It’s National Bike To Work Week on May 15-19, so get on your bike and ride

Sitka Mayor Matt Hunter is a regular bike commuter to his job teaching at Mount Edgecumbe High School.

National Bike To Work Week is May 15-19, and Sitka residents are encouraged to get on their bikes and ride this week. Also, Friday, May 19, is National Bike To Work Day.

Forty percent of people have commutes of less than two miles, which makes cycling to work about as time-consuming as driving. Not only is biking to work healthy, but it reduces pollution in the environment. Commuting by bike also is a great way to jump-start your day with a short workout.

This year, those cyclists who ride their bike to work, school or on errands during National Bike To Work Week can fill out tickets at Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop for a chance to win prizes, including a $100 gift certificate from Yellow Jersey and other prizes possible. The prize drawing will be at the Julie Hughes Triathlon on May 20. You fill in one ticket for each trip to work or home by bike.

On National Bike To Work Day on Friday, May 19, and the Sitka Bicycle Friendly Community Coalition will hold its monthly meeting at noon at the North Sisters Crepes and Juice Company‘s new location at 327 Seward St. (next to Subway). This meeting is open to the public.

In 2016, Sitka found out it had been upgraded to a Silver level designation in the Bicycle Friendly Community program. We were Alaska’s first Bicycle Friendly Community in 2008, and the first to renew in 2012, earning a Bronze award both times. In 2016, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Sitka Campus earned a renewal of its Bronze award in the Bicycle Friendly Business program (it originally won the designation in 2011).

For more information, contact Doug Osborne at 747-0373 or Charles Bingham at 623-7660.

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May is National Bike Month, so where in Sitka will you ride your bike today?

National Bike Month kicks off Monday, May 1, and Sitka residents are encouraged to find ways to get out and ride your bike this month. Help Sitka show why it earned an upgrade to the Silver level of the Bicycle Friendly Community program in 2016, and was featured on the cover of the Winter 2017 edition of Bicycle Friendly America magazine in February.

Our National Bike Month schedule includes the Sitka Community Bike Ride on Saturday, May 6, where we celebrate the 126th anniversary of the first bike seen in Sitka (in May 1891) with a ride through downtown Sitka. Also on the agenda are National Bike to School Day on Wednesday, May 10; the Sitka Bike Rodeo for kids on Saturday, May 13; our annual National Bike to Work Week (May 15-19) drawing for prizes for those who commute to work or school by bike during the week; a Sitka Bicycle Friendly Community Coalition monthly meeting on National Bike To Work Day on Friday, May 19; the Julie Hughes Triathlon on Saturday, May 20; and the Sitka Trail Works Cross Trail guided bike ride on Saturday, May 27.

This year, those cyclists who ride their bike to work, school or on errands during National Bike To Work Week (May 15-19) can fill out tickets at Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate from Yellow Jersey, with other prizes possible. The prize drawing will be at the Julie Hughes Triathlon on May 20. To donate a prize, contact Doug Osborne at dosborne@sitkahospital.org.

This year, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is updating the Alaska Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, and Sitka cyclists can submit feedback on the website. This is important since Alaska’s last update to the plan was more than 20 years ago (1994).

In addition, Sitka cyclists are encouraged to join with thousands of others from around the country as they ride in the third annual National Bike Challenge, a free event that runs from May 1 through Sept. 30.

Cyclists can ride in the National Bike Challenge as individuals, for their workplaces or on other teams, and the mileage they log also will help their cities and states in the rankings. Last year more than 45,000 cyclists rode nearly 25 million miles during the five months of the National Bike Challenge.

• 2017 National Bike Month list of Sitka events (PDF flier to print and post)

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It’s National Bike To Work Week this week, so get on your bike and ride

Sitka Bicycle Friendly Community Coalition member Aaron Prussian helps hang a National Bike Month banner on Thursday, May 12, on the fence around the tennis courts above Crescent Harbor. May is National Bike Month, with May 16-20 being National Bike To Work Week and Friday, May 20, is National Bike to Work Day. (Photo by Doug Osborne)

National Bike To Work Week is May 16-20, and Sitka residents are encouraged to get on their bikes and ride this week. Also, Friday, May 20, is National Bike To Work Day.

