Aren't Bike to Work Week events created for actual commuters or commuters to be? If most of these people are just grabbing the schwag then return to their cars the next day, what's the point?

The point is that the schwag gets those people out there and then maybe 10% of those people seriously consider how easy it might be to actually commute to work by bike.

Baby steps.

I wish I could have "celebrated" BTWD. Unfotunately, for that, one needs a job. I suppose I could have had my own "Bike To Job Hunt Day," but my bike is currently hors d' highway.

As it was, today was "walk 8 miles roundtrip to use the computer at the library" Day.

Tomorrow is "walk 8 miles to look at a Craigslist bike" day.

At least the weather was gorgeous, and should be OK on Saturday.

One of my coworkers rode in with a neighbor who recently got laid off. It was funny to hear him describe how stoked his neighbor was to ride his bike into downtown today. :roflmao2:

You have a lot more faith in people than I do.

decent turnout at Hyattsville today, about 15-20 people when I was there. fun convoy into the city too.

Well, I was one of those people last year... Bike to Work day 2008 was my first bike commute. I wasn't sure if i'd like riding 13 miles to work, or how i'd feel once I got there, or even if i'd do it again. It turned out to be one of the best feelings ever when I pulled up to the door an hour and a half later.. out of breath... (now it takes me 45 minutes) although, I didn't do it for free stuff, I did it because I got sick of sitting in traffic and paying $50/week for gas.. and my car was broken too, but I could've easily rented a car instead of riding my old Huffy mountain bike I started with... I am still doing it and still love it. Riding my bike is the highlight of my day. :ride:

I biked to work/home for the very first time today, 50 miles round trip. Quite enjoyable. I gave myself 3 hours but got there in under 2 hours. I took the opportunity to bike to work because of the pit-stop [San Gabriel River Bike Path Entrance at Cedardale, Santa Fe Springs]. But as it turns out, my worries on the long commute were unwarranted.

The ride home is another story. The issue I encounted were the afterwork traffic of the steet. It simply was too dangerous for my taste. So I hopped onto a Metro bus [free for the day] for about 5 miles of the way and biked home the last 5 blocks.

I really wouldn't mind doing this every now and them, however, too much preparation time makes it inconvenient. I'd rather take a weekend and ride the San Gabriel River Trail to Seal Beach and back.

Added four miles to my morning ride so I could stop by the only local pit stop I knew of. It was pretty lame, honestly. But after seeing people's pics on here of their local BTW events, I had to know what we had.

Just a tent where I was allowed to have one [and only one, they were clear on that] bite sized lava bar and a small powerade.

Two people with bikes, three people behind the table. Overall - not horrible, but I was a little disappointed after seeing what other BTW events looked like in other cities.

Got a kick out of seeing this coming toward me as I was riding down the MUP to go to work:
http://www.quenchproductions.com/photo.jpg

Ours is next week. We just got an email from the agency head that we'll be allowed to wear our BTWD t-shirts in the office. I thought about requesting her to expand the exemption and allow us to wear bibs and jerseys, but decided not to push it.

It's as much about awareness as anything else, getting people to realize "Hey it's not that hard." There was probably a 50/50 split between obvious cyclists with lycra and road bikes and newer-looking people with hybrids/mtbs and t-shirts.

Seems to me like even if you just ride to work occasionally you're still an "actual" commuter. Not everyone has circumstances that allow them to ride every day, and I don't waste my time trying to classify people.

I saw nobody.

In fact, I considered driving myself, to protest having a "day" for what I do all the time, but then I thought about how completely that would suck to have to drive....

San Francisco's BTWD was Thursday. There were commuter convoys and energizer stations throughout the city. The swag included a reusable cloth bag, bagels, fruit, coffee and OJ, and mini-Clif bars.

An energizer station
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3391/...dff85c.jpg?v=0

The free bag
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3379/...f7a9a3.jpg?v=0

People who joined the San Francisco Bicycle Coaltion on BTWD also got a free tee shirt.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2456/...f42815.jpg?v=0

The BTWD rally at City Hall
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2126/...6a8c6c.jpg?v=0

Were you in the group that left around 8:15? I was expecting a more leisurely pace. I was the guy who got dropped on that first big hill and apologized for making you wait explaining that I had to stop and repair a flat. :D Fun ride, the hilliest route you could choose, a mixed group of strong riders. See you next year unless you see me first. ;)

A few pictures I took today:

Our group
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_1714.jpg

Start 'em young
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_1719.jpg

Police Week in DC
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_1715.jpg

There was Bike-to-work-with-the-mayor here, but I forgot about it as usual. I did see a few more bikes than usual when riding through town, but the bike rack at work had just two bikes instead of the usual 3-4.

The other bike on the rack I hadn't seen before. A carbon Trek 2xxx with uber skinny tires and aero bars. U-lock through the front fork and two or four spokes. Funny. Of course my bike is never locked so I can't say too much.

If you didn't see any other commuters today, it's your own fault. It's not about the schwag, it's about getting to ride to work with a group instead of by yourself. That requires that you go to a staging area and wait for a group to leave. I only waited about ten minutes, while stuffing free food into my mouth.

There was a guy in our group who wasn't a bike commuter before today. I think he learned today that he can ride to work.:thumb: Actually, that's what it's about.

Oh. Now I know. I guess I'll try to organize one of those. The trouble with suburban Noo Joizy is that there isn't much of a general direction of traffic if you work here. Everyone is going in every direction. I don't know many people who live near where I live and work near where I work.

I keep track of the cyclists going over the Manhattan Bridge every day as I ride over on the subway. Today was definitely a lower number than usual going into Manhattan. Every other day this week I'd count over 20, today only 12. (This is a very unscientific number, and it shows how bored I am that I count the cyclists.) Once in midtown though it seemed like there were a lot more bikes locked to everything available. It may not sound like a large number going over the bridge, but most use the Brooklyn Bridge a few blocks over.

I also bought a lock today so I can join in. I don't own a lock since I never leave my bikes unattended. I'll give it a shot since there is a rack just outside the security desk. Of course I bought the NY Fuggedaboudit U-lock. I also need a chain for the wheels, something just as heavy. I won't be riding with them so it doesn't matter.

I suppose every place is a little different. Where I'm at -- it's the equivalent to the day after New Years at the gym. I know damn well that 99% of the people out there during Bike Week will not be there the rest of the year. At least where I'm at.

But that's OK as I'm not on a crusade to get more people to ride. I prefer less people in my way.

Bike to Work Day in Fort Worth (link to writeup on my blog)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...y/100_3912.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...y/100_3924.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...y/100_3942.jpg

I was impressed with how many cyclists I saw in Albuquerque this morning. Some were obviously just out for an early ride, but a surprising number appeared to be actually commuting (assuming people don't go on recreational rides with all that gear!) Plenty of volunteers at the table, but even more cyclists - some faces I see regularly on the MUP, and some that I haven't seen before.

Even if it gets someone out of a car for one day a year, I don't see how Bike To Work Day could be anything but good.

hell yeah I was in that group, that was a fun ride. ARRRRRRR Street!

you fixed that flat fast, that was very surprising, if I had flatted I would have been done, would have taken me 10-15 minutes at least.

also, in four years of cycling in this area that was my first time ever riding in the DC proper.

I didn't happen to ride past any of the BTWD events (I reverse-commute from Annandale to Tysons Corner.) Saw lots of slightly wobbly folks heading the other way on the portion I followed on the W&OD trail though. Nice to see them out.

I only had one near-death experience with a newbie, so that's pretty good right there!