Double the Party in One Month: Clean Air and Bike Month Celebration!

May 6, 2020

During May we recognize Clean Air Month and National Bike Month. We celebrate these observances to raise awareness and encourage others to get involved! National Bike Month was established in 1956 by the League of American Bicyclist and is a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling. Clean Air Month was established in 1972 and is a chance to educate people about the impact clean air has on our lives and encourages people to take positive steps to improve the air quality. It’s easy to see why these observances go hand in hand!

Clean Air Month

As the mother of a child that has asthma, I am so grateful to the American Lung Association for championing clean air month. Every year, they sponsor the observance to help educate people about the importance of clean air and to celebrate improvements that have been made.

There have been numerous sleepless nights over the years when an asthma attack crept into the quiet of my home ready to rear its ugly head. If you have ever stayed up with an asthmatic child trying to assist with the nebulizer treatment in the middle of the night, you know all too well about the worry and concern that overcomes your mind and spirit!

Having asthma is scary. Being a mom of a kid with asthma is scary. Exercise, physical education classes, outdoor activities and weather changes can all be factors that bring on asthma issues. That’s only one of the many reasons why advocating for clean air is so important. It is important to take action to ensure that we all can breathe free and easy. Moms of asthmatics love it when there are good ozone days! Good air days make it easier to be outside enjoying fun activities like riding bikes. 

Want to celebrate Clean Air Month? Take action with these helpful resources from Air North Texas! There are many ways to do your part towards cleaner air while social distancing: conserve water, monitor the air quality and my favorite, ride your bike when you need to go somewhere. It’s a great way to celebrate both of May’s observances at once!

National Bike Month

Since May is National Bike Month, I can’t help but recall how proud I was as a parent when my daughters learned to ride a bike. Bike riding brings back fond memories. Who remembers their first bike? Mine was pink (it was the 1970s okay) with a banana seat and bright flowers on the seat! That memory brings a smile to my face.

In celebration of National Bike Month this month, we have revamped our bike web page and transformed it into a hub of bike safety tips, key DCTA bike facts to know, local cycling groups and organizations to check out and more. Visit BikeDCTA.net for all your DCTA bike needs!

In the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we have seen an increase in people riding their bikes on our A-train Rail Trail. In fact, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), from the first week in March to the last week in March, there was a 118 percent increase in our A-train Rail Trail usage!

Bike riding instead of driving is a great way to keep polluting car fumes out of the air. During COVID-19, people are rediscovering the joy of bike riding. Check out these suggestions on safe social distancing while on a bike expedition from the Rail-to-Trail-Conservancy. 

Clean air is so important to our livelihood, whether we have chronic respiratory issues or not. I hope you will take some time to do something to advocate for clean air during May. Also, maybe you will rediscover the joy of bike riding and ride your bike on a trail or to the store this month! How do you plan on celebrating National Bike Month and Clean Air Month? Let us know in the comment section below!

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