August 2021 update:
Event planning for RVA Bike Month has started, and more information about the calendar and participating organizations will be available by mid-September after our annual volunteer planning party in early September.
RVA Bike Month rescheduled to October for 2021 to maximize potential for in-person group rides and events.
By: Brantley Tyndall, Bike Walk RVA Director of Outreach
Date: March 24, 2021
Announcement!
A lot has happened since our last “normal” bike month in 2019. RVA Bike Month volunteers and participants rode on in earnest as best we could in 2020 with largely scaled down and virtual offerings. Roll out for the various COVID-19 vaccines has accelerated in just the span of a few short months, and event restrictions and corresponding safety protocols are starting to be gradually lifted.
With in-person events on the horizon, Bike Walk RVA is rescheduling the eighth annual RVA Bike Month to October 2021 in order to return as closely as possible to its traditional format — grassroots rides complemented by professionally produced events to be promoted and coordinated through a printed and online calendar — found at www.rvabikemonth.com.
Foundational events like Bike to Work Day, Bike to School Day, and the annual RVA Bike Month volunteer planning party will also be rescheduled to October, leaving May available for new ideas and programming to potentially incorporate more walking-focused events and promoting the Fall Line trail.
2021’s RVA Bike Month Theme (Teaser)
While we haven’t produced the calendar or the graphical identity for this year’s RVA Bike Month, we wanted to give you a little teaser by announcing the theme: Changing Lanes. It has a triple meaning:
- In July, Virginia’s law change to require drivers to change lanes to pass bicyclists (who will no longer be required to single up when approached from the rear) will take effect in July, and RVA Bike Month will be a perfect opportunity to spread awareness of this great success!
- Bike Walk RVA, and our supporters and participants like you, are here because we want to change lanes. From fast and dangerous to calm and safe; from auto-oriented spaces to people-oriented places. We literally want to change them to #MoreBikeLanes and #HappyTrails!
- You know what, we’re all tired of saying “pivot”.
Background on RVA Bike Month:
2020 RVABM archive: Bike the Change
2019 RVABM archive: Bikes Mean Business
2018 blog: Looking back on 5 years of RVA Bike Month