Events: National Ride a Bike Day 2026

Around these parts, planting is suggested to occur after Mother’s Day (May 10) on account of the possibility of frost. Most years, people giggle at the lateness due to the warm weather that settles in over the Delaware Valley. Some people gamble and stick their flowers into the ground well ahead of the holiday. This year, though, May 3, which is National Ride a Bike Day, started with freezing temperatures and gusty winds. By midday the thermometer had risen, but the wind blowing through early flowers felt icy and hardly comfortable for an outdoor ride.

May is the League of American Bicyclists biggest month. May is National Bike Month. Bike to Work/ School Week is May 11-17. Bike to Work Day specifically falls on May 15th. Today was Ride a Bike Day, and much like the famous Eddy Merckx quote, the distance and time was not of concern. Just get out and ride a bike. Eventually I did.

There’s been a bit of fiddling with stems around here. A recent - unreviewed - stem had been recalled. It was uninstalled and a temporary one with a shallower pitch was tightened onto the asphalt bike. The ride was stalled for roughly an hour as the face plate was rectified. It did not want to work with the computer mount. The mount was eventually abandoned, the Garmin stowed in the jersey pocket, and the ride commenced. National Ride a Bike Day was off with a gusty tailwind to the local bike shop to turn over the stem for warranty.

What was odd was the lack of cyclists. Though the ride was short and later in the day, there were only five cyclists spotted in total. For National Ride a Bike Day, people were not out to celebrate. There was one pedestrian walking backwards along the sidewalk, but I digress. Where were all the riders expected to throw the leg over the bike and put down distance? Perhaps they were at home getting a jump on planting season. Plenty of people were doing yardwork compared to riding. Even the Strava and Zwift boards posted light completions for the day. 

Perhaps I was looking in the wrong places. Yesterday, while sitting at the Salt Box with friends, car after car rolled into the parking lot loaded with mountain bikes. No doubt the occupants were in various forms of experiencing the Nox trails. Without their presence on the road, maybe the mountain bike trails were celebrating the day. With Pinelands Gravel occurring in southern New Jersey, it’s likely several fellow riders tucked themselves into the Pine Barren wilderness, avoiding being counted. Or maybe people simply missed out on National Ride a Bike Day.

If pedalers missed out on the first day of cycling celebration, there are several more days to roll. The entire month of May is bike month. Those lucky enough to ride to work can do so, or specifically cycle into work on the Friday of Ride to Work Week. Like the asphalt bike, May is a cycling work in progress. It’s the perfect month to develop cycling. In the meantime, go ahead and plant those flowers. The frost warnings have disappeared from the forecast.