Saturday, April 30 marks the launch of RVA Bike Month in the Richmond region, and the Sports Backers’ Bike Walk RVA is in its third year of coordinating a full month of bike-related events, with the help of dozens of volunteers and advocates from all over the region.

RVA Bike Month will feature more than 60 events, including food-themed rides, youth rides, bike commuting seminars, amateur bike racing, and bike-themed films. Activities will also include group bike commutes and bigger festivals like Dominion Riverrock, which takes place Friday, May 20 – Sunday, May 22.

“The community volunteers, businesses, and organizations that contribute to the full month of events really make RVA Bike Month a special treat for the region,” said Brantley Tyndall, Community Engagement Coordinator for Bike Walk RVA. “The rapid growth of community interest in biking illuminates the fact that bikes and bike infrastructure continue to become a part of the region’s identity.”

Continuing community-led support from prior RVA Bike Months, a group of businesses in the Bellevue neighborhood along MacArthur and Bellevue Avenues have launched a permanent Bike Friendly Business District in Bellevue. An initiative led by Bellevue residents, the businesses started with a pilot program for Bike Month in 2015 and have chosen to implement it full time starting with the 2016 RVA Bike Month.

This will be the Richmond Region’s second permanent Bike Friendly Business District, after the Lakeside Business Association launched their program in July 2015. Lakeside is also leading the kickoff event for the entire RVA Bike Month with its ‘Pedal & Gears Bike Fest’ on April 30. Participating businesses will offer discounts and other special deals for people who arrive by bike, and those businesses can be identified by decals displayed in their front windows.

A map of participating Bellevue businesses and nearby bike racks can be found by clicking here, and the image of the window cling is available as well.

For a full list of bike month events, check out the Bike Month poster above.