Outride’s #WhatWillYouOutride campaign sparked a national conversation around the benefits of bicycling.

When Outride asked, “What will you Outride?” on Instagram, the response was inspiring. The nonprofit, which supports youth bicycling through their education programs, research and community grants, received an outpouring of responses from folks across the country about the role biking played in helping them address anxiety, stress, pressure, the challenges of the pandemic and so much more. Peruse the #WhatWillYouOutride hashtag or Outride’s profile and you’ll see the myriad ways people are overcoming personal challenges — both big and small — just by getting out on two wheels. 

“These stories are powerful examples of the healing and transformative power of the bike,” said Outride’s Executive Director Skye DeLano. “As we work to build diverse, inclusive and accessible bicycling communities, we want people to share their own stories.”

Many of the benefits people credit to bicycling are backed up by research. For example, Outride researchers measured improved self-esteem and academic performance in students who participated in their Riding For Focus school-based bike education program. PeopleForBikes’ research found that during the pandemic, new bicyclists were motivated to ride because of the health benefits, as well it being a fun, socially distanced way to spend time with others.

Outride posed the “What will you Outride?” question to PeopleForBikes’ staff, eliciting a variety of responses during a recent staff ride around Boulder, Colorado. Check them out below, and ask yourself that same question the next time you go for a ride!

All photos are courtesy of Isaac Novak, PeopleForBikes content and design coordinator. 

“I outride fear — the very specific fear of being hit by a car, which happened to me this past October, as well as the more general sense of fear and anxiety brought on by the pandemic. Continuing to bike allows me to let go of both.” 

“It's easy to hole up at home when it's cold and gray, but that takes a mental toll. Even a 20-minute ride helps me clear my head and remember that spring is around the corner.” 

- Zoe Kircos, director of grants and partnerships 

“Every now and then I am overcome by a creative block, but I always remember that a great bike ride outside helps to reignite my imagination and bounce over those mental blocks.” 

- Isaac Novak, content and design coordinator

“In a world where you're staring at the Zoom screen all day, it's wonderful to give the eyes a rest to take in life in 3D.” 

“Spending so much time at home in the past year has made it hard to distinguish one day from the next. Riding my bike breaks the monotony, enabling me to explore new places and experience a change of scenery.” 

- Rebecca Davies, bicycle networks data manager

“After a day of being cooped up inside and looking at screens, there’s nothing better than getting outside and connecting with our natural world. Going for a bike ride helps me feel grounded, energized and happy!” 

- Ben Malmborg-Wild, executive + administrative assistant

“My home office desk is about ten feet from our kitchen and it might be catching up with me… Here’s to a spring where we can get out and ride bikes and build community as we all work to move forward from the devastation from the last year.”  

Bike advocates in Austin, Denver, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Providence share how they’re already using recent recommendations from Charles T. Brown and other researchers.

In early March of this year, we released a new report, “Where Do We Go From Here? Breaking Down Barriers to Bicycling in the U.S.,” based on research conducted in 10 cities across the U.S. from 2018-2019. The research team, led by Charles T. Brown of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC) at Rutgers University, was commissioned to identify the factors that prevent and encourage different people from bicycling.

“The report highlights how barriers to bicycling are sometimes physical, but also systemic, institutional, social and cultural,” said PeopleForBikes Director of Local Innovation Sara Studdard. “Our hope is that readers will think beyond bike lanes and apply its five key learnings to any place-based projects — meeting people where they are and making sure changes to communities are resident-led.”

We touched base with mobility advocates in Austin, Denver, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Providence to get specific examples of how they’re already beginning to carry out some of these findings. Although no one city is getting everything right, we hope these stories are inspiring and a testament to what a more equitable and holistic approach to planning can accomplish. 

Bike Easy’s work in New Orleans is all about building intentional partnerships in order to engage communities, whether that’s through offering mini-grants to local churches or partnering with GirlTrek for a march. “When the New Orleans Complete Streets Coalition was launching a big campaign to support the rapid buildout of our bike network, we went to the Algiers neighborhood and threw a fun, daylong festival,” said Dan Favre, Bike Easy’s executive director. "Algiers, the first community in New Orleans to have the rapid buildout of the bike network implemented, is primarily Black and has been historically underserved." The event had food, junior high marching bands, popular Black DJs from local radio, walking tours, games and bike giveaways. “The whole day was an opportunity for folks to engage with the city on the specifics of the bike plan,” said Favre.

