Bike-Friendly Signs: The Bike Rest Stop Program in Washington State

Visit Kitsap Peninsula created the flag, WA Bikes is helping get it in use all over the state. Want “wallets on wheels” to stop by your store, farm, or inn? Fly the flag!

What’s a Bike Rest Stop?

In Washington, the #1 Bicycle Friendly State, Bike Rest Stops are a voluntary program inviting people on bikes to stop and utilize services. The stores, farms, restaurants, lodgings, wineries, breweries, visitor centers, and other attractions displaying a Bike Rest Stop flag or sign have signed up with Washington Bikes because they know that bikes mean business.

Important for Riders to Know

• You’re an ambassador for bike travelers when you interact with staff at Bike Rest Stops. Let them know how much you appreciate their welcome. Whether or not you buy something, thank them for enhancing the Washington biking experience for visitors and for Washingtonians.
• Certain services (using the bathroom, filling a water bottle) will always be available without requiring a purchase. Expect to pay for other services unless specifically labeled “free” (as with a free bike camping spot).
• Given the staff turnover inevitable in any workplace, someone may not be familiar with the program. Refer them to this page and thank them for welcoming bike travelers.
• We’ll do our best to keep the list of Bike Rest Stops up to date. A business may change hands and new owners/staff may not be familiar with the program or may leave the sign up when they meant to take it down. Be prepared for the occasional surprise. Your understanding response could enlist a new owner to stay with the program.

Important for Businesses to Know

Fly the flag as a bike-friendly business! The Bike Rest Stop flag, that is: Ready to display in your window to tell bicycling customers that you’re a great place to stop.

Businesses that display this sign do 4 things:

1. Tell Washington Bikes (and your participating local business or travel promotion organization if they’re a partner) so we can put you on the map.
2. Tell your staff what the Bike Rest Stop program means. Remember to tell new hires as they come on board.
3. Tell your two-wheeled customers where they can find more Bike Rest Stops (on this site). This builds the value of the program for every participating business.
4. Tell everyone which services you have available for bicyclists who stop by. Blacken the appropriate symbols to show you’re offering any or all of the following:

• Bathrooms: Bicyclists may use your bathroom without making a purchase.*
• Picnic Tables: You have a place available for bicyclists to sit and eat, whether or not they make a purchase.*
• Water: Bicyclists may fill water bottles without making a purchase.*
• Apple: You have food for sale, whether that’s farm produce or a beautifully prepared meal. Bicyclists are welcome to eat in your establishment dressed for bike travel.
• Tent: You have camping space accessible by bike travelers (either free or paid), which may include dedicated hiker/biker camping spots.
• Lodgings: You have lodgings accessible by bike travelers (either free or paid) and secure bike parking (they can bring their bikes into the room or you have a shed, garage, storage space, or other locked, dry place to keep them).

To get your downloadable sign ready to customize with your logo and/or special bike-friendly message at the bottom, fill out the request form at the bottom.

We’ll send you a PDF ready to add your logo along with suggested language for your website, social media, and promotional materials.

We’ll add you to a map of participating businesses and tell our supporters they should roll their wallets on wheels in your direction.

Want to get even more bike-friendly and have your business or town recognized by the League of American Bicyclists? Fantastic! You’re in good company; we keep a list of Bike-Friendly Washington businesses, towns, and universities. Check for upcoming deadlines and let us know you’re applying.

• Bicycle Friendly Business
• Bicycle Friendly Community

*Why “No Purchase Required”?

Sometimes on a bike ride you really just need to stop and use the facilities. If a business owner welcomes you, you’re more likely to ride that way again and far more likely to spend there than at the competitor down the street.

Since bicyclists are fueled by calories, odds of us making a purchase are pretty good. If one rider doesn’t happen to buy something, the next one will.

By providing a visible welcome to bicyclists you draw in more business overall than your competitors who don’t, including some from people who aren’t traveling by bike today but may be another day.

