Safety
HELMETS REQUIRED
Wear a helmet!! It’s required to participate in the Owl Ride. Registered riders can receive a 10% discount on helmets from area bike dealers who are sponsoring the Owl Ride, including some well known bicycle shops around town! Check out these spots: Bike Masters, Bike Rack, Bike Way, Greenstreet Cycles, Olympia Cycle, Omaha Bicycle Co., Re-Cycle Bike Shop, Trek Bicycle Store Ponderosa Cyclery + Tour, Community Bike Project and The Bike Union Mentoring Project
BE PREPARED, BE SMART, BE SAFE, BE SEEN
Nebraska state law requires anyone operating a bike at night to have both a front light and rear reflectors. As with helmets, our sponsoring bike shops offer discounts on bike lights. If you do not have a light, a lower-cost option is attaching a flashlight to your handlebars with heavy tape.
We also recommend that you wear white, light-colored or reflective clothing. Wearing your Owl Ride registration bib is also required.
Do a safety check (for you do-it-yourselfers, here’s one way to do it–ABC Quick Check!) to make sure your bike is in good operating condition. Tune up your bike and pump up your tires. You don’t need to be an expert bicyclist, but your bike should be in good operating condition!
Bring your driver’s license, extra money, a spare tube, patch kit, pump and tools for minor repairs. Many of our sponsoring bike shops will also be providing repair support along the route.
Even at night, it can be hot and humid during mid-summer in Omaha, so please be prepared. The Owl Ride will be held place rain or shine, so be prepared and bring gear for wet weather. If severe weather develops, please take warnings seriously and find appropriate shelter.
Bring a water bottle and fill it at home with cold water. Bring two water bottles if you can. Water and other beverages will be available at Owl Perch rest stops along the route, but we ask that you be prepared, too.
BE A RESPONSIBLE RIDER
- Alcohol is prohibited. No pulled coolers allowed.
- Wear white, light-colored or reflective clothing for visibility.
- Ride responsibly for your safety and that of those around you!
- Riders 18 and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
RULES OF THE ROAD
From 10:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. automobile traffic will be light in most areas. However, the course will be open to cars. Riders will need to show caution and obey all traffic markers and signals. Here are a few other tips for a safe OwL Ride:
- Ride slower and more cautiously than you would by daylight.
- Darkness tends to impair depth perception and the hazards will be more difficult to see.
- Follow the instructions of the Omaha Police and any Owl Ride course marshals.
- Ride in the same direction as the automobile traffic.
- Stay on the right side of the street; ride no more than two abreast; allow auto traffic to pass.
- Bike trailers should have reflectors and vertical flags.
