Photo by Charles.
Despite the impending rain, thousands of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia residents will participate in the annual Bike To Work Day by, well, riding their bikes to work. But Bike To Work Day is more than what it suggests. There’s many things going on tomorrow in conjunction with it, along with different transportation agencies helping out wherever they can. Luckily, DCist has put together this little guide of everything you need to know about Bike To Work Day this year:
Pit Stops
As part of the annual celebration of riding two-wheeled vehicles without engines, there’s going to be special pit stops throughout the region. You can check out where they’ll be here. So what can you expect to find at the pit stops? Everything from free swag, snacks, and raffle prizes, to local officials. Yep, local and federal politicians, including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, Virginia State Senator Barbara Favola, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, and D.C. Mayor Vince Gray will be popping in at various pit stops throughout the day to lend their support. Here’s who to expect at D.C. pit stops:
Capitol Hill at Eastern Market Metro pit stop
-Councilmember Tommy Wells
-Ward 6 Councilmember Nominee Charles Allen
Freedom Plaza pit stop
-U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary, Anthony Foxx
-Rear Admiral and Acting U.S. Surgeon General, Boris Lushniak
-U.S. General Services Administration Administrator, Dan Tangherlini
-D.C. Mayor, Vincent Gray
-Councilmember Muriel Bowser
-Councilmember Mary Cheh
-Councilmember David Grosso
-Councilmember Tommy Wells
-District Department of Transportation Interim Director, Matt Brown
NoMa pit stop
-National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board Chair, Patrick Wojahn
Maryland and Virginia officials will be present at various pit stops in those states. You can see the full list here.
Convoys
Want to bike to work, but don’t want to do it alone? Fear not, there are many bicycle commuter convoys planned, leaving from all over the DMV to downtown D.C. Convoys will depart from as far as Maryland and Virginia suburbs and most will depart between 6 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. You can check out the full list of convoys, where they’re leaving from, and who the point of contact is here.
Ride With a Buddy
Maybe you can’t ride in a convoy, but you still don’t want to ride alone. Luckily, you can use the Washington Area Bike Forum to connect with other cyclists who live near you that you can buddy up with for Bike to Work Day. Ride a bike! Make a new friend!
Metro
Yep, even Metro is participating in Bike to Work Day, which may seem a little contradictory, because it’s Bike to Work Day, not Metro With Your Bike to Work Day. But some people have a long way to travel and biking to work isn’t really an option. Luckily, you can maybe bike to a Metrorail station or load your bike onto a Metrobus. Both count as participation!
Metro says they’ll have pit stops set up at the Fort Totten, College Park, and East Falls Church stations for riders. They’ll have free t-shirts, maps, safety tips, and other giveaways. There will also be a bus bike rack demonstration, in case you don’t know how that whole thing works. Also, Metro Transit Police will be at all three stops, giving out free U-locks to anyone who registers their bike.
Weather
Yeah, it’s going to rain. A lot. Wear a poncho, or something.
