Friday — April 30, 2004

Cyclists ‘R’ Us

Saddle up for National Bike Month

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By MEGAN THOMAS
Express Staff Writer

In the Wood River Valley, biking is synonymous with sleeping or skiing. Essentially, cycling is ingrained as part of life, be it Galena road rides, mountain adventures or a cruise down the bike path. With the enthusiasm for biking, one would think National Bike Month would be on every calendar, written in red pen across the month of May.

Bicycling events from road to mountain will be held to celebrate National Bike Month in May. Express Photo by Willy Cook.

In case it’s not on your calendar, or perhaps you (gasp) didn’t even know, this May marks the 48th year of the National Bike Month Celebration. The League of American Bicyclists sponsors the annual celebration established to rally cyclists.

Throughout May, a spectrum of events in the valley celebrate riding by encouraging riders to use their bikes to commute to work, meet other cyclists and improve their current riding abilities.

The Wood River Rideshare celebrates National Bike Month with the kick off to the Smart Moves Community Challenge during Bike to Work Week celebrated May 17-21. The Smart Moves Community Challenge is a summer long program that encourages commuters to find alternative means of transportation, including cycling.

The Smart Moves Community Challenge program kicks off on Bike to Work Day, Friday, May 21. Events are planned along the Wood River Trail System from Myrtle Street in Hailey to Warm Springs in Ketchum. At different points on the trail, sponsors will set up Commuter Appreciation Stations, serving snacks, drinks and other surprises for those commuting to work between 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. During the event cyclists can also compete in the Workplace Challenge. The contest will tally which employer has the highest percentage of employees biking to work.

This is the first year for the commuter event, which was the brainchild of Michelle Shaffer, the Outreach Coordinator for Wood River Rideshare. Shaffer explained that she used to live in Seattle, where a similar event took place. She thought, "It would work well here because we have a lot of bicyclists and a trail that is really well used."

In addition to the community wide effort to encourage commuting, local bike shops will be sponsoring events throughout the month to help bikers meet others and improve their riding abilities.

The Elephant’s Perch in Ketchum sponsors a weekly road bike ride every Wednesday evening. The rides leave from the back of The Perch at 6:15 p.m. This year the shop added a women’s ride to its schedule, giving ladies the option to ride together every other Wednesday. Additionally, each week the shop has a bike mechanic on hand to answer any questions, starting with the basics like how to change a tire.

The weekly rides are affectionately termed the "No drop rides." According to Nappy Neaman, the name means exactly what it applies "no one gets dropped from the ride." He explained that through the rides "beginners become intermediates and intermediates become experts." The intention is for riders to learn to ride with others and meet riders who are at their level.

Sun Summit also offers road rides Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 5:30 p.m. leaving from the Ketchum store.

Formula, also in Ketchum, is sponsoring an "on dirt" demo day at Adams Gulch Sunday, May 16, pending approval by the Forrest Service. The demo day encourages riders to try new road and mountain bikes by Trek and Klein.

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.