Forty percent of people have commutes of less than two miles, which makes cycling to work about as time-consuming as driving. Not only is biking to work healthy, but it reduces pollution in the environment. Commuting by bike also is a great way to jump-start your day with a short workout.

This year, those cyclists who ride their bike to work, school or on errands during National Bike To Work Week can fill out tickets at Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop for a chance to win a couple of prizes. There is a $100 gift certificate from Yellow Jersey and a $50 massage certificate from Oceanside Physical Therapy as the top prizes, with other prizes possible. The prize drawing will be at the Julie Hughes Triathlon on May 21. You fill in one ticket for each trip to work by bike.

On National Bike To Work Day on Friday, May 20, those cyclists who show their helmets at the Larkspur Café from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will receive a 15-percent discount on their lunch. Larkspur Café owner Grace Roller said the daily special will be called The Spokes-man, which probably will be a veggie burger “with goat cheese, olives, red onion, spinach, and maybe sun-dried tomato spread or pesto aioli.”

In addition, the Sitka Bicycle Friendly Community Coalition will meet at noon on Friday, May 20, at the Larkspur Café to finalize plans for the Sitka Community Bike Ride. The Sitka Community Bike Ride takes place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 28, with a ride through downtown Sitka to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the first bike seen in Sitka (on May 28, 1891). We will meet at 10 a.m. at Totem Square, where there will be bike mechanics doing minor maintenance (checking tires, oiling chains, adjusting seats, etc.), people fitting bike helmets, and a variety of contests (such as oldest bike, most visible bike, most unique bike, etc.).

We also will have an update later this week on the results of Sitka’s Bicycle Friendly Community renewal application, which was submitted in February. We were Alaska’s first Bicycle Friendly Community in 2008, and the first to renew in 2012, earning a bronze award  both time. We are hoping to upgrade our status from bronze to silver or gold.

For more information, contact Doug Osborne at 747-0373 or Charles Bingham at 623-7660.

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It’s National Bike Month, so where in Sitka did you ride your bike today?

National Bike Month kicks off today (Sunday, May 1), and Sitka residents are encouraged to find ways to get out and ride your bike this month.

Our National Bike Month schedule includes National Bike to School Day on Wednesday, May 4; the Sitka Bike Rodeo for kids on Saturday, May 7; our annual National Bike to Work Week (May 15-20) drawing for prizes for those who commute to work or school by bike during the week; a National Bike to Work Day discount lunch on Friday, May 20, at the Larkspur Café; the Julie Hughes Triathlon on Saturday, May 21; and the Sitka Community Bike Ride on Saturday, May 28, where we will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the first bike seen in Sitka (on May 28, 1891) with a ride through downtown Sitka.

Gov. Bill Walker has gotten behind the cycling community and has issued state proclamations honoring National Bike Month. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities also issued a press release about National Bike Month.

This year, those cyclists who ride their bike to work, school or on errands during National Bike To Work Week (May 15-20) can fill out tickets at Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop for a chance to win a couple of prizes. There is a $100 gift certificate from Yellow Jersey and a $50 massage certificate from Oceanside Physical Therapy as the top prizes, with other prizes possible. The prize drawing will be at the Julie Hughes Triathlon on May 21. To donate a prize, contact Doug Osborne at dosborne@sitkahospital.org.

On National Bike To Work Day on Friday, May 20, those cyclists who show their helmets at the Larkspur Café from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will receive a 15-percent discount on their lunch. Larkspur Café owner Grace Roller said the daily special will be called The Spokes-man, which probably will be a veggie burger “with goat cheese, olives, red onion, spinach, and maybe sun-dried tomato spread or pesto aioli.”

In addition, Sitka cyclists are encouraged to join with thousands of others from around the country as they ride in the third annual National Bike Challenge, a free event that runs from May 1 through Sept. 30.

Cyclists can ride in the National Bike Challenge as individuals, for their workplaces or on other teams, and the mileage they log also will help their cities and states in the rankings. This event launched in 2012, but some changes this year and last year will make it easier for people to participate. The challenge was extended a month last year, so it now is five months long and covers the entire summer. The 2016 goal is for 100,000 cyclists around the country to ride 75 million miles from May 1 through Sept. 30.

• 2016 National Bike Month list of Sitka events (PDF flier to print and post)

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• It’s National Bike Month, so where in Sitka did you ride your bike today?

