The days are getting shorter and it’s time to #BrightenUp cyclists across the commonwealth with MassBike’s #LightsBrigade program. Each year, volunteers across Massachusetts take to our streets and pathways to flag down ninja bikers and distribute free bike lights to keep cyclists safer and legal while biking at night.

For our October MassBike Meet-Up on Monday, October 25th at noon, we’ll be talking all things #LightsBrigade and bike lights. Join our virtual chat to hear about the program from some of our great volunteers and learn how you can get involved with a lights handout in your community.

We’ll also discuss Massachusetts laws around bike lights and practicalities around using lights. Come with any questions you may have about bike light usage or our #LightsBrigade program.

RSVP for October Meet-Up

This Bay State Bike Month advocates like you hosted over 100 events across the commonwealth and got their wheels turning to celebrate bicycling statewide. From commuter breakfasts (like the one we hosted at CIC Boston shown above) to kids bike rodeos to historic bicycle tours– all the events on the Bay State Bike Month Calendar showed how residents across the commonwealth love bicycling. We are excited to use the tailwinds you all generated as we ride towards better bicycling for everyone in Massachusetts.

Keep the Bay State Bike Month fun going by joining us at our outdoors Bike Bash on Wednesday, October 13th! From 4:30pm-6:30pm, we’ll be partying at Assembly Row’s new Public Lawn (by the PKL courts).

We'll have food provided by The Smoke Shop BBQ and Night Shift Brewing is offering to donate $2 for every drink, so you can grab a brew and support MassBike! To get in the party mood, we’ll be joined by some musical entertainment A Trike Called Funk and Hot Molasses. 

We’ll be raffling off prizes from Kryptonite, Bern Helmets, and a grand prize of a new medium-sized REI Co-op CTY E2 E-bike thanks to our friends at your local REI Co-Op. This e-bike makes getting around town breezy fun, with multimode pedal assist, a stable, upright ride, and an integrated cargo-ready rear rack.

RSVP is required to ensure we have enough snacks on hand for everyone. Free bike valet parking will be provided, so roll on down and let’s party!

RSVP For the Bike Bash @ Assembly

Bay State Bike Month is off to a strong start- over 70 bicycling events across the state were added to our events calendar and our first bicycle challenge showed off the variety of items you can carry by bike. Make sure to find an event near you on the Bay State Bike Month Website and don’t forget to share with us how you’re celebrating Bay State Bike Month by tagging us @MassBike on social media. Keep reading to learn about more ways you can find your bike joy this September.

Be a Bike Buddy Challenge | Sep. 12th-18th

Everyone knows that bikes are better with friends! To celebrate Rolling Together Again, be a bike buddy, like Rep Nika Elugardo who shared this photo for one of our 2020 Bike Month challenges, by riding with a friend!

The "Be a Bike Buddy" challenge runs until September 18th and one lucky winner & their bike buddy will each receive a set of MassBike socks in either black or green, a MassBike Buff, and a 2021 Bay State Bike Month T-shirt so they can be bike-twins.

How to Join the Challenge:

• Take a ride with your bike buddy (bonus points if it’s a new rider) & snap a ride selfie of the both of you
• Share your story about your ride with us! Either post your photo and story on social media and tag @MassBike or email your photo and story to [email protected]

Stay tuned to our weekly Bike Month emails, MassBike’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), & the Bay State Bike Month website for details on September bicycle challenges.

Bike Month Celebration: Cycling Legends of the West End Launch Party + Roller Racing

Saturday, September 18th from 4-8pm, join MassBike and the West End Museum for Bike Month Celebration and the launch of the Cycling Legends of the West End Exhibit. The event will feature lots of bicycling fun– including roller racing set up outside the museum so you can race your friends. If racing isn't your thing, join a short bike tour to check out cycling infrastructure near the museum with MassBike.

“Cycling Legends of the West End” spotlights three fascinating characters in cycling history. The exhibit also recounts the invention of the bicycle, its popularization and innovations in the 1800s, the bike craze of the 1890s, and the renaissance of the 1970s. Come celebrate the history of bicycling and the current bike boom with MassBike & the West End Museum!

Learn More 

MassCommute Bicycle Challenge | September 19th-26th

We’re gearing up for the MassCommute Bicycle Challenge, the premier event of Bay State Bike Month, which will be rolling September 19th-26th. Log your trips every day either with your Transportation Management Association (TMA) or with MassBike’s Love to Ride Group and you will be entered to win daily prizes! 

If you’re participating with MassBike’s Love to Ride Group, make sure to fill out the MassCommute Bicycle Challenge Entry Form to become eligible for the daily prize drawing. 

