Commuters Trade Cars for Bicycles on Bike to Work Day
On Thursday, May 14, thousands of Bay Area residents mounted their bicycles for the sixteenth annual Bike to Work Day. The San Francisco Chronicle called the day “the most successful one in the event’s sixteen–year history.” Over two-hundred “energizer stations” were set up where cyclists stopped to rest and enjoy free refreshments, bike repairs and encouragement. The energizer stations included one at the University of California, Berkeley, one at Missing Link bike shop on Shattuck Avenue and one at the North Berkeley BART station. A worker at Missing Link said, “Most people did it partly for the free coffee and pastries. A lot of people that rode to work today are regular bikers, but for people who don’t usually bike to work, the day makes it seem safer and more inviting.” Taylor Jayquish, the sales manager at Mike’s Bikes, exclaimed, “The stations are awesome; everyone there is really cool. It helps people who don’t bike realize how easy it is and it gets more people riding to work.”
One of the main goals of Bike to Work Day is to raise awareness of the environmental impact that driving cars has and how biking to work lowers pollution. Berkeley High School science teacher Uri Skowronski reiterated the impact of automobiles, stating, “Every pound of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere counts.”
In fact, according to the website www.YouCanBikeThere.com, a ten mile round trip commute with a midsize car produces 1.3 tons of CO2 a year. Bikes, by comparison, produce no carbon dioxide.
However, Skowronski believes the actual significance of biking to work lies not in the physical environmental protection, but rather the message it sends. “The actual day is a drop in the bucket. What matters more is getting everybody to change their patterns. The day is really to raise awareness and disrupt business as usual.” A biker at the Missing Link energizer station commented on Bike to Work Day, “Anything that makes people more environmentally aware and takes cars off the road is good. When you’re on a bike, actually smelling the exhaust of the car next to you makes people more aware of the environmental impact and makes you really think about it.” The tradition of Bike to Work Day began in 1956, originally orgainized by the Leauge of American Bicyclists. Momentum for the day has picked up in recent years and the movement has expanded to include Bike to Work Weeks and even Bike to Work Months. Given Berkeley’s unique number of bicycle boulevards and numerous bike coops, it’s no surpirse the city has a thriving biking community. Bicyclists are a common sight, and community members are proud of their earth-friendly transportation choices.
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