Don’t forget that Friday, May 18^th, is National Bike to Work Day! According to the 2010 Census, over half a million people in the United States ride their bikes to work.  In Ohio, 3.8% of workers in Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo ride their two-wheelers to their jobs.

In Ohio, multi-modal streets (meaning streets that can handle a range of traffic besides just cars) and dedicated, non-motorized, bike paths are two important ways bicyclists can safely travel to work.  These safety amenities are important elements to making our metros attractive places to work, play, and live in.  As quality of life factors, bike lanes and multi-modal streets make it easier to exercise, but they also reduce car traffic, which in turn reduces the “wear-and-tear” on our roads that costs taxpayers so much.

Columbus, Ohio makes one “best biking cities” list and we know that Dayton, Cleveland and Cincinnati are focusing on improving their biking ecosystems.  With many of Ohio’s railroad lines now decommissioned, dozens of rail lines are being converted to trails with the advocacy efforts of “Rails to Trails.” Rails to Trails has dozens of trail maps for Ohio—see if there is one near you!

Check out this link for the different ways you can participate in National Bike to Work Day.  Hope to see you out there!