By Mark Ambrogi
For Carmel resident Jim Serger, there hasn’t been a better time to be a bicycle lover.
“Everyone here in Hamilton County is knee deep in bicycling right now,” Serger said. “It’s the craze, it kind of like golf was back in the ‘80s. It’s unfathomable how big bicycling has gotten.”
May is National Bike Month and Serger points out that keeps going well.
“It brings awareness to bicycle safety and how to change a tire,” Serger said of the month.
Carmel is recognized as a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly City by the National League of Bicyclists.
“The real push of bicycling is you can tie it into your everyday needs,” Serger said. “(Commuting) reduces our carbon footprint and the dependency on gasoline use and you’re getting exercise without making time for it because you’re biking to work or school.”
David Littlejohn, alternative transportation coordinator for Carmel, said the city will celebrate bike month by hosting a Bike to Work Day event on May 15 on the Monon in Central Park between the Monon Community Center buildings. The event runs from 6 to 9 a.m. and features a free continental breakfast
“There is typically a group ride that goes down early in the morning,” Littlejohn said. “Everybody is welcome who wants to ride.”
Seven Carmel Clay Schools, including six elementary schools and Creekside Middle School, are participating in Bike to School Day on May 6.
“Each school participates in their own way,” Littlejohn said. “Some schools hosts rides from a starting point where they all ride together, sometimes with a police escort. Others just promote to ride to school. Some have classes where they talk about biking and how to do it safely.”
Carmel’s bike share program opened on April 14.
“It’s another opportunity to get out and ride during Bike Month if they want to and don’t have a bike,” Littlejohn said. “We try to encourage biking through events like this and try to encourage people to use the infrastructure we put in. In Carmel, there are almost 170 miles of greenway trails.”
Westfield elementary schools are also celebrating Bike to School day on May 6 in various ways.
Tim Casady, owner of Nebo Ridge Bicycles in Carmel, said they will lead a group downtown and back on Bike to Work day on May 8.
On Thursdays, Nebo Ridge hosts large fitness rides, starting at 6 p.m. behind Nebo Ridge Bicycles.
Casady said the easiest and most social of the groups is the Parks & Rec group, which takes in 17-mile route at about 13 to 15 mph. Other groups are progressing faster and will ride longer with the A-team group riding 31 miles. Casady said the ride attracts more than 200 participants who are split into five separate groups.
Casady said the riders’ numbers increase in May as the weather turns nicer.
“It’s amazing the number of recreational cyclists in Zionsville and Hamilton County,” Casady said. “There are a lot of paths for family riding. The recreational riding areas around here are among the best in the United States.”
Chris Richter, from Motion Cycling and Fitness in Fishers, said his shop’s sponsored ride is on Tuesdays and the Nebo Ridge rides on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Richter said the second most difficult rides are Smoky Row ride on Wednesday and then the shop’s Saturday ride.
“The Potter’s Bridge ride (starting on Thursdays in Noblesville) is quite manageable for most road enthusiast riders with a moderate amount of if fitness,” Richter said. “Same for (Carmel’s) Bike Line’s rides, good starter rides for those who are not quite in the ‘racer’ crowd.”
