Knoxville, Tennessee – May 2, 2019 – May is Bike Month, and Knoxville has several opportunities to celebrate getting to your destination on two wheels.
The first scheduled event is Bike Repair 101, hosted by Smart Trips and Tennessee Valley Bikes. The class will be held on Thursday, May 9, from 5 – 7:00 p.m. in Market Square. TVB will lead a free session about basic bike repair skills, and Smart Trips will have information about how to participate in Bike Month contests.
Bike to Coffee Day is just two days later on Saturday, May 11. If you show your bike helmet at the register, you can receive discounts at several local coffee shops:
- Awaken Coffee – $1 off
- Honeybee Coffee – $.50 off
- Remedy Coffee – 20% off
- Golden Roast Coffee Roasters – free muffin or scone with the purchase of a medium drink
- Status Dough on Gay St. – free drip coffee
Finally, May 17 is National Bike to Work Day, and people who bike to work are invited to stop by Market Square on their commute. Free coffee and treats from Status Dough will be available to “refuel” participants between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m.
Bike to Work Day is a way for people who have considered biking to work, whether to save money or to improve their health, to try it out. Bike convoys leave from north, south, east and west locations and offer guided, casual paced rides to Market Square. See www.ibikeknx.comfor a list of meeting locations.
Several prizes will be given out in June after Bike Month wraps up, including the longest bike commute logged with Smart Trips. There are also two chances to win a prize for logging at least one bike trip during the month of May.
Events held throughout the month of May encourage people to try bike commuting for the first time, and also celebrate the efforts of Knoxville’s committed bike commuters. Smart Trips, an incentive-based program that rewards people for making alternatives to driving alone, has tracked approximately 8,200 bike trips over the last year. Collectively, these bicyclists traveled more than 48,000 miles. Those trips saved 2,200 gallons of gas and kept more than 44,000 pounds of greenhouse gases out of the air. They also burned nearly 2.6 million calories and saved $11,000 in the process.
