Berkeley Spin on Bike to Work Day

Thursday is the 20th annual Bike to Work Day, when many Bay Area communities host Energizer Stations and special events to support bicycling as an alternative mode of transportation.

Berkeley will feature not only a large number of Energizer Stations around the city and Bike to School stations and events at local schools but also special observances, like a ribbon cutting for the newly inaugurated West Street Pathway, a dedicated bicycle-pedestrian path along the old Sante Fe right-of-way that extends the bike-friendly route of the Ohlone Greenway from Cedar-Rose Park in North Berkeley to many destinations in the city.

And if you're riding around town early in the morning, you may catch Mayor Tom Bates pedaling from The Berkeley School at 1310 University Avenue around 8 a.m., when the West Street Pathway will be celebrated, to the North Berkeley BART station, where he's expected to arrive around 8:30 a.m. for a press event, according to Cynthia Armour, Bike to Work Day coordinator for the East Bay Bicycle Coalition.

The East Bay Bicycle Coalition organized the first Bike to Work Day in 1994.

Other members of the Berkeley City Council will be joining the morning ride with Bates organized by Dave Campbell from East Bay Bicycle Coalition, according to city spokeswoman Pamela Embry.

The city will also be donating funds to support biking in Berkeley and also providing bike-route maps for giveaway bags that will handed out Thursday, Embry said.

Cyclists who'd like to replenish their burnt calories with pancakes can head over to the Berkeley Bike Station at 2208 Shattuck Ave. near the Downtown Berkeley BART station between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m., Armour said. 

A map of the Energizer Stations and Bike to School events in Berkeley and other East Bay communities can be found on the East Bay Bicycle Coaltion website. The green bicyclist icon represents an Energizer Station, and the yellow sun represents a Bike to School station or event. Clicking on the icon will show details of that particular station's activities or offerings.

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