For 2019 refer to

Month of May: Bike Month for the USA, Monterey Bay, and Monterey County

Archived below is info for Monterey County Bike Month 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014. (The 2018 activities were previously included in the 2019 post linked above.) Also on this site:

• Bike Month 2013:  https://bikemonterey.org/april-may-2013-calendar-of-biking-activities-for-monterey-county.html
• Bike Week 2012: https://bikemonterey.org/18th-annual-monterey-county-bike-week-make-it-a-joy-ride.html

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Archived notes of some of the activities from

Bike Month 2017

Also see Team Bike Monterey County: Bike Month Stickers and Poster and Información en español – Mes de la bici en condado de Monterey.

1. May 17, 2017: Bike Lock and Safety Gear Giveaway and Bicycle Safety Presentation in King City.

   Children and teens will learn the rules of the road and how to properly wear a helmet and securely lock a bike.  Free bicycle locks, plus other bike and walk safety gear, for those attending.

   When: 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17.

   Where: In the Homework Center at Monterey County Free Libraries‘ King City branch, 404 Broadway Street, King City.

   Questions? Contact Transportation Agency for Monterey County; click here.

2. May 6, 2017: Bike-In Movie Night

   New in 2017 for Monterey County Bike Month is Bike-In Movie Night hosted by Green Pedal Couriers and friends at Sports Center Bicycles in Seaside, one of Monterey County’s local bike shops.

   For questions about Bike-In Movie Night, or for any updates or changes (for example, the possibility of more than one Bike-In Movie Night in May), contact Michael Baroni of Green Pedal Couriers.

3. May 7, 2017: Salinas Criterium (short link: http://bit.ly/SalinasCrit)

   

4.  May 8, 2017 (and other dates): Bike Maintenance for Kids.

   A City of Monterey Recreation Department class, open to residents and visitors.

5. May 2017:  And there are still more Bike Month activities in Monterey County!  Visit the Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) Bike Month page: http://www.tamcmonterey.org/programs/bike-pedestrian/bike-month/ There’ll you’ll find additional Bike Month activities. Among them (not a comprehensive list—check TAMC’s site for more, and for any possible changes): May 5 Community Ride; May 6 National Bike Month Family Ride; May 7 Take It Outside Salinas;  May 10 Cesar Chavez Library: Kids Storytime, Bike Raffle and Bike Safety Presentation; May 13 John Steinbeck Library: Kids Storytime – Bike Safety; May 13 bike valet for Monterey International Blues Festival; May 19 Bike to Work Day Lunch-Break Bike Tuneups; May 26-28 bike valet at California Roots Festival; and more.

   As referred to in item 12 of Bicycling Monterey’s May 2017 newsletter, TAMC will also be recognizing Golden Helmet Award winners at the May 24 TAMC Board of Directors meeting.

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* * *

Monterey County

Bike Month 2016

For Bike Month 2016 dates, refer to May 2016 on Bicycling Monterey’s calendar – http://bit.ly/BikeCalendar and to the Transportation Agency for Monterey County’s Bike Month page.

* * *

Monterey County

Bike Month 2015

As is traditional throughout the U.S.—and as proclaimed by the City of Salinas and the City of Monterey, among many other cities throughout the nation—Bike Month is again being celebrated in the month of May. Scroll down a bit for a list of some May 2015 Bike Month activities in Monterey County.

Among local cities issuing Bike Month proclamations are

City of Salinas…

(click the Youtube link, then go over to 18:54 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tlP54evvEQ&app=desktop)

and City of Monterey…

City of Monterey proclaimed May as bike month @BikeMonterey @HERHelmetThurs – TAMC has our proclamation #bikemonth

— City of Monterey (@cityofmonterey) May 5, 2015

What’s happening

for Bike Month 2015?

(Click on any blue text in this post to jump to additional details, or find details on the calendar.)

May 1-31: Bike to worship—to church, mosque, satsang, synagogue, or other place of worship.

May 3: Salinas Criterium.

May 6: Bike to School Day.

May 7, 14, 21, and 28—as on Thursdays year-round—hundreds of Monterey County businesses and organizations give 10-50% discounts to males and females who bike. Click here for FAQs and other info. Download the current Quick Reference Guide here: HER Helmet Thursdays – Quick Reference Guide – 1 May 2015

May 9: 4th Annual Intergenerational Ride.

May 9: 5th Annual Fort Ord Warhorse Ride.

May 11-15: Bike to Work Week.

May 20 Twilight Ride at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

May 23: Bike to Shop Day.

May 30: Salinas Community Ride. (Find more tips for this ride on the calendar.)

May 30: “Bike Skillz” riding skills and safety training. (Scroll down for poster.)

