Another Bike to Work day

Bike to Work Day in Silicon Valley was May 10, and by the numbers it was a success with over 44,000 participants (a new record). I bike in early, but even so I saw noticeably more people than usual (and a passed a couple of “bike trains” of people biking together). But there didn’t seem to be a lot more people when I left work; I wonder if all of the bike commuters left early? Or late? Or perhaps they were all attending one of several “bike away from work” parties.

IBM and Samsung never did much in the way of swag for BTWD; a frisbee or cheap plastic sunglasses was about the limit. Google had a small celebration for participants, with amusing Google BTWD 2018 socks (I’m sure they’ll be a collector’s item in the future). Granted the free food would have been more impressive if, you know, the food weren’t always free.

I enjoy participating in BTWD, but I’ll confess it doesn’t feel nearly as epic as when I would bike down to IBM Research’s Almaden lab and surmount the hill at the end. That was an impressive 25 mile trek. Nowadays it’s just my usual 5 mile ride. Still, I’m much rather have a low-key BTWD that blends into my daily commute, rather than an impressive ride that’s very much the exception rather than the rule.