National Bike Month
This May, we’re asking the question, “With so many reasons to ride, what’s yours?” The beauty of the bicycle is that it means many things to many people, so we wanted to highlight some of those many reasons this National Bike Month. Today, we heard from Eric Wagner, of Alexandria, Va., who wrote a poem about his reason(s). His reason to ride?
Bike To School Day is today, May 6, 2015. Read more about all the great things happening across the country to celebrate from our Bike Month partners and Bike To School Day organizers, National Center for Safe Routes to School. Be sure to tag us @bikeleague in any photos you Tweet today of your ride to school!
Elly Blue is accustomed to generating big ideas. Author of Bikenomics and owner of Elly Blue Publishing, Blue is frequently starting conversations about women and bicycling. In February 2014, she created a tool that has enabled women across the world to start and contribute to conversations of their own. The Wheelwomen Switchboard now boasts more than 600 users and 400 posts.
For Colleen Alexander, riding her bike is a miracle. Every day is a miracle, in fact, because in 2011 she was hit by a freight truck that did not yield at a stop sign while riding her bike on a routine training ride. She flatlined twice, spent 5 weeks in a coma and has undergone more than 20 surgeries since that day, but that has not stopped her from riding her bike. She’s a triathlete and has completed more than a dozen triathlons, including 4 half Ironman races since she was hit.
From the streets to the Statehouse, social change isn’t just the domain of adults. Aided by the rise of social media and standing on the shoulders of youth movements for civil rights, young people are rocking the vote and rethinking how our communities can work for everyone. And many of them see bikes as a transformative tool. Recognizing that power and potential, the Youth Bike Summit has evolved from a single event to a national movement in just five years. It’s not only united thousands of diverse and dynamic individuals and organizations, but started a dialog about the way we view bike advocacy and movement leadership. Instead of being a token voice or an inviting image for a campaign brochure, young people are being empowered by Youth Bike leaders to create their own initiatives and inform advocacy work from their own unique experiences.
Welcome to National Bike Month 2015! Sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, National Bike Month is a 31-day celebration of travel by two wheels. Communities big and small are hosting bike-centered events, teaching bike education classes, voting on resolutions to deem May Bike Month in their towns and much more.
Here are the 10 free tools to make your Bike Month even Better: To get things rolling in your community or improve longstanding events with new ideas, the League created a step-by-step guide that will help you in creating a successful Bike Month event in your organization, workplace, city, or state. While we commonly refer to Bike to Work Day events, because they’ve been the most popular historically, the tips and techniques will help you plan any Bike Month event, from a citywide ride to a small gathering within your own company or organization. Click here to download it.
On Friday, during our weekly #BikeChat on Twitter, we spoke with Carlton Reid, author of new book, “The Roads Were Not Built for Cars.” The book tells the fascinating history of the struggle to pave roads in the United States and in England. It wasn’t, as many assume, spurred on by the invention, and eventual boom, of motor vehicles. Indeed, it all began with the “Good Roads” movement, a campaign coordinated by U.S. and UK bicyclists in the late 1880s.
During this Friday’s #BikeChat — our weekly Twitter chats at 2 p.m. EST — we seized on the excitement for National Bike Month happening in just a week weeks! Event organizers and bike evangelists from all across the country chimed in on their favorite parts of the monthlong celebration of bikes, we shared out our free promotional materials and event guide, and much, much more! Catch up on our conversation — and awesome resources — below, and be sure to tune in next Friday at 2 p.m. EST for our next #BikeChat!
National Bike Month is so much more than 31 days in May. It’s a celebration of bikes; a reminder to get rolling again; a gateway to riding more often; a time to evangelize the beauty of bikes; and much, much more. Since 1956, May has been recognized as National Bike Month, and the League has sponsored this celebration of bicycling for decades. National Bike to Work Week and Bike to Work Day are often cited as the month’s flagship events, occurring the third week and third Friday of May, respectively. Indeed, bike commuting has grown by 62% from 2000 to 2013 — but Bike Month is about so much more than just getting to and from the office.