May is bicycle month: Have fun, be safe

As an avid cyclist, I’m pleased to see Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry and the Urban County Council embracing pedal power.

Lexington is joining cities across the country - even New York City, of all places - in making safe cycling for recreation and transportation a top priority. Cycling’s time has come, even if gas didn’t cost more than $3.50 a gallon.

Newberry has appointed a 17-member task force headed by bike enthusiast Brad Flowers to help the city accomplish recommendations that came from a bicycle summit meeting last fall.

Those initiatives include a variety of events in May. The highlight will be the Bike Lexington Rally downtown on Saturday, May 17. The Rally is a car-free, 10-mile family ride around downtown Lexington. I went last year, and it was a lot of fun. The mayor was there, too, and rode the whole way.

A new Bike Lexington event this year is a three-day stage race, May 16-18, that hopes to attract racers from around the country. Beginning that Friday evening, racers will compete on a two mile course along the Avenue of Champions/Euclid Ave. There will be activities for spectators at Memorial Coliseum. It should be fun to watch.

Go to Bike Lexington’s Web site for more information.

Another local resource is the Bluegrass Cycling Club, which sponsors rides every week for cyclists of all experience levels. The club’s big annual event, the Horsey Hundred, is coming up Memorial Day weekend.

Some people ride bikes for fun; for others, it’s a form of transportation. Sadly, a Louisville commuter cyclist was killed early Sunday on his way to work when he was hit by an off-duty police officer. Read about it here.

You’ll see a lot more cyclists on roads throughout the state now that the weather is warming. Here are some links to help cyclists and motorists ride more safely:

Safety information for cyclists

Safety information for motorists

An overview from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

And for more information about Kentucky’s cool “Share the Road” license plate, shown above, click here.