January 05, 2019 (Redlands, CA) – While most Californians celebrate New Year’s with friends and family, there are a select few who spend the night camping on the sidewalk in Pasadena. And no I am not describing the homeless population… these campers are Rose Bowl Parade “front-liners” for the annual January 1st event. At the end of every year, these hardcore fans line up incredibly early to save their spot to watch the magnificent parade of Rose floats, marching bands and the occasional concert on wheels. What a way to spend your New Years Eve.

Then there’s the morning Rose Parade commuters who are not quite as dedicated to spend a night on concrete but are still willing to wake up crazy early and spend their morning battling traffic, dodging pedestrians to fight for a spot to see the floats… long before the 8am fly-by.

What these high-stress fans likely don’t realize is that they’re missing the easiest and most fun way to watch the parade – by bike! Every Jan. 1 a huge group of cyclists from the Greater Los Angeles Area hop on their steeds and casually cruise to the Rose Parade.

Several clubs even organize rides starting from all over the SoCal Area at varying distances and speeds and you won’t even have to worry about directions! Just show up, grab a coffee and find a sunny spot to watch the parade and enjoy your day.

While I tend to be the kind of rider who’s prone to spend his day doing intervals in the mountains than playing tourist, I still thoroughly enjoyed the experience and added a little local culture to my training plan in Redlands, California. Huge thank you to the Ride Yourself Fit Cycling Club (based in Redlands) for letting me join in on the fun!