Healthy Ride, Pittsburgh’s bike share system, has a community ambassador program that similarly works with individuals and nonprofits to authentically engage with new riders, connecting them to bike share and safe riding routes throughout the city. “We’ve also introduced a seasonal Street Team to help create awareness around the infrastructure changes as part of the MoveForwardPGH program to rapidly implement the city’s new Bike (+) Plan,” said Erin Potts, Healthy Ride’s director of marketing and community outreach.

In Denver, the Denver Streets Partnership teamed up with the West Colfax Business Improvement District to launch the Over the Colfax Clover project. “We began community outreach by hosting a series of bilingual meetings and walk audits with community members in this historically Latinx neighborhood,” said Jessica Vargas, the partnership’s program manager. Those meetings were followed by engineers, urban planners, developers and agency officials convening to explore potential re-designs and land re-uses — a rare opportunity to efficiently workshop a critical equity issue. “We then hosted a neighborhood festival to demonstrate some of the design ideas, including a pop-up protected bike lane during the event,” said Vargas. “Car cruising is such an important part of West Denver culture, so we invited the local cruiser club to display their cars as protection for the temporary bike lane.”

“In 2020, the City of Providence and Providence Streets Coalition partnered to organize paid focus groups for people who travel using all modes of transportation as a part of the city’s effort to brand and create comprehensive wayfinding signage for its urban trail network,” said Liza Burkin, lead organizer at the coalition. “We put a special emphasis on recruiting people of color and Spanish speakers. It’s crucial to get feedback and opinions from people coming from a diversity of lived experiences in order to create trail signage that is useful, understandable and reflective of all city residents.”

“Last year in Austin, we developed a GIS map and community stakeholder-driven process to help ensure the equitable and community-driven selection and deployment of Austin's [Healthy Streets] Slow Streets initiative,” said Briana Cohen, Austin lead and community educator at Ghisallo Cycling Initiative. “To gather input, Ghisallo connected with Go Austin/Vamos Austin, a coalition of neighbors and community partners breaking down barriers to healthy living and strengthening neighborhood stability in Austin’s Eastern Crescent.”

Importantly, whenever New Orleans’ Bike Easy sets up focus groups, it invites people from the city government to come and listen. “With messaging, it can’t all be about biking, it has to be about the overall community,” said Favre, noting how pre-pandemic, Bike Easy was canvassing door-to-door in neighborhoods slated for infrastructure improvements. “Sometimes we hear from people that speeding or street flooding are big problems, or they need us to focus on transit rather than bike lanes — it can go a long way when a bike advocate is promoting transit like that.” Favre also noted that Bike Easy worked with a pollster specifically known for having an understanding of getting the perceptions of the Black community.

“Google has a big Pittsburgh presence with shower facilities; large, locked bike storage; tools for people to fix bikes — the company has also pushed to build bike culture by encouraging its employees to take rides together,” said Scott Bricker, executive director at BikePGH. “Additionally, our large universities have recently been prioritizing safe cycling education, bike parking, on-campus bike shops and Bike to Campus events. The University of Pittsburgh also offers free bike share memberships for all students, staff and faculty, as does Google for all interested employees.”

In New Orleans, “Through a partnership with the Regional Black Chamber of Commerce, we’re getting ready to announce a bike rack program where they’ll be able to provide interested members with free bike racks for their businesses,” said Favre. Bike Easy will also do consultations with any businesses that are interested in becoming more welcoming to bikes and facilitates virtual bicycle challenges where different workplace teams can challenge one another to ride more.

In Denver, the Bicycle Colorado education team builds relationships with and compensates community-based organizations that directly serve people who ride and want to ride. Montbello en Bici, a bicycling group made up of Spanish-speaking families in the Montbello neighborhood, is one such organization. The goal is to help give the group the knowledge, skills and resources to lead more programs on their own so the community is less dependent on Bicycle Colorado. This past summer, the City of Denver, Northeast Transportation Connections, Montbello Organizing Committee and Bicycle Colorado collaborated on English and Spanish educational videos for the Montbello Bike Course featuring Montbello en Bici youth riders. 

In Pittsburgh, Eric Boerer, advocacy director at BikePGH said, “With the hope of reaching the parents by engaging with the kids, we developed a MoveForwardPGH coloring book that is a fun way for adults and children to learn about the benefits of slower, safer streets.”

