Press Release: April 18, 2014

NEWS RELEASE

CONTACTS:
Scott Cowan; 440-356-5705 (office), 330-730-9928 (mobile) or scott@centurycycles.com
Karen Derby-Lovell, 440-617-7307 or Karen.Derby-Lovell@bayschoolsohio.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 18, 2014

Bay Village Bicycle Fair on May 1 will help residents get ready to ride
to school, work or just for fun

Bay Bike To School Challenge back for 7^th year on May 5-23, 2014

BAY VILLAGE, Ohio – Get your bicycle ready to roll at the Bay Village Bicycle Fair on Thursday, May ,1 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Bay Middle School (27725 Wolf Road in Bay Village OH 44140). Residents are invited to bring their bicycles for a free safety inspection and have the chance to win a bicycle helmet, get a free bike license, learn about the benefits of bicycling, and kick off National Bike Month in May. It is free and open to the public.

The Bay Village Bicycle Fair also helps families prepare for the Bay Bike To School Challenge sponsored by Century Cycles on May 5-23, 2014, which strives to inspire over 2,000 middle and high school students in Bay Village to ride their bikes to school as much as possible during three weeks each spring, to help the environment and improve their health. It is part of Century Cycles’ Bike to School Challenge, which is the largest and most successful student bicycling program in the United States that got its start in Bay Village in 2008 and now engages more than 4,000 middle school and high school students in Northeast Ohio each May.

During last year’s Bike to School Challenge, Bay students biked 28,257 miles, prevented 31,083 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted, saved $4,964.78 on gasoline expenditures, and burned a whopping 480,369 calories bicycling to school for three weeks. Since Bay Bike to School Challenge began in 2008, Bay students have biked 157,733 miles during the past six challenges.

At the Bay Village Bicycle Safety Fair on May 1:

• Professional bicycle mechanics from Century Cycles bicycle store in Rocky River will provide free bicycle safety inspections, display essential bicycle commuting accessories and information, and make smoothies on the Century Cycles blender bike.
• Century Cycles and Raleigh Bicycles are teaming up to give away 20 bicycle helmets to the first 20 families who attend (limit: one helmet per family).
• Bay Bike to School Challenge organizers will be available to answer questions about the program.
• The Bay Village Police Department is providing free bike licenses.
• Other information booths include Bike Cleveland, University Hospitals, Bay Village Green Team, Project Earth Environmental Club, and Bay Skate and Bike Park Foundation.

Century Cycles teams up with Bay Middle School (BMS) and Bay High School (BHS) to organize the Bay Bike to School Challenge each May, with the generous support of sponsors Raleigh Bicycles, Bike Cleveland, Subway of Bay Village, Honey Hut, Bay Village Kiwanis, Bay Schools Parent Teacher Student Association, Project Earth Environmental Club and the Bay Skate and Bike Park Foundation.

The year see the first-time addition of Westerly Elementary School to the program, which brings an additional 400 third-grade and fourth-grade students to the Bike To School Challenge. These students, along with Bay High School, will have a one-week Bike To School Challenge from May 19 through 23. Bay Middle School will have a three-week Bike To School Challege from May 5 through 23.

For regular updates about Bay Bike to School Challenge, go to www.centurycycles.com/to/BTS, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BikeToSchoolChallenge, and on Twitter at @BTSChallenge.

The schools in Bay Village, Ohio, are award-winning and consistently earn the state’s highest ratings for student achievement. Bay High School was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Education. www.bayvillageschools.com

Bay Middle School: 27725 Wolf Road, Bay Village, Ohio 44140
Bay High School: 29230 Wolf Road, Bay Village, Ohio 44140

Century Cycles is an award-winning, locally-owned chain of independent bicycle stores in Medina, Peninsula, and Rocky River, providing all types of bicycles and friendly, expert service to Northeast Ohio bicyclists and their families. Founded in 1992 and celebrating its 22th anniversary, Century Cycles is an authorized dealer of Raleigh, Giant, Electra, Surly, Salsa, and Haro bicycles, as well as Santana tandems. The Peninsula store also rents bicycles year-round for riding on the Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. www.centurycycles.com

Scott Cowan, Owner
Phone: 440-356-5705
scott@centurycycles.com

Scott Cowan, Owner - Century Cycles
Phone: 440-356-5705 (office), 440-781-7690 (mobile)
Email: scott@centurycycles.com

Karen Derby-Lovell, Bay Village Schools
Phone: 440-617-7307
Email: Karen.Derby-Lovell@bayschoolsohio.org

High-res photos from previous Bay Bike to School Challenges available as JPGs via email upon request.