Riding for a Better Community
As the weather warms up, now is the time to consider breaking out the bicycle to take a short trip or run an errand you would normally do in the car. The bicycle, whether used for transportation and/or recreation, is an efficient, non-polluting mode of travel that provides great health benefits both mentally and physically and truly is just plain fun to ride.
During the month of May, the Charlotte Department of Transportation Bicycle Program and Charlotte Sports Cycling are teaming up to promote 17 days of exciting two-wheel events and promotions created to encourage the community to explore the city without a windshield. BIKE! Charlotte, a multi-day celebration held May 1 to 17, will inspire families, friends and colleagues to get on their bikes and make it a part of their daily routine. Incorporating cycling into your life can be as easy as a short trip to the diner, the neighborhood grocery or even to visit a friend. BIKE! Charlotte’s goal is to empower, educate and encourage integrating the bicycle in your daily life. It can be a very simple process and it’s quite rewarding. Plus you are “Riding for a Better Community”.
Many of the exciting two-wheel activities and promotions organized during BIKE! Charlotte are free to the general public and designed for bicycle enthusiasts of all ages and abilities. This 15th annual event kicks off on Friday morning, May 1 with the Bike to Breakfast and continues for the next two weeks. While all three weekends during the seventeen-day celebration of bicycling are packed full of exciting guided family rides, bicycle tours and demos, the first weekend features the ever popular Plaza-Midwood Bikefest closed-street festival. During the weekdays, many local bicycle shops offer bicycle maintenance seminars that feature tasks as simple as changing a flat tire and road side repair clinics. Education and safety is a big part of BIKE! Charlotte as they organize multiple Kids Bicycle Safety Rodeos that teach local youth the rules of the road and provide free helmets to those who participate.
Whether you’re new to riding a bicycle, an avid rider or simply an enthusiast that has a bike hanging in the garage, it’s time to break out the bike and “air up” the tires, there’s an event for you during BIKE! Charlotte. A detailed list of BIKE! Charlotte events is located here.