“The Providence Streets Coalition seeks to be a fully bilingual organization in regards to our marketing, outreach and community engagement. So, every element of our creative marketing campaign is translated into Spanish — the social videos, the radio spots, the bus and billboard and print ads,” said Burkin, noting that eventually, the organization would like to be multilingual. “We use the 'Weglot' plug-in that seamlessly translates our website into Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole, and we made it a requirement that our Street Team staffers speak at least one other language besides English.”

Providence is on its way to implementing its Great Streets Plan, which includes a 75-mile urban trail network designed for people of all ages and abilities to walk, bike, run, scoot, skate and roll. “The two main typologies of the network are two-way protected trails on busy streets and traffic-calmed neighborhood greenways on residential streets,” said Burkin. “Contraflow bike lanes, safer pedestrian crossings and better bus stops are also key parts of the plan.”

In Pittsburgh, the “GAP to the Point” network of bike lanes is the final piece of on-street bike infrastructure that connects the Great Allegheny Passage to Point State Park through the heart of downtown. “The GAP to the Point bike lanes have both concrete and bollard protection, and feature new-to-Pittsburgh innovations to work around several bus stops, making it easier for buses to pull up directly to the curb,” said Bricker.

“The entire New Orleans Complete Streets Coalition and the diverse communities represented there are in full support of connected and protected bike lanes,” said Favre. “We realize that it’s not just about protecting people from traffic, but it’s about lighting and things like that too. When it comes to making people feel safe, the details matter.”

How 5 Cities Are Breaking Down Barriers to Biking

A candid conversation with Charles T. Brown, the lead investigator of a new, groundbreaking report on barriers to biking in the U.S.

Even without the upsurge brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. bicycling is on the rise. As the number of bicyclists and bike trips steadily grows, however, communities still struggle to court diverse ridership and create truly inclusive bike cultures. Plus, for many Americans, bicycling remains completely out of reach due to persistent social and physical barriers.

It’s these barriers that a research team, led by Charles T. Brown of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC) at Rutgers University, set out to identify. The 2018-2019 study was commissioned by PeopleForBikes as part of an existing effort, dubbed the Big Jump, to encourage the development and implementation of bike infrastructure across 10 U.S. cities.

“We wanted to understand the reasons why certain populations choose to bicycle and why others do not,” said Brown. “Consistent with that, what infrastructure and incentives, financial or otherwise, would be needed to encourage those who do not bicycle to start, and for those that do bicycle to bicycle more?”

The Big Jump focused on helping communities build strong local partnerships and Brown’s study built on that work by soliciting those partners to convene small focus groups — made up of both community members and businesses — for open-ended discussions. Brown and his colleagues were thus able to gain an in-depth understanding of participants’ perceptions and attitudes towards bicycling.

Where Do We Go From Here? Breaking Down Barriers to Bicycling in the U.S.

Brown, who has devoted his 15-plus-year career to working at the intersection of transportation, health and equity, is widely considered a thought leader in creating safe, equitable and inclusive communities. Keep reading for an honest discussion about barriers to biking in the U.S.

PeopleForBikes: With this study, what void in the research were you trying to fill?

Charles T. Brown: For the most part, prior research had approached the community separate from businesses. We thought it’d be important to hear not only from the residents but also from the businesses to create a clear picture of what the barriers and the possibilities are in regards to cycling in each community.

Why use a qualitative approach in your research?

My preference is a more qualitative approach because it gives you the ability to dig deeper into what the real answers or issues are. With a quantitative survey, you can certainly capture the opinions of more people, but we were more interested in the depth of responses than the number of people surveyed. Focus groups also allow people to network and build relationships and partnerships that may outlast this study and many others. This is imperative in under-resourced communities.

How has your lived experience as a bike rider informed your work?

I've always been into biking recreationally; however, prior to this job, I’d never considered biking for utilitarian purposes. This had a lot to do with the fact that I’d never lived in a community where it was considered safe to bicycle to and from work, given the spatial mismatch between my residence and my job, as well as the unsafe infrastructure. For me, biking has always been an ideal way to spend time with family and friends. Many African Americans also primarily view the bicycle as a recreational device, not necessarily as a utilitarian one — that’s pretty consistent with the research.

How has your lived experience as a Black man informed your work?

It made me keenly aware of issues, such as the lack of infrastructure and maintenance in BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of color] communities, along with discriminatory enforcement and the importance of representation for racial minorities that lack it. Religious and sexual minorities, too. I came to this work with an understanding that bicycling infrastructure had been perceived, promoted and prioritized predominately in high-income, white communities. As a result, many people of color don’t feel that biking, particularly non-recreational cycling, is for them. My perspective has led me to do research that truly gets to the root causes of these barriers to biking for BIPOC. 

