTED package (Activity Code: LPGY14003)

To register for FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26th at Tribble Mill Park (Activity Code: GCAA14001)

To register for FRIDAY, MARCH 12th at Yellow River Park (Activity Code: LPGY14001)

To register for FRIDAY, APRIL 2nd at Tribble Mill Park (Activity Code: GCAA14002)

To register for FRIDAY, APRIL 30th at Yellow River (Activity Code: LPGY14002)

Click Here to register, then either login or create an account with the website, then use the activity codes listed above to find the events you wish to register for.

Hi everyone, I just wanted to chime in here and point out a few things about these rides.

Some of you may be asking yourself, why do i now have to pay for these rides?, and why are half of the rides in April, when it is now that we need them, not when the clocks go forward and the nights get lighter?

Well, let me first say that this new night ride 'program' is a trial setup between GATR and Gwinnett County. Traditionally night riding in Gwinnett County parks has been strictly forbidden, except for a small handful of sanctioned GATR rides like we've had in the past. In the future we want you guys to be able to have more night rides than just a handful each year. We want you to be able to night ride every week during the winter months - wouldn't that be great?!

As part of our efforts towards making night riding more widely accepted by the county (and with a little inspiration from our good neighbors over at RAMBO) we've come up with a new way of having the night rides setup that better meets the needs of the county, AND fosters a more collaborative and formal relationship between the bike club and the local government.

Right now we have four rides lined up, one in February, one in March, AND two in April. Now we know that when the April rides come around the nights will be starting to get lighter, and this doesn't really do us a whole lot of good in the immediate short term when we really need it. All i can say is that for now, these are the cards we have been dealt, and we intend on playing the best game we can!

The ball is in our court now guys, if we can collectively as a group, prove to the parks people that there is in fact a high demand for night riding in Gwinnett County, then we stand a much better chance of getting more regular night rides on the calendar when the 2010/2011 night riding season begins.

In more basic terms, the more of us that register for these rides, the better chance we have of establishing night riding in Gwinnett County Parks as a more regular activity.

Please help us to make this happen and register today for all 4 rides - it's only $12!

All the rides will also be followed by an after ride social at a local bar/restaurant.

Thank you for your continued support,

James Carrington
President, GATR

Edit: Sorry I forgot to mention before, we can't hold night rides at Harbins Park right now - but we should be able to by the next round of night rides.

Thanks for mentioning us over at RAMBO, and I hope your night riding sessions go off without a hitch. RAMBO started the very same way 4 years ago at Big Creek. In total, we now have 20 rides during the winter season, and get very good support from our land manager, city of Roswell. Dont quote me exactly, but with about 12 rides in the books, we have had over 300 riders the last 6-7 weeks, and everyone that comes out seems to have a great time. This year we have had to reschedule a number of rides because of wet trails, and the park being closed, issues we never had during the days of drought a year ago. Night riding even familiar trails is much different at night. Make sure you have a good light. Dont ride alone, and enjoy even the bone chilling nights we have, because thoe are the ones that folks talk about over the next year.

This just rocks! I was going to pick and choose, but heck, I am going to be in for $12.

Let's make sure others know about this.

This is awesome! I'm going to hold a bike wash so I can raise the money for all four rides.......

Hey "Bike Wash" Brian - I have 3 VERY dirty, grimey, nasty bikes!!!!!!!!

Now we're cooking with gas. Just registered for all 4. Don't know if I'll make all 4, but it's a great start. Plus it helps my conscience.

I typically work friday nights, so seeing as it's for a good cause, can I register and pay for all 4 and not show up? If it's a numbers thing then it would still help right?

Yes i believe it would - and that would be mighty nice of you to do so too!

Next season we will obviously have rides on different days, This is just what we ended up with as a result of time and planning this time around.

Thanks
James

It is done. Glad to help my local neighborhood advocacy group

Awesome man, Thanks! - Make sure you sign up to our mailing list through the home page of our website, to stay up to date on what's happening with rides and events etc.

Thanks.

+1
I may make it to only one ride but the long term investment is exponential

We're having trouble with the registration page on the Gwinnett County website right now, I'll post back when i know it's fixed.

Thanks.

OK - i'm still getting people emailing me saying they're having issues with registering.

I personally have an account on the gwinnett county website, and i just logged into the website with my username and password, then browsed to the events using the activity codes and purchased/registered for them. It worked fine for me.

However, just as a test, i tried to create a new account on the website just as if i were a new user and had never registered before, this is where i replicated the issues people have been telling me about. After you click the "register" button for creating a new account, the website just freezes and won't go anywhere. Hmmmm. so frustrating!

Please let me know what experiences you've all had on the website so far.

I'm currently working at organizing an alternative means of registering for you guys right now, possibly we can get you all registered over the phone.

Wish me luck!

Thanks
JC