Group Rides

This year Bike to Work Day is May 21st. We’re planning a way to mark and celebrate the day at lunchtime. Please share your ideas.

One thing we want to do IN ADVANCE of Bike to Work Day is conduct some rides from the Oldtown/Downtown core to different parts of the city (and even into Derby). If you are willing to lead a group or want to ride along, please contact John Thompson (558-5158, John.Thompson@Start-Thinking.com, Twitter: @thompsonline).

Here is some tentative information on the rides. Stay in tune with this website, the Facebook Group and Twitter (@BikeWichita and hashtag: #BikeWichta) to get more details on the group rides and other events as information becomes available.

TENTATIVE: On May 18th (date tentative) plan on a Commuter Bike Route Discovery Tour (name tentative) with your choice of rides on one of 5 primary routes (number tentative) led by experienced Commuter Bike Guides (title tentative). The Bike Guide(s) on your chosen route will point out route options, obstacles and solutions as we take a 30 to 45-minute ride from a common starting point at the Downtown YMCA (location tentative) to a turnaround point on the edge of town. Riders can then proceed to their homes or return to the Downtown YMCA – possibly on an alternative route that differs slightly from the outboundleg of the ride.

A lot of people have joined Facebook in the last year. It should be easy to share when and where people are riding – on all days, not just Bike to Work Day. Please tell your friends about the group and encourage them to join us.

Ride safe!

Promote Your Store or Business

Here are a few ideas on how to use Bike To Work Day as a promotional tool for your business.

Non-Bike Related Businesses:

• Use this day or even the week to promote healthy lifestyles and fun exercise. Work with your HR department to organize and promote Bike To Work day.
• Anyone who rides to work gets to wear casual clothes.
• Anyone who rides to work gets to leave 30 minutes early if they ride home.
• Get a story about your business in the Wichita Eagle or the Business Journal. “What a great place to work!”
• Add a promotion for the day in your regular advertising with a simple tagline or message.
• Customize the flyer and poster and make them your own (please post your versions back to this web site).

Bike-Related Businesses:

• Promote a ride to work starting at your business.
• Add promotion for the day in your regular advertising
• Advertise a discount for the week prior to the 15th to increase awareness of Bike To Work Day and increase service and sales traffic.
• Customize the flyer and poster and make them your own (please post your versions back to this web site).

If you have more ideas, please share them with others. Post them here.

Promotion by Bike Clubs

Promoting Wichita’s Bike To Work Day can be a great way to increase awareness of your bike club. Here are a few ways you could get your current members engaged and get others in gear as well:

• Promote Bike To Work Day by emailing all your contacts and calling your members and friends.
• Organize a Bike Together To Work Day on Friday May 21. Wichita isn’t a very big city so organize a couple rides from popular residential areas to popular work areas. Riders can find their way to the start and leave the group when they get close to work.
• Organize a Bike Home Together ride on Friday May 21. Riding to work may get some resistance from some but riding home on a nice May day would be a great way to finish the day. Setup a ride from downtown or from popular work areas.
• Organize a ride the weekend of May 15-16 and raise the awareness of May 21.

Work with bike stores and employers to promote your activities.

Do you have other ideas? If so, please share them here.