Which of the five recommendations do you think is the most important?

I think the most important one is this need to meaningfully engage with historically marginalized communities and, most importantly, do it on their turf. I would also add: on their terms. There exists a segment of our community who don't get an opportunity to truly enjoy the benefits of bicycling and the freedoms that come with it. A lot of this has to do with the fact that they have been systematically marginalized and thus, have been prevented from enjoying that freedom.

If we are to grow this movement in the way that we really would like to, we have to be humble and empathetic enough to meet people on their terms so that we can create an environment that best serves their needs. For me, that's what it means to be equitable and inclusive. That is the most important recommendation because right now it is by far the biggest hole or gap in our processes and approach to cycling in America. Where America fails, so have we in bicycling.

Here’s what’s surprising: We’ve known the answers. There has been very little progress in terms of removing the barriers that have been identified in study after study. That's surprising because the bicycling community tends to be one that is socially and politically progressive. And yet it still has not moved us. It hasn’t moved us even an iota forward in regards to removing or reducing the systemic barriers around biking in BIPOC and low-income communities.

What do you think it’s going to take for real change on this front?

It is going to take really bold and courageous action by all of us to be the change we’d like to see in this country. We need a reparation-style infrastructure package in BIPOC and low-income communities. That package needs to include bicycle infrastructure and pedestrian infrastructure, plus investments in public transit and public art. We also need to demystify cycling. Right now, it's looked at as a white-only thing or as a thing that only poor people do.

Why are these persistent stereotypes so harmful?

Because these persistent stereotypes are just that: stereotypes. They don’t reflect the reality of cycling in America. For instance, what you see is not a lack of cyclists of color. Your perception is clouded by the reality of your racially segregated community. Few, however, make a connection between that reality and the reality that the same systems that created segregated communities allowed barriers to active transportation infrastructure in BIPOC communities. In some of the cities in which we conducted these focus groups, they're very racially segregated, and those people saw — for the most part — the culture and the people that were dominant there.

Going back to that recommendation you believe is most important — can you outline what “meaningful engagement” looks like?

Meaningful engagement takes into consideration the language in which the meeting will be conducted, the time of day of the meeting, whether or not it's accessible for persons with disabilities and the location. I’m not just talking about physical location, but rather the organization responsible for the meeting and its history, which may or may not be deemed trustworthy by the community that you’re trying to engage.

It also applies to the prioritization of the items that are on the agenda and the flexibility organizers have in accommodating input received from the community. For example, a lot of times we’ll go out to talk about bike lanes and the community wants to talk about crime. If you're not well versed in the various ways in which this work is intersectional, you may not see the importance of addressing a crime question within a bicycle discussion.

Lastly, meaningful engagement has to involve the sharing of power. Sometimes it’s important for the community to have the autonomy to host a meeting to determine its location, its time, its language, and provide valuable input on resource allocation. In short, sometimes you just have to listen. Active listening is a very important component of meaningful engagement.

What’s the low-hanging fruit a city can tackle today?

Metaphorically speaking, low-income and communities of color have been fed low-hanging fruit for far too long. Unfortunately, this has not resulted in equitable and inclusive access for BIPOC communities at the same rate it has in other communities. Therefore, it is time for cities to climb the tree to get the fruit that is higher up so that real systemic change can happen and be sustainable for a longer time. But for the sake of discussion, the low-hanging fruit should be safe and accessible bicycling parking and lockers, lighting, routine maintenance, bike lanes and signage and the establishment of an external equity working group.  

What’s going to take the most work or cost the most?

I think that a shift in the dominant culture is going to take the most work, but equitable and inclusive bicycle infrastructure will cost the most — particularly considering the dire need to fully address the magnitude of historic and contemporary disinvestments in low-income and communities of color. However, it is a cost we should welcome with open arms, given the gross disparities in traffic deaths and injuries, as well as the lack of access to healthy food and nutrition, parks and open spaces, and social connectedness in these communities. These investments will result in the highest return in investment socially, economically, politically, environmentally and in terms of overall health outcomes. We must act swiftly, however, as these outcomes are indicative of our priorities—priorities that have benefited some and burdened others. This must change. Now.

How do you respond to critics who say, “It’s just not going to happen”?

I don’t. I prioritize my time and energy for those who are hopeful and optimistic about the future.

A Q&A With Charles Brown on U.S. Barriers to Biking

“Where America Fails, So Have We in Bicycling.”

