Bike to Work Day is Friday! It’s the perfect day for interested people to make the leap and give biking to their jobs a try. The number of people biking downtown surge, giving a little look into the near future when bike rates are just a bit higher.
The best part of the day, in my opinion, is the annual ride with elected officials. This year’s ride starts just south of the Fremont Bridge, heading toward downtown at 7:30 a.m. The group usually gets pretty big, like a giant bike train of people cruising at a comfortable speed toward downtown.
Instead of riding all the way to City Hall, as in previous years, this year’s ride will stop at the KEXP studio on Dexter just north of Denny. Councilmembers Mike O’Brien and Tom Rasmussen will speak at a rally there before folks head off to work.
If the official ride doesn’t work for you, no worries. You are not left out. See the map below to find some fun commute stations along your route to work. Most stations are independently organized and have different themes. Some will serve coffee and light snacks, others will give encouragement or swag. Either way, give yourself some extra time so you can stop and chat on your way to work. It’s a blast.
This year, White Center’s 16th and Roxbury commute station sounds like it might be the best station in King County: “Coffee from Caffe Delia, Breakfast Pizza from Proleariat Pizza, Breakfast Ice Cream from Full Tilt, Breakfast Sandwiches from Zippy’s, Mechanic from Aaron’s Bike Shop.” Breakfast Ice Cream? I didn’t know that was a thing until this moment. My life has changed.
Biking Bis has more details on Bike to Work Day activities outside King County.
More details on Seattle-area events from Cascade Bicycle Club:
On Friday morning, thousands of people across the city, region and state will leave their cars at home and pedal to work. Dozens of Commuter Stations along the way will provide them with encouragement, snacks and swag. And with the weather we’ve been having, we are expecting the biggest Bike to Work Day numbers yet!
Bike to Work Day presented by F5 shows what our streets could look like every day if we continue encouraging and investing in bicycling as transportation.
Ride & Rally with Mike O’Brien and Tom Rasmussen
The ride leaves from the Fremont Bridge at 7:30 a.m. and ends at KEXP where the rally starts at 8. Mike O’Brien and Tom Rasmussen will do a short on-air interview and speak at the rally.
Bike to Work Day After Party
4:30-6:30 p.m.
Velo Bike Shop @ Sixth Avenue and Blanchard in downtown SeattleRoll over for bites and beverages from Tom Douglas Restaurants, tunes from KEXP DJ Greg Vandy and tours of ViaBike and Via6 apartments. Bring your friends and colleagues to celebrate a day of two-wheeled happiness!
Everett Celebration Ride
7:30 to 8 a.m.Departs from Wall and Oakes Ave for a fun-filled ride to Everett Station. All participants receive a special gift and are eligible to win prizes.
Map of Commute Stations, from Cascade:
View Commute Stations — Bike to Work Day presented by F5 in a larger map
Comments
6 responses to “Friday is Bike to Work Day: Ride with Councilmembers + Map of commute stations”
WOW! In the last few years, there have been two commute stations on my Ballard to downtown commute, tomorrow there will be seven! I’m going to hit them all….
Don’t forget to come by the Central Seattle Greenways station on the proposed Ridge Route Greenway at 18th and Union! We’ll be there from 7 to 9 am with coffee, goodies, bikey swag and information about Greenways.
I’m always too early for the commute stations. Saw an extra rider or two this morning. Hopefully with the good weather we will see another record high count on the Fremont Bridge today.
I’m the opposite– the stations are always too early for me (most of them close by 9, I think)
Where are all of these people every other day of the year? It’s weird.
I know some people live on the east side and work downtown, and choose today as the one day that they make the trek to work.
And then there are others I know that bike to work all May, but only in May. If you can do it in May, why not June, July, August, and September?