NOTE: All ages and abilities are welcome at both of the above May 30th events. The May 30th skills training has a required prerequisite: a free online course that is estimated to take about four hours to complete.

There are other local Bike Month activities too. All dates that were submitted to Bicycling Monterey before May 1, 2015 are included on Bicycling Monterey’s Master Calendar for Bicycling Monterey County. There you’ll find such activities as the May 6 Safe Routes to School meeting and the May 18 Bike Travel 101 event, plus more bike things to do.

May 1-31, volunteer Mari Lynch is endeavoring to take a “tech break” from Bicycling Monterey’s calendar and website updates, HER Helmet Thursdays database updates, social media, email, and other tech tasks. Why? In observance of Bicycling Monterey’s 6th Anniversary! May 1-31, you can still reach Mari by phone.

To get the Transportation Agency for Monterey County’s Bike Month posters, in English y en español, or to ask about any other Monterey County Bike Month activities, contact TAMC staff member Ariana Green, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator.

May 30 “Bike Skillz” training

Remember: Before the May 30 training, allow four hours or more to complete the free online course. That prerequisite is necessary for everyone attending. To print and share the poster below, download PDF here: bike_skillz_8.5×11

 Photo at top of this post taken at Sea Otter Classic 2015.

Below: At Sea Otter Classic 2014.

OK, walk your bike.

Or ride your bike!

Or just kiss the ground your bike rolls on.

Whatever you do, do it with gusto,

and do it with a bike.

What do you mean, “Why?” Because, silly….

It’s Bike Month!

Below is a gallery of people biking Monterey County in Spring 2014.

The photos and details below are about

Monterey County Bike Month 2014.

At the end is a current favorite poster.

But first, download a poster of Monterey County Bike Month activities, in English and en espanol – 11.58 x 17.58 (pdf)

Condado de Monterey Mes de las bicicletas Mayo de 2014 – para español, desplácese hacia abajo:

Monterey County Bike Month 2014 poster from TAMC

 For details, download PDF here:

Bike Month 2014 – Details re TAMC Bike Month poster

or go to http://www.tamcmonterey.org/bikeweek/ [now Bike Month]

Here’s what’s rocking TAMC’s “Ride Your Life” Bike Month poster, with links to related info at Bicycling Monterey.

For additional Bike Month activities, refer to the Master Calendar for Bicycling Monterey County, AKA http://bit.ly/BikeCalendar.

• May 7 – National Bike to School Day
• May 10 – Intergenerational Bike Ride
• May 10 through May 13 – Monterey Bicycle Film Festival
• May 11 – CA High School Mountain Biking State Championships
• May 14 – Amgen Stage 4 Start
• May 16 – National Bike to Work Day
• May 24 – Salinas Criterium
• Each Thursday – HER Helmet Thursdays discounts

(Click image and go to film fest post,

where you can download that poster too.)

Oh! And one more thing!

Help improve bike infrastructure

To help improve bicycle infrastructure throughout the Monterey Bay region, adults who bike in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz County are encouraged to enter the Cycle Tracks drawing, as well as to collect data about their rides. (Sorry, participants for the drawing and the data collection are legally required to be age 18 and up.)

CycleTracks Bike Month 2014 Drawing (click for more details from AMBAG)

(Click image below to enlarge.)

OK, time to play!

Who will you meet at

Monterey County Bike Month activities?

Maybe some of the people below,

because all were biking in Monterey County this spring!

Well, there’s an exception: Maybe you won’t get to meet the couple  directly above. These natives of the Ukraine were visiting Monterey County on April 24, 2014, and they’ll be back at their new home in Brooklyn, NY in May. I met them at The Wharf Marketplace, a HER Helmet Thursdays spot.

Many visitors will be in Monterey County in May. Please help them know that Monterey County’s Bike Month celebrations are for tourists too, as well as for locals.

You certainly have a chance of meeting all the other people pictured in this post! That includes the teens below, who I met on a Sunday afternoon, on Alisal at Madeira, East Salinas.

You might even see me on the same corner, this time after watching racers at the Salinas Criterium on May 24th.

That HER Helmet Thursdays spot, Tacos El Jalisciense on Alisal at Madeira, is one of my favorite Salinas spots–a great place to go after Youth Center bike class–and you have an even better chance of seeing me there if you volunteer for class too!

I introduced some Ciclovistas to that restaurant at the close of the inaugural Ciclovia Salinas last October, and I’m looking forward to riding with them at the May 10th Intergenerational Ride. Yes, some of the Ciclovia Salinas youth have even RSVP’d about May 10th, wanting to be sure everybody knows that they’re coming to the ride again this year!

Meanwhile, where else do people like to bike to?

Bike to the beach, of course! These folks did, in April 2014, while some people back east were still getting late snow!

