Bike to Work Week: Are You Up to the Challenge?

Despite the South Bay's reputation as being a laid-back area, those of us who live here know that getting to and from work each day can be stressful.

There is nothing melodious about the cutthroat, "I'm already late and you're in my way" attitude of the road warriors as they head to and from the office. And they're typically still on the job while they're in the car thanks to the smart phones that keep us tethered to work no matter where we are.

But what if we could radically change that whole scenario? What if drivers could instead ride their bicycles to work?

If people were able to ride their bikes to work and then back home at the end of the day their whole world could be different. They'd get a pass from having to make and take calls during their journey, and they would be pedaling away their stress and work anxiety along the way.

It's a no-brainer that riders would get in better physical shape, in addition to  improving their mood, but they would also get something valuable yet rare:  unplugged thinking and reflecting time. 

And, of course, riders would be cutting their carbon footprints down to zero for  their work transportation, making their actions beneficial to the rest of us who wouldn't have to breathe their car's polluting exhaust.

What a wonderful world that would be…

But it's not just a fantasy, because May is National Bike Month, and this week, May 15 to May 22, is the National Bike to Work Week. People all across the country are riding their bicycles to work in weather and conditions far tougher than the perfect biking environment we have here in the South Bay.  Redondo Beach residents should be joining in.

Our new South Bay Bicycle Coalition is organizing and supporting the inaugural South Bay CEO/Celebrity Cycle to Work Challenge. 

Local business and government leaders have come together to accept the challenge pledge: to ride to work Thursday or on another day during Bike to Work Week, to encourage their employees to ride and to offer a "Celebration Station" to reward participation at their workplaces.

Councilman Steven Diels is Redondo Beach's representative in the challenge, which is no surprise because he regularly rides his bike to the solar-powered office building housing his AACOM business.  

Councilman Cliff Numark of Torrance rode to work during last year's  Bike to Work Week so he was happy to accept the challenge again. I know Manhattan Beach Councilman Wayne Powell, who is also taking on the challenge, is another regular bicycle rider and big biking  enthusiast, but I haven't seen Councilman Richard Montgomery on a bike before, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does.  Mayor Michael DiVirgilio of Hermosa Beach will be pedaling to work on behalf of his city.

On the business side, Andrea Zislis of Zislis Group (which is now adding a Shade Hotel in Redondo Beach to its  Manhattan Beach Shade Hotel) is taking on the challenge. So is Jean M. Ghianuly  of Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo and Vanessa Poster, president of the Beach Cities Health District board of directors.

For people who live or work in the South Bay it's not too late to check out the new Google Maps Bike Route feature to plan out participation in the Cycle to Work Challenge.

I won't pretend that it's always easy, practical or even safe for some people to  ride their bikes to work. However, that's exactly why we founded the SBBC--to improve conditions so more people can bike.

We believe biking to work and to school should be a viable option for everyone who lives in Redondo Beach and throughout the South Bay. Bicycle riding  should be as big a part of our lifestyle on weekdays as it is on weekends. 

There's only one way to get us there and that's to start with the first ride. 

Let me know how it goes!

====

Joe Galliani is a Torrance resident and member of the South Bay Bicycle Coalition.