As the school year ends, organizers of Bar Harbor’s Bike Bus hope to reach a milestone that reflects something larger than cycling.

Carrie Jones

Jun 04, 2026

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop.

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BAR HARBOR—Jeremy Dougherty has a goal.

Okay, this Bar Harbor dad has a couple of goals and they’re pretty connected.

The first goal is about the Bar Harbor Bike Bus, a community bike ride that happens on Wednesdays during the school year. People meet with their bikes at the town’s athletic fields on Park Street. Then they all ride in a big group through the back residential streets of Bar Harbor proper to the Conners Emerson School.

“I had a goal when we started Bar Harbor Bike Bus last fall that we could get 100 riders before the end of school in June 2026. We had 40 riders today. A new record!” Dougherty wrote on social media, June 3, right after the bicyclists arrived at school.

That goal? It’s a doable one and it has meaning.

First off, the facts: The Bar Harbor Bike Bus has one final morning.

It’s June 10, a Wednesday, at 7:30 a.m. You want to go and you want meet at the Bar Harbor ballfields off Park Street, right by the MDI YMCA.

“You don’t need kids to join in. You just need a bike and about 15 minutes,” Dougherty said.

June 10 is the eighth graders last day of school. Thursday is the last day for school for everyone. It’s also the last ride until school starts again this fall.

It’s exercise. It’s fun. It’s joyous. And it’s community.

That’s another goal that Dougherty has, too, whether its coaching, working for Witham Family Hotels, serving on town committees, or being with his family and friends. That goal? It’s building community. It’s building connections. You can see it in almost everything he does, every conversation he enters, every thing he builds.

The Bar Harbor Bike Bus? Just like the skating rink on the field, it’s a perfect example.

*Above video courtesy Brian Hubbell.

“Community is only what you make of it. What you put into it. What you choose to be a part of and make yourself,” Dougherty said. “Nobody is going to do it for you. Unless its a bike bus, in which case we created this and all you have to do is show up and have fun. So disregard that first part, sometimes all it takes is showing up. That’s community too.”

Sometimes there are local celebrities. Sometimes they are from the school. Sometimes they’re a pastor like Rob Benson. Sometimes the celebrity is someone’s mom or dad.

This past Wednesday one of the kids, Blixa, turned 13 and showed off his new birthday bike.

“And we had an eighth grader say hello and smile!” Dougherty said. ”If you live in Bar Harbor … you’ll be hearing from me. Get those bikes ready, we have one more this season and how incredible would it be to end the school year with 100 riders coming through town to end the school year???? I mean, wow! Let’s make it happen Bar Harbor!”

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