- About Bike to Wherever Day
- Energizer Stations
- Road Safety Quiz: You Could Win a $20 Starbucks Gift Card
- Photo Gallery: Bike to Wherever Day 2026
- Tips: Getting Ready to Bike Commute
- Bike Mapper: Choose the Route Best for You
- Bike + Transit: Taking Your Bike on Board
- Bike Champion of the Year
- Video: Ride Along with Contra Costa’s Bike Champion on BTWD
- Summer Bike Challenge (June-August)
- Rebates & Incentives for Biking
- Video Highlights from Bike to Wherever Day 2025
- Employers: Tips on Encouraging Bike Commuting
- Sponsors & Media Kit
About Bike to Wherever Day 2026
May is National Bike Month and Thursday, May 14, 2026, is Bike to Wherever Day. We’re sharing all the information you’ll need to join thousands across the Bay Area in this annual celebration of cycling!
Energizer Stations
On Thursday, May 14, energizer stations in all nine Bay Area counties will be handing out commemorative bags, exclusive swag, treats, and much more. Explore the map above to find an energizer station near you. You can even view the Contra Costa County energizer stations as a list by clicking here.
Bike to a Station, Enter to Win a Vacation
When you visit any Contra Costa Energizer Station on May 14, you can enter to win a vacation! Scan the QR code at the station and get entered to win a $511 airline gift card. The winner will have the choice of a gift card good on Southwest or United Airlines.
Road Safety Quiz – Five $20 Amazon Gift Card Winners
Test your street smarts with our Road Safety Quiz and you could win one of five $20 Starbucks gift cards. See how well you know the rules of the road for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Everyone who completes the quiz is eligible to win. Winners names will be drawn on May 29th.
Photo Gallery: Bike to Wherever Day 2026
Visit our 2026 photo gallery to see photos from Energizer Stations across Contra Costa. If you visited an Energizer Station in Contra Costa on Bike to Wherever Day, you might see yourself.
Tips: Getting Ready to Bike Commute
Preparing to bike commute isn’t as difficult as you might think. Take a little time to get familiar with your bike, figure out how to carry your stuff, and find a good route or even a bike buddy.
Do the A-B-C Quick Check to make sure your bike is working properly and running smoothly. You can also read our Six Tips & Tricks to Get You Ready for Bike To Wherever Day!
Guaranteed Ride Home
If you live, work, or attend college in Contra Costa County, our free Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) program will reimburse you for your ride home during emergencies on any day you bike to work. You’re even covered if your bike is stolen or breaks down and can’t be repaired at work or on the way home. Great for Bike to Wherever Day and bike commuting in general. Sign up now and you’re good to go.
Bike Mapper: Choose the Route Best for You
511 CCTA’s Bike Mapper lets you create a custom bike route by choosing from three hill tolerances and three types of routes: bike paths, bike lanes, or the most direct route. Find other bike maps and resources here.
Bike + Transit: Taking Your Bike on Board
If biking the distance between home and work seems intimidating, it’s not cheating to add a transit to your commute. Bikes are welcome on BART, area transit buses, trains, and the San Francisco Bay Ferry.
County Connection, Tri Delta Transit, WestCAT, AC Transit, San Francisco Bay Ferry, and Capitol Corridor’s bicycling pages provide instructions for biking and riding. You can also find tips for taking your bike on other Bay Area transit systems.
Taking Your Bike on BART
Although bikes are always allowed on BART, there are some rules to be aware of:
- Bikes are never allowed on crowded cars
- Bikes are not allowed in the first car
- Folded bikes are always allowed in all cars
- Bikes are allowed on elevators, stairs, and most escalators
To read the full list of rules, visit the Bikes on BART webpage.
Bike Champion of the Year 2026: Maria “Downhill Diva”
Congratulations to Maria “Downhill Diva”, Contra Costa County’s Bike Champion of the Year!
If you’ve ever been on a group bicycle ride in the Bay Area, particularly the East Bay, there’s a good chance you’ve ridden with this year’s Contra Costa County Bicycle Champion of the Year, Richmond resident Maria “Downhill Diva”.
Maria is a force of nature in the East Bay cycling scene, dedicated to turning “lemons into lemonade” by dismantling barriers and sidestepping gatekeepers that can sometimes keep new riders off the road. She leads and organizes rides including Bikes Burgers Brews, Red Bike and Green (RBG) Oakland, East Bay Bike Party, and Major Taylor Bay Area Cycling Club (MTBACC). Maria also marshalls other rides on Thursday nights, 1st Fridays, and weekends. Maria’s impact is defined by her commitment to safety, joy, and radical inclusivity.
