Seacoast Bike Month 2021

Spring is here but COVID lingers on. Are you back to a worksite? Still working from home juggling Zoom meetings with kiddo coverage? There’s probably never been a more important time to get be outside in nature, decompress and get some fresh air.  What better way to do that than with a few fun activities for Seacoast Bike/Walk Month in May?

The centerpiece of Seacoast Bike/Walk Month is on despite COVID. CommuteSMART Seacoast’s annual spring Business to Business (B2B) Commuter Challenge kicks off May 1st and will run the whole month. Sign up your workplace and rally your co-workers to compete to log the most avoided auto commute trips during May. For a lot of people this will mean telecommuting, but with lighter traffic right now it’s a great time to try your commute by bike. All smart commuters get fun swag. For Challenge info go to: www.commutesmartseacoast.org.

New for Bike/Walk Month this year is the Seacoast Trail Passport Challenge sponsored by SABR, Rockingham Planning Commission, and Strafford Regional Planning Commission. “The Passport highlights ten family friendly trails around the region and sets up incentives to visit as many as you can this month” said Maddie DiIonno, Regional Planner with Rockingham Planning Commission. “Some may be old favorites you’ve visited many times. We hope others will be new discoveries”. Each trail visited gives you an entry in a drawing for a large pool of gift certificates and swag from local bike shops. For more information and to download the Passport go to http://www.therpc.org/transportation/bicycle-and-pedestrian/trailpassport.

“We’re setting aside most of the in-person events we normally schedule for Bike Month, like the Bike/Walk to Work Day commuter breakfasts around the region, but that’s no reason not to keep celebrating bicycling”, said CJ Fleck of Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes (SABR). Instead SABR encourages commuters to snap a selfie while you’re out on a ride (to work, before work or instead of work) on Friday May 21st and share it to #SeacoastBikes, #BikeThere and the Bike Month Facebook page at www.facebook.com/seacoastbikes/.

“A big part of Seacoast Bike Month has always been creating fun events to encourage people to try biking to work, to the grocery store, or just for fun,” said Scott Bogle of the Rockingham Planning Commission. “If there’s any positive outcome from COVID it may be that the pandemic has led a lot of people to rediscover how much they like being outside and on a bicycle. Our emphasis for Bike Month this year is just to encourage people to do more on a bike, and explore new places to ride.“

Bike Month Calendar (Check back for updates and additions!)

  • All Month – Commute Smart B2B Challenge – Form a team at work to bike, walk or telework. You’re doing it now anyway so why not make it more fun and take credit? Bikers will receive special awards for the most trips. Free & open to all Seacoast NH employers. www.commuteSMARTseacoast.org/Challenge/b2b-challenge-2021

  • All Month – Seacoast Trails Passport Challenge –  Feeling cooped up with COVID? Venture out with your family and explore ten terrific trails around the region this month and win prizes. Get one entry into the prize drawing for each trail visited, and win stickers and swag from bike shops and other partners just for participating. Free & open to all. For more info go to: https://www.therpc.org/trailpassport

  • All Month, and then some – Cycle the Seacoast—Virtual Ride –  Challenge yourself to stay active and support the American Lung Association’s work on critical lung health research. Complete 25, 50 or 100 miles on an indoor or outdoor bike at your own pace and in segments if you like. All virtual participants who raise $200 by 6/30/21 will receive a medal and event t-shirt. Weekly challenges and prizes too! Register at www.BikeTrekNewEngland.org

  • Friday, May 21 – Bike to Work (at Home) Day – Go for a ride, take a photo and share it with us on social media. Get out for a 20 minute ride be- fore you plug into work, or at lunch or instead of work. Bike with your kids, your spouse, your quar- antine buddy. Bike solo! Take a selfie and post it to #SeacoastBikes and the Bike Month Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/seacoastbikes/. Add LAB’s national #BikeThere hashtag too.

  • Saturday, May 22 – SABR Slow Roll. Nice riding weather is back! Join friends and/or meet new friends on a relaxed bike ride followed by a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants with outdoor seating in downtown Portsmouth. Start time details TBD. For more info got to the SABR Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/seacoastbikes/

  • Anytime You Like –Watch Them All – LAB Smart Cycling Videos – Brush up on your bicycling skills and knowledge of Traffic Laws. The League of American Bicyclists has put together a terrific set of short videos with tips on shifting gears, intersection positioning, basic bike safety checks, fitting and adjusting your bike, what to wear and other topics. All are available online at: https://bikeleague.org/ridesmartvideos

  • Saturday, June 5 –  Bike Maine Women’s Ride  – The Women’s Ride provides an opportunity for ALL women—cis, trans, intersex, non-binary, and anyone else who identifies as a woman—to gather, celebrate, learn, ride, and support each other, regardless of where they live or how they ride. https://bikemaine.org/wr-2021-kittery-road-ride