St. Louis Cardinals and GRG Initiate "Bike to Busch" to Kick Off National Bike Month

Bicyclists will get discount game tickets, free admission to a pre-game TrailGate party, secure bicycle valet parking and lots of special in-stadium recognition just for riding to St. Louis Cardinals afternoon games at Busch Stadium on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, Sept. 19.

The first Bike to Busch on Saturday, May 1 marks the beginning of National Bike Month. Cyclists and their supporters may purchase tickets at a great discount at www.stlcardinals.com/biketobusch. Co-sponsored by Great Rivers Greenway-GRG and Metro East Park & Recreation District (MEPRD), Bike to Busch is designed to demonstrate the strength of the bicycling community and to raise consciousness that bikes can be used for transportation.

“We are excited to host our first Bike to Busch event, which promotes a healthy, environmentally conscious way of getting to the ballpark to enjoy Cardinals baseball,” said Bill DeWitt III, Cardinals President. “Bike to Busch caps off Green Week at Busch Stadium and is a great way for fans to help us deliver on our ‘For A Greener Game’ initiatives.”

The multi-year promotion will support alternative “green” transportation, encourage physical fitness, and increase visibility for GRG in Missouri and MEPRD in Illinois.

Bike St. Louis, a project of GRG, has signed nearly 80 miles of on-street bicycle lanes in the City of St. Louis, Clayton, Kirkwood, and Maplewood. Bicyclists can use the interactive map feature at www.bikestlouis.org to print Bike St. Louis maps to help plan a route to Busch Stadium.

At the pre-game Trailgate Party from 11 a.m. to noon, GRG staff will be displaying and explaining maps of GRG greenways and trails, and talking with people about their understanding of a greenway. But music, concessions, and other booths will make it a party.

Bike to Busch will coincide with City of St. Louis’ launch of “Open Streets,” which will close six miles of city streets along Lindell Blvd. and Locust St. to motor vehicles from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Open Streets is designed to create a temporary pedestrian mall. In addition to an open corridor for cyclists, skaters, pedestrians and joggers, it will be a venue for spontaneous activities and street entertainment. “Open Streets” is similar to events in other cities modeled after the weekly “Cyclovia” program in Bogotá, Colombia. More information is available at www.stlopenstreets.org.

Both events are new initiatives created following St. Louis’ designation in October 2009 as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.