Saturday May 15th
Time: 1PM to 3PMLocation: South Orange Public Library Parking Lot
Free bike care workshop with Tom Reingold

Sunday May 16th
Time: 10AM Location:The Baird Center, South Orange
Ride with the South Orange’s Village President and Maplewood’s Deputy Mayor

Monday May 17th
Time: 7PM to 7:30PMLocation:Village Hall, South Orange
Ride with the South Orange Trustees

Tuesday May 18th:
Ride with The Maplewood Township Committee

Wednesday May 19th:
Time:6AM to 9AMLocation:Maplewood and South Orange Train Stations
Commuter Ride to the train stations - Freebies to bike commuters and free entry into raffle for great prizes

Thursday May 20th:
Errands in run? Work in town? Bike commute into Town
South Orange Public Library film: The Bicycle Thief 7PM

Friday May 21st:
Wrap-up Party - TBA
South Orange Public Library film: Breaking Away 1PM

This May, the South Orange/Maplewood Bicycle Coalition (SOMbike), along with the administrations of both towns, are holding a week of special events to coincide with National Bike To Work Week. SOMbike, formed last fall, has been holding well-attended monthly family bike rides. We are offering a bike safety and repair class at the SO/M Adult School this summer. Our mapping committee is producing a foldable map with bike-friendly routes, the SOMbike website will be rich source of information relevent to all levels of bike riders, and our advocacy committiee will be working with our neighborhoods, schools, and elected officials to make South Orange and Maplewood the most bike-friendly city in the state. As a coalition, we are meeting with transportation advocates from Newark and Jersey City to plan joint ventures. Our goal is to get more people bicycling for enjoyment and utility - commuting to the train, doing their errands, getting to their jobs. We believe that bicycling is a healthy, enjoyable, and environmentally friendly transportation alternative.

Bike to Work Week will kick off on May 16th with a group bike ride, led by local officials, that highlights bike friendly locations in our towns. On Monday and Tuesday, officials from both towns will ride to meetings. On Wednesday, commuters are encouraged to ride their bikes to the train station. We will provide incentives, prizes, and giveaways during the morning and evening commutes. On Thursday, people who work in our towns will be encouraged to bike ride to their work places. On Friday, we will have a party celebrating our success. The prior two weekends, we will have tables set up in both towns, providing free quicky bike tune-ups and promotion for our event.

In 2003, South Orange sponsored Bike to Work Week. Local and statewide sources recognized the wide-ranging appeal of the event and responded with news articles. The scope of this year's event is wider, and we anticipate ethusiastic coverage on local radio stations and TV news programs, as well at our local media.

To join any committee, please contact us.