Bike to Work Day

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• Mike McGinn
• Brian Miller
• Outdoor Recreation
• Bicycling

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May is Bike Month, and today is national Bike to Work Day. Those damp, weary commuters who habitually pedal to work—or school, or the store, or wherever—may shrug their day-glo-jacketed shoulders and say, “Big deal! I do that every day.” But for newbies being converted to the two-wheeled cause (just in time for summer!), cycling can seem like a big deal. The intimidating cars, the funny clothes and clacking shoes, the sewer grates, the gnashing gears, the routefinding around big hills, the slow tire leak you can never quite pinpoint… there are all kinds of reasons to take Sound Transit instead. Some may grimly pedal out of enviro-guilt (with the Gulf Coast oil spill fresh in their minds), attempting to save the planet with every mile they ride. But the best reason, really, for biking to work is that it is—usually—fun. Fresh air and forward movement, no teeth-grinding traffic jams, no smelly weirdoes touching your leg on the bus, proceeding at your own individual pace (whether fast or slow)—it doesn’t have to be a cause, doesn’t have to be a statement, doesn’t have to be civic duty. You should bike to work if it’s enjoyable. And if it’s not, don’t. It’s that simple. Thanks to sponsors F5 and the Cascade Bicycle Club, 44 commuter stations around Puget Sound will be handing out goodies, offering encouragement and directions, and helping you patch flats this morning. If you’re headed downtown, our very bicycle-friendly mayor Mike McGinn will appear at today’s City Hall rally (and possibly again at the 4 p.m. afterparty in Old Ballard, where beer will flow). BRIAN MILLER
Fri., May 21, 7:30 a.m., 2010