WORCESTER, Mass. — As part of Bay State Bike Month this May, MassBike is shining a spotlight on commuters who choose biking as their way to work, with a special focus on Worcester.
In a notable return since 2015, MassBike recently hosted a bike breakfast in Downtown Worcester, attracting dozens of participants who pedaled in for morning coffee and shared their enthusiasm for navigating the city on two wheels.
Lynne Tolman, an advocate with the Major Taylor Association, expressed her passion for cycling’s freedom and independence. “For me, it’s just the freedom and independence to go anywhere,” she explained. “And people are nice to you when they see you sweating the hills that they call home.”
The Major Taylor Association honors the legacy of the late cyclist Major Taylor, who launched his amateur career in Worcester and later became the first African-American cycling world champion.
Tolman also underscored the need for improved cycling infrastructure in Worcester. “The infrastructure is lacking right now,” she noted. “Worcester needs to work on that, but we’re headed in the right direction with the city’s new Department of Transportation and Mobility.”
At the breakfast event, other cyclists like Kris Billiar and Cori Henry highlighted the mental and physical benefits of biking to work. Having lived without a vehicle in Ireland for a year, they continued their bike commute after relocating to Worcester.
“I personally feel better and have more energy when I ride to work on my bike,” Henry shared.
Billiar echoed this sentiment, explaining how cycling helps him de-stress. “If I’m stressed about work and get in my car, I stay stressed,” he said. “If I get on the bike and start riding, by the time I hit that first hill, I’m not thinking about work anymore.”
Alex Salcedo, Worcester program manager for MassBike, emphasized her own transition to a bike-centric lifestyle. “A year ago, I was driving my car everywhere,” she recalled. “Now I still have my car, but I go shopping by bike. If I have a meeting, I bike to the meeting. Just the fact that I can walk into a meeting with a helmet in my hands, somebody is going to ask me about it, and that starts a conversation.”
Devon Kurtz of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, a cycling history enthusiast, highlighted Worcester’s rich bicycling past. He recounted how in the 1880s, the city boasted seven bicycle clubs, with Main Street hosting several. “You can picture 50 people all dressed in identical uniforms on their bicycles, getting ready for a country ride on a Saturday,” Kurtz shared. “Then, we had close to 20 manufacturers in the region that were making bicycles and bicycle parts from saddles to spokes and wheels.”
The enthusiasm displayed at the bike breakfast underscores Worcester’s growing embrace of cycling and ongoing efforts to enhance the city’s biking infrastructure. As Bay State Bike Month continues, MassBike remains committed to promoting and supporting cycling as a viable commuting option in Worcester and beyond.