Lawrence Kovacs, Bath Middle School teacher and mountain biker, bikes the Bath pump track in 2019. Kovacs will lead an intermediate-level mountain bike ride at the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust’s Lily Pond Preserve in Bath on May 7 as part of National Bike Month. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald file photo)
The Bath Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee will host the first of three free cycling events Saturday in honor of National Bike Month, according to a press release for the group.
“The rides are an opportunity for cyclists to get together, especially Bath residents,” said Kevin Shute, a member of the Committee. “It’s our opportunity to maybe meet some new people and introduce ourselves and what our Committee does.”
Lawrence Kovacs, a Bath Middle School teacher and president of the Six Rivers local chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, will lead an intermediate-level mountain bike ride at the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust’s Lily Pond Preserve in Bath on May 7. Riders will depart from 150 High Street at 10 a.m. and bike for approximately 90 minutes, according to the release.
Those interested in joining the ride should register at bikewalkbath.org. A helmet and a good-working bike are required.
The Bath Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee works to make the city more accessible for walkers and cyclists through steps like narrowing the travel lanes for cars and installing public bike racks. In 2021, Bath adopted a “Complete Streets” policy, which says the city must consider cyclists and pedestrians when making repairs or infrastructure changes, according to Shute.
“That’s a huge step forward for the Committee,” he said. “And, I think, for the citizens in town.”
The Committee’s efforts helped Bath once again earn the “Bicycle Friendly Community” designation from the League of American Bicyclists in December.
On Saturday, May 14, Shute and committee chair Tim Blair will lead a 22-mile ride from the Bath Parks and Recreation Department office to Brunswick and back. Riders will depart at 8:30 a.m. and will make a stop at Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe.
To celebrate National Bike-to-Work Day on May 20, Blair and Shute will lead an 8-mile ride highlighting new and proposed pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects in the city.
Shute hopes the events will give riders a chance to share their own ideas about how to make Bath more bikeable, as well as spark more interest in bicycle commuting.
“We’d certainly like to encourage more people to ride to work,” he said. “It’s easy to get from the north end to downtown if you’re working down there – easier than trying to find a parking place.”
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