As a passionate biker, I always look forward to this time of year when Symantec Headquarters employees join thousands across the nation to participate in The League of American Bicyclists National Bike Month.
Bike to Work Day and Month has become a hugely popular nationwide event to celebrate the many benefits of bike transportation. As featured in this great Bike to Work Day PSA, ‘Why do you Ride’, biking to work has numerous benefits for your health, your wallet and the environment. For example, for every one mile pedaled rather than driven, approximately one pound of CO² is saved, and on a round-trip commute of 10 miles, bicyclists save around $10 daily.
Last year as part of our Summer Bike to Work Contest, Symantec employees rode 12,500 miles equating to a savings of nearly $2,000 in gas.
Thanks to local and national events like Bike to Work Day, the number of bike commuters is on the rise; cities including Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and Denver have more than doubled their bike commuter share since 2000. This year, Silicon Valley Bike Coalition saw a 23 percent increase in participants compared to last year.
The Green Team invites you to dust off your bike and leave your car parked at home this summer by taking part in Symantec’s Bike to Work initiatives:
Bike to Work Day
On Friday, May 9th – the San Francisco Bay Area’s Bike to Work Day – Symantec, in partnership with the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition, held an Engerizer station for Bike to Work Day riders in Mountain View. The station featured various goodies donated by the Symantec Cafe and special give-aways from the marketing team. The favorite was the Santa Clara Bikeways Map, showing Santa Clara County bike paths and roads which are bicycle friendly. 375 riders passed our station, 140 stopped in, and 45 of those Symantec employees!
Silicon Valley Bike Competition
Sign up as a Symantec team member for the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition’s Company Bike Challenge. This competition is a friendly cycling competition among companies in the Bay Area, and it runs throughout the month of May.
The top companies and top riders will be chosen and awarded prizes at the end of May – help us be one of these!! We’ll also be awarding prizes to our own top riders!
Sign up at: http://teambikechallenge.com/welcome and choose “Symantec Corporation” from the pull-down menu.
Summer Bike to Work Contest
Additionally, employees should keep pedaling throughout the summer and participate in Symantec’s internal Bike to Work Contest. Ride your bike to work between June 1 and August 31, and record your miles at http://sweden.mvw.spt.symantec.com/btwd/ website.
The top riders will receive great prizes like a Symantec biking jersey!
A huge thank you to all our volunteers and executive sponsors for supporting our Bike to Work Day efforts!
Anand Raj Vengadassalam is a Symantec technical support engineer, and member of the Symantec Mountain View Green Team.