Roanoke, Va., March 29, 2010 – May is Bike Month in the Roanoke Valley, and a number of local organizations have teamed up to host a series of events celebrating bicycles as transportation, the bicycle culture, and bicycle people. RIDE Solutions, the Roanoke chapter of BikeWalk Virginia, the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, Sharebike, Bad Eye Deer Bicycles, and more have been working to fill May with events that can engage cyclists of all skill and interest levels.

Currently scheduled is the annual Clean Commute Day event on May 15, Smart Cycling 101 safety courses, a Bicycle Friendly Business workshop for employers looking for ways to encourage more employees to bicycle to work, overnight camping trips, a Spanish bike clinic at the Williamson Road branch library and more. To date, over 20 events have been scheduled in support of Bike Month.

In addition, bicycle enthusiasts are encouraged to create their own events and submit them to event organizers. Selected events will be promoted through the group’s website, their Facebook page, Twitter updates, and other outlets. A complete event calendar, bike tips, and more information can be found on the Bike Roanoke website at www.bikeroanoke.com.

The Bike Month mission is to bring attention to both the opportunities and challenges of bicycling as recreation and transportation in the Roanoke Valley by creating events that involve all interest, skill, and age level of cyclists. To support the region’s move towards certification under the League of American Bicyclist’s Bicycle Friendly Community Designation, events are aligned with the six E’s of Bicycle Friendly Communities : Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering, Evaluation, and Equity.