Hamilton City Council's annual Love Your Bike Day returns to Claudelands Park for its ninth year on Sunday 26 February – 10am till noon.

This free event is just one of the events and activities planned by Council, Bike Waikato and other partners during Bike Month this February.

Council’s Transport Education Team Leader, Mihi Bennett-Smith, said it’s exciting to see the event back after a hiatus in 2022 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“Love Your Bike Day is a fun event for the whole family, and includes spot prizes, special prizes for people who pre-register, and a wealth of information for families and individuals about biking, maintaining your bike, bike safety and security,” said Bennett-Smith.

“There will also be a bike valet, biking activities for kids and a demonstration on where your bicycle blind spot is to educate people on where the safest position is when riding your bike on the road."

Bennett-Smith said there’s been a resurgence of people's love for biking and is excited to see even more bikes out and about this month.

“There are so many reasons why biking is a great option to get to work, school, a friend’s place, or just get out and about.

“You can avoid traffic, get some exercise, be more environmentally-friendly and not have to pay for petrol or parking.

“Our team will be out and about at pop-up commuter stations, running skills lessons for the community and in-schools, taking group rides and to wrap up Bike Month we hope to see you at our big Love Your Bike Day event. There’s something for all ages and skill levels.”

The Council’s investment in making its roads and paths more bike-friendly is just the beginning.

“We’ve been making lots of changes along our roads to make it safer and easier for people on bikes to get around. There are more separated bike paths, painted bike lanes, shared lanes and safer road crossings in our city than ever before.”

Hamilton has more than 150km of on-and off-road biking paths, plus 30km of stunning river paths.

“We’ve got a lofty vision in our Access Hamilton Strategy Ara Kootuitui Kirikiriroa for more people to regularly use more sustainable ways to travel including biking.”

Some events have limited numbers so registrations are essential. To see all the Bike Month events run by Council and Bike Waikato, and to register, visit bikewaikato.org.nz/bikemonth

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