A veritable deluge of rain wasn’t enough to stop Bike to Work Day enthusiasts from cycling in to the DowntownDC BID’s pitstop at Freedom Plaza Friday morning, which was attended by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Acting U.S. Surgeon General Rear Admiral Boris D. Lushniak and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Interim Director Matt Brown.
Lushniak, sporting cycling gear, a windbreaker and goggles, stood in the rain to deliver an impassioned speech on biking to work to the crowd of damp but enthusiastic attendees.
(**Did you register but were unable to pick up your free t-shirt? See info below)
Lushniak explained that Bike to Work Day encourages participants to be healthy from a physical, mental and social well-being, “the complete definition of health” as defined by the World Health Organization.
“We’re here to unify with all of you… to celebrate Bike to Work Day,” Lushniak said. He said he hopes to communicate that Bike to Work Day is “not just great for the environment, it’s not just great for you as a person, but it’s great for our country.”
Foxx took time Friday to express the U.S. Department of Transportation’s support for Bike to Work Day and the ideas it promotes and Brown noted that he’s been biking to work ever since he participated in Bike to Work Day in 2008.
Over 15,000 cyclists pre-registered to participate in Bike to Work Day in the D.C. metro region. Significant rain appeared to severely diminish the number of those who attended, but many of the 79 local pitstops still reported activity.
At Freedom Plaza, about 75 bicyclists stopped by throughout the two-hour event. Attendees gathered near one of many tents set up by sponsors to get their bikes tuned up for free from BicycleSPACE, indulge in hot coffee from Corner Bakery, get their bikes parked by Two Wheel Bike Valet and more.
Others took refuge from the rain in a parked DC Circulator bus, on site to allow cyclists to practice loading and unloading their bikes from the bus’s front bike rack. The bus was facilitated by goDCgo.
The DowntownDC BID and the DowntownDC ecoDistrict are proud supporters of Bike to Work Day and biking overall as a sustainable form of transportation that helps support the BID’s Healthy Communities initiative.
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**The BID is partnering with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) to provide a central t-shirt pickup location for Freedom Plaza pitstop registrants at WABA’s Tour de Fat bicycling festival. Stop by this event at Yards Park between 10am-5pm on Saturday, May 31 to pick up your shirt and take advantage of this free festival.