Or bike past a beach, like this Washington cyclist did along the Big Sur coast, March 2014. Same day as Rob Jones on his journey.

Even though it wasn’t a Thursday, he could still look forward to stopping at an extra bike-friendly spot up ahead:  Big Sur River Inn Restaurant!

Wouldn’t be a bit surprised if U.S. Marine Corps veteran Rob Jones heads back to visit Monterey County again. He has come to know its beauty very well–by experiencing it up close and personal, on his bike!

And he’s heard about HER Helmet Thursdays. Those discounts are for lodging too.  Great for visitors, or for locals on staycation.

Below, Rob was between Point Sur and Andrew Molera. You can’t tell by his smile, but–you’ve heard of March winds?–Rob was biking Big Sur on a very blustery day!

Another cyclist who gravitates to the coast is Tres. You know what they say. Well, say or sing, as my mom did:

“Give a man a pole, and he’s…gone fishing!”

Steve Benes of Gears 4 Good will be at the Intergenerational Ride again this year. Below, he was at the Sea Otter Classic Expo on April 13th, the last day of SOC 2014. And Steve was being helpful, as usual–helping transport gifts received for Monterey County Youth Center bike class students.

You might see this family at Bike Month activities too, or just Dad and their toddler if Mama has given birth. Yes, this mother-to-be was eight months pregnant when I met them biking in March 2014.

This couple could be at some Monterey County Bike Month activities, even though they’re from San Francisco and Oakland. They don’t blink at biking distances! They’d biked to Monterey and were heading further south the next day. I met them on Wharf II and guided them to this spot before they headed up the hill to camp at Veterans Park.

Below: You can’t see their faces in the picture, but those bikes belong to some people who’ll be participating in Bike Month activities!

They were all busy working when I took this picture April 11, 2014. That gives you a clue about which Bike Month activity they’re sure to be part of, eh?

These employees of Light & Motion in Marina will definitely be doing Bike to Work Day, May 16th! And BTW, the L&M parking lot only had about three cars in it that day. Clearly L&M’s staffers tend to bike their talk!

The guy below? He bikes to work at Ryan Ranch. No doubt he  generally arrives a lot happier than people who’ve had to struggle with traffic to get there on time. Besides, no gas costs for him, no parking problems either.  He can tell you that for many people, bike commuting is not a sacrifice, it’s a pleasure!

Rainy or cold days? See what other cyclists do, or switch to bike-and-ride.

Unexpected happens? If you live or work in Monterey County, and if even only once a week you bike (or use other alternative transportation, e.g., MST bus), you can sign up for AMBAG’s  Emergency Guaranteed Ride Home.

Just can’t fit in bike commuting to work? Consider doing your biking on your days off, maybe Bike to Worship.

That’s apparently what the person whose bike is pictured below does. I often see that bike parked there on Sunday mornings when I’m biking the Pajarao Street bike lanes in Salinas en route to Youth Center bike class. (And sure, I sometimes bike to worship too–just like others who bike to church, mosque, satsang, synagogue, or other house of faith.)

Bike Month, that’s right! I’d love to know what’s happening. Often I’m just shopping and doing errands on my bike, getting where I need to go. It’d be fun to go to one of the Bike Month rides, or maybe that new Monterey Bicycling Film Festival. You say it runs for four days–films every day?

Did somebody say fun?

Then we Salinas burrito riders will be there!

Hey, I was on that last Salinas Burrito Ride too. Fun it was!

Yup, I agree, Saul. And thanks for the chance to remind people: Saul’s shop, Tony’s Bike Shop of Castroville, is one of our fantastic local bike shops in Monterey County. Above, I’d stopped by in March, when Saul had pulled everything out of the shop to do some remodeling. Stop by and see the new look next time you’re in Castroville.

For other bike community leaders and resources, click here.

The Bicycling Monterey website and projects

have powered on for five years.

It all started in May 2009,

fueled by my heartfelt joy and enthusiasm for biking.

Yes, that’s how this volunteer gig began.

Hear about it in this Sept 2009 KUSP broadcast.

Yeah, I get it. I mean, just look at my little brother’s face.

How can you not feel joyful and enthused when you’re out biking!

And behind those brothers? Yet another bike-friendly spot: Fox Theater, which was one of the Charter Participants. They’ve been in since 2009–tell your friends!

Yeah, the kids are right. No matter your present circumstances,

it’s almost impossible not to smile when you’re on your bike!

This visitor agrees:

For sure! Pretty hard not to get a natural buzz out of biking. And I love it that Monterey County is getting so bike-friendly! The valets here at Portola Hotel & Spa told me they give discounts to bicyclists on Thursdays–on Portola Hotel lodging, Peter B’s Brewpub, and Spa on the Plaza. Sweet!

