Multimodal Programs

Bike Your Way with Countywide CycleMAYnia

April 24, 2025

Air up your tires and grab your helmet for 47-ride-inspiring CycleMAYnia 2025 activities.

National Bike Month, celebrated as “CycleMAYnia” in Santa Barbara County has 47 exciting calls to action, inviting you to “Bike Your Way.” Join a surrey parade with Blind Fitness, celebrate Community College CycleMAYnia at Allan Hancock or City College, ride with pets, pedal to Solvang Park, learn to mountain bike, explore murals, bike to ice cream, bike to work, or explore with friends in Guadalupe.

“We are excited to support countywide events and activities,” said Aaron Bonfilio, director of multimodal programs at SBCAG, “We are encouraging the public to try two, and even three, wheeled transportation rather than driving alone in their cars. SBCAG will be at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival on April 26 and 27 to kick-off CycleMAYnia with prizes for people who bike to the festival.”

Thanks to E-Bikery, a local Santa Barbara bike shop, participants in CycleMAYnia can win an Aventon Level.2 electric commuter bike. By joining any event or biking to participating local businesses, attendees can claim an e-bike raffle ticket. These tickets include instructions on how to enter the E-Bikery giveaway. Attendees will also pick a prize at each event or activity, including CycleMAYnia t-shirts, EcoStiks patch, bumper sticker, or MTD slap band to keep pant legs secure.

Sponsored by Cottage Health, the Bike Challenge returns to SmartRide.org by popular demand. With two trophies, this challenge invites organizations and self-made teams to make history competing for the most miles or bike trips logged. The trophies, made of bike parts and engraved with the winning team names, will be defended by winning teams next year. Interested participants can create teams now and log trips between April 26 and May 31. The winning Bike Challenge teams and e-bike raffle winner will be announced at the CycleMAYnia Finale, taking place at Lead Better Beach between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on June 1.

“CycleMAYnia 2025 truly invites you to Bike Your Way,” said Peter Williamson, transportation planner at SBCAG. “Whether you bike solo to Bob’s Well Bread in Los Alamos, Bike & Buy Local in Goleta Oldtown, ride with family in Carpinteria, or join Transportation Trivia Night in Santa Barbara, this CycleMAYnia has a reason for you to go by bike.”

To support inclusivity and accessibility, Cycling Without Age provides piloted trishaws at no cost for individuals with limited mobility wishing to participate in a CycleMAYnia event. These specially designed trishaws can accommodate two individuals on one bench seat or one person in a wheelchair, making the joy of bicycling accessible to everyone. Members of the public are encouraged to call (805) 845-8955, extension 3, to reserve their spot for any CycleMAYnia event at least seven days in advance.

CycleMAYnia is a collaborative effort between public entities and private organizations, leveraging community resources and South Coast Measure A Bicycle and Pedestrian funds to foster and support community-driven activities. CycleMAYnia 2025 partners include: E-Bikery, MOVE Santa Barbara County, Cottage Health, EcoStiks, Santa Barbara MTD, Santa Maria Regional Transit, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition, BCycle, Cycling Without Age, Blind Fitness, UCSB, Santa Barbara City College, Allan Hancock College, Solvang Chamber of Commerce, Chicano Culture de Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Independent, Bob’s Well Bread, Cuyama Buckhorn, Brass Bird Coffee Co., Santa Barbara Strong Towns, County of Santa Barbara, and the Cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Guadalupe, and Santa Maria.

Information on the Bike Challenge and a calendar of bike month activities is available on the CycleMAYnia website at CycleMAYnia.org.

HISTORY OF CYCLEMAYNIA

Founded in 2009, CycleMAYnia began as a community brainstorming meeting aimed at jump starting a vibrant bike culture here in Santa Barbara County. Inspired by events and programs in other towns, the hope was that by engaging the cycling community directly and bringing them into the fold as collaborators, a dynamic calendar of events could be created and co-managed that celebrates National Bike Month in May. Expanding the reach of cycling to a greater number of riders and connecting to a more diverse demographic brings the joy and benefits of biking to as many people as possible in the greater Santa Barbara area.