Lauren Havens of the Sitka School District’s LiveWell Program and Doug Osborne of the Sitka Community Hospital Health Promotion program hang a banner on the Crescent Harbor basketball court fence on Thursday (April 30) to promote National Bike Month in May. A full slate of events for the month is planned in Sitka. On Saturday, May 2, the Rotary Club of Sitka hosts the annual Sitka Bike Rodeo at 11 a.m. at U.S. Coast Guard-Air Station Sitka. Wednesday, May 6, is National Bike to School Day, May 11-15 is National Bike to Work Week, and Friday, May 15, is National Bike to Work Day. (Daily Sitka Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

National Bike Month kicked off today (Friday, May 1), and Sitka residents are encouraged to find ways to get out and ride your bike this month.

We posted a schedule of National Bike Month events in April, and we’ll continue to post details for individual events as we receive more information. So far our schedule includes the Sitka Bike Rodeo for kids, National Bike to School Day, our annual National Bike to Work Week drawing for those who commute to work or school by bike, our annual National Bike to Work Day pancake breakfast, a series of walking and biking safety assessments, a series of school presentations on bike safety to kids, the Julie Hughes Triathlon, a Southeast Alaska Independent Living-ORCA program bike day, and the Sitka Community Bike Ride and Cookout.

Gov. Bill Walker has gotten behind the cycling community and has issued state proclamations honoring National Bike Month. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities issued press releases about National Bike Month and National Bike to School Day.

In addition, Sitka cyclists are encouraged to join with thousands of others from around the country as they ride in the third annual National Bike Challenge, a free event that runs from May 1 through Sept. 30.

Cyclists can ride as individuals, for their workplaces or on other teams, and the mileage they log also will help their cities and states in the rankings. This event launched in 2012, but some changes this year and last year will make it easier for people to participate. The challenge was extended a month last year, so it now is five months long and covers the entire summer. The 2015 goal is for 75,000 cyclists around the country to ride 35 million miles from May 1 through Sept. 30.

Participants can record the miles of their commute to work, as well as logging their various errands around town and pleasure rides, just so long as they ride an actual bike. It doesn’t count if people use exercise bikes or other machines.

It’s easy to participate. Just go to the website, create a profile and log in your miles. You also can join teams from the website. For those of you with smartphones, there are three apps available for free for iPhone, Android and several other devices, and their global-positioning system tracking will record your workouts directly into your profile. The apps also will record workouts in other sports besides cycling, such as walking, kayaking, and even dancing.

There already are several teams in Alaska, including one called Sitka Cyclists that Sitka residents can join. Two years ago we also had a couple of workplace teams, including a team from the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus, and more Sitka teams are encouraged so we can get a little friendly competition going. For those who miss the May 1 start date, if you’ve been riding you can back-record your workouts so long as you create a profile before the end of May. There are monthly prizes (awarded by random draw to cyclists nationwide who score a certain number of points), and additional prizes at the end of the contest.

• 2015 National Bike Month list of Sitka events (PDF flier to print and post)

• 2015 National Bike Challenge poster (PDF flier to print and post)

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• Sitka plans 2015 cycling events for National Bike Month in May

May is National Bike Month, and Sitka cyclists will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate for 2015.

Not only is May National Bike Month, but May 6 is National Bike to School Day, May 11-15 is National Bike to Work Week and May 15 is National Bike to Work Day. These are great times to leave the car at home and take the bike to work.

Sitka cyclists are encouraged to take part in the second annual National Bike Challenge, which runs from May 1 to Sept. 30. This is the fourth year of the free national event, and the goal this year is having 75,000 people riding 35 million miles during the five months from May through September. Riders can win prizes for participating as individuals and/or teams. Individuals also earn points for their communities and states. This year there are some Sitka organizations forming teams, and feel free to join the Sitka Cyclists team if you live in Sitka. There also are several different smartphone apps that can track your distance and record it.

One of the highlights of National Bike Month in Sitka is the Sitka Bike Rodeo, which this year takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, at the U.S. Coast Guard-Air Station Sitka hangar. This free event teaches young riders age 12-younger bike safety, provides the kids with bike safety checks, skills drills and more. It is hosted by the Sitka Rotary Club, U.S. Coast Guard-Air Station Sitka, Sitka Community Hospital, SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), Girl Scouts of Alaska Troop 4140, and the Sitka Police Department.

