Bay State Bike Week Nears
In fact, Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s seven-day Bay State Bike Week, a companion to May’s nationwide Bike Month, will be here on Monday, May 12, and will stick around until Sunday, May 18.
The main focus of the weeklong event is the 50,000-Mile Commuter Challenge. Daunting as the name is, it’s a bit misleading, too, because the challenge is more of a call for collaboration than an actual invitation to compete.
How it works is simple. Participants each pledge to bike the number of miles they prefer, with the overall goal being to collectively cycle 50,000 miles instead of driving the same distance in a car. Hence, Bay State Bike Week’s motto Kick Gas! is both a play on words and a literal entreaty to help improve the environment.
As the website points out, the Commuter Challenge isn’t just a local project either. Those who decide to take part will join thousands of green-minded bike riders in Massachusetts and other communities across the United States.
To enliven the group event and make it worth riders’ time, organizers and sponsors also have plenty of relevant attractions planned, such as a Bike Buddy program, Breakfast Pit Stops, Goodie Zones, Safe-Rider Convoys, and easy alternatives for interested people who need to rent a bike to contribute.
Learn all you need to know about Bay State Bike Week at the official website, including how to register if the event sounds like something you’d enjoy experiencing.
2 Comments
I like this idea. I would love to see Montreal do something like this to really get people using something other than cars to get around. We have a great network of bike paths throughout the city, it would be awesome to see some promotion to get more people using them.
If Montreal has a lot of college students, that would really help promotion-wise, Sherry. One of the reasons bikes are so popular here in Boston is because of the large university population.
Maybe somebody at the League of American Bicyclists could give tips on how to begin a League of Canadian Bicyclists (I Googled the name and there doesn’t seem to be one already). They’re a really dedicated group of people who would probably welcome helping.