Tune up your bike and go for a ride! Here’s some news you can use about biking this spring, summer and fall.
MIDDLEBURY BIKE SWAP
Find the perfect new-to-you bike, or sell that old bike that’s been taking up space in your garage, at the Middlebury Bike Swap on Saturday, May 6.
BORROW AN E-BIKE
The Ilsley Public Library partners with Frog Hollow Bikes, Local Motion, and Middlebury Safe Routes to loan out three e-bikes each year. One of them, the RAD Wagon Cargo Bike, is especially fun for families with small children because you can load them onto the back (an attachable child seat is available for the littlest kids). E-bikes have an electric assist that helps riders get around with less effort and scale hills that previously seemed impossible. For the 2023 season, e-bikes are available to borrow from mid-May through October. More info here.
HUMAN POWERED PARADE
For the 6th year, Bristol’s streets will be buzzing on Saturday, May 13, with the thrum of creative motion for the Human Powered Parade. Come celebrate human power at this season’s parade and activity fair in the Bristol Rec Park showcasing organizations engaged in humanitarian efforts globally and locally.
Decorate yourself and your bike, scooter, wagon, pushcart, or flintstone mobile!
BIKE PATHS & PUMP TRACKS
Middlebury’s Buttolph Acres is a great place to learn how to ride on uncrowded sidewalks and streets. Little ones can practice riding on dirt and hills at the pump track at the Bristol Rec fields or the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area in Goshen. Work on a new Middlebury pump track is slated to begin later this season.
If your family is up for an outing, head to the Burlington Bike Path, the Island Line Trail (which includes a bike ferry across Lake Champlain in the summer months), or the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. For mountain biking, Kingdom Trails up in the Northeast Kingdom is pretty spectacular.
HELMETS
Did your kids outgrow their helmets? Many of our local pediatric offices — including Porter and Rainbow — offer reduced-price bike helmets all year round. Protect those heads!