AUSTIN, TEXAS (March 3, 2021) — On July 14, 2020, Talib Abdullahi set out to educate a few friends about Black history in Austin with a bike ride around the city. When he first shared his idea for the ride among a few friends on Instagram, Abdullahi never imagined that eventually more than 400 riders would show up for the first ever Black History Bike Ride (BHBR). 

That was the first and only in-person BHBR due to COVID-19, but the buzz around the ride left people throughout Austin hungry for more ways to connect with important events and lessons from the past through biking. In response, Abdullahi and Black History Bike Ride created a website and a self-guided version of the bike tour. The OG Route is clearly mapped with tidbits of information at every stop, including links to dive deeper into the city’s Black history. With the self-guided ride, people visiting or living in Austin can now bike the route on their own time and in a COVID-safe way.

“Local history isn’t really discussed in elementary or middle schools. I created the ride to give people the tools to learn the history themselves and to understand their own city a little better,” said Abdullahi. “My hope is to inspire more people to get out in their own communities and learn about the Black, Latino and Indigenous stories that exist all around them.”

This March, Ride Spot teamed up with Black History Bike Ride to keep the movement in motion with a challenge — if 500 riders complete the route through the Ride Spot app by March 31, BHBR will receive a generous donation from SRAM, a company passionate about improving and expanding the potential of bicycling. SRAM’s donation will be used to improve the route in Austin, as well as help with the expansion and creation of more routes like this in other cities.

“We’re so excited to partner with Talib and the Black History Bike Ride. Not only will the ride help Austinites learn about Black history in their city, it will help support the creation of more historical and educational rides in other cities across the U.S.,” said Ride Spot’s Tobie DePauw. “Rides like this are what Ride Spot is all about.” 

Black History Bike Ride and Ride Spot encourage Austin bicyclists to ride the route by the end of March in order to complete the challenge. It is free to participate, and every completed ride helps get BHBR closer to its 500-rider goal. To participate, download the Ride Spot app, tap “Join” on the Black History Bike Ride Challenge and don’t forget to share the ride with friends and family!

For more details or find additional route information, check out BlackHistoryBikeRide.com.

Join the Challenge to Raise Money for Black History Bike Ride

Electric cargo bikes proved more efficient than delivery vans for redistributing the inventory of USEFULL, a company that functions like a bikeshare system for to-go containers. However, in seeking secure overnight storage and recharging, Founder and CEO Alison Rogers found that commercial garages’ EV charging outlets and meters weren’t outfitted for bikes. No public charging options existed, either.

Thankfully, there are signs this lack of infrastructure is changing. Established last-mile logistics titans like UPS, DHL and Amazon are also testing the freight-mobility potential of electric cargo bicycles, primarily as complements — not replacements — to their trucks. In big cities without the capacity to expand roads and curbs, bikes offer a nimble vehicle with a small footprint that can navigate around congestion while minimizing emissions. 

Amazon initially used cargo bikes for Whole Foods grocery delivery during a pilot program in New York City, then expanded their fleet and began standard package delivery in September of 2020. UPS has tested electric cargo bike delivery around the U.S. in recent years, after success in Europe, and has plans for another pilot in New York City in 2021, according to Michael McDonald, director of maintenance and engineering for sustainability and government affairs. “Some of the primary reasons for it being so difficult to get e-assist bikes launched are inconsistent laws that govern speed, continuous power and width,” said McDonald. “In order to reduce the hurdles, there needs to be comprehensive legislation put forth that would address the issues and be used as a template across the country."

Generally, larger companies use electric cargo bikes no differently than trucks, delivering the same types of goods to the same customer base. In smaller cities where space is less constrained, local operators tend to serve their local B2B market — but developing the regulatory consistency McDonald points to could also help these smaller operations and startups like USEFULL more easily establish themselves.

In their Blueprint for Autonomous Urbanism, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) developed recommendations for how cities could mitigate issues and develop more efficient policies for high-demand urban curbside space.  Cities could begin work on many of the guide’s urban freight recommendations today, which include developing curbside asset databases that, coupled with GPS and sensor technology, could balance predictability and flexibility to accommodate electric cargo bikes with semi truck microhubs. Cities could charge variable rates for loading zone use, based on demand and availability, and incentivize the use of e-assist cargo bikes by offering lower loading zone and parking rates for e-assist cargo bikes with semi truck microhubs associated with the operators’ e-assist program. 

