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Bike to Work Day 2023

Over 300 riders and volunteers participated on the Stanford and Redwood City campuses
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KIM RATCLIFF

From participants who rode just a few miles to long-distance road warriors and every distance in between, your Bike to Work Day (BTWD) commutes inspired us. Meet a few riders:  

On Bike to Work Day – or any day you ride – you’re part of the *22% of university commuters who opt to bike – not drive – to work. For almost every mile you pedal, one pound of CO2 emissions is avoided. Thanks for saving the planet with your green commute.*Stanford University Annual Commute Survey

Dale Burns
Physical Sciences Research Associate,
Doerr School of Sustainability

Dale rode Caltrain to campus in the morning, then biked home to Morgan Hill from the Stanford campus. At 65 miles, he holds the record for the longest ride this year. Caltrain is two miles from his home, so Dale commutes regularly one of two ways -- via car + train + Marguerite shuttle or bike + train. On BTWD, his objective was to spend as little time as possible on the main roads. He took a western route through Cupertino, Saratoga, and Los Gatos before jumping on McKean/Oak Glen. “The ride was great,” said Dale. “I’d never ridden Stevens Canyon Road to Cupertino or Kennedy Road between Los Gatos and San Jose. Both were fantastic.”

A cycling enthusiast and Stanford Spokes advisor, Matthew does a daily bike commute with his children. He rides 20 miles, his itinerary unfolding in what sounds like the kid drop-off version of the Twister game – put your left foot on Oak Knoll Elementary (where his son is in first grade and Matthew co-chairs the Safe Routes to Schools Committee), and your right foot at the CoHo (for a coffee and donut pitstop with his daughter), before whisking her off to preschool in Palo Alto, then back to the office. Matthew calls campus a “dreamy place to ride. Perched in our cargo bike’s front seat, my daughter is like a mascot for bike commuting," he said. "But if we want more Stanford community members to ride to work, we need to partner with neighboring municipalities to build a connected network of safe cycling infrastructure." Matthew’s BTWD highlight was meeting Ariadne Delon Scott, Stanford’s rockstar assistant director of active mobility.

Matthew Rascoff
Vice Provost for Digital Education,
Stanford University
Kim Ratcliff (left)
Communications Manager,
Stanford Transportation

Pat Lopes Harris (right)
Senior Director of Communications,
Student Affairs

After last year’s excellent adventure, Pat and Kim decided to rent the surprisingly lightweight Velotric Thunder e-bikes (which retail for $1500 with a $200 Stanford discount) from the Campus Bike Shop. Pat “loves the sense of freedom and fun that comes from biking” to campus regularly from her San Jose home. The e-bike experience did not disappoint. “I was surprised by how easy the e-bike is to operate, and how much joy it brings,” said Pat. Eventually, she hopes to have both a human-powered bike and an e-bike.“Nineteen miles flew by," added Kim. "I was much less exhausted when I got to work this year. And, once again, passing Rocko’s in Santa Clara reminded me that I still haven’t tried their ice cream tacos.”

 

Andrew Meyer, aka Sprocket Man

Ready for an e-bike adventure? The Campus Bike Shop has a large selection of standard and e-bikes available to rent or purchase. Be sure to ask for owner Andrew Meyer, who grew up at Stanford. No really, Andrew was born at Stanford Hospital and raised on campus where both of his parents work. "This is home," he said. "I love how our community revolves around the biking world, and does their part for things like Bike to Work Day and Earth Day." 

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