For the first time ever, three cities in Rhode Island will be holding Bike To Work events during Bike To Work week, and several other bicycling related events are scheduled.

Wednesday, May 16

Pawtucket Bike Committee is joining Newport and Providence in having it’s first ever Bike To Work Day. It will be held at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater (Exchange St. and Roosevelt Avenue) at 8:30AM, with light refreshments available and an address from Mayor Grebien.

Friday, May 18

Providence will be holding a complementary breakfast, community fair and more throughout the morning (6:45 to 10:30AM, World War 1 Memorial)

Newport has a full slate of events throughout the day, including a complementary breakfast, community bike ride and much more.

Other events during bike to work week:

May 14th – RIBIKE will be holding it’s monthly advocacy meeting on at 6PM at the Brown University Book Store.  Join us to learn what how RIBIKE is working to make cycling in Rhode Island better, and learn how to get involved.  If you haven’t had enough of bike love during the meeting, an informal dinner and discussion is usually held afterward.

May 16th – The International Ride Of Silence will be held in Providence at 7:00pm.  The ride is a silent procession of bicycles intended to mourn and remember those who have been killed in collisions with motor vehicles while bicycling and tries to raise awareness for drivers that bicycles are on the roads.  Arrive at 6:30

May 17th – Gallery Night Providence is bringing back it’s guided bicycle tours of the galleries open.  Meet the guides on Greene Street at 5:30.

May 19th – Recycle A Bike will be participating in the West Broadway Neighborhood Yard sale on Saturday May 19th, 8:30AM to 1PM.  Check in with WBNA HQ to find out where RAB will be stationed, selling inexepensive, refurbished bicycles and a fleet of new folding bicycles.

May 19th – US Open Cycling Foundation Rhode Island Women’s Ride.  A bike ride designed to show off the beauty of Rhode Island, raise money to support bicycle education and bicycling for health programs.

And Much More:

More events are planned for the rest of the month, remember to check our National Bike Month page and RI Cycling Events Calendar.

All activities at Washington Square (unless otherwise noted)

ALL ACTIVITIES FREE (unless otherwise noted)

• 6:00am – 9:30am: Commuter Breakfast
• 10:30am: Special Event: Bicycle tour to Newport Mansions with Mansion historian John Tschirch.
  Register here. First come, first served!
• 11:00 am:  Bike Fair begins. Activities include:
• Bike Safety
• Bike Maintenance
• Bike Rentals
• Bike Spinning
• Bike Tech
• Vendors
• 1:00pm: Press Conference
• 2:00pm:  Bicycle Tour to Newport Mansions. Registration advised, not required. Limited spots.
• 3:00pm: Bicycle decorating begins
• 4:00pm: Community Bike Ride
• 4:00pm: Bike valet parking begins
• 5:00pm: Entertainment begins
• 7:30pm: Bike Fair ends – enjoy the local shops and restaurants, until …
• 8:00 pm: Breaking Away (1979) at Jane Pickens Theater ($10 admission)

You did sign up, right?  If not, it’s NOT TOO LATE! You can still sign up and ride!  Just think, you could be pedaling your way to and from work or the grocery store this time tomorrow.  Now that you’ve signed up, did you tell your friends, co-workers, parents at your kids school about the challenge?  This is a great and fun way to help show the state that cycling is alive and well in RI.  It would be great if the smallest state in the union could pull of an upset and end up with the greatest number of trips per capita or the greatest number of miles per capita.

Once again, National Bike Month has arrived, and everyone is getting in the spirit of things by hosting, planning and celebrating the freedom and fun of riding a bicycle.

As part of this years National Bike Month, in partnership with the League of American Bicyclists, RIBIKE is participating in the National Bike Challenge, and invites all bicycle riders to log their rides.  Monthly prizes will be awarded based on accumulated points and competitions  between groups, companies, teams and states are possible through an automatic ranking system  During the “Warm-Up” event, Rhode Island ranked 18th out of 50 states (based on points earn divided by total state population).

Here’s what we know of going on so far in Rhode Island this month to support the call to get up & ride:

May 5th and 12th, 10AM to 4PM. Bike Sale @ Recycle A Bike 12 Library Court, Providence OLNEYVILLE. RAB 2012 Bike Sale Flyer  RAB volunteer mechanics have been working on a huge fleet of refurbished, recycled bikes all winter and they are ready to hit the road! There will be signs pointing in the right direction, music, bike blended smoothies and Recycle-A-Bike folks to talk to to. Bicycles range in price from $30-$250.

May 8th, 6:30PM, Women’s Only Bike Maintenance Basics @ REI in Cranston.

May 9th, Bike To School Day.  Check with local school districts or parents to see if there is an event for your school.  If you know of one, let us know in the comments!

May 13th.  CycloFemme, International Day of Women’s Cycling.

New May 16th, 8:30am.   Join Mayor Grebien and the Pawtucket Bike Committee for a celebration at 8:30am at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater (corner of Exchange St. and Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket). Light refreshments will be provided.

May 16th, 6:30PM. International Ride of Silence, Nelson Fitness Center(Hope and Cushing St), Brown University.  More information in the Press Release.

May 18th, 6:45 to 10:30AM.  Bike To Work Day from RIBIKE, Providence, World War 1 Memorial, College and South Main.

