Our Mission
The mission of the Bloomington Bicycle Club is to promote safe bicycling and bicycling awareness in the Bloomington, Indiana, area for the purposes of recreation, travel, transportation, and general fitness and well-being.
Along with promoting and encouraging riding bikes, we train and educate BBC members and the Bloomington community about bicycles and bicycling. Through various club programs and board positions, we advise, support, and assist community groups in furtherance of the safe use of bicycles for travel and transportation, recreation, and fitness and well-being, and we assert, safeguard, and advocate the rights of all bicyclists and seek better public understanding and respect for existing rights and responsibilities of cyclists on the road.
Riding With Us
Riding by yourself is fun, but riding with others can do wonders for you. Pick one or several of the groups listed on the weekly rides page and get in on the action!
BBC members ride all year round. The official road riding season runs from March through October. Gravel and mountain biking are especially popular over the winter. Just check the ride calendar for scheduled rides from slow to fast, short to long. Come join us: there’s something for every skill level to make group biking fun and exciting.
Non-BBC members are welcome on any of our scheduled rides. If you are not a BBC member the club requires that you read and agree to the liability waiver prior to your participation. You may agree to the waiver using the “Trial Membership” available on our member signup page. Please show the ride leader at the start of a ride that you have agreed to the waiver by presenting the registration using your phone or a printed copy.
Club policy allows non-BBC members to ride with the club three (3) times. After the 3rd ride, we respectfully ask that you join our club or refrain from participating in club events. You will find that BBC membership is one of the best deals in Bloomington!
The RAIN Ride
RAIN is a one-day bicycle ride that has been put on by the BBC for 34 years. The name stands for “Ride Across INdiana” and we do just that: the 160-mile course runs from West Terre Haute to Richmond, following the Historic National Road (US 40) for much of the way.
The COVID 19 pandemic has forced us to cancel the ride over the past two years. We sincerely hope that we can invite you to participate in this challenging and wonderful ride in 2022.
Proceeds from the RAIN ride go to our local grants program, to townships and other helpful organizations along the RAIN route, and to special projects and club events.
Community Advocacy
Just one example of the BBC’s involvement in the community to encourage safe cycling for transportation and recreation has been work on an I-69 Bicycle-Pedestrian Tunnel. A couple of tunnels for both cyclists and pedestrians could cross I-69 on the Bloomfield Road sidepath to avoid the need to cross a number of interchange ramps.
Read more about the Bicycle-Pedestrian Tunnels project here.