Press release from the City of Arcata:

The City of Arcata and the League of American Bicyclists are proud to announce that May is National Bike Month. City staff encourages everyone to bike to work and embrace cycling for fun, fitness or transportation. The City of Arcata strives to address the global problems involving climate change, to promote programs that encourage and educate bicyclists and to prioritize the development of a safe and connected active transportation network.  

The start of May means the beginning of the Bike Month Challenge! Everyone is invited to participate in the challenge from May 1 – 31. Earn points, share the love on social media and enter for a chance to win prizes! For more information, visit BikeMonthHumboldt.org. 

Arcata will be hosting the 16th annual Bike Rodeo on Saturday, May 19 at the Plaza from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Bike Rodeos are communal events that help kids practice bicycle transportation safety by engaging them in fun activities to help instill knowledge and experience. Activities are led by skilled and trained instructors. Community Members interested in volunteering or sponsoring this event, should reach out to the Parks and Recreation Department for more information.  

Arcata will be celebrating Bike to Work Day on Thursday, May 23, designed to encourage community members to reduce vehicle miles traveled, if possible.  

Don’t have a bicycle of your own? Try using our bike share program to get around town! The City of Arcata and Cal Poly Humboldt, in partnership with Tandem Mobility continues to offer 40 bicycles between eight locations around town. In honor of bike month, the City of Arcata is offering a coupon to try out the bike share program for free! Use code “BIKEFREELY” for a free four hours of bicycling. Membership costs, locations, options and information can be found at tandem-mobility.com/humboldt.  

For those that enjoy mountain biking, check out the over nine miles of single-track bicycle friendly trails that Arcata has to offer. Unsure where to start? “Peanut Butter,” “Jump Trail” and Trail 13.5 in the Arcata Community Forest or the Downhill Directional Trail in Sunnybrae Community Forest are great places to start getting in gear today!

To safely enjoy the bicycle friendly community here in Arcata, follow these helpful tips: 

• Always wear a helmet to protect the head in the event of a crash. 
• Obey all stop signs, traffic lights and lane markings. 
• Look before changing lanes, crossing a street and always signal a turn. • Indicate all intentions when navigating through roads and around traffic before acting • Be visible by wearing luminescent or reflective clothing and always incorporate lights if when riding at night 
• Ride in the right-most lane that goes in the direction of travel. 
• Have bikes checked over by your local bike shops to ensure their safety. • When biking, never assume that others are paying attention. 

For more information on activities going on this month, contact the Parks and Recreation Division at (707) 822-7091. Happy Bicycling and Stay Safe! 

Update: The following update was sent to Redheaded Blackbelt, “Unfortunately, due to many logistical issues, the Bike Rodeo will be cancelled for this year. This was a tough decision for the Recreation Division to make, but ultimately it was decided that it would be best to hold off. The division looks forward to bringing the event back next year for Bike Month.”