Thursday it was just beautiful out and a few folks started commuting into work on their bikes, which made me extremely jealous!
It’s taken me a few months to figure out how to get to work without being killed by the insane downtown drivers but I think I’ve finally figured it out (hope I didn’t just seal my fate, knock on wood)!
So, being jealous, having figured out my route, and with a projected weather of beautiful I decided to commute in on my bike.
Thursday night I decided to configure my new commuter with lights and make sure every thing was working correctly. Well…. The front headlight won’t fit because the new commuter sports an oversized front bar – Darn it, and the light didn’t come with different sized mounting brackets. Looks like the kiddo will have a new light
on his shinny new mini mesa. Okay, I can live without the front light for now. it will still be light when I come home. Now to mount the tail light, humm….Where are those darn mounting brackets? After an hour of searching I decided to just Velcro the light on, okay that will work. Wonder if the fenders will fit? I know I’m going to get rained on, maybe not tomorrow but it will rain. Darn it, the fenders won’t fit the new bike, dang.Okay, tires are all aired up, water in the water bottle, saddle pack has a spare and air canisters,. backpack is packed with a few extra things, toe warmers are on the shoes, helmet is dusted off, and clothes are ready to go.
The morning commute went really well, very little traffic and life is good.
I put my bike in the designated parking area, located inside the rear door and get changed, in the locker room.
Did I mention that one of the reasons I took the new job is because it’s a very bike friendly work environment? Around 9 out of a possible 30 people commute on their bikes during the summer! Wow, can you imagine if every company could boast that almost 30% of their employees commute by bike?
After talking to folks about the bike and commute I settle in to my normal work day. Pretty soon the big boss shows up in my office bearing a nice spa towel and a company logo water bottle.
He tells me he’s heard it was my first day commuting and I get a new towel to use in the shower (yes we have a shower at work!) and a water bottle. He goes on to ask me what he and the company can do to help encourage people to commute on their bikes and he’s always open for suggestions. This isn’t just lip service either. He commutes regularly, including most of the winter, on his bike.
How cool is that?
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6 comments:
That is very cool! As you know I usually ride to work but pretty much nobody gives a rip but at least I get to keep my bike in my office, not because it's policy or anything just because I do.
NICE--that you put so much attention to putting lights on your bike. Those non-lighted bikes are awfully hard to see at night.
FUN, DEDICATED, and GREEN--that you are now comuting to work. I'm jealous, since I am really still too scared to ride in city commute traffic.
VERY COOL--Cool boss, cool bike commuter oriented work place, cool co-workers, cool bike, and cool post.
Thanks.
Have a nice bike commute today.
:)
Yeah, It's pretty cool at just about any point during the day you can find at least one bike in the office. Apparently there is a big breakfast hosted by the company on bike to work day, that will be fun.
Hey Skoshi, I'm not really happy about my route yet but I can work on that as I have more time to explore the area. My ride into work is straight up Coal which has almost no traffic at 7:00 am
suh Weet! you are cool!
you won't need the fenders - the one day that it rains you'll just suffer. but it'll be OK.
you should think about going up MLK if you can - I think it's a touch more bike-friendly than coal.
Dang, wish I had a shower at work. (Of course we do have showers in the school gym, but as far as I can tell, unless your first name is "coach", no one uses them or the lockers.) I occasionally commute on my bike, taking a wet wash cloth so that I can freshen up when I get to school. Wish every boss was as supportive as yours.
muffinman
Just found your blog and loved hearing about your bike/commuter friendly office. Had a discussion with friends recently about ways businesses could encourage commuting - and your post has sparked some ideas for me to throw to them next time. Thanks! I look forward to reading more of your blog.
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