Hi, I’m Renee. I’m the new BikeArlington Program Manager. With a title like that, I pretty much have to bike the 8.2 miles from Anacostia to Arlington. And the reality is, I enjoy it!

I am not the hard core, bike in any weather kind of girl. I bike in a dress and heels most days. I rarely ride more than 10 miles at a time, and I always have a basket with flowers on my bike. My bike is cheerful, wonderful, and I use it more than I use my car. That statement may be shocking to many, but here’s why I choose to ride a bike instead of drive a car to work.

Biking to Work Saves Money

Parking in Arlington costs on average $9 per day in a parking garage if you arrive before 9 a.m. which is very reasonable when compared to the $20/day average if arriving after 9 a.m. But $9 is still $9. If you decided to bike just one day a week, you would save $45/week or $180/ month. That’s a nice little savings that you can use towards something you really want. Think about what else you can do with that money.

Biking Makes You a Better Planner

Some days it’ll rain after work or you have a midday meeting or an after-work event. These occurrences mean you will have to plan your clothing or what you will need to bring with you to the meeting. When you bike to work, you organize your day in advance because you realize that you can’t jump in your car to get to the next destination.

You Get Your Exercise In

You could save even more money by canceling that gym membership. Riding the hills of Arlington on a bike is a great workout all by itself. And you can ride on some beautiful trails in Arlington.

An Opportunity To Try Capital Bikeshare

Perhaps you live too far away from work to bike the entire route. You can still get a bike ride in. It may make sense to drive to Metro and take Capital Bikeshare the last mile to work. Or perhaps you have a meeting a mile or two away and you don’t want to or can’t take your car out of the garage. You could grab a Capital Bikeshare bike and bike to and from your meeting. How cool is that?

Biking to work can be a great start to your day. If you haven’t tried it because you are concerned about biking on the roads, consider signing up for our City Cycling class which will help you to become more confident when riding to work.