Local Cyclists Gear Up For Bike to Work Day

As of 2 pm Wednesday afternoon, more than 9,000 cyclists have been registered to participate in this Friday’s Bike to Work Day, an annual event that celebrates a clean, fun and healthy way to get to work.

Sponsored by The Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA) and Commuter Connections, the event helps promote the Washington region as a better place to ride. Everyone is invited to participate including those who have never biked before.

WABA Executive Director Shane Farthing said he looks forward to putting forth a good show, numbers wise, by reaching over 10,000 participants, the largest number of riders to date. That number will be strong evidence of the importance of cycling, he said, and will be a great way to push for better cycling improvements in the local region.

“Bike to Work Day is a great opportunity for cyclists to get together, to show their numbers, to celebrate together, and to help encourage newcomers into the bike community,” Farthing said. “In a field where there’s not a great deal of accurate data collection, Bike to Work Day gives a way for us to show trends by seeing how many folks participate, it gives us a chance to celebrate the successes of the past year’s cycling growth, and it gives us an opportunity to bring new folks in who might want to give it a try for the first time.”

At least forty nine regional pit stops will be featured throughout Washington's Metropolitan region. Loudoun County coordinates two of those stops, which will include one in Sterling and at Raflo Park, in Leesburg.

Each site will offer free t-shirts to pre-registered riders as well as refreshments, giveaways and prize. Some pit stops will also include music and representatives from local bike shops who will be on hand to help with needed adjustments or repairs.

“The Bike to Work Day pit stops are available not only to thank riders who’ve taken their cars off the road but also to provide a community of support to people who perhaps have never tried biking to work in the past,” said Employer Outreach Specialist Judy Galen. “If they try it and find that they're successful then it’s something that they can do again.”

According to Galen, Loudoun County has coordinated the local program since 2002 when only 80 people had registered to participate. During that year Galen said there were approximately 2,500 participants throughout the region. Since then, the program has grown significantly.

“Last year, there were close to 9,000 participants, region wide. In Loudoun there were between 550 and 600,” Galen said. “We’ll get our final registration list [on Thursday]. A week ago we had 135 registered for Leesburg and 245 for Sterling.”

Anyone who is interested in participating this Friday can register at online. Available on the site are resources for route planning as well as maps indicating each pit stop and the times they will be open. The Leesburg pit stop will be open from 6 to 9 am. The Sterling pit stop will be open from 6:30 to 9 am.

“I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces. I’ve been privileged to coordinate this for the county for six years now and it’s very satisfying to see the look on the face of someone who’s never tried biking to work before,” Galen said. “They come up to the pit stop to get their t-shirt and you can just see the sense of satisfaction they have from doing something that they perhaps had never tried before.”

The mission of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association is to create a healthy, more livable region by promoting bicycling for fun, fitness, and affordable transportation, advocating for better bicycling conditions and transportation choices for a healthier environment, and educating children, adults, and motorists about safe bicycling.

Bike to Work Day is a free event and is open to all area commuters, including families. All cyclists are asked to register on WABA’s Web site prior to this Friday.