I know that most of our posts here relate to the work we’re doing in the office, but this one is about how we get to the office. Every September, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance organizes a bike commute challenge around the state of Oregon, pitting workplaces against each other in the ultimate battle of pedal power. The goal is to get the highest percent of work days commuted by bike. It’s ok to combine bike with public transport, and you can count a one-way commute or round-trip. Doing the challenge in September helps get riders ready for the fall and winter bike commute, although this September was pretty perfect riding weather!
This year we took second in our group (businesses and non-profits with 5 – 24 employees) with a 97% bike commute rate. We beat out 321 other teams, including the BTA team. Team Crag rode almost 1,300 miles in the month of September. In total, there were over 12,000 riders who participated in the challenge this year, riding over 1 million miles.
All of us at Crag bike to work on a regular basis, beyond the September commute challenge. Biking to work keeps us out of cars, saving carbon emissions and reducing road maintenance costs in our community. It keeps our muscles moving and hearts pumping, keeping us healthy. And it feels good! My commute is 8 miles each way, and I get to ride along the river on the Springwater Corridor trail for a large section of that. I often see bald eagles, osprey, great blue herons, baby ducks and geese in spring, deer, even raccoon along the trail. There’s nothing quite like stretching my legs out and watching the clouds glow with the sunset across the river at the end of a long day in the office. I don’t ride everyday, but I never regret it when I do. Go by bike!