More than 2,000 people attended an event hosted by OCTA in Huntington Beach yesterday to celebrate the beginning of Orange County Bike Month, including Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem and OCTA Director Matthew Harper and Huntington Beach Mayor Connie Boardman.
Bike shops, advocacy groups and clubs joined the festival-goers at the Huntington Beach Pier Plaza. Cyclists received free tune-ups, learned about bike safety and received information from 15 vendors. The event was sponsored by Jax Bicycle Center, Kaiser Permanente, Oakley, REI and Spectrumotion. Attendees were encouraged to donate non-perishable food items for the Second Harvest Food Bank to participate in a raffle for a Boreas backpack.
During Bike Month, which takes place in May, Orange County residents pledge to bicycle to work and to leave their cars at home. There are currently about 1,000 miles of bikeways in Orange County with roughly another 700 miles that have been planned. Everyone who takes the pledge will be entered in a raffle to win prizes such as an iPad, movie tickets and shirts.
Bike Month participants can also compete in OCTA’s Instagram photo contest by uploading their cycling photos with the hashtag #bikeOC. The winner will receive a Trek commuter bike, donated by Jax Bicycle Center.
For more information on National Bike Month, visit www.octabikemonth.com.