July 21, 2024

July 21, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

FAQs

Riding in the sky comes with questions. We’ve got answers.

Volunteer

530A-9A volunteers ride SkyRide for free!
9A – 3P volunteers become GObike members for free!

Sponsor SkyRide

Align your business with a 1,500+ person, weekend-long event focusing on community, health, and fun.

REGISTER TODAY!

Save $10 by registering before June 1!

Youth Registration (Ages 5 – 20)
$20 by June 1
$30 after June 1
$40 July 20, 21

Adult Registration (Ages 21+)
$45 by June 1
$55 after June 1
$65 July 20, 21

CHAMPION RIDER (VIP Partier!)
$125

GObike Members receive 20% all prices above.

Kids age 0-5, free!

Registration includes access to the Skyway on your bike, bottled water, and fruit or snacks, 2 tickets for post party refreshments for registrants 21+. Additional food and tickets for sale on-site for everyone present.

REGISTER TODAY View 2023 photos here.

Let’s Ride & Party the weekend of July 21!
Presented by Independent Health

VIP Party and Happy Hour Ride Friday Night 530PM

Sponsors and Champion Riders are invited to gather at Duende @ Silo City at 530P on Friday July 19 where we’ll embark on a sunset ride around Outer Harbor Bike Park and back, before we open the bar at Duende and enjoy food and music and fun for the rest of the night! With special guests and announcements, it’s the perfect kickoff to a celebration weekend!

East Side Bike Club Saturday Morning Ride 10AM

Growing in popularity year-over-year, the East Side Bike Club rides on Saturday morning have become a weekly spring, summer, and fall tradition for cyclists across the region. Full of bells, horns, chants, and cheers, this laid-back ride is calling your name on Saturday 7/20. Free to join, just show up, and explore the beauty of the various diverse neighborhoods that make up the largest section of our city, with the people working every day to grow a stronger, healthier, community for us all. Starting location details TBD.

SkyRide TEN!

(8:00A – 11:30A): The classic ride you know and love will take off from the Outer Harbor Concert Venue, right on the water! The new stage is complete, which will allow us to bring in more entertainment, special guests, and allow everyone to gather for a giant ride kick off in front of the stage. Take as many laps as you’d like of Skyway Northbound, Skyway Southbound, and South Park before 11:30A.
(Registration begins at 7:00A, ride launches at 8:30A, all riders off the Skyway by 11:30A)

Lakeside Bike Bash Returns!

(10:30A – 1:30P): We’re building out a more comprehensive post party than ever before. Stick around in Outer Harbor’s concert venue with its massive tents for refreshments including food, beer, seltzer and music. We know as much as Buffalo loves a good recreational event out on our area roads, we love a good post party, too. That’s why this year’s will be bigger than ever!
(Event is open to everyone. For registrants age 21+, two tickets for refreshments will be included in your packet. Not riding but want to attend the bash? Additional tickets will also be on sale for $5.)

Help make SkyRide happen (and expand GObike's work in the region!)

 

Click the image above to see all the ways your organization can meaningfully connect to some of Western New York’s most passionate people, from $500 to $25,000.

THANK YOU CHAMPION RIDERS

Thank you for sharing the vision of a safer, more accessible, better connected, healthier, and happier Buffalo and Western New York for everyone!

Ride Highlights

Family-Friendly Route

Cyclists of all ages, shapes, sizes and skills are welcome and encouraged to participate in SKYRIDE. The SkyRide is a great ride for family and friends! Of course it’s a climb, but a gradual one, well-worth the view 🙂 Course will be roughly the same as 2022, seen below.

SKYRIDE BIKES:
1-seaters, 2-seaters, (3-seaters?!), road bikes, mountain bikes, cruisers, cargo bikes, bikes with seats for kids, bikes with trailers for kids, they’re all part of the fun, invited and welcome.

SKYRIDE ELECTRIC BIKES:
For safety reasons on our course, NYS DOT restricts Class II and Class III e-bikes from the ride. Class I e-bikes are permitted and welcome at SkyRide.

Ride an Urban Highway

ROAD CLOSED! 2023’s route is a car-free urban highway adventure on your bike, along Buffalo’s waterfront, through an Olmsted Park, and of course, over the Skyway and back again.

The best view in the city

No stopping and getting off your bike for photos, but you can ride slowly and soak in one of the best views ever.

Location & Route

The ride will start and end at Buffalo Outer Harbor Concert Venue, 825 Fuhrmann Boulevard, Buffalo, NY 14203.

Riders, we’re thrilled to say that the Ohio Street Bridge has reopened to make it easier to get down to the Outer Harbor than last year! While there is car parking available, we encourage riding your bike to the event wherever possible, and we will release rallying points and additional packet pickup locations later this summer.

