White Marsh IKEA Hosting 3rd Bike To Work Finish Line

Sustainability. Fitness. Love of the outdoors. Clean commuting. Free breakfast. A good excuse to go into work late on a Friday morning. Bicycle safety awareness. All are solid reasons to celebrate the annual Bike To Work Day hosted by IKEA in White Marsh.

For three years now, IKEA has supported the nationwide cause, promoted locallly by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.

Read:

• Bike to Work With Patch at White Marsh IKEA

"It's just about being a good community partner," Bill Meiswinkel, a spokesman for IKEA, said. IKEA latched on to the Bike To Work Day initiative after the company gave 12,000 bikes to all of its employees as a holiday gift in December 2010, Meiswinkel said.

About eight IKEA employees will participate in the 3.5 mile bike ride Friday from the Community College of Baltimore County Essex back to their work place. IKEA reached out to neighboring White Marsh businesses for participants, as well.

"It's a small group but it is growing," Meiswinkel said.

More community members are expected to sign up by the Wednesday deadline. (Hit the jump to find the link where you can register.)

One community member, or rather, community leaders excited for the ride is Baltimore County Councilman David Marks who has long been a champion of bike riders both city and trail.

"It's a nice effort," Marks said. "We should be encouraging cycling as a way of getting physical fitness and it promotes an appreciation of the outdoors. The more bikes we have on the road, the less cars there are."

Marks plans to introduce legislation to the Baltimore County Council to mandate bicycle parking in Towson as the area undergoes heavy commercial redevelopment.

"I've been very active on these issues," Marks said. "One of my first bills created the Baltimore County Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee, and I have worked for more tails such as the one being built at Indian Rock Park. 

The trail is expected to be completed by October, Marks said.

Russ Ulrich, a spokesman for the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, said he believes Bike To Work Day has had an impact on similar bike safety and pro-cyclist legislation nationally.

"We'd like to see it grow into something like bike to work as much as possible," Ulrich said. " I think Bike To Work Day has really sparked a lot of community planning...There are in the city and the county many roads and highways that are very safe for cyclists."

Bike To Work Day began with five riders hunkering down at the Inner Harbor back in 1997.

"Maryland was a little slow to adopt," Ulrich said.

The day has since grown to attract about 1,200 riders across the state in 2012.

"But we always have folks to come up unregistered," he added.

At its core, Bike To Work Day is a way to show bike riding should be considered a "legitimate means of transportation," Ulrich said. And with that comes the necessity for cyclist safety awareness.

"People need to now that bicyclist have a right to the road," Ulrich said.

The convoy will depart from CCBC Essex from King Avenue at 8:30 a.m. Cyclist will be treated to a complimentary breakfast at IKEA among other freebies.

The deadline to sign up is noon Wednesday. Interested cyclists can sign up here.

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