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Written by By Morgan Kriz
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Tuesday, 13 May 2008 |
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 Lake Tahoe Bike to Work Week Challenge has begun. This year the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, the TRPA and other Basin agencies are challenging Lake Tahoe commuters to double their miles from last year (a 2008 goal of 14,000 miles). Bike to Work Week started Monday, May 12 and will continue through Friday, May 16.
Bike to Work Month promotes a healthy, environmentally friendly commute to work, gets basin residents out of their cars and reduces traffic. Encouraging bicycling is good for your business. Employees and patrons arrive in a good mood, parking needs are reduced, and our community is a friendly place with many people out on bikes. Team up with your co-workers to make the challenge easy and fun or sign up as an individual rider, walkers can sign up too by visiting www.tahoebike.org, under “Advocacy Spotlight.” Each day you log rides your name will be entered into a drawing for great prizes donated by local businesses. This year employee teams will have several different categories to challenge each other in, including most rides to work, highest percentage of employees riding, most elevation gained per employee, etc.
For Incline resident Chris Korinek, he tries to ride his bike to work at least once a week when the roads are clear. He plans to start biking to work this week in celebration of Bike to Work Week, because it is a great “motivation factor.”
Korinek’s commute to work is 3.6 miles. Catch is, he lives at the top of a large inclined hill. While he can cruise down the hill in the morning (it is faster to ride his bike than to drive), it takes him four-times longer to get home, and it is all uphill. Chris and his family moved from San Jose, Calif. more than 14 years-ago and he recalls commuting in the city a challenge.
“I felt like I survived the ride every time because of all the traffic. It is much calmer up here and it is fun to ride to work.”
Even though he knows he is saving money on gas when he rides his bike to work, that is not his motivating factor.
“I count it as a workout,” he said. “For me it is more to get into shape. If I dedicate one day a week to biking, I feel a difference after a few weeks.
Chris suggests to those thinking about commuting to work on a bike to “try and set aside one-day a week to dedicate riding a bike to work. Stick to that for a month, and then another month, to ease your way into it.”
 Many Tahoe and Truckee restaurants and coffee shops are encouraging commuters to bike to work with some special incentives:
• Starbucks Coffee in the Village at Northstar is an official Bike to Work Week Coffee Stop. From May 12 -16, if you have your bike or have on bike gear, you can receive one free tall beverage and pastry of your choice between 7 and 10:30 a.m.
• On Friday, May 16 from 6:30 to 10 a.m. The Incline Village Recreation Center will have free coffee, juice, muffins, etc. for riders and a shirt for a raffle drawing/prize.
• Raley’s in Incline Village, offers free coffee for riders all week, from 6 to 10 a.m.
• Coffee Stops (make sure you show your bike helmet to qualify for Challenge coffee benefits)
• Java Hut (Free espresso for riders all day, every day of Bike to Work Week for riders)
• Art’s Coffeehouse in Incline Village will offer free 12 oz drip coffee or $1 off espresso drinks for bikers all day, every day of Bike to Work Week. Open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 May 2008 )
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