Walk or bike to see Del Ray’s holiday lights

The annual bike ride to see the holiday lights in Del Ray is always a highlight of the BPAC calendar. For nine years, in partnership with the Alexandria Spokeswomen, we’ve adorned our bikes with holiday lights, formed up in a festive bike parade, and pedaled through the neighborhood to check out the great holiday show put on by Del Ray’s residents. Carolers have serenaded us, residents have come out onto their porches to cheer us on, we’ve joyfully rung our bike bells in response, and everyone has generally had a great time.

This year, due to covid-19, we had to switch the format to small-group rides, with registration caps, staggered start times, and physical distancing. But we added a walking option, to open up more opportunities for people to participate. All available spots filled up in just a few days, a testament to how much demand there is for walking and biking opportunities in Alexandria.

We encourage you to walk or bike the routes at your own time and pace. Below are links to the suggested routes, along with photos of some of the houses. The photos are just a sample of what you’ll see if you walk or bike the routes. There are plenty more Santas, reindeers, stars, menorahs, wreaths, snowflakes, snowmen, penguins, dogs in Santa costumes, teddy bears, dragons, dinosaurs, sharks, cows, llamas, and other great decorations to find along the way.

1.6-mile walking route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34806372. This is the route for the 2020 group walk. The cuesheet has detailed instructions about where to turn and which side of the street to walk on. The cuesheet also has information on a few particularly lit-up houses, but hopefully you’ll see others that also catch your eye.
5.0-mile biking route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34811518. This is the route for the 2020 group ride. Yes, the route is very twisty. There’s a method to the madness, we promise! The cuesheet also notes two places (on Bellefonte and Newton) where the pavement is particularly bad.
8.1-mile biking route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34815882. Think of this as the “director’s cut” version of the five-mile biking route. In other words, it goes to some additional streets that we couldn’t include in the group ride for time reasons, but that we didn’t want to leave out.