May is here, and we have a month full of free events for you, some of the events are virtual, some are in-person, and some you can do on your own with friends and family. We will give you the details of each event.

The National Bike Challenge starts May 1st and basically kicks off Bike Month. This year, just as last one, we are joining the effort of The League of American Bicyclists in this national event. 

The National Bike Challenge includes two challenges for individual riders and organizations to participate in Bike Month and Cycle September. The leaderboards for this year are:

Individual leaderboards
Top Commuter - Most Commute Days
Top Commuter - Most Commute Miles
Top Rider - Most Miles - female
Top Rider - Most Miles - male
Top New Rider - Most Miles - female
Top New Rider - Most Miles - male
*Filters: Location (State, USA, Global); time period (Month, May-Sept, Year); workplace.

Group leaderboards (social riding groups/cycling clubs)
Monthly leaderboards:

Most Miles
Most Rides
Most Commute Days
Most Commute Miles
Most Riders (who've logged a ride)
Most Day Riden
*Filters: Location (State, USA, global); size category

Workplaces (during Bike Month and Cycle September)
Point-based leaderboards are divided across 7 staff size categories:

2000+
500-1999
200-499
50-199
20-49
7-19
3-6
*Filters: Location (State, USA, global); size category; Industry.

This is how the leaderboards look for April 2021 in Alaska.

We invite you to join the Bike Anchorage club, compete as part of the organization against others in the country, and see how well we do in the leaderboards during May (Bike Month). Click here to register and participate in the National Bike Challenge. 

We are super excited to host in-person Yoga for Cyclists this month, we will have two sessions, so you make sure you don't miss it! 
The first class will be on Saturday, May 8th at Delaney Park Strip at 12 PM (noon), and the second one will be on Saturday, May 22nd at Woodside Park at 12 PM (noon). The classes have limited capacity, and registration is necessary. 

What do you need to bring for the class? 
- Yoga Mat
- Water
- Towel
- Face mask 

Meet the instructor:

Katie DeMichele
"I started practicing yoga 10 years ago out of curiosity and soon became addicted to the state of my mind and body at the end of a good class. It took me some time to realize yoga served me not only as a way to balance and stretch my active body but as a grounding self-care tool. I pursued my 200-hour teaching certificate here in Alaska. This past year I have taught seated adaptive yoga and a series of yoga for skiers classes. My teaching style is creative and I enjoy incorporating movements inspired by my pursuits off the mat.
I'm so excited to craft a class for bikers! I aim to include movements that build strength and positions that counter the motions of riding a bike. This class will be all for all levels and will offer plenty of options for all bodies and abilities."

Registration is now open 
 May 8th at Noon                                    May 22nd at noon 

We will stream two movies this month using the same platform we used for Winter Bike Fest, the Kast platform. To participate you will need to create a free user account in case you don't have one. The platform allows everyone to participate and interact in a chat while watching the movie. We have a Watch party room, that will be used for both screenings. 
The schedules for the movie nights are Saturday 15th at 6 PM, and Monday 31st at 6 PM. 

The scavenger hunt is back, and this time it will be more fun. We will release the clues of the places you need to visit, and once you find the checkpoint we ask you to take a photo of your bike or yourself at the checkpoint to prove you were there. 

You have the whole weekend to do the scavenger hunt. You can choose your own route and visit as many places as you want. We will release the clues on May 25th so you can have some extra days to plan your route. Good luck! 

You can submit your results at [email protected] and we will announce the winners on May 31st before our movie night screening. 

We want to hear from you because your opinion is important, this is why we created a survey for you to fill out and deposit at any of our 4 drop-off boxes that we placed in the city. The survey is short (4 questions only), and it's regarding bike parking and bike lane needs. You can either fill it out online, print it, and drop it off, or go to one of the drop off stations where you'll find them next to the box, if you go directly to a box don't forget to bring a pen or pencil. 

The survey period is from May 6th to May 31st, so make sure you participate. We will share the results once the survey period is over. 

The locations where you can find a box are the following:

1. Kincaid Park - next to the tool station

2. Abbott Loop Community Park - next to the tool station

3. Westchester Lagoon - next to the tool station

4. Russian Jack Park - specific location details to be defined

Students and staff of the Anchorage School District will be riding their bikes to celebrate Bike to School Day on Thursday, May 13, 2021. They are encouraging the use of helmets and bright clothing. If you need a helmet, you can request one for free with us. 

And last, but not least, Bike To Work Day (or wherever really!). The beloved event that we all celebrate each year is back, this is so important that we have a full blog post about it, you can read the details here. Remember that you can participate as an individual, a group, a family, or a business! 

If you need a helmet, fill out our request form, and pick it up at any of our in-person events, or just show up and grab one, they are free because we all deserve to ride safe.