BikeMaine is ending its annual multi-day ride through Maine
BikeMaine was launched in 2013 by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine as a weeklong trek designed to celebrate pedaling while visiting several communities in a particular region but soon the event will host its last multi-day ride.
The Bicycle Coalition of Maine announced Wednesday that it is discontinuing its multi-day ride, one of several events and initiatives that it sponsors during the year.
“The landscape has really changed so dramatically and not just for us, but for everybody,” said coalition Executive Director Jean Sideris.
Sideris said the multi-day ride requires numerous volunteers and logistics and has been seeing lower participation. This is consistent with what cycling events such as the American Lung Association’s Trek Across Maine and rides in other parts of the country are also experiencing.
Sideris said there are multiple factors affecting organizers and participants alike, including expenses and the effects of the pandemic.
The nonprofit organization put on six weeklong rides before canceling in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After reducing the ride to a three-day BikeMaine Weekend last year, the event has run its course, the organization said.
“We’re just getting really low registration numbers and it seems like rider preferences changed,” Sideris said. “It’s hard to guess what it is, and it’s probably not any one thing, but it seems pretty clear that people are just not interested in the same types of things they were in the past.”
BikeMaine Weekend will be discontinued after the gathering planned for Aug. 24-26 at Gould Academy in Bethel. There is a choice of rides covering 50-60 miles or 25-30 miles and rider support will be provided along the routes.
Participants can ride at their own pace and make roadside stops on the route. They also can gather for a variety of afternoon activities at the village, where there is a chance to meet other riders, check out displays, eat and camp out.
Ending the BikeMaine Weekend doesn’t mean the Bicycle Coalition of Maine is going to stop working to provide bicycling education for riders and drivers, promoting safety initiatives for biking and walking, and offering programs that encourage people to get out and take advantage of those opportunities.
The coalition will continue to focus on providing other biking events for people to enjoy, including one-day events and group rides as part of BikeMaine to encourage people to ride and visit new places around the state.
“We’re really committed to reaching as many parts of Maine as we possibly can,” Sideris said. “We’ll just do it in a slightly different format.”
More information about BikeMaine Weekend is available on the Bicycle Coalition of Maine website.