| Biking:
Another Way to Travel |
By Jackie Allder
Observer Staff Writer |
| Reston residents will hit the streets May 18, biking along
the Washington and Old Dominion and dozens of other local
trails as part of the annual Bike to Work Day celebration.
Organized in part by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association,
Bike to Work Day promotes cycling as an alternative to driving.
|
| "It's certainly a healthy thing to do, and at $3 per
gallon for gas, there's some economical reasons as well,"
said Larry Butler, director of parks and recreation for Reston
Association. |
| Butler, who lives in the Franklin Farm area, said he bikes
to work about two to three times a week, depending on his
work schedule. His commute is about seven miles each way,
and it takes him about 20 to 25 minutes one-way. |
| "Depending on when I leave my house, perhaps even when
I go home, it's as fast as driving," he said. |
| Butler said he commutes year-round, and the only time he
avoids the trails is during wintry weather. "As long
as there's no ice or really deep snow, then I'll try to ride,"
he said. |
| In Reston, he said, there are more than 55 miles of paved
pathways, so nearly every home is connected with a paved trail.
"We're pretty well equipped to help people or to facilitate
biking to work," he said. |
| Bruce Wright, chairman of the Fairfax Advocates for Better
Bicycling and a member of WABA, also said he bikes to work
daily. His commute from Reston to Vienna takes about 20 to
25 minutes and goes along roads and some trails for about
six miles. |
| "I think it's a real viable means of getting around,
and it's green," Wright said. |
| The majority of Wright's ride to work is along roads, and
Wright said he thinks roads are generally the safest and most
direct ways to travel. When biking on roads, he said, "we
have the same responsibility and rights as motorists on the
road, and so we use the same hand signals for turning and
positioning ourselves on the road, as motorists would."
And cyclists "always ride with traffic," he said. |
| Bike to Work Day features early morning pits stops throughout
the region, including one at the Reston Town Center along
the W&OD trail. At the town center, there will be food, prizes
and entertainment from 6:30 to 9 a.m. |
| About 300 people typically stop by the Reston Town Center
pit stop, according to Butler. "It's quite an impressive
display of non-automobile commuting traffic," he said.
|
| There will be five other pit stops in Fairfax County, two
of which are sponsored by the county. The Fairfax County Board
of Supervisors officially declared May 18 Bike to Work Day.
|
| Those stops are at Fairfax Corner from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m.;
the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station from 6:30 to 8:30
a.m.; Whole Foods in Vienna, at 143 Maple Avenue East, from
6:30 to 8:30 a.m.; University Mall in Fairfax, at the intersection
of Braddock Road and Route 123, from 6 to 10 a.m.; and Booz
Allen Hamilton in Tysons Corner, at 8283 Greensboro Drive
in McLean, from 6:30 to 9 a.m. |
| For people who are new to biking, Butler and Wright recommend
checking out routes before hitting the trails. Wright said
people can try out their routes on the weekend, and the commute
will be just about the same during the week because cyclists
can usually ride around traffic problems. The Fairfax County
Advocates for Better Bicycling can help scout routes (www.fabb-bikes.org)
and the WABA Web site also provides additional information.
|
| Beginner and advanced cyclists are welcome to participate
in Bike to Work Day, and loaner bicycles are available at
the WABA Web site through Bike the Site. Wright said beginners
could use any bike to bike to work. "You don't have to
have a special bike," he said. But it is important to
have an all-weather bike that has fenders and lights on both
the front and rear ends, he said. |
| To register, visit www.waba.org or call 202-518-0524. |
