Bike to Work Day
Read about the event:
- Bike to Work Day Pancakes, Prizes and All-Day Valet Bike Parking
- Raffle Prizes and Sponsors
- Download flyer (.pdf)
- Pedal Pools: rides downtown with Council member/staff
- 15% discount coupons good at all 12 ALL Oakland bike shops in May!
- City Council Bike to Work Day/Month Proclamation (read at May 4, 2010 meeting at City Hall, 5:30pm)
- Oakland Bike Month Calendar (.pdf)
- Press release (5/6/10) (.pdf)
- Join the Team Bike Challenge: win points for days biking in May and compete with other teams in your county or other companies
- Register for the regional event to be eligible for prizes
- Other Energizer Stations
- Bike Commute Tips
- What is Bike to Work Day?
- Why Bike to Work?
- Previous Years (including photos from 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006)
Bike to Work Day Pancakes, Prizes and All-Day Valet Bike Parking
Thanks to our generous sponsors, bicyclists at Oakland's 17th Annual Bike to Work Day celebration enjoyed:
- A free pancake breakfast (7-9am), courtesy Piedmont Grocery and Tully's Coffee
- Free Club One Day Pass (for showers and more)
- Free all-day valet bike parking, courtesy East Bay Bicycle Coalition
- AC Transit bike rack loading demos
- Free bike safety checks, courtesy of Bay Area Bikes and Wheels of Justice Cyclery
- A canvas bag with goodies (Oakland's brand new 2010 Bikeways Map, and an "I [BIKE] Oakland" bike tube sticker)
- A raffle with prizes donated by local businesses including this year's Grand Prize: round-trip tickets for two to Santa Barbara on Amtrak and a Dahon folding bike!!!!
Everyone was invited to stop by and check out:
- Tables with information about low-impact commuting, bicycle-friendly projects, and sustainable transportation and related issues (7:00-9:00am)
- Press conference featuring Oakland City Council members
- Raffle prize drawing (8:30am)
Raffle Prizes
Participating cyclists (319 of them) entered a raffle with great prizes donated by local business and agencies:
- Two Grand Prizes: round-trip tickets for two to Santa Barbara on Amtrak and a Dahon folding bike!!!!
- Two sets fo round-trip tickets for two on the Amtrak Capitol Corridor
- Two sets of one-month passes at Oakland City Center Club One, 1200 Clay Street
- San Francisco Bay Trail map packet
- Four $20 BikeLink cards
- A bike jersey from Cycle Sports bike shop
- Two $50 gift certificates from Wheels of Justice Cyclery
- Two $50 gift certificates from Lanesplitter Pizza
- A $45 gift certificate and "goody bag" from Manifesto Bicycles
- A $30 gift certificate from Pacific Coast Brewery
- A $30 gift card from The Trappist
- A $25 gift certificate from Farley's East Coffee Shop
- T-shirts from the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, Walk Oakland-Bike Oakland, and a Bike to Work Day T-shirt from the City of Oakland's Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities Program
Bike Bucks, 15% discounts
Oakland's bike shops support Bike to Work Day by giving 15% off on accessories during the month of May to "BikeBucks" holders. Get yours in the Bike to Work Day goodie bags (or come by the City table on Bike to Work Day at City Hall).
Oakland extends sincerest thanks to Oakland's great bike shops, listed below.
Bay Area Bikes
2424 Webster Street
763-BIKE (2453), M-F 10-7; Sa 10-6; Su 12-5
The Bent Spoke
6124 Telegraph Avenue
652-3089, T-F 11-6; Sa-Su 11-5
Bikes4Life
1600 7th Street
452-BIKE, M-F 11-7; Sa 11-5
Cycle Sports
3530 Grand Avenue
444-7900, M-F 11-7; Sa 10-6; Su 11-5
Fruitvale Bikestation at the Fruitvale BART
left of the Caesar Chavez Plaza entrance
within a hundred feet of the northeast BART exit
536-2200, M-F 6a-8p
Hank & Frank Bikes
6030 College Avenue
654-BIKE, M-Sa 10-6; Su 11-5
Manifesto Bicycles
421 40th Street
595-1155, M,T,Th,F 11-7; Sa, Su 11-6
Montano Velo
4266 Piedmont Avenue
654-VELO (8356), T-F 11-7; Sa 10-5; Su 12-5
Pioneer Bike Shop
11 Rio Vista Avenue
658-8981, T-Sa 10-6
rideSFO
1724 Mandela Parkway
832-2800, M-F 10-7; Sa-Su 12-5
Tip Top Bike Shop
4800A Telegraph Ave.
