[Published: July 17, 2024]
Biking is so integral to life on the Farm it’s no wonder Stanford has been recognized as a four-time Platinum Level Bike Friendly university by the League of American Bicyclists. But we’re always looking for newbies. That’s why we transitioned from Bike to Work Day to a month-long “Pedal Together” celebration in May. The goal was to offer different options–bike commuting, webinars, bike tours, and workshops–so more of you could experience the joy of biking. To entice participants, a raffle was held for a sporty lime green Tern folding bike.
Meet Our Lucky Pedal Together Bike Winner
Congratulations to our raffle winner, Dr. Shannon Chan. The new Tern folding bike will come in handy for Dr. Chan, a pediatrician who commutes from San Francisco to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital via bike and Caltrain. When she arrived to claim her new bike, you’d never have guessed Dr. Chan had pulled an all-nighter. Full of energy, she said, “I can’t wait to ride my new bike back home.” After a quick tutorial on folding the bike, off she rode.
“We’re thrilled so many first-timers participated in some way, shape or form,” said Ariadne Delon Scott, Stanford’s assistant director of active mobility. “We hope Pedal Together motivated our Stanford community to consider riding a bike versus driving to work throughout the year. That way, we can increase our 22% all-time high of bike commuting to an even greater number.”
Get inspired by bike commuters who joined Pedal Together and rode to work at Stanford!
John Fahlbusch, MS ‘24, rides to work at the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove.
“I love riding along the ocean on the final stretch to work. There’s always something interesting to see. Today there were harbor seal pups hauled out on the beach in front of the library at Hopkins.”
Read more about the Hopkins Marine Station.
Ena Tablada, Student Service, Graduate School of Business, commutes 14 miles to work from Santa Clara several times a week, combining biking with Caltrain.
What does Ena love most about riding? “The fresh air in the morning and the feeling of freedom is a great sensation.”
John Leikauf, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, rides from Menlo Park to campus. Commuting by cargo bike is the best part of his day. “I drop my daughter, Nora, off at preschool which makes our ride more like 11 miles,” said John. “It's so much fun and a great way to start the day. Nora and I love seeing the beautiful landscaping and stone buildings as we pass through campus. And, instead of paying for parking and contributing to our hotter and hotter summers, I get in some exercise!”
Thank you to our biking community for participating in this year’s Pedal Together event. Ride On!
Read more about the Stanford Bike Program. Questions? E-mail:bike-information@stanford.edu.
Ariadne Delon Scott, along with sustainable transportation associate Erin Fieberling, offered two guided morning group rides in May: Palo Alto Caltrain station to Stanford, and Redwood City Caltrain station to SRWC. Ron Shalhoup, an infrastructure engineer, certainly deserved the “furthest commute” of the day. He rode 15 miles from his home in Mill Valley to the San Francisco Caltrain station. After arriving in Redwood City, he joined the station group for the ride to the office. “It’s super that Stanford Transportation offers the free Caltrain pass, and SRWC has the Rec Center to shower and bike rooms to store my bike securely,” said Ron. “No excuses not to bike to work.”
Scott also hosted several guided campus bike tours during May. “The tours were offered to visit hidden places on campus that have a connection to mobility,” she said.
“At most of the tour stops, I learned something new,” said Steve Lee, assistant dean of inclusion, diversity, and equity. “The first stop, at the development of motion pictures plaque, was particularly interesting.”
