By: Stephen Blackadar#

May 21, 2021#

Cycling has many benefits. It helps cut down on harmful emissions from cars and other vehicles, it gives us exercise, it lowers traffic in busy cities… and besides, it’s fun! May is National Bike Month, and since its inception, the month has helped to boost the popularity of the bicycle.

National Bike Month was created back in 1956 and has been celebrated every May since then to share the many benefits of bike riding with the world. The month is sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists.

National Bike Month has also helped to start other celebrations and events held in May to encourage people to try out bikes. Bike to Work Week is being held from the 17th to the 21st of May and is centered around getting people out of cars and onto bikes in order to get to work. National Ride a Bike Day, a new holiday for 2021, was held on May 2 and helps remind people of the versatility and simplicity that bikes bring.

Love to Ride, a corporation that encourages people to bike by logging trips on a website or a mobile app, partnered with the League of American Bicyclists to create the National Bike Challenge. The National Bike Challenge lets people engage in friendly competition with co-workers, friends, neighbors, and other citizens by using a website to share riding statistics, why they ride bikes, etc. on the internet. The National Bike Challenge runs beyond May, all the way to September.

Some FCPS schools also celebrate Bike to School Day, which is just what it sounds like: a day where students are encouraged to bike to school. This year, it was celebrated on the 5th of May.

Whether you’re biking to work or school or  a friend’s house, bikes are very useful. They’re the perfect combination of speed, size, fitness, and renewability, and these holidays and events center around these benefits of bikes. Where will you take your bike this month?