This privacy policy explains how BikeCommuters collects, uses, and protects information from people who visit this website. It’s written to be readable rather than buried in legal jargon, but it’s still a binding policy that governs how we handle your data.

This policy was originally published in 2020 and has been updated in January 2025 to reflect current privacy standards and the services we actually use.

If you use BikeCommuters, you’re agreeing to this policy. If you don’t agree with it, don’t use the site. That’s straightforward enough.

Table of Contents

• Information We Collect
• How We Use Your Information
• Cookies and Tracking Technologies
• Third-Party Services and Affiliate Links
• Email Communications
• How We Protect Your Information
• Your Privacy Rights
• Children’s Privacy
• Changes to This Policy
• Contact Information

Information We Collect

We collect two categories of information from people who visit BikeCommuters.

Information you provide directly includes anything you voluntarily give us when you subscribe to our email list, contact us, or interact with forms on the site. This typically means your name and email address. We don’t ask for more than we need, and we don’t require you to provide information just to read articles.

Information collected automatically includes technical data about how you use the site. This covers things like your browser type, device type, IP address, pages you visit, how long you spend on pages, and where you came from before landing on BikeCommuters. We collect this through standard web analytics tools, not because we’re particularly interested in tracking individual visitors, but because understanding how people use the site helps us make it more useful.

You can visit BikeCommuters without providing any personal information. Most of what’s here is freely accessible without registration or contact forms.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for specific, practical purposes.

To run the website effectively – Understanding how people navigate the site, which articles get read, and where people drop off helps us improve the content and user experience. If something’s not working or not getting read, that’s useful information.

To respond to inquiries – If you contact us with a question or feedback, we use your email address to respond. That’s the beginning and end of it. We’re not adding you to marketing lists or sharing your contact information without permission.

To send email updates – If you explicitly subscribe to our email list, we’ll send you updates about new articles, gear recommendations, or bike commuting topics we think you’ll find useful. Every email includes a clear unsubscribe option. If you unsubscribe, we remove you from the list. We don’t play games with unsubscribe requests or make you jump through hoops.

To display relevant advertising – BikeCommuters generates revenue through affiliate links and advertising. We use your browsing behavior on our site to understand what content interests you, which helps us display more relevant ads and recommend products that might actually be useful. We don’t sell your personal data to advertisers, but advertising networks do collect data about your browsing habits to serve targeted ads. More on this below.

To analyze and improve – We review site metrics to understand what’s working and what isn’t. This includes looking at traffic patterns, popular articles, and user behavior in aggregate, not tracking specific individuals.

We don’t use your information for purposes beyond these. We’re not building detailed personal profiles or sharing your data with parties that don’t need it.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

BikeCommuters uses cookies and similar tracking technologies. If you don’t know what cookies are, they’re small text files stored on your device that help websites remember your preferences and track your activity.

Essential cookies keep the site functioning properly. These handle basic things like remembering your preferences and maintaining site security.

Analytics cookies track how people use the site. We use Google Analytics to understand traffic patterns, popular content, and user behavior. This helps us improve the site. Google Analytics collects information about your browsing activity, but it’s anonymized and aggregated. We’re not tracking you personally, but yes, your visit contributes to the overall data we review.

Advertising cookies are set by our advertising partners and affiliate networks. These track your browsing behavior across multiple sites to serve targeted ads. If you’ve noticed that ads seem to follow you around the internet, this is why. We don’t control these cookies directly, but they’re part of how online advertising works. If you don’t want this tracking, you can adjust your browser settings or use privacy tools to block third-party cookies.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings if you want. Some parts of the site might not work as smoothly, but you’ll still be able to read the content.

Third-Party Services and Affiliate Links

BikeCommuters uses several third-party services that collect data:

Advertising networks display ads on the site and track your browsing behavior to serve targeted advertisements. These networks have their own privacy policies that govern how they handle data.

Affiliate programs like Amazon Associates, REI, and other cycling retailers generate commissions when you click through our links and make purchases. These programs track clicks and purchases to attribute sales correctly. We earn a commission, and the retailer knows you came from BikeCommuters, but we don’t receive detailed information about your purchases beyond what’s necessary for the affiliate relationship.

Analytics services like Google Analytics track site usage and provide data about traffic patterns, user behavior, and content performance.

Email service providers manage our email list and send newsletters. If you subscribe, your email address is stored with our email service provider, which handles the technical side of email delivery and list management.

These third parties have their own privacy policies. We don’t control how they handle data beyond choosing to work with companies we believe are reasonably trustworthy. If you want to know exactly how Google, Amazon, or other third parties handle your data, you’ll need to review their privacy policies directly.

Email Communications

If you subscribe to our email list, here’s what happens:

We’ll send you occasional emails about new articles, gear recommendations, bike commuting tips, or topics we think might interest you. We don’t send daily emails or flood your inbox. The frequency varies depending on how much we have to say that’s worth saying.

Every email includes an unsubscribe link. Click it, and you’re off the list. We process unsubscribe requests immediately. We don’t require you to log in, confirm multiple times, or explain why you’re leaving.

If you contact us directly, we’ll use your email address to respond to your inquiry. We won’t add you to our general email list without your explicit consent.

We don’t sell, rent, or trade email addresses. Your contact information stays with us and the email service provider we use to manage the technical side of email delivery.

