Never Too Old for Wayzata's Bike Parade

As is per tradition, on Monday I will defeat my collegiate tendency to sleep in and will be waking up early on the Fourth of July to rummage through my family’s closets to create a patriotic ensemble suitable for Wayzata’s annual Fourth of July bike parade.

It’s the least I can do, since I grew out of decorating my bicycle years ago. I remember how when I was younger, weaving crepe paper through my bike’s wheels and attaching red, white and blue pom-poms to its seat was always a highlight of summer.

You can’t grow out of Ameri-pride, though, even if the corporate sector leaves you with no time to pimp your ride: age is irrelevant when it comes to showing support, be it with red lipstick (Mom and I), NYPD t-shirts (my uncle and his friends), red and blue dresses (Wayzata girls) or the American flag flip-flops from Old Navy (Wayzata boys).

And you can’t grow out of the parade.

Wayzatans convene every year for the bikes, yes, and for the four-block march-walk around the square connecting Park and Gardner Streets. And we come for the parade’s other perks, too, which include a live Statue of Liberty, Uncle-Sam-on-stilts and a vintage fire truck from the Wayzata Fire Department.

We come, most importantly, because we value our neighbors and our country.

But I wake myself up and put on everything red, white, and blue that I can find every year not just for these familiar sights, or for the patriotically hued popsicles. I come to see red and blue balloons flying up into the air, flag tattoos on kids’ cheeks and foreheads, parents with cameras and veterans shaking the hands of the children inside their decked-out wagons.

I come to share with my Wayzata community in showing how very proud we are to be Americans.  

If you go:

Wayzata residents will be convening in red, white, and blue attire to host their annual Fourth of July bike parade Monday at 10 a.m. at the corner of Broadway and Park Street, right across the street from St. Bartholomew’s Church.

Young attendees wishing to sport their American pride in ways other than American flag flip-flops and bandanas are encouraged to decorate their bikes, trikes, and wagons with flags, streamers, crepe paper or any other celebratory materials and to ride them nobly in a four-block square around the neighborhood.

Participation is free and open to everyone, and parking is available on Wayzata Boulevard, at St. Bart’s, and on East Rice Street.