Bay Bike To School Challenge kicks off with April 30 bicycle fair

Students bicycle to Bay Middle School.

Get your bicycle ready to roll at the Bay Village Bicycle Fair on Thursday, April 30, 6-7:30 p.m., at Bay Middle School, 27725 Wolf Road. Residents are invited to bring their bicycles for a free safety inspection and have the chance to win a bicycle helmet, get a free bike license, learn about the benefits of bicycling, and kick off National Bike Month in May. It is free and open to the public.

The Bay Village Bicycle Fair also helps families prepare for the Bay Bike To School Challenge sponsored by Century Cycles on May 4-22, which strives to inspire over 2,500 elementary, middle and high school students in Bay Village to ride their bikes to school as much as possible during three weeks each spring, to help the environment and improve their health.

At the Bay Village Bicycle Fair on April 30:

• The Bay Village Police Department is providing free bike licenses.
• Professional bicycle mechanics from Century Cycles bicycle store in Rocky River will provide free bicycle safety inspections, display essential bicycle commuting accessories and information, and make smoothies on the Century Cycles blender bike.
• Century Cycles and Raleigh Bicycles are teaming up to give away 20 bicycle helmets to the first 20 families who attend (limit one helmet per family).
• Bay Bike to School Challenge organizers will be available to answer questions about the program.

Other organizations with an interesting in bicycling and environmental awareness will have informational booths set up at the event, including Bike Cleveland, Bay Village Green Team, and Project Earth Environmental Club.

This is the second year that Westerly Elementary School will join Bay High School and Bay Middle School in the program, which brings an additional 400 third-grade and fourth-grade students to the Bay Bike To School Challenge. These students will have a two-week Bike To School Challenge from May 11 through 22. Bay Middle School and Bay High School will have a three-week Bike To School Challenge from May 4 through 22.

For regular updates about Bay Bike to School Challenge, go to www.centurycycles.com/to/BTS, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BikeToSchoolChallenge, and on Twitter at @BTSChallenge.