From the concert venue, we’ll use both bike paths to approach Fuhrmann Boulevard and make a right, then a left on Tifft, a right on Hopkins, head into South Park, back to Hopkins, Tifft, and then board the Skyway! This will spread out the crowd a bit before everyone begins their charge up the Skyway. Go up, down, loop around on Eagle Street downtown, and do it all over again on your way back to Silo City.

(Not interested in going that entire distance? You can also board the Skyway at Tifft without needing to head out to South Park).

One Loop is roughly 9.5 miles – you can do as many loops as you’d like from 8:45A – 11:30A:

Pricing & Registration

Registration:

By July 19, 2023:

Adult (Age 21+): $45 by June 1, $55 after June 1
GObike Member Adult (Age 21+): $40/$50

Youth (Age 5-20): $20 by June 1, $30 after June 1
GObike Member Youth: $15/25
Kids (Age 0-5): Free!

After July 10, 2023:

Adult (Age 21+): $50
GObike Member Adult (Age 21+): $40
Youth (Age 5-20): $25
GObike Member Youth: $21
Kids (Age 0-5): Free!

Registration includes access to the Skyway on your bike, bottled water, and fruit or snacks, 2 tickets for post party refreshments for registrants 21+. Additional food and tickets for sale on-site for everyone present.

Children under 10 must be under their parents’ conveyance (child seat, trailer, or tag-along). Children under 5 are free!

Save 20% by becoming a member right now 🙂

Additional Options

Champion – $125
For those able and willing to go above and beyond, your registration will cover the cost of someone in our community who otherwise could not afford to ride. Champions receive an invite to a VIP event, their name will be listed on this SkyRide website.

Additional Information

Children under age 18 must be joined by a parent or guardian at all times. Please note that, aside from snacks, fruit and bottled water, vendor food and merchandise are not included with registration.

GObike Members: You MUST log in to our member database while registering to receive your member discount.​ It is then automatically applied at checkout.

Refunds for SkyRide registration are not available after June 15, 2023. After that, your registration fees will be considered a donation to GObike and our work to make streets safer.

Please note the event will NOT be canceled due to rain. The event will only be canceled in the event of a severe weather emergency, as determined by the Buffalo Police. However, the event may be delayed or temporarily suspended due to inclement weather. No refunds will be given for delays or event cancellations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some responses to frequently asked questions. Have a different question? Email us at events@gobikebuffalo.org.

YES, helmets are required. There are affordable options at most bike shops and stores around town. If you’re having trouble getting a helmet, we may be able to assist in helping acquire one for the ride through our partnership with Independent Health.

Yes, please bring your family! Riders age 10 and older are allowed to ride independently on all routes with an accompanying adult on the SkyRide. Due to safety concerns, children under 10 years old cannot ride themselves and must be under their parent’s conveyance–i.e., riding in a child seat, trailer, tag-along, cargo bikes, etc.

The SkyRide is not a race. Participants can ride at a casual pace. The ride will include both the Skyway itself and city streets to South Park.

Most streets and roadways on the route will be closed to traffic. Some of the route will be on city streets. On Fuhrrman Boulevard, you may share the road with a car.

The SkyWay will be closed entirely to automobile traffic from 6am to 12pm. For portions of the route that remain open to automobile traffic, Buffalo Police and ride support volunteers will assist riders to ensure riders safety.

The major roadways will be closed from approximately 6 am to 12 pm. All riders must be OFF the Skyway no later than 11:30A.

NO.

We will lose our permits to close the Skyway if our riders stop at the top.

For safety reasons, there is no non-emergency stopping allowed up on the Skyway or along the highway routes. We will have professional photographers in various locations taking pictures that will be available online after the event.

Access to the Skyway that we must pay multiple municipalities to safely close to car traffic, as well as bottled water, light snacks.

This is a fundraiser for GObike, allowing us to conduct our work in making Buffalo and Western New York more accessible for people walking, biking, and using transit, including our education, advocacy, policy work, and programming like mobile repairs and bike giveaways. Go to gobikebuffalo.org for more information about our work.

The SkyRide happens rain or shine, no refunds. If there are high winds (25mph+) or heavy rain, the Buffalo Police will determine whether or not it is safe to cross the Skyway, and delays will be instituted in 20 minute periods.. If we aren’t able to cross the Skyway, all riders will ride the rest of the route.

Yes. If you have attempted to pay for your SkyRide registration online and cannot complete the transaction, you can send a check or money order to our office:

GObike Buffalo
313 Broadway St
Buffalo, NY 14204

Sorry, we cannot offer refunds. Please register and make your plans to come! If you cannot attend, your registration fees will be considered a donation to GObike and our work to make streets safer. Thank you!

Tier I electric-assist bikes are allowed and welcomed on the SkyRide! However, for safety on the Skyway as riders are climbing up and cruising down, fully electric-powered tier II and tier III bikes with a throttle or anything with a motor are prohibited (per NYS DOT).