Bike to Work Day
Why Bike to Work?
The annual Bike-to-Work Day is held statewide to encourage bicycling as a non-polluting and healthy commute option. It is the highlight of the California Bike Commute Week and National Bike Month. Here in Oakland, Bike-to-Work Day is part of the City's strategy to promote cycling as affordable transportation, to improve public health, and to stop global warming.
Besides being fun, biking to work is good for your health and for the environment. Take a look at all the benefits of riding a bike!
- Reduce air pollution: In the Bay Area, 43% of all car trips are two miles or shorter. For short trips, bicycling is an important tool to reduce air pollution: up to 70% of emissions from a 10-mile trip occur within the first mile.
- Stay healthy and fit: Bicycling to work is a great way to get exercise every day. The well-documented obesity epidemic contributes to heart disease, cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes, which together make up 40% of the leading causes of death in Oakland.
- Save money: 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 (as opposed to. $5,000-12,000 for a car).
- Ease street congestion: Twelve bicycles can fit in the space needed to park a single car.
Bike to Work Day encourages people to try the "no-pollute commute" with a variety of enticements. Thousands of bicyclists find "Energizer Stations" at strategically placed locations where they can stop, get a canvas bicycle-style bag filled with treats and bicycling information;free coffee, juice or snack; and words of encouragement. In the Bay Area, cyclists who pledge to cycle to work, school, transit, errands or play anytime during the third week of May are eligible for special prizes. Traditionally, the biggest Energizer Station in the East Bay is the annual pancake breakfast in downtown Oakland in front of City Hall.
Get Bike Commute Tips from the League of American Bicyclists, and stay tuned for information on the next Bike-to-Work Day.
This Year’s Event
Oakland’s 20th annual Bike-to-Work Day pancake breakfast, a joint project between the City of Oakland and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, was held on Thursday, May 9, 2013, 7:00-9:00 am. Hundreds of bicyclists participated. Download: flyer | press release | City Council proclamation. Thanks to all those who volunteered!
See event photos by City of Oakland Transportation Engineer Darian Avelino.
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- Pancake and coffee breakfast courtesy Rotisserie Deli, Whole Foods Market, Bruce Cost Fresh Ginger Ale, and Peet's Coffee
- All-day valet bike parking by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition
- Tabling displays by organizations, agencies, and businesses highlighting bike-focused projects, programs, and/or wares
- Free bike safety checks from Bay Area Bikes & Wheels of Justice Cyclery (all-day) with morning assistance from The Spoke Cyclery and Spokeland
- Rides downtown with Council members/staff and neighbors, coordinated by Walk Oakland ~ Bike Oakland
- Free day passes to City Center Club One
- A goody bag full of schwag including Bike Bucks, 15% discounts on parts & accessories at Oakland's awesome and generous bike shops
- Spinning vinyl by DJ Crimson
- A raffle with great prizes including:
- round-trip tickets for two to Santa Barbara on Amtrak (Grand Prize!)
- two sets of round trip-tickets for two on the Amtrak Capitol Corridor
- two month passes to Club One Oakland
- $50 gift certificate for Beer Revolution and an Olde Depot T-shirt
- $50 gift certificate and T-shirt from Olde Depot
- $50 gift certificate for Homeroom mac + cheese
- $30 gift certificate for Pacific Coast Brewing Co
- $30 gift certificate for Commonwealth Café & Public House
- Two $20 value BikeLink eLocker access cards
- A $20 value BikeLink eLocker access card and a "vintage" Bike to Work Day T-shirt
- Three passes and drink coupons to The New Parkway Theater and a "vintage" Bike to Work Day T-shirt
- Two passes and drink coupons to The New Parkway Theater and a "vintage" Bike to Work Day T-shirt
- East Bay Bicycle Coalition T-shirt and map
- San Francisco Bay Trail Shoreline Guide and a "vintage" Bike to Work Day T-shirt
- A Walk Oakland~Bike Oakland T-shirt
- Great stuff for your bike from these Oakland bike shops:
- Bay Area Bikes (light set)
- Cosmic Cycles ("seat bag with everything you will need if you break down on a long ride")
- Fruitvale Bikestation/Alameda Bicycle ($50 gift card for Alameda Bicycle)
- Hank & Frank Bikes (light set)
- Lakeview Bicycle ($100 gift certificate, $50 gift certificate, and $25 gift certificate)
- Manifesto Bicycles (Boombotix speaker, $25 gift certificate, and a bag full of other goodies)
- The Spoke Cyclery (Kinderfeets wooden push bike)
- Spokeland (one-year shop use membership $100 value)
- Tip Top Bike Shop (an Axiom Journey Bicycle Rack and two Banjo Brothers Grocery Panniers)
- Wheels of Justice Cyclery (two full bike tune ups)
Questions? contact Jennifer Stanley at bikeped@oaklandnet.com or (510) 238-3983.
