{"id":302138,"date":"2026-05-06T05:43:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T05:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/302138\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T05:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T05:43:07","slug":"bike-bakersfield-hosts-bike-month-events-to-promote-road-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/302138\/","title":{"rendered":"Bike Bakersfield hosts bike month events to promote road safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Dozens of cyclists took to the streets Tuesday night, not just to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but to bring awareness to bike safety in Bakersfield.<\/p>\n

The ride is part of a series of events hosted by Bike Bakersfield throughout the month of May, which is recognized as National Bike Month.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay is officially bike month, so throughout the month, there are gonna be specific events that coordinate with bike safety and bike awareness\u2014and remembering those we\u2019ve lost,\u201d said Michael Parra, event coordinator with Bike Bakersfield.<\/p>\n

Parra says the organization hosts regular rides to bring the community together and encourage more people to get on their bikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cRiding bikes is enjoyable, it\u2019s friendly, it\u2019s welcoming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Bike<\/p>\n

Bike Bakersfield hosted a Cinco de Mayo full moon ride at Beach Park to kick off National Bike Month this May. (KBAK\/KBFX)<\/p>\n

For some riders, biking has become part of their routine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never had a driver make me feel unsafe. I obviously try to stick to the bike lanes and off to the side of the road and watch my surroundings. But I typically feel pretty easy,\u201d said Trisha Dobson, a Bakersfield resident.<\/p>\n

Still, safety remains a concern.<\/p>\n

Dobson said she knows someone who was hit by a car while riding a bike and later died.<\/p>\n

Parra says he\u2019s experienced the dangers firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been hit before. I\u2019ve gotten in a scuffle once or twice, but usually I\u2019ve known people to get into serious accidents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite those experiences, Parra says conditions for cyclists in Bakersfield have improved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say it has gotten extremely better, especially with the striping along major highways,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"{p}The<\/p>\n

The City of Bakersfield has changed the bike lanes on “A” Street to be bright green. Photo: City of Bakersfield<\/p>\n

He added that taking proper precautions is key to staying safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always want to make sure that people are wearing helmets if they are under the age of 18. Be sure to wear reflective gear, have lights so that you\u2019ll be seen, and be safe,\u201d Parra said.<\/p>\n

\"Sequence_LINARES_<\/p>\n

Sequence_LINARES_ CM BIKE RIDE_0001_frame_11277.jpeg<\/p>\n

Bike Bakersfield has several upcoming events planned throughout the month<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Bike to Work Day Commuter Stands \u2014 Friday, May 15, starting at 6:30 a.m. at Beach Park and along the Kern River Parkway Bike Trail across from CSUB. Riders will receive free snacks and drinks.Annual Ride of Silence \u2014 Wednesday, May 20. Meet at Caf\u00e9 Smitten at 6:30 p.m., with the ride beginning in silence at 7:00 p.m. to honor cyclists injured or killed on roadways.<\/p>\n

As Bike Month continues, cyclists say safety on the road depends on everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth the bikers and the drivers have a responsibility to watch out for each other,\u201d Dobson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Dozens of cyclists took to the streets Tuesday night, not just to celebrate Cinco de…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-302138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}