How We Protect Your Information

We take reasonable measures to protect the information we collect from unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure.

This includes using secure hosting, keeping software updated, limiting access to personal information, and working with service providers that maintain appropriate security measures.

That said, no website is perfectly secure. We do what we reasonably can, but we can’t guarantee absolute security. If you’re sharing sensitive information online anywhere, you’re accepting some level of risk. That’s true for BikeCommuters and every other site on the internet.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have specific rights regarding your personal data.

Access and portability – You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. Contact us at Bike Commuters and we’ll provide what we have, which is likely limited to your email address if you’ve subscribed.

Correction – If we have incorrect information about you, let us know and we’ll fix it.

Deletion – You can request that we delete your personal information. We’ll comply unless we have a legitimate reason to retain it, such as legal obligations or unresolved disputes.

Opt-out – You can unsubscribe from our email list at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email we send.

Do Not Sell – We don’t sell personal information, so there’s nothing to opt out of in that regard.

If you’re in the European Union, you have rights under GDPR. If you’re in California, you have rights under CCPA. If you’re elsewhere, you may have similar rights under local privacy laws. These laws give you control over your personal data, and we’ll comply with valid requests.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at Bike Commuters with specific details about what you’re requesting.

Children’s Privacy

BikeCommuters is not directed at children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from children. If you’re under 13, don’t provide us with any personal information. If we discover we’ve inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, we’ll delete it.

If you’re a parent and believe your child has provided us with personal information, contact us at Bike Commuters and we’ll address it.

Changes to This Policy

We’ll update this privacy policy when necessary to reflect changes in how we operate or changes in privacy laws. When we make significant changes, we’ll update the date at the bottom of this page.

We’re not going to email everyone every time we update a comma in the privacy policy, but if we make material changes that affect how we handle your data, we’ll make reasonable efforts to notify people who are affected.

Your continued use of BikeCommuters after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy. If you don’t agree with changes, stop using the site.

Contact Information

If you have questions about this privacy policy or how we handle data, contact us at Bike Commuters

If you have a complaint about our privacy practices that we haven’t resolved to your satisfaction, you can contact the appropriate data protection authority in your jurisdiction.

Last updated: January 2025

FAQs Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Question: Does BikeCommuters sell or share my personal information?

Short answer: No, we don’t sell your personal information.

Expanded answer: BikeCommuters doesn’t sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. If you subscribe to our email list, your email address stays with us and the email service provider we use for technical delivery. We do use advertising networks and analytics services that collect data about your browsing behavior, but these are standard tools for running a website with advertising.

They operate under their own privacy policies, and they’re collecting behavioral data, not getting lists of names and email addresses from us. The distinction matters: we don’t compile lists of personal information and sell them. That’s not our business model.

Question: What cookies does BikeCommuters use and can I disable them?

Short answer: We use essential, analytics, and advertising cookies, and you can disable most of them in your browser.

Expanded answer: BikeCommuters uses three types of cookies. Essential cookies handle basic site functionality and are necessary for the site to work properly. Analytics cookies, primarily through Google Analytics, track site usage patterns to help us understand what content is useful and how people navigate the site. Advertising cookies are set by our advertising partners to deliver targeted ads based on your browsing behavior.

You can disable cookies through your browser settings, though some site features may not work as smoothly without them. If you want to block third-party advertising cookies specifically while keeping the site functional, most modern browsers offer granular cookie controls, or you can use browser extensions designed for privacy protection.

Question: How do I unsubscribe from BikeCommuters emails?

Short answer: Click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email we send.

Expanded answer: Every email from BikeCommuters includes a clear unsubscribe link, typically at the bottom of the message. Click it, and you’re immediately removed from the list. You don’t need to log in, confirm multiple times, or provide a reason for unsubscribing. The unsubscribe process is immediate and permanent.

If you unsubscribe and then somehow receive another email from us, it’s either a technical error or you accidentally resubscribed. Contact us at Bike Commuters if you have any issues with unsubscribing. We don’t play games with unsubscribe requests because annoying people who don’t want to hear from us serves no purpose.

Question: What rights do I have regarding my personal data?

Short answer: You can access, correct, delete, or export your personal information by contacting us.

Expanded answer: Depending on where you live, privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA give you specific rights over your personal data. You can request a copy of the information we have about you, ask us to correct inaccurate information, request deletion of your data, or export your information in a portable format. To exercise these rights, email Bike Commuters with your specific request.

We’ll process valid requests within the timeframes required by applicable law. Keep in mind that the personal information we actually hold is probably limited to your email address if you’ve subscribed to our list, and possibly your contact details if you’ve reached out to us directly. We’re not sitting on vast dossiers about individual readers.

Question: Does BikeCommuters comply with GDPR and CCPA?

Short answer: Yes, we comply with major privacy regulations.

Expanded answer: BikeCommuters complies with GDPR requirements for European Union residents and CCPA requirements for California residents. This means we honor data access requests, deletion requests, and other rights granted under these laws. We don’t sell personal information, which addresses one of CCPA’s main concerns. We provide clear information about what data we collect and how we use it, which is central to GDPR compliance.

We work with service providers that also maintain appropriate data protection standards. If you’re in the EU or California and want to exercise your privacy rights, contact us at Bike Commuters with specific details about your request. We’ll respond within the legally required timeframes and take appropriate action based on your jurisdiction and the nature of your request.