This week is Bike To Work Week! Whether you ride to work all year ‘round or have never tried to ride to work before, the City of Lincoln has an events page with details of initiatives happening all week long to recognize, educate, and promote bicycle safety with inclusion for all community members.
History:
In the United States, the League of American Bicyclists is credited with starting the week observance and promoting celebrations in communities from coast to coast. Established in 1956, National Bike Month started the observance that then created National Bike Week.
Theme: All things Safety
This year, outreach for Bike to Work Week 2021 has focused on coordinating with community partners and local businesses to encourage Lincoln residents who are interested but concerned in biking to participate in Bike to Work Week & Bike Month with a strong safety & educational component. Ultimately, allowing people to see that biking is a viable/practical option and can be done safely all while having fun and being healthy, along with encouraging people to bike to work, school, coffee shop, or bike for recreational purposes.
Biking is for EVERYONE!
Website:
The Bike Lincoln city web page is a great place where community members can learn more about what exactly Bike to Work week is and why biking should be done more frequently. People can easily plan their trips to various destinations by utilizing the embedded Google map and also fill out Bike to Work Week Pledge Cards online, or by printing them out and dropping them off at BikeLNK HQ @ 206 S Antelope Valley Parkway, 9am-4pm M-F. Participants are then entered into the end of week Wrap Up Event raffle which bookends the week long events on Friday evening at the Jayne Snyder Trails Center.
Discounts:
Spreading out the week-long incentives to ride, several local businesses are partnering to provide discounts to Lincoln area residents who can say that they rode their bike to work by showing their helmet.
Hub Cafe~Free coffee all week
Lincoln Running Company~10% off shoes, 20% off apparel
Pepe’s Bistro~$1.00 off entrees all week, 50% off during class (Wednesday noon)
Canopy Street Market~ 10% off your total
The Mill (all locations) ~free cup of coffee all week with showing of helmet
Classes:
A series of “Safety 101” classes run by League Cycling Instructors (LCIs) are hosted at different community centers around Lincoln where people can learn about riding bikes safely in their built environment and learn about routes they can take to local parks, libraries, schools, or commercial corridors by creating a make and take map with safe ways to get to where they need to go, by bike!
Schedule
Participants are required to follow all directed health measures during Bike to Work Week events
- Safety 101 Class: Monday, May 17th at 4:30, at the Malone Center, 2032 U Street. Learn about bike safety, basic ABCs for bike riding, hand signals, rules of the road, and how to map your routes around Lincoln.
- Safety 101 Class: Tuesday, May 18th at noon, at the Asian Community & Cultural Center, 144 N 44th Street, Suite A. Learn about bike safety, basic ABCs for bike riding, hand signals, rules of the road, and how to map your routes around Lincoln.
- Safety 101 Class: Wednesday, May 19th at noon, at Pepe’s Bistro, 11th and B Street. A 50% discount will be available during the lunch and learn event. Learn about bike safety, basic ABCs for bike riding, hand signals, rules of the road, and how to map your routes around Lincoln.
Partner Events
- Joslyn Institute for Sustainable Communities: Monday through Thursday from 11am-1pm, along the N St Cycletrack between Centennial Mall and 14th St, near the Lincoln Community Foundation building. A pop up table information booth will be staffed in which you can learn more about the organization, pick up Bike to Work Week Pledge Cards, and grab some additional freebies.
- Tour de Lincoln: Thursday, May 20th at 6 p.m. Ride will start at the Jayne Snyder Trails Center, 228 N. 21st Street and tour Southeast Lincoln.
- Wrap-up Event: Friday, May 21 from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Jayne Snyder Trails Center, 228 N. 21st Street. This is a family-friendly event that celebrates the entire Lincoln community’s increasing capacity to use bikes as both transportation and recreation. There will be music provided by jazz/funk artist Myles Jasnowski and post ride raffle for all participants who turned in a Bike to Work Week Pledge Card with prizes provided by sponsors such as Downtown Lincoln t-shirts, water bottles, mugs, and gift cards ($100, $50, $25), t-shirts from Great Plains Trails Network, BikeLNK blinky light up wrap bracelets and string bags from Nebraska Federal Credit Union.
As you can see, Bike To Work Week 2021 has something for everyone! Join us!