- For other Bike to Work Day "energizer stations" in Oakland, go to www.ebbc.org/btwd.
- For regional events and promotions, including the Team Bike Challenge, go to www.youcanbikethere.com.
Previous Years
Bike-to-Work Day 2012
Oakland’s 19th annual Bike-to-Work Day--a joint project between the Public Work Agency and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition--was on Thursday, May 10, 2012, 7:00-9:00 am. over 600 bicyclists, including Mayor Jean Quan and several Oakland City Council members, took part. See photos by City staff and from EBBC. Thanks to all the great sponsors and volunteers that made it possible!!! The event featured:
- A pancake breakfast courtesy of The Rotisserie Deli and Whole Foods Market
- All-day valet bike parking by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition
Bike safety checks by Bay Area Bikes & Wheels of Justice Cyclery (all-day) with morning assistance from The Bikery & The Spoke Cyclery- Pedal Pools: Rides downtown with Council members/staff and neighbors, coordinated by Walk Oakland ~ Bike Oakland
- Club One City Center day passes (for showers and other delights!)
Bike Bucks, 15% discounts on parts & accessories at Oakland's awesome and generous bike shops- A raffle with great prizes:
TWO GRAND PRIZES: (1) Tern Link Uno folding bike; and (2) round-trip tickets for two to Santa Barbara on Amtrak
- Two sets of round-trip tickets for two on the Amtrak Capitol Corridor
- Two month-long memberships at City Center Club One
- A $25 gift certificate and $75 value prize bag from Manifesto Bicycles
- Two helmets from Hank & Frank Bicycles
- Three sets of passes to the Oakland Museum of California (two sets of four, one set of two)
- Two sets of passes to the Grand Lake Theater (a set of two, a set of four)
- $50 gift certificate from The Trappist
- $30 gift certificate from Beer Revolution
- $30 gift certificate from Pacific Coast Brewing Co.
- $25 gift certificate from the Commonwealth Cafe and Public House
- $25 gift certificate from Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe
- Four $20 BikeLink cards for electronic lockers (aka "eLockers") Bay Area-wide
- Three $20 gift certificates from The Noble Cafe
- Two $20 gift certificates from the MLK Cafe
- T-shirt & map from the East Bay Bicycle Coalition
- $18 value Bay Trail map packet
- $15 gift card for The City Lights Cafe
- T-shirt from Walk Oakland~Bike Oakland
Bike-to-Work Day 2011
Oakland’s 18th annual Bike-to-Work Day was held on Thursday, May 12, 2011. See event photos. Also, check out photos of EBBC's Bike Away from Work Party in Old Oakland on Streetsblog.
The event featured:
- A pancake breakfast courtesy Piedmont Grocery, The Rotisserie Deli, Tully's Coffee, & Whole Foods Market!
- All-Day Valet Bike Parking by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition
- Bike safety checks brought to you by Bay Area Bikes & Wheels of Justice Cyclery with help from The Bent Spoke and The Bikery (Cycles of Change)!
- Club One day passes (showers!)
- 15% discount coupons good at Oakland's 16 bike shops during May in the goodie bags given to cyclists!
- AC Transit bus-bike rack loading demos
- Pedal Pools: rides downtown with Council members/staff and neighbors. Coordinated by Walk Oakland Bike Oakland.
- A raffle with great prizes including round-trip tickets for two to Santa Barbara on Amtrak! Other great prizes included:
- round-trip tickets for two on the Capitol Corridor
- Club One City Center month-long memberships (2)
- BikeLink cards (10!), for electronic bicycle lockers (aka "eLockers") Bay Area-wide
- a Rickshaw Bag (donated by Bay Area Bikes)
- a complimentary bike tune-up from The Bikery
- passes to the Oakland Museum of California
- a Bay Trail map packet
- $30 gift certificate from Pacific Coast Brewing Co.
- $30 gift certificate from The Trappist
- $25 gift certificate from The Actual Cafe
- $25 gift certificate from Commonwealth Cafe and Public House
- $25 gift certificate from The Lake Chalet
- $20 gift certificate from Homeroom, mac + cheese
- T-shirt & maps from the East Bay Bicycle Coalition and from Walk Oakland Bike Oakland
Bike-to-Work Day 2010
Oakland's 17th annual Bike-to-Work Day was held at City Hall on Thursday, May 13, 2010. More than 665 bicyclists participated.
- See event photos/slideshow
- Find more photos from various contributors and energizer stations on the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition website
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
