TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The 7th Annual Onbikes Winter Wonder Ride will bring Christmas to Bayshore Boulevard.
As an official parade, the street will be shut down as thousands of people dressed as Santas, elves, reindeer, gingerbread men and more pedal their bikes from Curtis Hixon Park to Bay to Bay Boulevard and back.
“We’ll come back and have a giant dance party with DJ Jazzy Jeff and Salt and Pepa. It’s going to be absolutely amazing,” explained Julius Tobin, co-founder of Onbikes.
The Winter Wonder Ride is a fundraiser for Onbikes that helps give bikes to kids at Christmas.
What started as a small event seven years ago where Tobin and his friends bought bikes and delivered them to a few homes now puts 800 bikes under Christmas trees across the Tampa Bay area.
“We team up with Metropolitan Ministries and Titus O’Neil Joy of Giving. We’re giving a fleet to the Children’s Cancer Center and one of our proudest partners is the Tampa Police Department,” said Tobin.
The Tampa Bay Lightning allow Onbikes volunteers to use Amalie Arena to build the bikes. A total of 1000 people gathered on Wednesday, Nov. 29 to build 800 bikes in six hours.
Bikers will gather for the 7th Annual Onbikes Winter Wonder Ride Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. at Curtis Hixon Park. The ride kicks off at 4:30 p.m. and the concert begins around 6 p.m.
General admission for adults is $50 and it’s free for kids under 12 years old. For an extra $30, you can get unlimited refreshments and drinks at the after party.
A complimentary bike valet will be available to keep bikes safe during the concert and the bike valet area will be monitored with security until 11 a.m. the following day.