May 18th, All Day, Bike To Work Day events from Bike Newport, Newport

May 19th, Rhode Island Women’s Ride from US Open Cycling Foundation, Roger Williams Park, Providence.

May 22nd, 6:30PM. Bike Maintenance Basics @ REI in Cranston.

May 26th, @ 10AM,  Bike the Independence Trail, Providence – Guided bicycle tour of Providence’s Independence Trail, more details forthcoming.

The National Bike Challenge is an opportunity to challenge yourself to ride more often.  Record your rides, and add up the miles you’ve ridden, the calories you’ve burned, and the gas money you’ve saved. You can connect with other riders in the challenge, or embrace the spirit of competition by winning points for your employer, your community, or your state. You also become eligible for prize drawings after you’ve logged just three days on your bike.

You’ll be part of a team of more than fifty thousand riders logging over ten million miles, demonstrating the power of the bicycle to build healthy people, healthy communities, and a healthy planet.

Participation is free, and open to anyone in the United States, or who is employed by a participating U.S.-based company.

Everybody wins when we get people riding more, but hundreds of participants will win gear in our monthly prize drawings, including:

Early Bird Prizes: Join before May 1, and you could be 1 of 12 winners of a National Bike Challenge Commuter Kits, including a National Bike Summit tote bags, a Planet Bike taillight and bell set, a Bikes Belong water bottle, League of American Bicyclist socks, and more.

Monthly Prize Drawings: With just three days of riding, you become eligible for monthly drawings, and as you ride more, the prizes get better.  Bronze level prizes include hats, water bottles, and multi-tools.   Log more miles, and you could win a helmet, jersey, or event a bike.  The Grand Prizes, drawn from the riders a the top tier, are bike trips in Napa or Moab.

Take Home a Trophy: There are National Challenge plaques for the businesses, individuals, communities, states, and teams that rack up the most points.  Compete against Facebook, Trek, Specialized, Mars, and other businesses of all sizes.

Join now, start logging your miles, and become eligible for earlybird prizes!

There is a challenging, 100km loop through the rolling hills and pine forest of Rhode Island’s northwest quadrant, a fairly flat 50km loop through farmland to the bay in our southeast and a bicycled tour of Providence architecture of 5-7km.

Before each group begins, National Park Ranger and actor, John McNiff will present a dramatic interpretation of the story of Jane Verin and Roger William’s argument for a woman’s right to liberty of conscience.

Following the ride, lunch will be served under a tent.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island.

Online registration and more information, including route maps here.

The City of Pawtucket, Healthy Places by Design, and Pawtucket Citizens Development league are holding a meeting on Thursday March 15, 2012 for residents and bicycle users in Pawtucket to come together and participate in the Pawtucket Bicycle Committee.

The meeting will be held at the Pawtucket CDC offices from 3 to 4pm.

Also included with the announcement is a link to YouTube video about the Pawtucket Bike Assessment:

Full announcement:

Calling all bicycling enthusiasts in Pawtucket!  Come and be a part of the newly formed Pawtucket Bike Committee!  This is our first time to meet to share ideas and discuss ways to make our city more bikeable.

Light and healthy refreshments will be available.

Thursday, March 15th  

204 Broad Street, Pawtucket

3:00-4:00 p.m.

It was an unexpectedly late winter that put Cameron in search of riding partners.  He needed to partake in about 100 more VeloSprints races so he could be in shape to bring smart cycling classes to area schools in the Spring.  He went to where bicycle races sometimes are in Providence, but no-one was there.  Desperate to be ready for Monday’s VeloSprints session, Cameron continued his search…

On the agenda for this month’s meeting:

• Officer Reports (Pres, VP, Treasurer, Secretary)
  • Pres – Membership appeal update
  • VP – 2013 TIP status
  • Treasurer – Current Financial picture
  • Secretary -
• Committee Reports
  • Legislative — Vulnerable Roadway User Legislation Update
  • Membership/Technology update
• Project Reports/Activity
  • BikeToWorkDay Providence Status
  • Road Project involvement (Elmwood Ave-Providence)
  • PVD Biking group activity
  • Pawtucket
  • Commuter Guide
• Washington County and Southern Rhode Island
  •  Projects, Issues and Organizations

The meeting location for this months meeting is:

Thanks to the generosity of the producers of the film, the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition is hosting a second showing after a sellout at the premiere of the movie Bicycle Dreams. The showing will be Wednesday Feb. 22, 2012, 6:30PM at the Cable Car Cinema.

Bicycle Dreams documents the extreme hardship endured by teams of cyclists competing in the annual non-stop Race Across America bicycle race.

To purchase advance tickets, order online (make sure you select the Providence showing).

The Cable Car Cinema & Café is located at 204 South Main St. in Providence.

From the press release:

Bicycle Dreams, the award-winning feature-length documentary about the Race Across America(RAAM), after a sell out at its premiere on Feb 2 in Providence will be shown again at the Cable Car Cinema & Cafe on Wednesday, February 22 at 6:30 p.m. as part of the film’s ongoing nationwide winter tour. The screening is presented as a benefit for the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition.

The film, which has won numerous awards at film festivals all over the world, “is an up-close look at what RAAM riders go through,” says Stephen Auerbach, the director and producer of Bicycle Dreams. “They deal with searing desert heat, agonizing mountain climbs, and endless stretches of open road. And they do it all while battling extreme exhaustion and sleep deprivation. It’s a great subject for a film.”

You can read the full Press Release.