Of course, there are more reasons to bike than the bike buzz and the discounts. There are lots of benefits of bicycling!

Yes!

Even if it’s raining, whenever I see my friend on her bike, she’s smiling.

You’ve been saying that too. And when I see how much fun our son has on his bike, I see that you’re right. Let ‘s do it! Let’s get bikes for us too!

I saw on Twitter what the assistant editor of the Monterey County Weekly said on Earth Day. She plans to start biking to school with her preschooler a couple mornings a week. And I’ve seen the cutest little kids out biking, in South Salinas.

That could be a great way to start–biking our son to preschool a couple days a week!

Yeah, biking to school is a lot more fun than having your parents drive you, or taking the bus. And you aren’t squeezed onto a seat with somebody else–whether it’s a bully on a school bus or those sometimes pesky little kids in a parent’s car.

On a bike, you have all the room you need. After school? You’re free!

Totally! Bikes rock!

And after high school, whether you head to college or dive into the workforce full-on, ya think it’s wise to stop biking on a young adult’s budget? We’re sure not gonna stop! Even the greying bicyclists say, “Why stop  now?”

Hey, biking is fun, and that’s reason enough, even if there weren’t so many other benefits too! By the way, thanks for discounts at Yangtse’s and other bike-friendly spots.

Thanks to co-founders Jade and Luz  (above) for supporting female cyclists with their new social ride group. Find Menstrual Cycles now on the Monterey County bike community page.

Us? We work hard at the Monterey County Weekly, Elkhorn Slough, and CSUMB. When we’re off work, it’s bike time! By the time we’ve biked out and back on the River Road trail–making sure to hit the bike-friendly spots–we’re not only smiling, we’re singing. Try this on, Beatles fans: “Bikes love you, yeah! yeah! yeah!”

Okay, sillies. Let’s get serious–well, just a little!

Before closing, let’s revisit where this post started. “WALK YOUR BIKE”?

What’s with that! “Walk your bike” is occasionally required by law. When? See sidewalk ordinances for some Monterey County cities in the sidewalk tips of Tips for Bicycling Monterey County‘s section on  CA Bike Laws and Personal Safety/Skills–for Children, Teens, and Adults.

Other times, “walk your bike” is requested or recommended, for the comfort and safety or those around you. In these cases, showing that courtesy is being a good ambassador for the bike community. Besides the Sea Otter Classic bridge (where that trio up top were carrying the sign from, following 4/13/14 event tear-down),  where else is it appropriate to walk your bike? See Where the Plazas Are in the City of Monterey for examples.

When and where appropriate…

Hey, don’t forget us when you’re talking about Bike Month!

Remember us? You met us at bike-friendly MYO! No, not the downtown Monterey or Cannery Row location, you met us at MYO in the county seat!

You didn’t catch us with your camera again this spring, but we’re still biking Salinas. Remind people that biking Monterey County isn’t just about the Monterey Peninsula and the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail. Remind them about tips for biking Carmel and Carmel Valley, Castroville, Greenfield. And Salinas. Tell em!  Like you did last October! 

And tell people too how the HER Helmet Thursdays project works. Tell them it’s not just part of Bike Month–those discounts for males and females who bike are on Thursdays year-round. Tell em! Explain it. Like you did in 2010!

Okay, okay!

And now, before we all get off the screens

and back on our bikes,

I promised to show you

my current favorite poster.

Here it is.

The National Bike Summit 2014 poster below sums up well how I feel about biking, and why I just fell into being a bike advocate. I didn’t plan it, it just happened. Bicycling advocacy became my volunteer gig for the past five years because I saw a need and just started filling it, like many of you. It wasn’t anything that required much thought. Bike advocacy simply made sense–like bikes!

Please consider making a contribution to this grassroots bike advocacy effort for Monterey County

 Help keep Bicycling Monterey rolling into its sixth year, which begins May 2014.

Whether you contribute $5, $25, or more, as these folks did;

or whether you contribute project supplies, like these people;

or volunteer time, send in calendar items or spread the news,

like the individuals and organizations acknowledged here;

all such help is needed in this volunteer effort to

support Monterey County

in being even more bicycling-friendly,

for residents and for visitors.

You may specify that a financial contribution be used for a specific project, or that it go toward the work and expenses of the Bicycling Monterey website.

Thank you for your consideration, and for your own involvement in bicycling advocacy. Even if that’s only by serving as a roll model–as is each person in this post–your actions can help make this a better place for people who bike.

Do I have a philosophy about bike advocacy? Yes. And People for Bikes states it perfectly:

No matter how we ride, we can ride as one.

♥ Happy Bike Month ♥