Written by Kara O’Hearn

Imagine you are biking along one of the many greenway routes in Charlotte with large, lush trees offering refuge from the sun and a brambling creek at your side with kids running around, families walking side by side and others pausing to soak in the linear enclave of nature within the city. You then come across Midtown and run across a friend, deciding together to stop to get coffee. Afterward, you’re on your way to ride the CycleLink in Uptown to get to work, providing a much more fulfilling and stress free morning as opposed to a commute in a personal automobile.

This scenario is all possible thanks to the extensive network of multi-use pathways offered by the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County for bikers to use. The types of facilities include protected bike lanes, streets with “sharrows”, and shared use paths (e.g., greenways). This network is increasingly growing throughout the Charlotte area through improvements and additions that both build out the network and fill in existing gaps to further improve accessibility. One recent improvement includes a section of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway that connects Midtown to Freedom Park. Further details on this dedicated bike facilities network can be found on the map below.

Benefits

Biking has numerous benefits, whether it be for leisure, exercise, or active transportation. These benefits encompass personal health and wellness, sustainability, economic advantages, and social connections. Engaging in physical activity and spending time in green space enhances the overall health of individuals. Biking effectively combines both pursuits. While biking for leisure offers health advantages, incorporating it into a daily routine for commuting to work, school, or other frequently visited places yields even greater benefits. Lindsey Braun studied the health benefits of biking in Los Angeles and found individuals who shifted their mode of transportation from driving to cycling experienced a 12.5% increase in life expectancy. Keeping an active lifestyle by incorporating cycling into a routine proves to be beneficial on an individual’s wellbeing.

Finding ways to achieve personal sustainability goals can seem like a challenge, but it can become as easy or fun as switching a ride to the park from four wheels to two! Biking in place of driving reduces carbon emissions, even if you choose an electric bike! Bikes also occupy significantly less space than individual vehicles and shared transit, like buses. Bikes need approximately 5 by 6 feet. Cars, on the other hand, require anywhere from 10 – 15 by 18 feet – significantly more than bikes. Less space reserved for drive lanes and parking allows more opportunities for public spaces. Not only does infrastructure for vehicles occupy more space, but it also costs significantly more to construct – “on average, urban freeways cost $60 million a mile to build. The best type of protected bike lanes cost between $170,000 and $250,000 per mile and need much less maintenance” – Ben Schiller. Imagine those savings being put towards enhancing many other public amenities.

When pedaling your way through the city, the journey becomes more important than the destination. As with any good journey, the side quests are often more enjoyable! Traveling by bike allows people to move across the city at a more leisurely pace than vehicles. This slower pace allows cyclists the ability to take in more of their surroundings which, in turn, encourages impromptu stops at retailers and events that they pass. Traversing through a city experienced as a journey versus focusing only on the destination turns into a major financial output for local businesses. The League of American Bicyclists estimates that bicycling related activities contribute $133 billion to our national economy, support over 1 million jobs, and bring in nearly $18 billion in tax revenue. By including bicycle parking racks nearby retail locations, more opportunities are offered for both the bicyclists and retailers.

The slower pace of moving around by bicycle allows riders to interact with others. This enhances the sociability of the urban environment, where everyone benefits mentally while simultaneously creating safer places simly because they are occupied. Bicycling can (and should!) also be an activity accompanied with friends to explore urban or natural spaces offered by the city.

Charlotte Rides & Resources

Biking can be a great group activity, as there are many cycling groups in the Charlotte Area that meet up to ride together. Many of these groups can be found at Weekly Rides. These groups can be a great way to get to know neighbors while getting comfortable with bicycling in Charlotte. There are fun bicycling activities coming up as well as occurring throughout the year hosted by some of these groups. The Spoke Easy offers an Easy Ride every Wednesday and Saturday. Many bicycle-enthusiasts also gather for Charlotte Critical Mass on the last Friday of every month to ride various routes throughout Charlotte, completely occupying streets normally occupied by vehicles only. Pro tip – they welcome entry-level riders to these rides as well! Exact dates and meet up locations can be found on their Meetup, Facebook, and Instagram.

Another exciting way to get involved in biking around Charlotte is by celebrating National Bike Month. This celebration is kicking off on May 4^th with National Ride a Bike Day and lasts until May 31^st. This month is celebrated with bike rides, events, bicycle classes, resources and anything bicycle related. One of the many fun activities offered includes Mural Bike Ride for National Biking Day with ArtWalksCLT and Charlotte Urbanists, another group that hosts regular rides on the second and fourth Sundays of every month. Contests are also being held to declare the champions of being bicycle friendly; nominees are accepted now until May 4^th.

To get started biking on your own, there are many resources for finding a route. While Google Maps works great, some biker-oriented mapping tools may be preferred for those less familiar with biking around our city. Komoot and Ride with GPS are two highly recommended options for routing a bicycle route. The Charlotte Bicycle Map can be used to double check what type of bike facilities are routed. Finding a bike or bike repair shops, familiarizing yourself to North Carolina Bicycle Law, and other resources can be found at WeeklyRides.com under the Bike Shops and Cycling Links tabs. Property and business owners can also get involved in making Charlotte a more bicycle friendly city by installing bicycle racks. Interested businesses can apply to receive preapproved bicycle racks through the City of Charlotte. For other localized strategies to improve the bicycling experience in Charlotte, you can check out the Placemaking Hub. Retailers can also join Bicycle Benefits to offer discounts to cyclists, encouraging more people to stop for a visit.

Bicycling around Charlotte can be a source of fun physical activity and connections to new friends and nature. Since moving to Charlotte, I have done my fair share of biking around Charlotte. One of my first rides here started with trekking along the Little Sugar Creek Greenway, crossing creeks, zooming through underpasses and tree canopies, and passing local wildlife.

Other rides have rolled me through Uptown and Southend for work, the grocery store, and other fun activities. I have also taken strolls around this city via a tour hosted by Cluck Design, learning new things about the place I live in while connecting with a diverse set of individuals passionate about biking. Some of my favorite adventures on bike have been accompanied by my dog to enjoy the journey with me. Join us by getting out there and enjoying the ride!