On Saturday, the city of Carmel will host a casual 8-10 mile bike ride that ends with bikers enjoying a street party on main street called Ride, Dine, and Dance. The event was started in 2017 and usually sees around 150 bikers. Along with the Ride, Dine, & Dance, the city of Carmel also hosts Family Fun Rides, an event that typically sees more families compared to the Ride, Dine, & Dance, which is geared more toward adults. Both events are intended to allow Carmel community members to explore different parts of Carmel on bikes, interact with each other and refresh their knowledge about bike safety and care.

Kayla Arnold, Bike Carmel event organizer and Community Relations Specialist at City of Carmel, said, “We are showing people other ways to get around town. Even before I got into all of the biking with the Bike Carmel events, I didn’t realize how much connectivity there was even though I live right in Carmel. It has been great to get people out to areas they might not have explored otherwise.”

The idea of exploring the city by bike is not new to Ellie Dyas, avid cyclist and junior. She said, “Any time that I really have the chance to bike, I do. If I’m not traveling for a race, you can often see me on the Monon. (Carmel is) really beautiful and being on a bike allows you to explore it more.Aditi Kumar

Although Dyas said that she has never been to a Bike Carmel event, she said she believes they are a great way to engage the community and bring together all its different members. She said, “Biking is something that is so relaxing. If you are just casually (biking) you can really be at any fitness level, so everyone in the community can really participate. Because it is so universal, everyone can come together and really enjoy themselves.”

Community spirit is something Arnold believes is an important part of Bike Carmel. She said, “We just work to build that community. That way, people feel that they are a part of Carmel. We have over 90 thousand (residents), but I still think you can have that small town feel with some of the community events that we offer. Bike Carmel definitely falls into that.”