There are lots of excuses not to ride your bike to work, and Jim Gascoigne, the enthusiastic president of Bay State Bike Week, has heard them all: It's too cold, it's too hot, it's unsafe, there's too much traffic.
But Gascoigne, 44, doesn't let any of that stop him. He commutes by bike from Arlington to Kendall Square and has found it's actually the fastest way to go: The trip takes 40 minutes by T, 35 minutes by car, and 30 minutes by bike.
Gascoigne hopes the practice will catch on during Bay State Bike Week's 50,000 Mile Commuter Challenge, which challenges state residents to collectively ride 50,000 miles during the week of May 12-18.
"It's all about behavior change," Gascoigne says. "Try it out six or seven times."
Gascoigne starts his commute by walking his 5-year-old daughter to school, bike in tow, then he hops on the bike path. A quick shower and he's ready for work as the executive director of the Charles River Transportation Management Association, which, not surprisingly, promotes alternatives to commuting by car.
"I used to bike to school with Will [his son, now age 9]," he says. "I enjoyed it because we were both getting exercise and we had a much better experience than driving in the car with the stereo on."
It's a great time of year to try biking to work, but cold temperatures shouldn't scare people away, either. David Wean, 49, who commutes 8 miles by mountain bike between Roslindale and his job at John Hancock Financial in downtown Boston, started riding on nice days and slowly learned to ride in all conditions.
"There are no bad weather days," he says, "only inappropriate clothing choices."
To sign up for the 50,000 Mile Commuter Challenge, visit baystatebikeweek.org.
[Harriet L. Blake]
