“Get ready to register!” With these words, Bicycle Parade Committee Webmaster Stewart Savage announced that members of the public, starting Friday, July 1, can register on-line to participate in the historic 2011 “Parade of Bicycles” – an effort to break the Guinness World’s record (set by Davis just last year) for the longest single line of moving bicycles.
The website address is www.worldsgreatestbicycleparade.com and once on the site, folks just need to click on the “Registration” link and follow the simple directions to register. “Hundreds of visitors have already checked out the site in the few weeks that it’s been open, and now the wait is almost over. Folks will be able to officially register to be part of this fun and historic parade,” said Savage. The Davis Odd Fellows Lodge announced a few weeks ago that they would lead an effort to break the Guinness World’s record for the longest single line of bicycles. The attempt will be made on Sunday morning, October 2. The current record is held by Davis at 916 bikes in a “parade” last October. Visitors to the web site are encouraged to visit the “FAQ” page where they can find answers to frequently asked questions about the bicycle parade, as well as the parade rules and other useful information.
The Odd Fellows hope the vast majority of folks who wish to be in the parade will register early on-line, to avoid the crush of last-minute registrations on parade day. “Registering is easy and secure,” said Savage. “It should take just minutes. However, each person who wishes to ride in the parade must register – that means that family members must register one at a time.” Cost to register for the parade is $10. If registrants wish to have a commemorative bike parade logo T-shirt, the cost will be $20 for registration and the T-shirt. All proceeds from registration, after expenses, will be given to the Davis Schools Foundation for the benefit of Davis schools.
On October 2, the starting line will be in front of the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge at 415 Second Street in Downtown Davis. The parade will officially start at 10:02 a.m. on 10-2. Bike riders will be asked to slowly traverse an easy-going, 4 mile route on city streets, closed off to car traffic during the parade. It should take bike riders about one hour to complete the parade route. The parade will be followed by a family-friendly Festival in Central Park, complete with food and drinks, and beer and wine garden, music, and entertainment for the children.
“The Bicycle Parade Committee has been working with BazuSports to obtain the latest technology available, Our count of participants will be very accurate,” said Bicycle Parade Committee member Mark Rutheiser. The parade will be monitored by “RFID” which stands for “Radio Frequency Identification.” With this technology, each participant will register using an online form at www.worldsgreatestbicycleparade.com that records name, age, gender, phone number, e-mail address, and bicycle make.
“The on-line registration process takes just minutes to complete,” said Rutheiser. After registering on line and prior to the October 2 start of the parade, each registered participant must go to the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge Hall (415 2nd Street) on one of the following two designated days to pick up his or her bicycle parade packet: Friday, September 30 from noon to 10 p.m. or Saturday, October 1 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Out-of-town participants may also pick up their bicycle parade packets early on the morning of the parade on Sunday, October 2, from 7 to 9 a.m. But all participants are strongly urged to pick up their packets by October 1, to avoid the crush of business on parade day.) The bicycle parade packet will include a “bib” which has an integrated RFID tag with a unique number. The bib transmits that unique number. The parade start and finish line will have an antenna stretched across the roadway. The antenna is attached to a digital recording device that saves the participant’s unique number along with a timestamp to the 100th of a second as they cross the line.
The entire Davis City Council and the entire Davis School Board have endorsed the effort. Also endorsing the community effort are the Davis Chamber of Commerce, all three Davis Rotary Clubs, the Soroptimist International of Davis, and the Davis Odd Fellows and Davis Rebekah Lodges.
The Davis Odd Fellows Lodge is the oldest continuously operating organization in the Davis city limits, having been chartered in 1870. Often called the “three-link fraternity”, the symbols of the fraternity are the three interlocking links which stand for “friendship, love, and truth”. Currently, the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge, located at 415 Second Street, has 169 members. The Davis Odd Fellows have a history of actively supporting community and charitable groups. Among many events organized by the Davis Odd Fellows are the popular Breakfast with Santa and the Picnic Day Pancake Breakfast.
