National Bike Month: Local Cycling Program Raises Support
Wouldn’t it be great if you could save money, help the environment and get in shape at the same time? Well you can, and there’s no time like the present! By riding your bicycle, you can accomplish all of these things!
May is National Bike Month, and Wichita is a great place to celebrate. Home to a variety of biking trails, routes, clubs and events, Wichita is a perfect place for cyclists of every skill level. It’s time to get involved and show your support for out tremendous cycling community. In order to show their support Wichita’s cyclists, Bicycle X-Change launched the I Bike ICT program in 2010.
“We have some very good bicycle trails, we have a lot of good community leaders that are continually pushing forward,” said Michael Scanga, Owner of Bicycle X-Change. Scanga hopes that the I Bike ICT program will help more people to take advantage of the cycling opportunities Wichita has to offer.
Bicycle X-Change
Bicycle X-Change has been operating in Wichita since 1973, Scanga has been involved with the local cycling community ever since.
Over the past 43 years, Scanga has continually grown his shop, which now occupies half a block of coveted space in Wichita’s Delano District. The family owned and operated Bicycle X-Change is one of the largest bicycle shops in the nation, ranking in the top 12 percent.
The store's original location at 980 W. Douglas is comprised of three rooms, each of which are filled wall-to-wall with bikes and biking gear. Scanga has also opened a second location on east Central. Bicycle X-Change is a complete shop, offering new bicycle sales, trade-ins and repairs.
I Bike ICT Program
Scanga and his sons created the I Bike ICT program in hopes of bringing some added fun to cycling and to create interest, and they’re certainly accomplished both of those goals. The I Bike ICT program has garnered the support of over 900 on Facebook, in addition to the 3,400 likes on the Bicycle X-Change Facebook page.
“In larger cycling cities like Portland, you can visit go downtown and see nothing but bicycles. We are striving towards that,” Scanga said. “We are a big bicycling community, but we still have more to go.”
Bicycle X-Change carries a variety of I Bike ICT branded merchandise, including t-shirts in every color, water bottles, bumper stickers and more. By purchasing I Bike ICT Gear, you support local cyclists in more ways than one, as Bicycle X-Change donates profits made from the merchandise to local cycling events.
Community Involvement
Bicycle X-Change at the Dirty Kanza.
“We’re involved in every aspect of cycling in one way shape or form, and with I Bike ICT, a portion of each product that we sell that has that on it we’ve been able to give back to several of the clubs or events that we sponsor or are associated with,” Scanga said.
Bicycle X-Change works with BMX, mountain biking and cycle cross cyclists, and has sponsored cycling teams since day one. Bicycle X-Change has been involved with events such as Bike Walk Wichita, Prairie Trails, the Scholfield Classic, Dirty Kanza, Wicked Wind 1,000, Tour de Cure, Heartsprings and many more.
"We enjoy cycling, we enjoy all the cool new bikes," Scanga said. “We’d just like to support all of our customers and say thank you to all of our customers that have allowed us to continue to be in business and do what we enjoy for these 40 years."
Places to Ride
Wichita has an abundance of great bike trails in town.If you’re looking for some great new places to ride this month, Scanga recommends Miler’s meadow (for mountain biking) and Air Capital. He also suggested Flatlands, the flint hills, and Wilson Lake if you’re looking to ride outside of town.
Bike Month Wichita will offer a variety of cycling events this month. To see details on these events, click here.
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