From the CTC email list, this is very cool:
Bike to the Ballpark – May 1
Play Green Week at Minute Maid Park runs today through Sunday, May 1st. Throughout the week, the ballclub will be raising awareness of green initiatives. Join the Astros on Sunday, May 1st for the first-ever Bike to the Ballpark!Register online for just $10 and receive
:
- Ticket to Astros vs. Brewers
- Free Bike Valet secure bike parking in lot D
- Complimentary bike inspection by Bike Barn mechanics
- Event packet & Play Green goodie bag
- Chance to win a free bike, courtesy of Bike Barn!
Once registered, each fan will receive a confirmation email. Please bring this email as your proof of purchase to pick up your event packet and game ticket.
What: Packet pick-up
When: Friday, April 29, 2011 from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, and
Saturday, April 30, 2011 from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Where: Union Station Lobby at Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford St., Houston, 77002 (map)What: Late registration and group ride
When: Sunday, May 1, 2011; 9:30 am late registration, 11:00 am ride departs
Where: TC Jester Park, 4201 TC Jester Blvd, Houston, TX 77018 (map)The group ride from TC Jester Park will follow a predetermined route leading to Minute Maid Park. The Houston Police Department and volunteers from Bike Houston and CTC will be on hand to lead the event, and provide traffic control throughout the route. Once at parking lot D, riders will receive goodie bags and tickets to the game.
What: Astros vs Brewers ballgame
When: Sunday, May 1, 2011; 11:30 am gates open, 12:45 pm bike raffle, 1:05 pm game time, 7th inning first chance to be escorted back to TC Jester Park
Where: Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford St., Houston, 77002 (map)Bike Houston and CTC volunteers, along with HPD, will be available beginning at the top of the 7th inning to escort riders back to the starting locations. Groups will be escorted from Lot D every 30 minutes beginning at the top of the 7th.
More information is here, and you can see a map of the five-mile route from TC Jester Park to Minute Maid here. It follows existing bike paths all the way downtown, so you’re separate from traffic almost the entire time. If I weren’t already booked up for Sunday, I’d do it myself. Maybe next year. Let me know if you decide to go on this, I’d love to hear about your experience with it.
Although I’ve mostly given up going to games at the Juice Box because I can’t stand the fact that the baseball game is secondary or even tertiary to the gimmicks, diamondvision videos, giveaways, loud rock music, etc, etc, I do applaud the Astros (LAstros?) for this effort.
They have certainly improved from the days when the Astros remarked on their website that their new ballpark Enron Field had bike racks around the stadium for cyclists to come to the game. Unfortunately there was that little problem that they hadn’t installed any bike racks. Took them a year to get the first one.