This also is the third year of National Bike to School Day, on Wednesday, May 6, which is a chance to encourage students to develop healthy lifestyle habits such as riding a bike or walking. School districts have the opportunity to schedule special events for National Bike to School Day, and they can list them on the national site to earn pioneer status. Parents should feel free to join their children to ride to school that day.

On May 6-7, members of the Sitka Community Hospital Injury Prevention Program and Sitka School District‘s Live-Well Program will host presentations at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School and Blatchley Middle School to teach the students about bike safety.

Paul Wistrand of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will lead two safety assessment tours, one walking and one biking, to assess the safety of roads/pathways on Thursday, May 7, in Sitka. The walking safety assessment has two segments and meets at 9 a.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall, and after some introductory comments will include a hike along the Sitka Sea Walk to the Sitka National Historical Park, with the second segment being to the Alaska Raptor Center and then back to Harrigan Centennial Hall. After lunch, participants will meet again at Harrigan Centennial Hall to mount bicycles for a bike tour along Halibut Point Road to Pioneer Park (near Sea Mart) and back. After each tour segment, participants will complete a short evaluation form.

National Bike to Work Week kicks off on Monday, May 11, which is when the League of American Bicyclists will announce its next group of Bicycle Friendly Communities. Sitka received its renewal of bronze-level status in May 2012, becoming the first Alaska community to earn a repeat designation. Sitka became Alaska’s first Bicycle Friendly Community in 2008.

Each year, Sitka hosts a National Bike to Work Week contest where people who ride their bikes to work or school on May 11-15 can stop by Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop to enter a contest to win a gift certificate from the shop and possibly other prizes donated by local merchants and organizations. The more times you ride, the greater your chances to win.

Friday, May 15, is National Bike To Work Day and the University of Alaska Southeast-Sitka Campus will host its annual free pancake breakfast from 7:30-9 a.m. Ride your bike to the university and get free pancakes, eggs and sausage fresh off the griddle. Don’t forget to enter your name for the door prize drawing.

The 31st annual Julie Hughes Triathlon takes place at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, at Blatchley Middle School. This event is hosted by the Baranof Barracudas Swim Club. The triathlon features a five-mile run from Blatchley to the U.S. Coast Guard-Air Station Sitka entrance gate and back, a 14-mile bike ride from Blatchley to Starrigavan Recreation Area at the end of Halibut Point Road and back, and a 1,000-yard swim at the Blatchley Middle School swimming pool. A shorter course is available for children age 12 or younger. There is a $25 per participant entry fee for individuals and teams ($15 for ages 12 and younger), and proceeds from the triathlon benefit the Sitka Cancer Survivors Society. Event registration is online this year at http://www.juliehughestri.com/. Day-of-race registration closes at 8 a.m., and the race starts at 9 a.m. For more information, contact Kevin Knox at 738-4664 or by email at bbsc.sitka@gmail.com. To learn more about Julie Hughes, who died from leukemia in 1985 when she was 15, and the triathlon’s history, read this April 2013 article from Capital City Weekly.

New this year is the Sitka Community Bike Ride and Cookout on Saturday, May 23. This event will feature a short kid-friendly bike parade through downtown starting at 3 p.m. at Crescent Harbor Shelter (or in front of Harrigan Centennial Hall, depending on the construction project). After our loop through downtown, at 3:45 p.m. we’ll start a longer ride to Halibut Point Recreation Area, where we’ll meet for our cookout at 4:30 p.m. We hope to have bike mechanics set up before the downtown parade and at Halibut Point Rec to oil chains and tweak gears. There will be contests for bike decorations, most visible bike, and more. For details, contact Sophie Nethercut or Sarah Komisar at 747-7509.

Finally, the Sitka office of the Southeast Alaska Independent Living (SAIL) program will host an ORCA program bike day on Tuesday, May 26, with a ride from 3-4:30 p.m. leaving from the SAIL office at 514 Lake Street. For details, contact Bridget Kratz at 747-6859.

For more information about these events, contact Charles Bingham at 738-8875 or Doug Osborne at 747-0373, or watch this site for updates.

• 2015 National Bike Month list of Sitka events (PDF flier to print and post)

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