Bike Month Roundup: Angels and Superheroes

We’re coming into the home stretch of May and the final innings of National Bike Month have been action-packed.

Last Friday, of course, thousands of people from coast to coast celebrated Bike to Work Day, including a record turnout of more than 12,500 participants here in Washington, D.C. In fact, the festivities in the region were so out-of-this-world that these guys showed up at a pit stop in Arlington…

They weren’t the only costumed riders on Bike to Work Day, though. The folks in Pocatello, Idaho, got into the spirit with a bike parade, too. (What’s cuter than a tiger riding a bike?)

Down in Georgia, our friend Neil Walker was among the advocates who took a ride with Thomas Dimitroff, the General Manager of the Atlanta Falcons football team. Not only is the guy a local icon, but he also proved to be a great spokesperson for cycling. “[Biking is] good for the environment,” he told reporters. “It’s good for everyone to understand that, hey, I can get on a bike and run down one of those two-mile or three-mile trips to take care my business. Over 70 percent of the rides today are less than three miles and they are in driven by cars.” Well put!

Up in Rhode Island, two policymakers pledged to leave their cars at home for the week. Representative Arthur Handy rode his bike the full distance to his Providence office, while Representative Teresa Tanzi made a multi-modal commute by bus and bike.

In Wichita, advocates staged a commute challenge race between a car, bus and bike. Yep, you guessed it: The bike came out on top, arriving more than two minutes before the car.

Redmond, Calif., celebrated its love for bikes AND the city’s centennial with a 100th Birthday Bike Bash at City Hall, complete with food, music and a chance for riders to “talk to officials about cycling issues in the city.”

Also out West, Salt Lake City added some extra online buzz to BTWD by debuting a new website for local cyclists, featuring maps, info on trails, safety tips and more.

In the South, San Antonio cyclists got affirmation from above at a Bless the Bike ceremony offered by a local church. Meanwhile, up in Princeton, New Jersey, angels with the “Random Acts of Community” program rewarded random cyclists with gifts and discount coupons to local businesses to show support for their earth-friendly travel.

On Bike to Work Day, Des Moines, Iowa, named its Commuter of the Year. According to WHOTV, Chad Ulrick started riding four years ago and recently gave up his job as a furniture salesman to serve cyclists at a trail-side bar.

And, finally, for the Bike Month Moment of Zen: The unveiling of New England’s only large-scale bicycle sculpture in Simsbury, Conn.

How was your Bike to Work Day?