Local non-profit gives incentives to ride your bike

(ABC 6 News) – As Rochester continues to grow and construction is ongoing, parking becomes more difficult.

One local business owner has an unusual parking situation. The owner of Old Abe Coffee Shop, Abe Sauer, said "Our parking situation as you’ve seen here is not great, so if you bike in, good for you. That’s great. Getting We Bike Rochester to kind of reward businesses that encourage bicycling is a great way to get more bicyclists out there and patronizing businesses. It’s a great overlap."

We Bike Rochester has partnered with 17 local businesses like Old Abe Coffee Shop and People’s Food Co-Op.

Marketing Director Ann Mull said its not only is biking better for parking, but also a great way to stay active. "People’s Food Co-Op is a community-minded business," Mull said. "And we believe strongly in building a healthy community, and biking is one of those activities that is good for you and good for the environment, and we feel strongly about supporting it."

Erik Noonan from We Bike Rochester said there are benefits unrelated to biking. "A place that is more comfortable to bike in, is also going to be more comfortable to walk in," Noonan said. "And it’s also going to be a place more accessible to people with physical disabilities, and I think that is so important in a place like Rochester with its medical and healthcare focus."

All participating businesses are selling helmet stickers for $5. If you show up to a participating business on a bike with the sticker on your helmet, you qualify for discounts or even freebies decided by the business.

We Bike Rochester will be hosting social rides every Sunday afternoon starting around 2 p.m.. The duration will depend on the route taken each week.

For information on the rides, head to https://www.facebook.com/webikerochester

To sign up for the We Bike program, head to https://www.webikerochester.com/