Put your helmet on and let’s ride! Bike East Bay (the coalition formerly known as the East Bay Bicycle Coalition) is offering family safety bike clinics, rodeos, helmet fittings, and street parties in addition to the usual Bike to Work and School rides. Find some more events on the EBBC website calendar. I requested their help in deciphering which rides and parties might be best for children but they’re too busy running great activities to help me.
Bike to school or daycare
Bike to School day is officially May 7 or 8; different schools will do it their own way but the general message is to get more kids riding for fun and transit. Find out if your school is participating with an Energizer Station and which day. See the list.
Schools around the Bay Area will be honoring Bike To Work Day with a kid-friendly version aimed at getting us to commute without emissions. Over 100 stations will set up on the morning of Thursday, May 8th, to hand out free goodie bags and refreshments to bicyclists. Find your nearest energizer station here or roll out the door and surprise yourself with strangers offering you treats and kudos.
Celebrate your wheels
Bring your family to one of many Family Cycling Workshop or Kids Bike Rodeos throughout the East Bay from Albany to Pleasanton. Learn how to ride safely through a course of cones and chalked out pathways. The Oakland Bike Rodeo is April 19th and Berkeley is still TBD.
Some of the usual May kid-bike stuff happens in April so that children would be all decked out to ride in May. If you have any other bike tips for May, please share them with us!
Hi Heather, thanks for writing this great article and I apologize if we weren’t able to provide the info you needed on family-friendly events. For the events and rides on our calendar that are not put together by Bike East Bay, the best bet would be to contact the event organizer directly for information.
I have posted a general resource list with links to various ongoing family bicycling rides and events around the East Bay on our website at http://www.BikeEastBay.org/FamilyCycling. Please feel free to take a look for some suggestions on groups to check out, and let me know if there are other local groups you know of that aren’t on the list, but should be!
Thanks, Robert!