Bike Month hits the road in Fresno

​Bike Month has officially kicked off.

About 125 people turned out Wednesday for Fresno’s 15th annual Mall2Mall Bike Ride, which took riders from Manchester Center to Mariposa Mall near City Hall.

The event began about 8 a.m. with a Bike Month Proclamation, followed by the ride, which featured community members, elected officials, and community and business leaders.

National Bike Month – which encourages people to ride their bike instead of driving – also includes Bike to Work Day, which will be held on May 20. On this day, corporations challenge one another to see whose employees can ride the most miles in one day.

While Bike Month usually also includes a Fresno-based Million Mile Challenge run by I Bike Fresno, founder Byron Watkins says in an open letter on the site that the group is taking a step back in 2016 in order to facilitate a better challenge for Bike Month in May 2017.

However, the site is still offering daily prizes to bicyclists via its social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Bike Month hits the road in Fresno."