Welcome to the Ring! The Ring is a short distance, circle track speedway-style bike race at Grand Rapids Bike Park. Friends of Grand Rapids Parks invites you to compete for fame and glory or cheer on racers! The race is two laps around an old baseball infield and one heck of a good time!
Whether you’re a seasoned bicycle racer or a first timer, The Ring is the perfect opportunity to have a great time on a bike. This is a free, family-friendly event, and we would love to have you participate or just watch and cheer from the sidelines. Either way it’s a great time to enjoy the summer and one of Grand Rapids’ wonderful parks for the evening.
If you’d like to volunteer during Ring Race, we have three volunteer spots open—learn more and sign up here.
Race Format
The Ring is bracket racing at its best. The race is a two-lap format on an old, abandoned baseball field, where you will go head-to-head with four racers per round. Each participant will race at least twice. You win your first race, you advance. Lose, you go to the last chance qualifier and have one more opportunity to advance. The more you win, the more you advance until we crown a champion! Race on whatever bike you like to ride.
Race Divisions
Medals will be awarded to the top three in each category.
- Men A
- Men B
- Women
- Kids up to 5
- Kids 6 – 10
- Kids 11-15
Races begin at 6:00pm. If you plan to participate as a racer, please arrive to confirm your registration by 5:50pm. Medals will be awarded to the top three cyclists in each category.
Ring Race Schedule
- 5:00pm: Registration opens
- 5:50pm: Registration closes
- 6:00pm: Races start!
- 8:45pm: Awards ceremony
- 9:00pm: End of the night!
The Spirit of the Ring is Having a Blast on Bikes
The Ring Race is all about getting together and having fun outside. Local race organizer and the voice of Barry Roubaix, Jeff Jacobi is our emcee for the evening. Everyone is welcome to ride, dance, or cheer people on. This is a family-friendly event with free icees for the first 200 people or while supplies last.
About Our Event Partner
Jeff Jacobi I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t involved with bicycles. My journey truly evolved when I moved to Grand Rapids from Lansing in 1999. That’s when I realized bicycles were the perfect way to bring people together and have fun.
I’ve been hosting rides and throwing bicycle events for over 20 years including the annual “Hair of the Dog New Years Day Ride,” the “Raging on Reeds” event held on a frozen Reeds Lake, and “the King of the Ring” at Grand Rapids Bike Park. The “King of the Ring” is back, now called Ring Race! It’s my goal to reach out to the community and make this event a staple in the Grand Rapids bicycle culture for all riders.
Celebrating Biking with Art
All our events like Ring Race are free thanks to the power of community. If you’d like to support future free community events by making a financial gift of $25 or more (you’ll have the option during event registration), we’d like to say “thank you” with a poster from our Park Exploration poster series! The first 10 attendees to register and make a donation will receive a poster.
BIKE:GR was designed by Amanda Westra.
Any gifts made on-site qualify to receive a poster as a thank you! Please note we encourage online donations as we cannot make or keep change.
We 🫶 Exploring Our Parks with You
You belong out here! We have an incredible park system in Grand Rapids, and want our community to have the tools they need to get outside, explore your parks, and find a new passion. Our community events bring together community members and local experts so you can learn something new: whether that’s a hobby, information about the natural world, or finding your new favorite park.