Sunnydayspdx: May 2016

I love this Queen song and often start signing it when I am feeling like I need to go for a bicycle ride. May is National Bike Month. During this month Bike to Work Week, Bike to Work Day, and National Bike to School Day are celebrated. The National Bike Challenge, a free program kicks off on May 1 and runs through August 31. The goal of the challenge is to unite 50,000 people to bike 10 million miles.

It is truly amazing to think that National Bike Month has been around for 55 years. It was started in 1956 by the Cycle Trade Association. National Bike Month has been the perfect time for new or returning riders to get back on the saddle and ride their bike to work and school. Bike Month is about promoting safe cycling.

Portland is the only large city to earn The League of American Bicyclists’ platinum status as a bicycle-friendly city. Portland has the highest share of bicycle commuters (6 to 8 percent) of any large U.S. city. Portland has 318 miles of bikeways of which 180 are bike lanes, 59 are neighborhood greenway/bike ways, 79 are car-free paved lanes (e.g., parks) and 1 mile which is considered a cycle track. Portland’s bike positive persona has also been captured in several skits in the show Portlandia.

One of the Portlandia skits featured a move by a bike moving company. Moving by bike can be seen here in Portland, you can get also have you bike valet parked and you can even get soup for lunch delivered by bike to your workplace. Kaiser Permanente recently teamed up with SolarWorld for a bike delivery of solar panels to be used in their new Westside hospital.

There are many bike related activities supported around Portland and the Metro area during National Bike Month and throughout the year. Here are some kids hamming it up to the Queen song Bicycle. Below that is information on local events and where to find bike maps.