It’s that time of year again, our favorite month: May is Bike Month! We’ve been busy planning two awesome, car-free rides, and have plans to celebrate Bike to Work Day with exciting announcements and the annual award Bike Friendly Business of the Year award.
Some dates you definitely want to save, and events you won’t want to miss:
May 8 is Bike to School Day, and we’re encouraging students to hop on two wheels for their morning commute.
May 11 is our second annual Farm to Farm Ride in Portsmouth, when the full length of Middle Road, from Union to Hedley streets, will be closed to car traffic from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. It’s a scenic ride stretching two miles in each direction and lined with six family-owned farms. To register for that event and read more details, click here.
May 17 is Bike to Work Day, and we’ll gather for our annual Bike Commuter Breakfast from 7-9 a.m. At 4:30 p.m., we’ll reconvene for bike-friendly progress reports and to award the Bike-Friendly Business of the Year. At 5 p.m., we’ll set out on a group bike ride around downtown.
On May 18 you can find us at Alex and Ani on Bowen’s Wharf for a Charmed by Charity event from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Enjoy light bites and refreshments while shopping, and 15% of total sales generated will be donated to Bike Newport!
And then, on May 19, you can join us for Elliot’s Ride for Everyone — our second car-free ride of the month – and first ever car-free ride in Newport! Our scenic coastal byway, Ocean Avenue, and Hazard Road through Gooseneck Cove, will be closed to car traffic, from 9-11 a.m. “It’s not that we’re closing the road to cars, but that we’re opening it to pedestrians and bicycles,” said Bari Freeman, Bike Newport’s Executive Director, who’s encouraging participants to pack a picnic and enjoy this rare opportunity. We’ll be headquartered at Rogers High School (15 Wickham Road) and also providing assistance on the Brenton Point end of the loop. For details, visit the event web site here.
We’ll also be up to our usual fun throughout the month: The Bike Garage/Garaje en Español (62 Broadway) is open from 4:30-7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays, and from 1-4 p.m. on Saturdays. Our Bike Library at the Big Blue Bike Barn (Sunset Boulevard on the north side of Miantonomi Park) is open on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon. — anyone is also welcome to stop by during this time to help out with the Big Barn.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more updates throughout the month.
Happy May, and happy Bike Month, from all of us here at Bike Newport!
Bike Newport