Bike Friendly Neighbors
Check out how IRD sets the standard for bike-friendly neighbors. BikeArlington and our sister program, Arlington Transportation Partners, can help your business be bike-friendly and apply for official Bicycle Friendly Business status.
A month ago, we at BikeArlington were invited to the International Relief and Development (IRD) offices, a stone’s throw from our office in Rosslyn, for an exclusive "Biker’s Breakfast" to not only mingle with fellow bikers, but also to share how we can help them encourage more employees to bike to work. Delighted to join them, we packed our Bicycle Friendly Business kit and rode the half mile over to talk bikes.
How IRD bikes to work together
We were greeted by about 20 IRD employees and a lavish breakfast perfect for refueling us after our commute in to work. We learned a lot about each of the riders that day and were really impressed with how dedicated they were to riding their bikes. There were several employees whose commute topped our own round trip commute combined. One employee rides over 20 miles ONE WAY to get to work — now that is dedication! Another employee enjoys riding Capital Bikeshare around the city for fun, purposely looking to ride as many miles as possible in a 30 minute period. That’s quite a workout considering those bikes weigh roughly 50 pounds!
We found out that one of their employees was responsible for convincing several of the bike commuters that joined us that day to start biking to work. IRD is lucky to have a bike ambassador on staff who makes it her personal mission to open her colleagues’ eyes to the beauty of the bike. BikeArlington will be lending the bike ambassador a helping hand this fall and will put on an educational bicycle seminar for the employees who don’t currently ride to work.
Applying for Bicycle Friendly Business status
IRD has applied for Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) status, and is waiting for the League of American Bicyclists to send them some good news. They definitely provide great facilities and resources for their bike commuters including a locker room with a shower, bike parking in their offices, they have a bike ambassador on staff, and they provide a wonderful incentive to ride in at least one day a week with a "Biker’s Breakfast" every Friday. We are cheering for them in the hopes that they will get designated as a BFB. It’s always nice to know who your bike friendly neighbors are!
Do you have a great commuting story? We want to hear from you. Email info@bikearlington.com.
Sam Kittner/Kittner.com
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