Learn More

Stay engaged with Bay State Bike Month by joining our mailing list & following MassBike on social media 

Glenn's bike to work set up is ready for any conditions

During our “Carry It With You” Challenge, you all show off some of your best bicycling hauls! One lucky winner received a basket from Nantucket Bike Basket Co. to help make it even easier to load up their bicycle with whatever they need to carry. Here is just a very small sampling of some the great entries we recieved:

Suzy, who says, "You can't beat taking the world with you on a bike! And of course a dog. Always a dog."

RSVP Here

Bay State Bike Month has arrived and all September long advocates across Massachusetts are hosting events to celebrate bicycling. To find a bikey event near you, you can head to the Bay State Bike Month Website to check out the Events Calendar. In addition to in-person events, MassBike is hosting a series of bicycle challenges to encourage riders to find their bike joy and ride their bike for a chance to win prizes. 

Carry It With You Challenge

Bicycles are a great form of recreation, transportation, and a sustainable, self-powered way to haul stuff around town. Whether you’ve loaded up panniers, made use of a rack, or found another inventive way to carry something by bike- we want to know about it for our Carry It With You Challenge!

This challenge runs from September 1st to September 11th and one lucky winner will receive a basket from Nantucket Bike Basket Co. 

How to Join the Challenge:

• Take a ride where you carry something on your bicycle & snap a pic of your carrying set up
• Share your story about what you carried with you by bike with us! Either post your photo and story on social media and tag @MassBike or email your photo and story to [email protected]

 MassCommute Bicycle Challenge - September 19th-26th

Back in its 27th year, MCBC is the signature event of Bay State Bike Month. The challenge promotes and encourages logging bicycle miles and trips through friendly competition between individuals, organizations, and teams. Get ready by logging your bicycling trips as part of the MassBike Love to Ride Group or your Transportation Management Association (TMA)'s trip logging platform. Once MCBC starts, all bicycle trips you log will enter you for a chance to win some great prizes. Learn more at the MassCommute Bicycle Challenge page and stay tuned to the Bay State Bike Month website for more details. 

A Guest Post by: Petru Sofio

Massachusetts Avenue and Appleton Street in Arlington has always been a dangerous intersection. Odd geometry, antiquated traffic signals, and sun glare issues make for confusing and sometimes fatal conditions. On May 5th, 2020, Charlie Proctor, and his partner, Alison, were biking home when Charlie was struck by a left-turning driver who crossed in front of their path. The crash was fatal for Charlie. He died just three weeks before his 28th birthday.

A month later, an eerily similar crash occurred at the intersection, when a driver crossed the lanes while turning left onto Appleton Street and struck a bicyclist, who luckily survived but was placed in the hospital for months with major injuries and a lifetime of physical therapy and recovery. In response to these incidents, Arlington promptly had their police department ban the deadly left turn every day during the pm peak hour. 

After these collisions, Arlington’s Select Board approved a Design Review Committee, consisting of the town’s transportation planner, Department of Public Works, Arlington Police Department, three residents, an Ottoson Middle School representative, a business representative, and a representative from a nearby church. The goal was to create a short-term solution to improve safety for vulnerable road users at this intersection, get it approved by the Town, and implement it as quickly as possible.

During our August Meet-Up, MassBike was joined by some of our key legislative partners for a Massachusetts bike-friendly bills update. We discussed the six bills MassBike is supporting this session and what MassBike supports can do to help them become laws. Thank you to our legislative partners who took time out of their summer recess to provide an update on the bike-friendly bills they're supporting this session, we appreciate having such great advocates working for better bicycling in the State House.

We were joined by Representative Lindsay Sabadosa (1st Hampshire), Representative Tommy Vitolo (15th Norfolk), Representative Steve Owens (29th Middlesex), Senator Sal DiDomenico (Middlesex and Suffolk, and Senator Will Brownsberger (2nd Suffolk and Middlesex) who gave updates on the bike-friendly bills they’re championing this session and answered questions from attendees. Representative Natalie Blais (1st Franklin) provided prerecorded remarks about her bill, An act relative to electric bicycle rebates. You can view the recording on MassBike’s YouTube Channel and check out the slideshow presentation to learn more about the status of these crucial bills. Below you can find a list of the bills discussed and how you can take action to help these bills become laws.

In 2020, MassBike teamed up with the City of Cambridge’s Community Development Department to help get older adults back on the bike and out riding. The program included virtual sessions with information ranging from bicycle maintenance to adaptive bike options. The series of virtual workshops were meant to provide resources and encouragement to enable our older generation to get bicycling again. It was just the beginning of a growing program to help get older adults back on the bike.