Bike Month is coming to an end. Many companies participated in the Bike to Work Challenge to see how many miles their employees could log from May 1 to 22 this year. Presented by Brilliant Bicycle Company, with further sponsorship by Green Mountain Energy, In the Raw, REI, and Brooklyn Brewery among many others, the competition encouraged people to get out after the long winter and get some exercise. Friday, May 29, Transportation Alternatives is hosting their Bike Home from Work Party in DUMBO from 6-10pm to hand out awards for the challenge and gush about all-things-bike.
If you take a look at the Transportation Alternatives Bike Month page, you can see a running tally of the total riders, workplaces, miles logged, and calories burned. 2277 riders from 593 companies are getting busy on the roads and logging their trips. To keep it fair, they’ve separated workplaces into size groups, from those with only 1-4 employees to those with 5,000 or more. Click on a size grouping to see the companies, the number of employees participating, and their commute rate (some folks take days off from using the pedals). Winners will be picked from each size category and sponsors will shower them with prizes from KIND, Fleischer’s Meats, REI, Siggi’s Icelandic Yogurt, Irving Farm Coffee Roasters, and Gotham Bike Tours.
As for the party, this is the third annual Bike Home from Work event held at the Pearl Street Triangle. The event is free and there will be more than 50 vendors offering everything from T-shirts for sale to a complimentary glow-in-the-dark DIY button press. Card-carrying T.A. members will get discounts on snacks, cycling accessories, and fashionable goods. Expect a beer garden under the Manhattan Bridge featuring Brooklyn Brewery and Coney Island Brewing Company. There’ll also be a light show projected on the underside of the arch. The nine teams and five individual winners of the Bike to Work Challenge will get their name in lights (probably literally) above the Manhattan Bridge arch as soon as the sun goes down. There’s even complimentary bike valet provided by Warner Music Group (first come, first served). So if you like biking or are thinking about getting into it, or just want to have a good time under the stars, come on down to Water Street between Pearl Street and Anchorage Place and check it out.
