Get Your Bike On This May!

Each May communities across the country mark National Bike Month, a celebration of cycling and its many benefits sponsored by League of American Bicyclists. From Florissant to Columbia, to Kansas City to Springfield, communities across Missouri are gearing up their two-wheelers for a month full of festivities including Bike to Work Week Bike to Work Week (May 12-16) and Bike to Work Day (May 16).

While bicycling in Missouri has increased dramatically since 2000, Missouri ranks 30^th as a Bicycle Friendly State and only 7 Missouri communities are recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as Bicycle Friendly, meaning they provide safe, encouraging environments for cycling.

This leaves a lot of room for improvement but don’t let that jam your bike chain. The good news is with a strong presence of bike/ped enthusiasts and growing momentum of Missouri’s Livable Streets efforts, more communities are on their way to becoming not just bicycle friendly, but friendly for all forms of transportation and their users. For example, Ashland,Mo., along with 6 other Missouri communities were recently announced as recipients of Livable Streets trainings and technical assistance.

Livable improvements like bicycle lanes, smooth pavement, and shared-use trails can make a big difference by reducing traffic demands and creating more connected healthier communities whether you travel by bicycle, foot, or wheelchair.

Want your community to get livable and be more bicycle friendly? Learn about the ways you can help at http://livablestreets.missouri.edu/.

Get tools and ideas for celebrating Bike Month from the League of American Cyclists here then head on over to Facebook to follow our cycling celebrations and tell us how you’re celebrating Bike Month.