The season is upon us…bike season, that is.

Everyone is itching to get outside to enjoy the rising temperatures and tulips, and what better way to enjoy the outdoors then a bike?
Chances are there are coworkers who are curious about biking to work or riding the trails on the weekend. And with National Bike To Work Day just around the corner – Friday, May 20th – here are five things you can do to get your office ready for bike season:

1. Request a workplace Bike Hour Lunch and Learn – $99 from BikePGH (or free for BikePGH’s Bronze-level Business Members). We’ll spend a lunch-hour talking about biking and answering employee questions about riding bikes for recreation or transportation; everything from bike fit, to route selection, to traffic handling, to bike maintenance. All attendees get a free Pittsburgh Bike Map and a copy of BikePGH’s Urban Biking Companion.
2. Create a workplace team in the National Bike Challenge – The National Bike Challenge is a fun 5 month-long challenge to encourage people to get out and ride. Riders log their miles each day they ride via the website or a growing array of smartphone apps. They collect +20 points for each day they ride and +1 point for every mile. You can see how different strategies can come into play. Are you a weekend warrior or an everyday commuter? Businesses can join the fun too by creating a workplace team, encouraging employees to join and challenging their rival businesses!
3. Share the new Confident City Cycling Class schedule with employees – Half skills development, half group bike ride, BikePGH’s Confident City Cycling Classes teach riders the skills needed to navigate city streets by bike. Whether you plan to be an everyday commuter, or whether you ride trails on the weekends, the Confident City Cycling Classes will give you a chance to learn from a League Certified Bike Instructor at your own level. Classes taught on the third Saturday of the month, 10am-1pm.
4. Give employees a safe, convenient place to lock their bikes – Bike parking and bike racks, they’re two topic’s that BikePGH’s Business Development Manager, Dan Yablonsky, holds near and dear to his heart. Shoot him an email and schedule a bike parking consultation at your business. Bike parking starts at around $65/bike.
5. Encourage employees to take the Bike To Work Day Pledge!
   

   BikePGH Business Member Rothschild Doyno Collaborative helps employees choose their bike routes for Bike to Work Day

   – Try it, you’ll have a blast. Friday May 20th is the day. Now that you’ve brought education, encouragement, and engineering into your workplace, its time to get your co-workers committed. Have them sign the pledge. Stop by any of the free BikePGH Pop-up Commuter Cafes or create your own office incentive.

And finally:

6. Become a BikePGH Business Member – Businesses have a role to play in creating a more bike friendly Pittsburgh. A business’ tax-deductible contribution to BikePGH will help us further our mission of transforming Pittsburgh’s streets into vibrant, healthy communities. BikePGH is a small, grassroots organization that does an ENORMOUS amount of work in Pittsburgh; from advocacy in city hall, to organizing OpenStreetsPGH, to educating youth and adults on how bike comfortably. Having your business join the 75 other Pittsburgh businesses that support our work will give us the momentum we need to continue advocating for change.

See you on May 20th, National Bike to Work Day!