Commuters cruise to work
National Bike to Work day a success in
valley
By MEGAN THOMAS
Express Staff Writer
Mother Nature may have missed the memo on
National Bike to Work Day, but the dedicated bicycling commuters of the Wood
River Valley did not. Despite the patchy rain, cyclists rallied to the Wood
River Trail System for national Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 21.
Roger Mankus, Nappy Neaman and Kate
Walker commute to work in Ketchum. Photos by David N. Seelig
For the first time Wood River Rideshare
celebrated National Bike to Work Day with Commuter Appreciation Stations along
the trail system. At stations from Myrtle Street in Hailey to Warm Springs in
Ketchum, volunteer sponsors served snacks, drinks and other prizes for those
commuting to work between 6:30 and 9 a.m. Some stations reported over 60
cyclists stopping by. The national day of riding, sponsored by the League of
American Bicyclists and the Shimano Corporation, kicked off the annual Smart
Moves Community Challenge.
Wood River Rideshare also challenged area
businesses to compete in the Workplace Challenge. Scott USA of Ketchum won the
contest by having the highest percentage of employees biking to work: 89
percent.
"It’s wonderful that the Scott staff is so
enthusiastic and supportive of cycling," said Scott Montgomery, general manager
of the Scott USA bike division. Cyndy Garvin, a Scott USA employee of 17 years,
showed her support of the event by biking 18 miles, from Bellevue to Ketchum, on
her yellow cruiser. "I started out at 6:30 a.m. with my cruiser. It was probably
the heaviest bike out there … but I just wanted to cruise," Garvin said
A cyclist cruises the bike path for
the daily commute to work.
Cruise she did, stopping at all of the
Commuter Appreciation Stations and keeping up with other co-workers, who rode
lighter and faster bikes. Garvin was cheered as she arrived at work with tassels
dangling from her handlebars and stuffed animals resting in her bicycle basket.
Kathleen Costello, who also rode an older
Scott USA cruiser to the office, noted the unusual scene outside of the Warm
Springs office building. Costello said that the office parking lot was
completely empty, but that the bike rack was overflowing.
Organizers of the event hope that empty
parking lots will be a common site as the annual Smart Moves Community Challenge
continues through the summer. The program is designed to encourage commuters to
find alternative means of transportation.