Connect Whitefish is planning events to inspire active transportation in and around Whitefish for the month of May in honor of National Bike Month.

National Bike Month includes an ever-expanding diversity of events in communities nationwide. Forty percent of all trips in the U.S. are less than two miles, making bicycling a feasible, fun, and healthy way to run errands and get to work or school, according to Connect Whitefish.

The first is event is Bike or Walk to School Day on Wednesday, May 9. Students are encouraged to bike or walk to school. Free giveaways courtesy of Farm Hands, North Valley Hospital, Flathead County Health Department and the city of Whitefish will be given out to students who arrive biking or walking.

Bike or Walk to Work Day is on Friday, May 11 from 7:45-9:15 a.m. Ride or walk and get a free cup of coffee on the way to work by stopping at the O’Shaughnessy Center. Connect Whitefish will be giving away coffee and fruit and Glacier Cyclery will be on hand to help with basic bike maintenance.

Whitefish Open Streets will be held on Tuesday, May 29 from 5-7:30 p.m. on conjunction with the first Farmer’s Market of the season. It is a community event that temporarily opens streets to people and closes them to cars. Whitefish Open Street’s first event will involve opening portions of Railway Street and Central to pedestrian and bike traffic only. Local organizations will have educational and interactive activities related to walking, biking, health, and fitness for the public in the open streets area. Businesses in the Open Streets area will also be holding sidewalk sales.

Connect Whitefish is a community-based group whose vision is to ensure active transportation and healthy lifestyles for the Whitefish community through year-round biking and walking opportunities. To achieve the vision Connect Whitefish expects to engage in advocacy, education, awareness and promotion of biking and walking in Whitefish. Stay up to date at FB.com/ConnectWhitefish.