How Bike To Work Day Changed My Life

Cliche, but true. Did you know that today is Bike to Work Day? Or rather, this week has been Bike to Work Week, and the DC Metro area chose today to celebrate and promote cycling.

About ten years ago, when my husband and I were both in graduate school, we bought mountain bikes. We lived really close to campus (but didn't realize that biking to school was a cool thing to do, or something) in a neighborhood called Foothill.  You guessed it, in the foothills of a giant mountain range. It was easy to hop on our bikes and go for a nice ride.

Fast forward a few years--we moved to the DC metro area, and our bikes sat in storage for four or five years. I remember going on a ride, once, after begging J to join me. We didn't have a rack for our car, and there wasn't anywhere we could easily ride to (or so we thought) that wasn't fraught with traffic. Fast forward a few more years--two years ago, my husband (who was involved in transportation planning on a local and national level) thought it would be a good idea to actually try riding his bike to work. So, we went to our old apartment complex (where our bikes were still stored), he tuned up his mountain bike, pulled on some gym shorts and a t-shirt, participated in Bike to Work Day, got his picture in the paper with the mayor, and the rest is history.  We now have six bikes in our garage, wouldn't dream of riding without our "kit" (there is way too much spandex at my house), and have entered the strange world of cycling. I love it. I love Bike to Work Day... and it made me laugh. Did I mention that I was a few months pregnant with Little Tiny, sick, and didn't leave my house for months? My husband decided he wanted to train for a triathlon shortly thereafter, and I always tease him that he did it strategically, to get a leg up on me. Our first triathlon, I beat him by 11 seconds (or is that he beat me by 11 seconds...) I think maybe this summer we should go head to head again.

So, grab your bike, ride to the grocery store, ride around the block, or get your kids on their bikes today--Happy National Bike Month!