While this is Bike to Work Week, the League of American Bicyclists sets aside one special day for Bike to Work Day. While nationally that day is Friday 18 May 2007, the Bay Area celebrates Bike to Work Day TODAY!
To celebrate all but one of the MotionBased crew put their keys away for the day and rode their bikes into work on San Francisco's official "Bike To Work Day." The majority of us commuted from various parts of San Francisco, so a plan was laid out to have various meeting points throughout San Francisco so everyone could ride in together.
The ride began in SOMA (San Francisco speak for "South of Market St.") where Brad and Jason pedaled only 50 yards before stopping at the first of many Energizer Stations set up throughout San Francisco. After scarfing down a bagel, they we off to the Lower Haight to meet Sebastian and Michael.
In route, they ran across another Energizer Station on Market St. and felt obliged to stop. This time it was muffins instead of bagels. Before rolling on, a reporter from the Chronicle interviewed one of our very own, Brad Scheppler, about his insights on Bike To Work Day:
Brad Scheppler, commuting from San Francisco to his job in Sausalito, said he favors Bike to Work Day because, by planning his route wisely, he can stop for a half-dozen free muffins on the 10-mile ride. On Market Street, he was already on Muffin No. 2.
"Bikes are great,'' he said. "You don't pay for gas, you help the environment, and today you get free food.'' Steve Rubenstein, Chronicle Staff Writer (full San Francisco Chronicle article)
The ride was just beginning. The crew, now four in size, headed through Golden Gate Park and into the Richmond district to pick up Bobby. After a few small climbs, San Francisco is a hilly city after all, the crew picked up Bobby and were on their way to the Presidio to the final meeting point to meet up with Aaron and Mike. Aaron had made the ride over from Sausalito to meet up with the crew in San Francisco and be a part of the ride.
The crew was a little behind schedule but luckily one of the riders was wearing one of the new Garmin Astros (yes it is for dogs but it was for testing purposes) so Aaron and Mike were able to track them as they approached the final meeting point.
The final meeting point was, yes you guessed it, another Energizer Station. At this point it was 11 miles into the ride and food and drinks were a must. The crew, now 7 in size, took a group photo and then headed over the Golden Gate Bridge and descended into Sausalito to start the work day.
All in all, it was a great day for riding into work. The weather was great, the views throughout the city were amazing, and there's nothing quite like riding over the Golden Gate Bridge on your way to work. Best of all, the entire office joined in the fun!
Of course, not to be outdone by the city boys, our crew from the North Bay also hit the road. As he does pretty regularly, Richard rode down from Fairfax. Carlo made the trek all the way from the East Bay, commuting on the ferry first. KK made her 3.63 mile ride all the way from Mill valley. And who was the lone hold out who decided to forsake even the bike? Well, Clark took Bike to Work day to a whole new (and different) level by walking the 1.25 miles to work.
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