Bicycling is a great way to travel to work, for shopping and for recreation. Bicycling has many benefits: improved health and fitness, money savings, reduced traffic congestion and improved air quality. Commuting by bike and recreational bike riding are safe, low-impact, aerobic activities for Americans of all ages. A 150-pound cyclist burns 410 calories while pedaling 12 miles in an hour-almost the equivalent calories of a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder®. A 200-pound cyclist burns 546 calories while going 12 miles per hour-almost the equivalent of a Big Mac®. With gasoline hovering around $4.00 per gallon riding a bike to work can save you a lot of green. According to the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, 25 percent of all trips are made within a mile of the home, 40 percent of all trips are within two miles of the home, and 50 percent of the working population commutes five miles or less to work. Yet more than 82 percent of trips five miles or less are made by personal motor vehicle. Biking these short distances reduces traffic congestion and lowers carbon emissions.

Rick Holt, aka Bikedude, mixes in biking to work as part of his weekly commute options. He bikes to the George Mason University campus in Fairfax from Bristow and then back (20 miles each way) or bikes to the Prince William campus (4 miles), takes the shuttle to Fairfax campus and then rides home in the evening. His 20 mile ride takes two hours but he doesn’t mind as he saves money by not driving, lowers his carbon emissions and gets two hours of exercise at the same time. Holt enjoys his biking riding and is always encouraging others to try this great opportunity for exercise and sustainable travel.

Holt, an employee at George Mason University and a graduate student in Sport and Recreation Studies, is focused on efforts promoting physical activity, specifically bicycling. As a member of Prince William Trails and Steams Coalition he is promoting the annual Metro DC Bike to Work Day, which will take place on Friday, May 18.

Bike to Work Day has been held annually in the Washington metropolitan region with a main rallying point or Pit Stop in downtown DC. This event has been coordinated by the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA) for over a decade. In September 2000, the Commuter Connections program as a part of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments partnered with WABA to form a regional Bike To Work Day 2001 Steering Committee to examine the feasibility of adding additional Bike To Work Day Pit Stops or rallying points throughout the region, thus creating a larger awareness of using cycling to work as a viable commuting alternative. Over 10,000 bicyclists registered to participate in the 2011 event, visiting one of the forty-nine regional pit stops.

Prince William Trails and Streams Coalition and Prince William County hosted Bike to Work Day pit stops for the second time in May 2011 at six different locations across the county, in the Town of Haymarket and the City of Manassas. One new pit stop will be added this year at the Woodbridge VRE station. Please contact Rick Holt, rholt.pwc@gmail.com, to find out how you can get involved.

Each pit stop will offer a local mix of food, drinks, entertainment, dynamic speakers and chances to win bicycles and other sweet prizes. Please be sure to register with your pit stop location to be eligible for prizes and a Bike to Work Day t-shirt. Registration is available at http://www.biketoworkmetrodc.org/.

Pictures of the race are posted here and here.

On Saturday, December 3, runners enjoyed the winter like weather running in the inaugural Broad Run Trail 5 Mile Jingle Bell Run.  Over 75 runners, and walkers, registered for the new race which was created to highlight the Broad Run Linear Trail.  It was a crisp morning with the temperature hovering around the 35F mark.  For many of the runners this was the first time they had run a race on a trail, or raced in a 5 mile event.

As the runners started off on their journey they created a joyful holiday sound with jingle bells announcing their presence along the Broad Run trail, through the woods and on to the finish line at Victory Lakes Elementary School.   Feedback from the runners, and walkers, was extremely positive with many commenting on the wonderful sights experienced along the trail.  Several people had the opportunity to observe an eagle flying over the trail area.

Everyone was a winner in the Jingle Bell 5 Miler.  Haben Zemichael was the overall winner and first place in the women’s division overall went to Emily Ferguson.  We want to thank The Running Store and Dick’s Sporting Goods for supporting the race with wonderful prizes for the overall and age group winners.  Of course everyone walked away something from the race to include a great experience on the trail, a water bottle from the Park Authority and jingle bells that can be used for the holiday season.

The Broad Run Linear Trail is one of several trail projects being worked on by volunteers from Prince William Trails and Streams Coalition (PWTSC) with support from the Prince William County Park Authority.  Currently the trail runs from the vicinity of Victory Lakes Elementary along the Broad Run up to the Kingsbrooke sub-division.  The trail will eventually run from behind the Target on Route 28 to Glenkirk Road near Lake Manassas which is approximately 7.5 miles. In the next couple of months two new bridges will be built along the trail near Victory Lakes to create easier access to the trail for trail users.  Information concerning PWTSC can be found at http://www.pwtsc.org.

What a great day to get outside and work on a trail.  On Saturday, October 2, volunteers from PWTSC, George Mason University and local high schools came together to work on the Piedmont Trail.  The Piedmont Trail is located on the Prince William campus of George Mason University and was created in September 2009 by volunteers from the same groups that participated in this workday.

Volunteers worked from 9am-1pm moving and spreading mulch and pit fine out along the trail to repair damage created by the heavy snow early in the year and recent heavy rain.  We used our recently donated Gator to speed up the process of transporting mulch and tools to volunteers so that they could spend more time working on the trail.

Dan Nellis from Mason used a tractor and a Bobcat to preposition mulch and pit fine along the trail in preparation for the workday.  Susan Johnson, Director of the EDGE course at Mason, walked the trail with me on the Friday prior to the workday to coordinate the effort and also participated in the workday spreading pit fine on the trail.  Charvis Campbell from Mason University Life provided food and refreshments for the volunteers and also participated in spreading mulch on the trail.

This workday was a great example of PWTSC working with other organizations in Prince William County to create trails and streams access for the community.  Thank you to all of the members of PWTSC for your trails and streams focus, especially those of you who were able to take time this weekend to participate in this event.