Bay Area highlights Bike Month with a day of festivities, Energizer Stations, and a month-long regional bike challenge

SAN FRANCISCO, May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The region's most anticipated cycling event returns on Thursday, May 14 for the 32^nd year: Bike to Work Day/Bike to Wherever Day. The annual event inspires thousands of residents across all nine Bay Area counties to experience the freedom of traveling by bike with their family, as a way to get to work or school, for local errands, or for pure recreation.

This year's celebration follows a record-shattering 2025, where nearly 1,000 cyclists logged over 159,000 miles and completed more than 15,000 individual trips in the Bay Area Bike Challenge, surpassing the regional goal by 33% with a 66% increase in trips over the previous year.

"We envision a Bay Area where many more people travel each day on accessible and connected bike paths, bike lanes, and safe streets," said Andrew Fremier, executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). "Last year's incredible surge in participation proves that biking is a practical and joy-filled way to navigate our region. We aren't just celebrating a day of cycling; we're celebrating a growing movement of people choosing more active ways to get around."

Energizer Stations: The Heartbeat of the Day

On May 14 and even through the weekend, volunteers will staff hundreds of Energizer Stations during morning and evening commute hours, providing riders with coffee, snacks, and the highly coveted commemorative tote bags (available while supplies last). Hosted by local bike coalitions, municipalities and employers, these stations are the heartbeat of the event. Cyclists can plan their route and find their nearest station using the interactive regional map at bayareabiketowork.com.

Punctuated by Bike to Wherever Days, the celebration spans the entire month of May with workshops, group rides, and social mixers hosted by transit agencies and local bike advocates, which you can find listed on a regional event calendar.

Bay Area Bike Challenge: Ride a Bike, Win Prizes

The Bay Area Bike Challenge, where the community is tasked with an audacious goal of 175,000 miles, continues through May 31. Participants who log their rides on the Ride with GPS app are eligible for one of 12 unique prizes, with categories designed to reward everyone from long-distance cyclists to first-time riders.

Last year's challenge saw extraordinary feats that defined the spirit of the event:

• The Long Hauler: Mike Holt rode an astounding 236.7 miles in a single day, circling the entire circumference of the Bay and passing through approximately 40 cities.
  
  
• The Station Hopper: Naor Deleanu visited 47 different Energizer Stations on Bike to Wherever Day alone, logging 67.5 miles across the East Bay.
  
  
• The New Rider: Kathleen Kara Conley, a baby-boomer-generation new cyclist, "laid down over 500 miles" in her first-ever challenge and won a prize.
  
  
• GPS Art: Standout creative entries included the message "I'm falling in love with you" written in GPS across 17 miles in San Francisco. Other riders mapped routes in the shape of a bicycle or even an ice cream cone with a cherry on top.

"Biking is becoming a larger part of our region's mobility choices," said Clarrissa Cabansagan, executive director of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. "As we create safer streets, we're seeing more people turn to biking for everyday trips, to connect to transit, improve their health and wellness, and avoid the impact of rising fuel costs—making for a more vibrant and livable Bay Area."

How to Participate:

• Log your miles & get the credit: Visit ridewithgps.com/challenges/32769 to sign up
  
  
• More information: bayareabiketowork.com/event-information/bike-challenge

Bay Area Bike to Wherever Days is presented by MTC (the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area), 511 (the region's traveler information system), and Amazon. Bike to Work Day/Bike to Wherever Day 2026 also receives support from the Bay Area Air District and BART, as well as from many sponsors at the local level. Prizes for the Bike Champion of the Year winners were donated by MTC, Sports Basement and Mike's Bikes.

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SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission