Friday, May 21, 2010

Bike to Work Day

Like the sign says - Today is F5 Bike to Work Day. F5 is a secret code word for Rainy. Today is Rainy Bike to Work Day. Not quite. Not really rainy, just Seattle wet. No secret codes either, F5 is a local IT related company that's big behind bike commuting. Can't argue with that.

I saw only a slight increase in riders today, probably due to the weather. Still, any increase is a good increase - we'll take it. The more the merrier, even on wet pavement.




Two examples of various stations set up around the Seattle area. Free snacks, maps, water bottles, Cologno frames and bags full of small unmarked bills. I lied about two items, see if you can figure it out.



Water bottles as far as the eye can see.



Fellow Ibis Guy, Mark, hides his Hakkalugi in the bushes while he collects free water bottles.



My Hakkalugi rests comfortably in the wet grass, while I collect free Clif Bars.



On the ride into work, it was a like deja vu all over again, catching up with fellow Ibis Guy Mark and his family riding together. Mark pulling trailer with young son warmly inside, his wife and daughter on a Burley tandem. They were dropping the kids off at school, then riding on to work. How cool is that?

For the ride home, shared the way with Burke-Gilman pal Gordon. Semi-fast cruise and conversation made the commute fly. Not a bad way to get home, eh?

Bike to Work Day is part of Bike to Work Month and that means Commute Challenge. At the moment, my team is officially kicking ass. Out 1600+ teams signed up, we're currently in 13th place overall for mileage. And that my friends, ain't too shabby.

Another week or so left to roll for the month. Most drop out of the bike commute scene after May ends. Some will stick with it. Others, like me, are addicted for life.

Roll on.

2 comments:

  1. Dude, any chance I saw you rolling towards Seattle on the Burke-Gilman between 6:45 and 7:00 in a reddish long sleeve jersey?

    I did the ride from Phinney to my office in Kirkland. Despite being about 45km, it is not nearly as time-consuming as I expected. That said, here's a though for next time: I had a Clif Bar for breakfast, rode in...skipped lunch (busy day) and rode home. Bonked about 10 minutes from the house. Maybe I should consider eating a bit more during the day?

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  2. I don't think that was me. If I remember, I left the house a little after 7:00 AM. I do have an ancient red jacket that I may have been wearing. If not, would have been the usual red Clif Bar jersey and black arm warmers.

    Yeah, bike commuting is a good excuse to eat. I sometimes have two lunches - especially towards the end of the week and I've ridden every day. I'll eat the one I brought while working, then go out and grab something else (burp).

    At times if I haven't eaten enough, I've semi-bonked on the way home as well. Not fun.

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