 Related issues that lawmakers should prepare to address to eliminate barriers for the widespread  commercial adoption of e-assist cargo bikes include: 

Cities that have already adopted some e-bike regulations like Chicago and New York City may be better positioned to embrace e-assist cargo operations due to lawmakers having a less steep legislative learning curve when refining existing definitions and standards. Even then, among these “earlier adopter” cities, speed caps, permitted widths and power limits still vary greatly, creating a potentially large burden on freight operators to customize bikes on a city-by-city basis. A set of model recommendations for speed, width and power for commercial e-assist cargo bike operations would encourage less variation while helping the bike industry better anticipate market demand. 

Use of bike lanes, general purpose lanes and sidewalks

Creating clear, easy-to-understand policies in busy cities where competition for public space is unavoidable is important to establish consistent policies and training, ensure safety and avoid contributing to conflicts between bikes, pedestrians and vehicles. 

Cities must incorporate electric bicycle charging into their existing EV programs and look for opportunities to retrofit, as they already did for electric cars. In late 2019, Boston adopted an electric vehicle readiness policy that included recommendations for electric bicycle charging in new infrastructure. An even better policy would be to include retrofitting recommendations and the development of public charging stations comparable to those for electric cars.  

New York City requires that riders take a bike safety course, while Chicago requires a bike messenger permit. Consistent rules between cities would make it easier for large operations to streamline their internal hiring and training requirements for e-assist cargo bike drivers. 

E-cargo doesn’t have an established risk profile, so insurance companies may be hesitant to craft liability policies for operators. Support to develop actuarial data to fill this gap could ease the burden of securing insurance, particularly for smaller commercial operations.

Skilled innovators excel at problem solving, and Alison Rogers ultimately improvised a storage and charging solution that worked for USEFULL. However, she emphasizes that to reduce barriers, cities must answer some important questions: “How can we truly reduce congestion and do more agile last-mile deliveries?” and “How can we incentivize entrepreneurs to launch businesses that fulfill that need?” The use of electric cargo bikes as freight mobility tools is an amazing opportunity to spur innovation — the time is now for cities to embrace the benefit and potential of electric cargo bikes on their streets.

Electric Cargo Bikes Can Be a Key Tool for Freight Mobility

A big lesson we all learned during the past year is the importance of small businesses in our communities. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the U.S., small businesses were hit hard, many unfortunately closing their doors for good. 

As we continue to navigate the pandemic, shopping at small businesses close to home is a great way to keep your dollars local and support your family, friends and neighbors who have undoubtedly taken a financial hit these last few months.

Thankfully, supporting local businesses can be pretty fun, and by combining it with one of our other favorite activities, riding bikes, we can all help grow our communities while having fun on two wheels.

The easiest way to shop small and support local businesses on your bike is to pedal on down to your local bike shop! As many were declared essential businesses at the start of the pandemic, bike shops found themselves busier than ever as millions of new and returning riders discovered the joy of bicycling. 

If you were one of those millions of riders who picked up biking last year, now is a great time to stop back by your local shop for a tune up. You’ll help support the folks that got you riding in 2020, and you’ll have a freshly fixed up bike that will keep you riding through 2021 — a win-win if we do say so ourselves. 

Don’t need a tune up just yet? A stop by your local bike shop can also help outfit you and your bike to keep riding — a new jersey, a fresh set of tires and a multitude of other great accessories are waiting for you. Better than an online marketplace, buying from your neighborhood bike shop not only allows you to support a small business, but also offers you unmatched advice from your local bike experts on what gear is perfect for you and your bike.

Outside of your stopping by your local bike shop, combining bicycling and supporting local businesses is easy — just ride there! Grabbing your morning coffee, picking up your dinner to-go or just perusing your local art shop? Leave your car in the driveway and go by bike instead.

Studies show that 70 cents of every locally spent dollar stays local. 

So when you shop small, you’re not only supporting a local business and your neighbors that work there, you’re also helping support and grow your community. When you ditch the car for your bike, you’re also helping your community by reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality. As an added bonus, kiss finding the perfect parking spot goodbye — when you go by bike, you’ll always have a spot right up front.

Want to see more of this fashion ride extravaganza? See the route on Ride Spot. 

Looking for more inspiration? We've got you covered.

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Topics

City Riding

PeopleForBikes at Work on City Riding

News

What Will You Outride?

How 5 Cities Are Breaking Down Barriers to Biking

“Where America Fails, So Have We in Bicycling.”

Join the Challenge to Raise Money for Black History Bike Ride

Electric Cargo Bikes Can Be a Key Tool for Freight Mobility

Supporting Small Businesses By Bike