Maria’s leadership spans the entire region, building cross-sector partnerships with schools, nonprofits, businesses, and public agencies. As a Steering Committee & Community Member of the Richmond Outdoors Coalition, she actively contributes and supports partner-coordinated, youth-and-family-centered, hands-on outdoor access programs promoting health, leadership and environmental awareness, all rooted in heritage, social welfare, emotional welfare, and academics, specifically for Richmond residents. As a Board Member for Bad Business Model Bikes (BBMB) in Richmond, she helps provide refurbished bicycles and biking resources to disenfranchised, low-income communities.
Maria’s bicycling journey began 16 years ago as a personal health quest. Initially, she faced a “gatekeeping” culture where she felt she didn’t fit the typical demographic of a cyclist. This experience fueled her mission to create spaces where everyone – regardless of race, size, or experience level – feels they belong. “I wanted to break down those barriers and make cycling easily accessible,” she says, reflecting on her path from a novice rider all the way to coaching cyclists.
Her nickname, “Downhill Diva,” was born on a Feather Pedals Cinderella Classic ride (a long-running women-only bicycle tour in the Tri-Valley that welcomes all cyclists during its conditioning series) where her incredible descending speed consistently allowed her to fly by riders and landed her at the front of the pack. Her endurance cycling acumen is equally impressive, having completed the AIDS/LifeCycle Ride (a 545-miles fundraising ride from SF to LA) six times and the Climate Ride three times.
Maria takes a creative approach to her cycling advocacy, acting as a “bike nurse” during a heatwave or when a rider needs aid. She recruited riders to participate in the Black Joy Parade, organizing with Black/African diaspora history events. She brings a calming, expert energy to every group she rides with.
In 2025 alone, Maria led and marshaled more than 70 group rides, introducing riders to new experiences and locations all with music filling the airwaves. For her, the priority is simple: “If people remember how they feel–JOY, FREEDOM and SAFETY–then you’ve done your job”. The weekly Bikes Burgers Brews rides in Contra Costa are as diverse and welcoming as the community itself.
Maria’s leadership and passion for advancing equity, climate resilience, health and wellness, social justice and inclusive mobility across diverse national and Bay Area communities are an inspiration to all who seek community on two wheels.
Meet the Bike Champions from across the Bay Area.
Ride Along with Contra Costa’s 2025 Bike Champion on Bike to Wherever Day
Summer Bike Challenge: Free Family-Friendly Fun
Wish Bike to Wherever Day was more than once a year? Join us for the Summer Bike Challenge happening across Contra Costa County June through August! It’s a great opportunity to explore your town, ride with friends and family, get some outdoor time, and stay active. There are weekly chances to win $20 gift cards and you’re entered in our iPad Grand Prize Drawing just by signing up.
Rebates and Incentives for Biking
511 CCTA offers a variety of incentives for biking more, especially for commuting by bike:
- Buy a new e-bike and apply for an E-Bike Rebate of up to $300.
- Register to get a free Guaranteed Ride Home if you experience an emergency on a day you biked to work.
- If you live or work in West Contra Costa County, pledge to try biking to work and we’ll send you a $20 BikeLink card to help you Secure Your Cycle with BikeLink’s countywide network of electronic bike lockers.
Video Highlights from Bike To Wherever Day 2025
Wondering what Bike To Wherever Day is like? Check out the video below.
Employers: Tips on Encouraging Bike Commuting
If you’re an employer and want to inspire more of your employees to commute by bike, check out our 2026 Bike to Wherever Day Employer Toolkit (coming soon!) We also have great strategies and employer resources for making your workplace bike-commute friendly year-round.
Sponsors & Promotions Kit
511 CCTA has supported cyclists and Energizer Station hosts throughout Contra Costa County since 2001 using Bay Area Air District funds and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s half-cent sales tax for transportation funds. Bike to Wherever Day 2026 is presented by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, 511.org, and Amazon.com.
To help you promote your involvement in Bike Month (aka Bike to Wherever Days) and the Bay Area’s Bike to Wherever Day on Thursday, May 14, we’ve put together a promotions kit with promotional copy and graphics.
