3, 2, 1…Happy Bike Month!

By Ngani Ndimbie
May 1st will mark the start of National Bike Month and the start of nearly non-stop bike events here in Pittsburgh. Make sure to attend some of the events planned around town and stay tuned to bikepgh.org/calendar as more events are added.

National Bike Challenge
May – September 
The National Bike Challenge is a nationwide event that unites thousands of bicyclists across the country and encourages countless new riders to join in. Log your miles and challenge yourself, your colleagues and your community to ride more. Here at the Bike Pittsburgh office we have an inter-office challenge to see who logs the most miles. The best part is that we add to Pittsburgh’s total in our competition against Cleveland in the Rustbelt Battle of the Bikes!

National Bike Challenge is free and you can sign up today. New this year: (1.) You can log your miles with Strava! And (2.) you can start logging your miles now. The new website allows you to keep track of your miles 12 months per year, not just during the challenge months of May through September.

City of Pittsburgh’s First Citywide Bike/Ped Count
May 7, May 9
Volunteer for the bike and pedestrian counts to help the city plan future bike and pedestrian infrastructure and better understand current usage! Count days are May 7 and May 9 with a short mandatory orientation on May 6. Choose a two hour morning or evening shift to better the future of Pittsburgh’s bike and pedestrian infrastructure. Learn more and sign up here.

Bike to Work Day
Friday, May 15th
This year’s annual celebration of biking to work will be held on Friday, May 15th. I bike commuted in Pittsburgh for years without participating in Bike to Work Day and was known to say “Pssh. Every day is bike to work day.” Let me be the first to say that I was WRONG. So wrong. Here’s what I was missing out on:

Free food: BikePGH will have five commuter cafés offering free breakfast (muffins, breads and coffee) to all bike commuters from 7am to 9am.
New pals: Meeting and hanging out with other riders on Bike to Work Day.
Free stuff: Swag bags full of sweet gifts are handed out to the BikePGH members who visit a commuter café. Not yet a member? You can join for a special Bike to Work Day rate at a commuter café!
Fun group rides: You can join a group ride to a commuter café. Rides will originate at various locations across the region.
Golden tickets: Yeah, that’s right. This year 15 of the swag bags will contain golden tickets redeemable for super sweet prizes like an Ortlieb backpack, a Brooks Saddle and more.
Don’t miss out on this year’s Bike to Work Day celebration!

PeopleforBikes #EverydayBiking Count
Thursday, May 28th
Get out your basket bike. On May 28th Peoplefor Bikes will count the number of people riding bikes with racks and baskets! Bonus points if they’re carrying flowers.

Pittsburgh Underwear Bike Ride
May 28th
Need I say more? The first Underwear Bike Ride of 2015 is on May 28th.

OpenStreetsPGH
Sundays: May 31st, June 28th, July 26th
8am – Noon
We’re taking the streets back on May 31st. On the last Sunday of every month from May through July from 8am to Noon, OpenStreetsPGH will open a 3.5 mile stretch of our streets to people on a course running from Downtown to Lawrenceville. You can take a car-free bike ride or walk along Penn Ave, or participate in activities like yoga, Zumba, and dance classes offered at three activity hubs, or do them all. The event is completely FREE and open to the public. What will you do at OpenStreets? Learn more at OpenStreetsPGH.org.