Get ready to ride at free Bike Fairs in Bay, Rocky River and Medina

Get your bicycle ready to roll at a local bicycle fair, where everyone is invited to bring their bicycles for a free safety inspection, plus have the chance to win a bicycle helmet, get a free bike license, learn about the benefits of bicycling, and prepare for Bike to School Challenge and National Bike Month in May. It is free and open to the public. The fair dates, times and locations are:

Medina Bicycle Fair: Tuesday, April 30, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Claggett Middle School (420 East Union Street in Medina OH 44256).

Bay Village Bicycle Fair: Wednesday, May 1 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Bay Middle School (27725 Wolf Road in Bay Village OH 44140).

Rocky River Bicycle Fair: Thursday, May 2, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Rocky River Middle School (1631 Lakeview in Rocky River OH 44116).  

The bicycle fairs also help families prepare for Century Cycles’ Bike to School Challenge (www.centurycycles.com/for/BTS) on May 6-24, 2013, which is the largest and most successful student bicycling program in the United States, inspiring more than 4,000 middle school and high school students in Bay Village, Rocky River, and Medina to ride their bikes to school as much as possible for three weeks each May -- to help the environment, improve their health, win prizes and have fun.

During last year’s Bike to School Challenge, Northeast Ohio students took 15,868 roundtrip bicycle rides to school. The numbers are staggering: In just three weeks, they biked 52,084 miles, prevented 57,292 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted, saved Mom and Dad $8,718.75 on gasoline expenditures, and burned a whopping 885,428 calories. 

At the fairs:

·        Professional bicycle mechanics from Century Cycles bicycle store will provide free bicycle safety inspections, display essential bicycle commuting accessories and information, and make smoothies on the Century Cycles blender bike.

·        Century Cycles and Raleigh Bicycles are teaming up to give away 20 bicycle helmets to the first 20 families who attend (limit: one helmet per family).

·         Bike to School Challenge organizers will be available to answer questions about the program.

·         Local police departments are providing free bike licenses.

·        Other information booths include Bike Cleveland, University Hospitals, and other BTS sponsors.

Century Cycles teams up with the schools to organize and implement Bike to School Challenge each May, with the generous support of sponsors Raleigh Bicycles, Bike Cleveland, Subway, Honey Hut, Rize Pizzeria, Dairy Queen, Bay Lanes, People For Bikes, Bay Village Kiwanis, Bay Schools Parent Teacher Student Association, Rocky River PTAs, Project Earth Environmental Club, and the Bay Skate and Bike Park Foundation.

For regular updates about Bay Bike to School Challenge, go to www.centurycycles.com/for/BTS, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BikeToSchoolChallenge, and on Twitter at @BTSChallenge.