Photos by Pamela Palma
May 22, 2023
Thousands of residents pedaled throughout the East Bay on Thursday, May 18th, 2023 after pledging to celebrate the 29th annual Bay Area Bike to Work Day. With 60 energizer stations in Alameda County, and 38 in Contra Costa County co-hosted with 511 Contra Costa, there were 98 energizer stations in total across the East Bay. These stations were made possible by the partnership of Bike East Bay and dozens of local groups. 6,000 bags were distributed across all the stations, with 16 member-specific stations.
People on bikes rolled by on popular bike commute routes, along regional trails, at BART and other transit stations, and in downtown areas around the East Bay, where they were greeted by hundreds of volunteers cheering them on by giving away coffee, snacks, and free Bike to Wherever Day bags. The day continued with a pizza party in Fremont, and an ice cream social in Concord.
Bike East Bay also teamed up with Walk Oakland Bike Oakland to host a Bike Happy Hour on Washington Street in Old Oakland last Thursday, May 18th. The event ran from 4-7pm and featured a pedal-powered DJ party by Rock The Bike, art bikes from The Crucible, demo bus bike racks from AC Transit, and the chance to chat one-on-one with advocates.
The week before, the region celebrated Bike to School Day in partnership with the Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools program. 90 schools registered in total, and over 1,500 kids biked to school; over 300 kids skateboarded or scooter-ed to school. At least 1 school from all 15 districts in Alameda County participated.
Bike to Work & Wherever Day is made possible by our sponsors. Bike East Bay also thanks our community, government, education, and business partners for hosting Energizer Stations and encouraging thousands of East Bay residents to ride.