Complete the Form and Washington Bikes Will Help You Welcome People on Bicycles

Name *

First

Last name *

Last

Email Address *

Address 1 *

Address 2

City *

ZIP code *

Business Name *

Website

Phone Number

Business Email

Business Facebook Page URL

Business Twitter Account

Business Instagram Account

What Makes Your Business Bike-Friendly?

Suggestions: Mention bike parking, adjacency to bike routes/lanes/trails, and any special offers for biking customers. Recognized as a Bicycle-Friendly Business by the League of American Bicyclists? Tell us! (If you're not, ask us how you can be.)

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Your Bike Chamber of Commerce

When you sign up to get a flag you’ll also receive our monthly e-newsletter as well as local bike news, events, and issues in your region and bike travel/tourism updates. The more you include bicycling news in your marketing and communications, the more biking customers — locals and visitors alike — will seek you out and tell their friends.

Local Partners

Visit Kitsap created the Bike Rest Stop design just as we were preparing to set up this kind of program. Many thanks to them for making the design available for use across the state. Contact: Patty Graf-Hoke, Executive Director, grafhoke@visitkitsap.com, 360-908-0088.

MyEllensburg, Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce, created a custom Bike Rest Stop design for Ellensburg-area businesses. To get the Ellensburg design contact Amy McGuffin, Director of Tourism, amy@kittitascountychamber.com, (509)925-2002 ext 32.

Pullman Area Chamber of Commerce is utilizing the signs. Contact Marie Dymkoski, Executive Director, marie-dymkoski@palouse.com.

Want your area Chamber of Commerce or destination marketing organization to partner with Washington Bikes? Have them contact Barb Chamberlain, Executive Director, barb@WAbikes.org, 206-224-9252 ext 325.

Maximize the Value of Your Participation

• Become a fan of our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/bikeWA, to see news and events you can share to attract bicycling customers by showing you’re connected to their interests.
• Follow @WAbikes on Twitter. Tag our account when you’re sharing items relevant for bike travelers and we’ll amplify for you. It’s as easy as taking a picture of a customer with their bike in front of your window or eating a big slice of your fantastic pie.
• Post pictures of your happy bicycling customers to Instagram tagged #WAbikes.
• Contact us with stories about your region’s great bicycling, events that provide an excuse to ride in your area, or something special happening for biking customers.

About Washington Bikes

For 28 years we have advocated for more funding and better bike laws to make all kinds of riding better. As a result of our efforts and those of our partners, Washington has been the #1 Bicycle Friendly State in America for 8 years in a row.

If you’re not already a WA Bikes supporter, check us out and consider joining/supporting as an individual and/or becoming a business/organizational member for even more visibility and other benefits. Your tax-deductible donation helps us spread the word about the Bike Rest Stop program.

5 Ways Bikes Mean Business

1. Bicycling customers spend 24% more per month than those who travel by car.
2. A business corridor along Seattle’s 65th Street experienced a 400% sale index increase following the installation of a bike lane.
3. Bicycling customers have plenty of energy to stop and shop: Bicycling reduces fatigue by 65% and boosts energy levels by 20%.
4. 10 bicycling customers can fit into 1 car parking spot.
5. After a bike lane was installed on Valencia Street in San Francisco’s Mission District, 65% of storefronts reported that the lane had a positive impact on business. (sources listed below)

Sources:

1. People for Bikes and Alliance for Biking and Walking, Protected Bike Lanes Mean Business, 2013
2. Kyle Rowe, University of Washington, Economic Impacts of Bike Facilities, 2013
3. Tim Puetz, S. Flowers, and Patrick O’Connor, Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2008
4. People for Bikes and Alliance for Biking and Walking, Protected Bike Lanes Mean Business, 2013
5. Emily Drennen, San Francisco Department of Public Administration, Economic Effects of Traffic Calming on Urban Small Businesses, 2003