June 25, 2018 by Mulberry Maids
Summer is here, and hopefully that means jumping on your bike to ride to work! Fort Collins and Loveland are both hosting their annual summer bike to work day festivities this Wednesday, June 27th, featuring numerous morning breakfast and afternoon lunch stations put on by local businesses. The 50+ Fort Collins stations are open from 6:30 am to 9:30 am, while the 19 Loveland breakfast stations are open from 6:30 am to 8:30 am, and 7 afternoon stations from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Fort Collins is featuring an afterwork bike to work day celebration at Intersect Brewing with food trucks, music, and of course local brews.
For more information, check out the City of Fort Collins bike to work day website complete with maps here, and check out the Loveland food station map here.
While bike to work day is a great time to get out on your bike, you can strive to make more of your days a bike to work day. Read on for 5 tips to help get you into a bike commuting routine.
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- Focus on a doable distance: If you have a long commute, you can try to drive a portion of it, and bike the rest. Trying to do too much initially usually sets people up for failure.
- Focus on 1 day of bike commuting per week: Don’t try to totally change your routine, just ease into it. If the commute is going well, gradually try to add in more days of bike commuting to your week.
- Be visible: This is especially important when you are riding during morning and afternoon rush hour, when the streets are busy and you can easily get lost in the shuffle. Wear bright colors, and of course always wear your helmet!
- Have separate work clothes at work: Instead of trying to haul all of your clothes with you, start out by bringing an extra set of clothes to your office the day before you plan on riding. You will be much more comfortable riding, and will have clean dry clothes ready for you at work. If you work has a shower, bring a towel and soap to get cleaned up. If not, figure out how best you can get cleaned up after your ride. You will feel much more comfortable throughout your day, and more likely to keep up the riding to work habit.
- Learn basic bike maintenance: Carry the proper tools for basic maintenance, including flat tire repair. Biking to work can be extremely efficient and fun, but proper maintenance is needed to assure you make it into work on time.