Early Registration For Bike To Work Day Now Open: Montgomery Co.

BETHESDA, MD — Early registration for the Washington, D.C. area's 20th Annual Bike to Work Day event is now open, with the first 15,000 people to register and participate receiving a free t-shirt.

The Bike to Work Day event, which will take place on Friday, May 21, encourages bicycling as a healthy and enjoyable form of transportation to work. This year's event has a new feature to make sure people working from home in Montgomery County and elsewhere in the D.C. metro area can participate. The event is sponsored by Commuter Connections and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.

The organizers are encouraging telecommuting registrants to bike to a local pit stop early in the day for a free t-shirt and then cycle back home to start the workday.

"We're very grateful to our continuing and new sponsors who help make these events stronger every year — and especially this year," Nicholas Ramfos, director of Commuter Connections, said. "We hope this year's Bike to Work Day event will provide the region with an opportunity for all residents — including essential workers and telecommuters — to reconnect with bicycling as a form of commuting, exercise, and as a way to encourage mental well-being."

There will be more than 100 pit stops in the region.

All pit stop locations will be following safety measures in compliance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to ensure participants and sponsors remain safe on the day of the event.

Participants will select a check-in time at a pit stop to avoid over-crowding. The time slots will be staggered to allow for no more than 25 to 30 bicyclists per half an hour.

Bicyclists should visit the Find Your Pit Stop map to plan their route.

The pit stops in Montgomery County include:

• Montrose Crossing - North Bethesda
• Rockville Town Square
• Gaithersburg - Olde Towne