Bike To Work Day Offers Fun Entrance To Alternative Commuting
DENVER (CBS4) – Bike to Work Day is a free national event that promotes bike commuting to work. Most of the rest of the U.S. celebrates Bike to Work Day in May, but organizers in Colorado schedule it in June because of the weather. This year's Bike to Work Day in Colorado will be Wednesday, June 26th.
"It's important to set those behaviors and patterns, and a really good way to do that is by really getting them a supportive environment to try it out," said Allison Redmon, manager of Way to Go.
Way to Go hosts the event and coordinates some 300 way stations throughout the Denver Metro Area. Those stations offer everything from breakfast foods, to bike maintenance, to free swag.
LINK: Plan Your Route for Bike to Work Day
"There are a number of parties around the region, just depending on where you're coming from, where you're going. A good way to find those, we've got a map on our website, so I would say check the website, plan your route, plan your party, plan your stations," Redmon explained.
Some 35,000 cyclists hit the road for last year's Bike to Work Day, and they peddled a total of 623,705-miles.
"It's a large portion of the region who's participating in this event every year. We've got people of all ages, going to all sorts of different place, doing all sorts of different things for work," Redmon said.
Way to Go focuses on a lot of different commuting options including bike, carpooling, vanpooling, and walking, the idea is to try to get more cars off the roads.
"We've got a lot of challenges in our air quality in our region and through the nation, and one of the ways that we can improve that is taking other ways to get around town," Redmon told CBS4. "We really are looking at improving congestion throughout the region, and of course, along with improving congestion comes improved air quality."
Biking to work is also great exercise. Denver's bike infrastructure is growing and improving every single year. Regional governments are working together to connect paths to make getting around the region easier.
"We really encourage people to register (for Bike to Work Day), so we know we've got that support, and people are making their voices heard. In addition, registration gets you a chance to be entered for a lot of great prizes," Redmon said.
Way to Go is giving away airline tickets, concert tickets, prize pack, and a FattE-Bikes fat tire electric bike to those register early.
Denver Regional Council of Governments, DRCOG, uses the registration numbers to prove support for looking at funding for projects that include bike infrastructure and other option to get around. So these numbers are really black and white, and they're telling the story of how our people want to get around this city," Redmon added.
Last year, more than 780 businesses participated in the Business Challenge, that's where businesses can compete for bragging rights for getting the most employees to register to bike to work.
"We know that first time participants in Bike to Work Day are more likely than others even to continue a pattern of biking to work and biking to get around town," Redmon said.
Bike to Work Day is Wednesday, June 26th, with activities planned throughout the Metro Area during the morning and evening commutes.
