#BikesUnite Round-up for May 8th

May 8, 2020

#BikesUnite Round-up for May 8th

National Bike Month

by Lauren Jenkins

It's the second Friday of Bike Month, and during this particularly cruel year, I find myself looking for ever more things to cheer. So it is that I'm dedicating Fridays in May to celebrating the happy Bike Month moments and in particular sharing some of my favorite #BikesUnite from Twitter and Instagram. Please keep the amazing, uplifting, inspiring, funny, bike-y, and just plain posts coming.

Biking in May is usually about the warm sun finally breaking through (it's overcast and grey here today) and seeing the roads and trails bursting with new riders on their early morning commutes. They may not be commuting, but the new riders are definitely in the bike lanes and trails, and that's so awesome to see. Read more about the bike boom in Popular Science:

"The pandemic could make cities more bike-friendly—for good" by Ula Chrobak

"A dozen or so cities have shut down sections of their streets to vehicles, and more may be poised to follow suit, according to Ken McLeod, policy director for the League of American Bicyclists. These cities include Oakland, New York City, Denver, Portland, Burlington, and Madison. In Denver, officials announced the closures of stretches of eight roads totalling about 5.5 miles in early April."

It's still Bike Month, as you have noticed. At the League, we're thrilled that so many of our partners in making biking better are still committed to bikes being good for business. Check out Kittelston's tips for celebrating Bike Month during the pandemic:

"How We’re Celebrating National Bike Month During COVID-19" by Kittelson

"Under normal circumstances, Kittelson staff engage in a friendly competition every May to encourage one another to trade in our gas pedals for bicycle pedals. We log miles, post photos, and engage in friendly banter. Between our two bike challenges in 2019, we collectively logged 17,915 miles. This year, we’re maintaining the “competitive integrity” of our bike challenge by hosting a 2020 Self-Care & Wellness Challenge. We are encouraging all staff who are interested to take part in this challenge and earn points for various physical and mental wellness activities."

I also asked League staff to share some of what's giving them bike joy this week.

From Ken, our policy director:

"Sometime in March I started getting calls from my sister who lives in Florida that were hard to hear and had lots of wind noise. Turns out she was biking with her kids in a bike trailer and it was awesome!"

From Amelia, our Bicycle Friendly America program director, a picture says a thousand words:

From Alison, our education director, it's new bicycle friendly development in her neighborhood:

For me, it's all of you and your #BikesUnite posts. Here were a few that stuck out over the last week:

Wherever and however you are riding, stay healthy and keep moving (even if it's stationary, which I am quite often!) Keep sharing your #BikesUnite photos and keep making us smile!

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#BikesUnite Round-up for May 8th

"The pandemic could make cities more bike-friendly—for good" by Ula Chrobak