Tour de DCPL
Library staff have discovered a great way to explore the ongoing transformations at DC Public Library: by bike! The Tour de DCPL was born in 2010, a free community bike ride that visits a selection of our 26 library locations. Every year, to celebrate National Bike Month, a group of library staff, advocates, and community members strap on their bike helmets to help the DC Public Library promote environmentally friendly transportation and explore how our libraries connect with the communities they serve. Explore bike-related library resources, including audiobooks to listen to on your ride, at dclibrary.org/bike.
Tour de DCPL XII
Celebrate Bike Month in 2021 with DC Public Library by joining us in a city-wide, self-guided ride to neighborhood libraries, play trivia, and earn collectible bookmarks from each location you visit!
The 2021 tour will be held on Saturday, May 22, and because of the need to practice social distancing, it will be a self-guided tour. Plan your own route and visit as many of our library locations as you want. See past Tour de DCPL routes below for inspiration.
Between 9:30-11:30 a.m., we’ll have resource hubs set up at Anacostia, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, West End, and Woodridge Libraries, where participants can pick up library swag. At each library location, participants will find a clue about that library or neighborhood’s history, and they’ll be prompted to complete a related trivia question.
Show off your route, bookmarks, outfit, or your mileage on social media by tagging your photos with #TourdeDCPL and @dcpl on Twitter and @dcpubliclibrary on Instagram.
Join the Tour de DCPL Club on Strava! Want to challenge yourself? Try to visit all of DC Public Library's 26 locations!
Past Tour de DCPL Routes
2020 Tour de DCPL XI: Self-Guided
2019 Tour de DCPL X: Route | Photos
2018 Tour de DCPL IX: Route
2017 Tour de DCPL VIII: Route
2016 Tour de DCPL VII: Route
2015 Tour de DCPL VI: Route | Photos
2014 Tour de DCPL V:Route | Photos
2013 Tour de DCPL IV: Route | Photos
2012 Tour de DCPL III: Route | Photos
2011 Tour de DCPL II: Route
2010 Tour de DCPL: Route | Photos
2018 DC History Conference Ride
"Read Your Way Up: A Bike Tour of DC Public Library Portabranches, Storefronts, and Kiosks"
The Route | Podcast about the ride on DCPL's Full Service Radio
Check out DC Public Library’s other National Bike Month resources at dclibrary.org/bike.