444-4148, M, W-F 11-7; Sa-Su 12-6
Wheels of Justice Cyclery
2024 Mountain Blvd
339-6091, M-W, F-Sa 10-6; Th 11-7; Su 10-5
Bike Commute Tips
If you haven't biked in a while or are new to biking to work:
- Check out your route in advance.
- Make sure your bike is reasonably well tuned and your helmet fits.
- Wear comfortable clothing; if you need to dress up for work, consider bringing clothes the day before and leaving them in your office, and changing after you get to work.
- Save room for pancakes, but don't cycle on an empty stomach.
- Get an early start.
- If you're planning to mix bike and transit, please be aware of BART bike blackout times (mornings and evenings in the "commute direction"), and that AC Transit bus bike racks may be more full than usual on Bike to Work Day. Leave extra time.
Coming from SF? Try either BART or the Oakland/Alameda Ferry. During commute hours, board BART at Embarcadero Station and disembark at Lake Merritt Station for a short ride downtown. (Note: the 12th and 19th Street Stations do not allow bikes during commute times.) The Ferry is free on Bike to Work Day! For schedule, rates, and other information, go to http://www.eastbayferry.com/when/when.html.
Check out Oakland's Bicycle Commuting 101 tips (.pdf). The Metropolitan Transportation Commission also has bike commute tips at the Bicycling pages on www.511.org.
What is Bike to Work Day?
Bike to Work Day is an annual, statewide event, and the highlight of the California Bike Commute Week and National Bike Month. Thousands of bicyclists find event "Energizer Stations" at strategically placed locations where cyclists can stop, get a canvas bicycle-style bag filled with treats and bicycling information, a free cup of coffee or juice or snack, and words of encouragement. The biggest Energizer Station in the East Bay is the annual pancake breakfast in downtown Oakland in front of City Hall.
In the Bay Area, cyclists who pledge to cycle to work, school, transit, errands, or play in May are eligible for special prizes.
Why Bike to Work?
The annual Bike to Work Day event is held statewide to encourage bicycling as a non-polluting and healthy commute option. Bike to Work Day is part of the City of Oakland’s strategy to promote cycling to provide affordable transportation, improve public health, and fight global warming. Besides being fun, biking to work is good for your health and for the environment.
- If every person living within 5 miles of their workplace pedaled to their job on Bike to Work Day, more than 60,000 vehicles would be off the road, reducing tailpipe emissions by more than 150,000 pounds.
- Twelve bicycles can fit in the space needed to park a single car freeing up parking spaces.
- Bicycling to work is a great way to get a little bit of exercise everyday.
- With gas prices rising and unlikely to decline in the long term, bicycling makes more financial sense than ever; a bike’s annual operating cost is estimated to be $120 (vs. $5,000-12,000 for a car).
- The well-documented obesity epidemic contributes to heart disease, cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes, which, together, constitute 40% of the leading causes of death in Oakland.
- For short trips, bicycling is an important tool to combat global warming: up to 70% of emissions from a 10-mile trip occur within the first mile. In the Bay Area, 43% of trips are two miles or less. For longer trips, bicycles can be successfully combined with transit. According to Oakland’s recently adopted Bicycle Master Plan, 85% of Oakland residents live within two miles of a major transit station.
Previous Years
Bike to Work Day 2009
The City of Oakland's 16th annual Bike to Work Day was a great success, drawing at least 664 cyclists (counted by the number of "I biked to work" stickers given out). This is a 33% increase over the number of cyclists that participated in 2008. Alameda County energizer stations showed a 44% increase over the number of 2008 cyclists with over 9,600 cyclists riding on Bike to Work Day!
See slideshows:
- by Transportation Services Division engineer (and photographer) Darian Avelino
- on the East Bay Bicycle Coalition's Flickr page (various photographers)
- by photographer Howard Neal
- on 511.org's Bicycling pages
Bike to Work Day 2008
Oakland's 15th Annual Bike to Work Day was Thursday, May 15, 2008. An estimated 500+ cyclists celebrated 15 straight years of pancakes, prizes and all-day valet bike parking at Oakland City Hall. Festivities were a collaboration between the City of Oakland, East Bay Bicycle Coalition, and local sponsoring businesses. See:
- BTWD 2008 slideshow
- photos from volunteer Alan Hollie
- photos from 511.org
- post-event article in Oakland Tribune
Bike to Work Day 2007
In 2007, Oakland's 14th Annual Bike to Work Day on May 17 broke another record, attracting 459 bicyclists, 39% more than in 2006. See Photo Gallery from 2007.
Bike to Work Day 2006
In 2006, Oakland's 13th Annual Bike to Work Day was held on May 18. A record 330+ cyclists participated. See a Photo Gallery from the event. Below is the logo from 2006, designed by internationally known cartoonist, Andy Singer.