Bay Area's Bike to Work Day Turns 21 on May 14

News provided by

Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Mar 24, 2015, 12:04 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., March 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- How did you celebrate turning 21? Visions of parties, toasts and more coming to mind? In the Bay Area, Bike to Work Day will celebrate its 21^st birthday on May 14 with a nine-county-wide party on wheels. Now that's what we call a celebration! On Bike to Work Day, tens of thousands of new and seasoned riders will commute to work and school using pedal power. Just look at the numbers from 2014:

More than 75,000 cyclists stopped at an Energizer Station on Bike to Work Day with thousands more participating in the event;
Almost 1,400 teams — over 9,600 riders — participated in the Team & Company Bike Challenge, collectively riding almost 560,000 miles over the course of one month!
Over 1,900 volunteers helped make Bike to Work Day a success; and
Almost 400 energizer stations across the nine counties supported the riders with snacks, information and much more.

Believe it or not, the majority of automobile trips each day are less than two miles long — barely worth the time and fuel it takes to pull into traffic! Given the ever increasing congestion in the Bay Area, bicycling is an easy, efficient and healthy way to get to work, run errands and much more.

Held during National Bike Month each May, Bike to Work Day is one of the region's premier bicycling events. Presented by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), 511 and Kaiser Permanente, Bike to Work Day encourages Bay Area residents to try commuting on two wheels for the first time and celebrates those who bike to work regularly.

Bike Commuter of the Year Awards

Each year, one bike commuter from each of the nine Bay Area counties is selected in recognition of his/her dedication to riding a bicycle for everyday transportation. Now in its seventh year, the Bike Commuter of the Year Award recipients are a diverse group — young, old, rural, suburban and urban commuters who inspire bicycling in their community through their commitment and actions. To submit a nomination, individuals must first register at youcanbikethere.com/user/register; nominations can be submitted at youcanbikethere.com/bcoy until April 20, 2015.

Team Bike Challenge & Company Bike Challenge

Because competition can be a great motivator, the Team Bike Challenge and Company Bike Challenge have become essential components of Bike to Work Day. Teams of five — made up of friends, families, coworkers or neighbors — compete for top honors and much-coveted bragging rights by riding hundreds of thousands of miles during National Bike Month in May. In addition to increasing their good health and burning over 35 million calories, 2014 participants collectively reduced automobile-related CO₂emissions by nearly 600,000 pounds. Competition begins May 1 and runs through May 31. To register, visit teambikechallenge.com.

In addition to MTC (the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area), 511 (the region's traveler information system) and Kaiser Permanente, Bike to Work Day 2015 receives regional support from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), KPIX5, Clear Channel Outdoor, Canary Foundation Challenge, Bay Area Bike Share, REI and Clif Bar, as well as from many local sponsors. Prizes for Bike Commuter of the Year and Bike to Work Day are donated by Chipotle, Mike's Bikes, Public Bikes and Monkeylectric. The event is made possible through the cooperation of thousands of volunteers, county congestion management agencies, local jurisdictions, local bicycling coalitions and the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition.

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SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission