May is National Bike Month!
 
May is National Bike Month and Sonoma County has events galore to help celebrate and get you motivated to get on your bike. It's time to get ready for Team Bike Challenge 2010
We've revamped the competition this year. Get points for each day you ride and for your total daily mileage. Complete bike medal challenges--like riding enough miles to save a gallon of gas or burning a burger's worth of calories--to earn bonus points for your team. Win a Novara Commuter Pack from REI for everyone on your team when your team gets the most points in Your County. The Company Bike Challenge is returning too. Compete against other companies to earn the most points from all your company's teams. Sign up at TeamBikeChallenge.org by May 6th to compete for your chance to win. 

Are You Ready - Episode 1
Check out the first episode in our new Bike to Work Day video series:

EVENTS 
Tuesday, May 4
6:00pm - Bike Commute with Your Kids -- Skill Share – Copperfield’s Books – Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa
COMMUTING BY BIKE:  IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR In cities around the world, parents can be seen pedaling their kids to school or daycare, then zipping themselves off to work.  Even in nearby Berkeley and San Francisco, smiling bike commuting families are a common site.  Not so much in Sonoma County.  But why?  From school to soccer, from the supermarket to the office, this presentation, by locals who bike with their children on a daily basis, will empower you to get your entire family where it needs to go -- by bike!  Led by Jim Keene, a co-owner of The Bike Peddler/NorCal Bike Sport, and his 9 year-old son, Austin; they’ve been commuting together by bike since Austin was 2. 

Wednesday, May 5
6:00pm - MacGyver Bike Repair -- Commute Skill Share – Copperfield’s Books, Sebastopol
THE MACGYVER BIKE REPAIR WORKSHOP: FIXING ANYTHING WITH NOTHING 
Sorry for the 80s TV reference, but that MacGyver was a pretty handy individual.  And so are you -- you just don't know it yet!  Flat tire?  No problem.  Loose brake lever?  Easy.  Lose a screw?  Not slowing you down.  In this skill-share, you'll learn to use energy bar wrappers, dollar bills, screw and fasteners already on your bike, and lots of other "tricks" to make the quick repairs you need to keep on going. Plus, you'll be able to impress your friends with your ability to MacGyverize your bike (and theirs!).  Led by Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Executive Director, Christine Culver, and Brian Gully a SCBC Board Member, volunteer mechanic at Community Bikes, and the diesel mechanics instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College.

Thursday, May 6 -- Last day to register for Team Bike Challenge
6:00pm - Bike Commuting 101 -- Skill Share – Copperfield’s Books, Petaluma
BIKE COMMUTING 101:  ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
What kind of bike should you ride?  How will you carry your stuff?  Do you need lights?  What should you wear?  How will you run those errands?  Can you commute to work AND get your kids to school?  Bring ALL your questions and they’ll be answered by Petaluma resident bike commute experts Vanessa and Yuri Hauswald.  Vanessa is the incoming Executive Director of the Northern California High School Cycling League and an English teacher at Casa Grande High School.  Yuri is an Elementary School teacher, bike racer, and contributor to Bike Monkey magazine.  Both Hauswalds can frequently be seen peddling around Petaluma: to work, to the store, and to dinner.” Saturday, May 8
7:00am - We Love Bikes Day at Santa Rosa Certified Farmers Market, Santa Rosa Veterans Building Parking Lot
Pedal to the market and receive discount coupons to redeem at market vendors!  But first, leave your bike safe and sound in Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition’s free, secure valet bicycle parking lot!  

Thursday, May 13 – Bike to Work Day!
NOTE:  Anyone who signs up as a NEW, first-time SCBC Member on Bike to Work Day, receives a $25 gift certificate to Saddles Steakhouse at MacArthur Place Inn and Spa in Sonoma http://www.macarthurplace.com/.   Tell your friends! 

6:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Countywide Energizer Stations serve coffee and goodies, and distribute the official BTWD 2010 reusable canvas bags!  Bici Sport will be hosting the downtown Petaluma station at the corner of East Washington and Petaluma Blvd. Find other stations here:  http://bit.ly/bl5GT8 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Bike Home From Work Celebration, Sonoma:
Treat yourself to a great party at Sonoma’s MacArthur Place (29 East MacArthur Place in Sonoma). Come to the gorgeous Veranda Garden behind the Inn’s Saddles Steakhouse and enjoy live music by “The Deraillers,” complementary snacks and drinks, plus raffle prizers.  Meet your 
fellow bike commuters at Sonoma Valley Cyclery (20093 Broadeay) and 
5:00 and pedal to the party together vis Broadway and around Sonoma Plaza with a swing by the Sonoma Community Center gathering 
additional riders on route to MacArthur Place.  Party hosted by 
MacArthur Place and Sonoma Valley Cyclery.

5:30-7:30 Bike Home From Work Celebration, Sebastopol:
Make your Bike to Work Day even better by joining other bike commuters at this great party at Guyaki Yerba Mate Bar (6782 Sebastopol Avenue, Sebastopol)!  Food and beverages, live music, and great company!  Hosted by Guayaki, West County Revolution, and West County Cycle Service! Sunday, May 23rd Dusk.  Bike-in Movie in Railroad Square.  Location near Toad in the Hole Pub TBA.  Santa Rosa Railroad Square. We’ll be screening a bikey classic – “E.T.”  No-host beer bar, popcorn, candy, OUTDOOR SCREENING.  Wear layers.  Free valet bike parking!  Suggested donation:  $8-$15 per person.  Bring the whole family (give the kids a nap in the afternoon).  http://TeamBikeChallenge.org/http://TeamBikeChallenge.org/http://www.macarthurplace.com/http://bit.ly/bl5GT8shapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3