Remember when you were a kid and you rode your bike all over your neighborhood? Or when your mom let you walk to your best friend’s house by yourself? What a great feeling to be independent, outside, and just cruising along at your own pace! Well, who wants to sit behind the wheel being aggravated by traffic when you can be chatting with your new vanpool friends or biking along the greenbelt on a sunny spring day?
ACHD Commuteride’s annual May In Motion is an opportunity to connect with your inner child once again. Each spring, Ada County residents are invited to leave their cars at home and venture out using other modes of transportation. It’s fun, great for our planet, and an adventure.
May in Motion aims to encourage businesses to champion green commuting for their employees. There are options like carpooling, taking the bus, walking, biking, or working from home one day a week. It also targets employees so they have more information to make a different transportation choice besides always driving a motor vehicle to and from work, school, or errands.
Think you can’t make a difference? Think again! Since I started tracking my bike commutes this month, I’ve saved 8 lbs of carbon emissions, $6 in gas, and I’ve burned 400 calories. And that is from just the first three days. I can’t wait to see how things look at the end of the month.
Another added bonus to May in Motion is the sense of community you get when you aren’t isolated in a motor vehicle. To get a real flavor of how fulfilling this is, stop by one of the station locations on Friday, May 16, 7-9am. Bike To Work Day is a time to celebrate your new endeavors with other bike commuters. I love to check out other peoples’ bikes. I’ve added a beautiful bell to my bike, some snazzy bags, and my most recent purchase is a coffee cup holder—all things I saw on fellow commuters’ bikes. I look forward to seeing what’s new in bike gear and clothing to make my commute more comfortable while chatting with other commuters and sipping on coffee.
So give it a try this May. It’s not too late to sign up and there is the annual Awards Luncheon on June 26th at JUMP for participants. This event always features a great speaker, delicious food, and you can say hello to friends, old and new.