MISSOULA, MT (September 10, 2020) — Bike Travel Weekend & Bike Your Park Day, Sept. 25-27, 2020, are all about going on local bicycle adventures this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But not everyone can go on a bike adventure from home. However, anyone can participate in Bike Travel Weekend & Bike Your Park Day by logging COVID-safe miles in their neighborhood or on a stationary bike at home and experiencing Adventure Cycling’s Parks, Peaks, and Prairies Bicycle Route through a virtual platform.
“Since we’re discouraging cyclists from embarking on long-distance trips along our route network, the virtual Parks, Peaks, and Prairies route allows people to challenge themselves and experience bicycle travel while staying close to home,” said Nathan Taylor, Adventure Cycling’s Senior GIS Specialist/Cartographer. “Since the route travels through many national parks, state parks and other public lands, Bike Travel Weekend & Bike Your Park Day are also the perfect time to inspire people to ride.”
Hundreds of events – some local in-person rides and others virtual – with thousands of participants have already been registered at AdventureCycling.org/BikeWeekend. Everyone who registers to lead or join an event will be entered to win a Salsa Cutthroat bike. Participants of the virtual Parks, Peaks, and Prairies route can log their miles at resport.io/ppp.
Bike Travel Weekend, originally scheduled for June 5-7, was postponed to Sept. 25-27 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bike Your Park Day is scheduled for Sept. 26, 2020. The two events will occur on the same weekend with virtual events and in-person rides that follow safety guidelines.
Volunteer Bike Travel Weekend & Bike Your Park Day Advisors are available to help plan rides or offer advice about where to go in their local area. Participants are encouraged to use the media sharing tools to promote their event, including the Bike Travel Weekend & Bike Your Park Day logo, sample social media posts and images, a template press release/newsletter article, and a downloadable fill-in-the-blanks poster. The hashtags are #biketravelweekend and #bikeyourpark.
In the past four years, over 85,000 people have participated in more than 8,300 rides for Bike Travel Weekend and Bike Your Park Day.
Thank you to the National Environmental Education Foundation for providing financial support for this project.
