Arlington’s annual Bike to Work Day is back and coming up next month.
Set for Friday, May 21, Arlington and the entire D.C. region will be participating in the 20th anniversary of this event.
Organizers are encouraging all, including those heading back to work at the office and those still telecommuting, to jump on their bike and ride. The goal is teach bike safety and to encourage bike commuting becoming a daily habit.
In Arlington, there will be seven pit stops — from Columbia Pike to Lee Highway — where bicyclists can pick up their free Bike to Work Day t-shirts in both the morning and afternoon.
Organizers are asking everyone to pre-register and only to attend one pit stop due to COVID-19 safety guidelines.
The pit stops are being sponsored by a number of community organizations including BikeArlington, National Park Service, Lee Highway Alliance, and the National Landing BID.
In most years, “Bike to Work Day” is a festive one where hundreds of bikers from across the county meet up at the pit stops, celebrate, and learn about bike safety before cycling off.
This year, however, is a bit different as expected. Organizers are asking folks to only briefly pause at the pit stops, keep their masks on the entire time while there, and to refrain from eating and drinking.
Additionally, the popular bike conveys are not happening this year either.
With many folks still working from home and not from the office, organizers are still encouraging telecommuters to take a short break, bike to their local “pit stop,” grab a t-shirt, and head back home to work.
There was a winter version of the event back on February 12, but cyclists had to deal with not-so-pleasant weather.