Whether you’re just visiting the Houston area or you’ve lived there your whole life, cycling through the city can reveal its true heart. Cycling is popular throughout Greater Houston–even in the small towns outside the big city; every day, you’ll find avid cyclists sweating through a spin class in Montgomery, TX, or mountain-biking in New Caney, TX. Cycling can help you connect with the people around you and allow you to explore the city like never before.
Here are a few things that Houston offers to the community to help them connect to each other through cycling.
Cycling Organizations
Cycling clubs can help you to meet like-minded people in your area. They allow you to socialize with friends and your fellow community members while sharing a common hobby. There are many cycling clubs in the Houston area, but here are a few of our favorites.
Houston Bicycle Club: This is the oldest cycling club in Houston, establishing itself in 1964. Many of the most popular cycling routes in the area were designed and mapped out by HBC’s founding members. It offers courses for various levels of riding each week, along with monthly and annual cycling adventures.
Critical Mass: This club is one of the most popular and well-known clubs in the Houston area. They meet on the last Friday of every month to enjoy evening rides around the city. They bike at a leisurely pace to allow you to socialize with your fellow community members and develop relationships with those who share your interests. Critical Mass is a good cycling club to join if you are a beginner or new to the Houston area.
Crucial Matter: This is one of the most fun and entertaining cycling clubs available. It is known as the “REP” of Houston; ride, eat, party. They bike together before stopping at local restaurants to enjoy each other’s company, get to know their community members, and enjoy great food in an even better atmosphere.
Cycling Routes
The Houston area is dedicated to improving cycling paths to help more people enjoy riding bikes throughout the city. They are implementing a city-wide bike program that will have about 1,800 miles of bikeways throughout the city. The pathways that have already been built are extensive and allow you to get around the city easily while enjoying a scenic route or visiting a historical site. There are off-street, in-street, and shared on-street pathways that allow you to travel safely to the places you wish to go.
Where You Can Get a Bike
There are two ways that you can get a bike in Houston: rent or buy. The city has established a bike-friendly environment that enables you to pick up a bike from any dock in the city and ride it at an affordable price.
Houston’s B-Cycle program has over 800 available bikes that can be picked up or dropped off at any of its 111 docking stations throughout the city. Walk-up prices are $3 for 30 minutes, but if you purchase a membership, each trip comes with an hour of free riding time. Membership ranges from $60-79 annually, or you can pay $13 each month.
The bike stations can be accessed by swiping a credit card at the kiosk, using the mobile app, or using an RFID card. The city has made it easy and affordable to rent out bicycles and enjoy a nice day outside.
You also have the option of purchasing a bike at a local bike store. There are many bike shop options in the area, but here are our top two picks.
Blue Line Bike Lab: The Blue Line Bike Lab offers the largest variety of bike options, and they can perform most services and tune-ups you might need. Their customer service is friendly and quick, usually letting you hit the road again within thirty minutes of entering their shop.
Fletcher Bike Studio: The Fletcher Bike Studio is a family-owned business based in Houston. The staff is welcoming and friendly, and they are quick to help you get back on the road. They sell various types of bikes that focus on comfort and speed.
Cycling is a fun and environmentally-friendly way to enjoy the Greater Houston area. It’s also an activity that many busy moms turn to when trying to stay fit. You’ll be able to enjoy the outdoors, explore historic sites, stay fit, and socialize with your fellow citizens. Both tourists and those who call the Greater Houston area their home can use cycling to explore the city and see it in a new and exciting light.
