Friday, May 17 is National Bike to Work Day and the whole month of May is National Bike Month.

So how can you participate? Well, if you're an experienced rider, just jump on your bike and ride! Pretty simple, right? And if you can ride to work on National Bike to Work Day, even better!

But what if you're not such an experienced rider? What do you need if you're interested in starting to commute by bike? Well, here are a few tips that we hope might make the experience more fun than you expected.

1. If you don't have a bike already, well, you might be surprised to find out that is a requirement. But, you're also in luck, because we have some of the best commuter bikes you've ever seen. The Specialized Turbo Vado and Turbo Como E-Bikes take a lot of the stress out of commuting. The pedal-assisted system is just like riding a bike - only a lot faster and a lot easier.
   
   Now, some people might say that an E-Bike would be cheating for National Bike to Work Day. We couldn't disagree more. The simple truth is riding an e-bike still means you're going to be pedaling - the bike doesn't move unless you're being active. And as far as we're concerned, as long as you're being active and you're not adding another car to the roadways, you're staying true to the purpose of the day.
2. Plan your route ahead of time. The route you drive to work may not be the safest for you to ride your bike on. Look for streets with dedicated bike paths or at least a wide-enough, and safe-enough shoulder that leave you room to maneuver in the face of other vehicles.
3. You're probably going to want a bag to bring a change of clothes. There are plenty of options. Or you can just grab an old backpack and see how it goes!
4. Be safe. Wear a helmet. Make sure your bike is in good working condition. Obey all traffic laws and make sure you signal your turns!

You might also be interested in joining us at our Kirkwood store on Thursday, May 16 for our Basic Bike Maintenance class!