The League Celebrates Latest Bicycle Friendly Business Awards During Bike to Work Week

To mark the beginning of National Bike to Work Week, the League of American Bicyclists is pleased to honor 45 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses for their year-round efforts to welcome employees and customers who bike and encourage the joy of biking. Every May is National Bike Month, which includes Bike to Work Week and Bike to Work Day events hosted by Bicycle Friendly Businesses across the country. The 45 organizations announced today join a movement of 1,494 total Bicycle Friendly Businesses (BFBs) across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. building a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.

“These new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses reflect what the League’s Bicycle Friendly Business program has proven since its very beginnings: businesses in every industry benefit from making bicycling better because when more people are on bikes, life is better for everyone,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “Any organization that makes it possible for more people to safely and easily choose to bike — whether for transportation or just for fun — is improving their community, making their destination more appealing for customers and employees alike, and bringing people together. At a time when Americans are looking to work for companies that share their values, Bicycle Friendly Businesses are finding that employees and customers are seeking them out because of their bicycling efforts.” 

Lexmark employees biking during a lunch break

The Spring 2022 round of Bicycle Friendly Business awards includes 23 organizations new to the program, five BFBs earning upgraded awards and 17 renewing their previous award level, as well as three organizations earning Honorable Mentions. Of the six Platinum-level awards this round, local bike shop Back Street Bicycle Service & Repair of Walker, Minnesota, moved up from its previous Gold-level award. Among those renewing their Platinum status are BTI in Santa Fe, New Mexico, New Belgium Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina, and local bike shop Landry’s Bicycles in Natick, Massachusetts, which has been a Bicycle Friendly Business since the program began in 2008.

Like many Bicycle Friendly Businesses, Lexmark International, Inc., a renewing Gold-level BFB that employs 1,300 people in Lexington, Kentucky, has seen how bikes unite their employees and community. “The most positive outcome of Lexmark’s support for bicycling has been the creation of a community of Lexmark employees who encourage each other in their bicycling efforts resulting in an increase in the number of individuals who bike on our trail at lunch as well as bike to work,” said Susan Butler, a global sustainability engineer for Lexmark. “During a time when many employees are working from home, an increase in employees sharing photos of improving and riding their bikes has renewed a sense of normalcy and interest in bicycling for hundreds of our employees.”

The Bicycle Friendly Business program is a means for businesses of all types and sizes to focus on the well-being of their employees, attract the business of people on bikes, and in many cases, work with local advocates to encourage and enrich bicycling within their communities. 

In St. Petersburg, Florida, first-time applicant and new Bronze BFB, Chief’s Creole Café, partners with the local organization St. Petersburg Black History Bike Tours to emphasize how easy it is to visit the area by bike. Chief’s Creole Café is located in The Deuces Live, a predominantly black historic business district in South St. Petersburg and Elihu “Mr. B” Brayboy, the owner of Chief’s Creole Café, is a South St. Pete native and a prominent figure in the local business community who has been helping the area improve for years. Chief’s Creole Café is near the local bike path and Mr. B opens the space for bike tour participants to meet up and dine, which is said to be the highlight of the bike tour and attracts “tourists and locals, young and old, ethnically diverse, and from a range of socio-economic backgrounds.” 

In Boise, Idaho, commercial real estate company Hawkins Companies, which renewed its Silver-level award this round, has found that its bicycling efforts attract people who love bikes from visitors to future employees. Hawkins Companies encourages bicycling to work through benefits like bike storage conveniently located next to the company gym so that employees can easily take showers and a “Bike Commute = Free Bike Stuff” rewards program in which employees earn a free on-site bicycle tune-up or a gift card by filling a punch card with commutes.

“A lot of potential employees will mention how they noticed we are a Bicycle Friendly Business from our website during the interview process,” said Hawkins’ accounting supervisor Kathy Grubb. “It is obviously something that they appreciate when choosing an employer.”

Submissions for the Summer 2022 round of the Bicycle Friendly Business program are due on June 15th at 11:59 PM PT. With a Bike Month special, businesses who apply during the month of May can use the code BIKETOWORK22 to get 10% off the BFB application fee.

Apply For BFB Status

About BFB and The League Of American Bicyclists

The League of American Bicyclists is on a mission to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone, improving lives and strengthening communities through bicycling. 

Bicycle Friendly Business awards reflect local leaders’ ongoing work to build better places to bike and evaluate those efforts as part of a national movement. Each of the five levels of the Bicycle Friendly Business award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze, plus an honorable mention category – provide a clear path for businesses to continuously improve. Visit bikeleague.org/business to learn more about the BFB program.

About Bike Month

Established in 1956 and celebrated in May, National Bike Month is promoted by the League as a way to showcase the joys of cycling, recognize all those working to make it safer and easier to experience it and encourage everyone to give biking a try. For more information on how you can celebrate Bike Month, visit bikeleague.org/bikemonth.