Gearing Up for Piedmont’s Bike to Work Day May 9
Piedmont Joins in East Bay Bicycle Coalition Bike to Work Day
Mayor John Chiang has issued a proclamation declaring May 9, 2013 Bike to Work Day in Piedmont. He invites Piedmonters to join him as he leads a pedal pool from Piedmont City Hall to downtown Oakland. (see schedule below)
Morning and afternoon energizer stations will be set up to offer free coffee, snacks and other goodies. Cyclists also will be treated to special parties, discounts, free bike repairs and other happenings in neighborhoods across the Bay Area. Piedmont bicyclists can meet and receive encouragement at the “Energizer Station” at Ace Hardware, 1221 Grand Avenue, where bikers will be offered refreshments and “goodie bags” by Scott Donahue and the Connect Green Transportation Group.
Between 6:00 am and 11:00 am bicyclists will ride free on the ferry from Jack London Square, Broadway and Embarcadero.
Piedmont recreational and commuter bicyclists have options for riding with City elected officials:
7:30 a.m. Mayor John Chiang will leave from City Hall (120 Vista) heading to the Energizer Station at Ace Hardware (1221 Grand)
7:45 a.m. Mayor Chiang, Tim Rood, and others from Piedmont Connect’s Green Transportation group will leave Ace Hardware, heading to the Grand Lake Theater (3200 Grand), where they will join a “pedal pool” of Oakland elected officials and other bikers.
7:55 a.m. Pedal pool leaves Grand Lake Theater, heading to Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland.
8:15 a.m. Arrive at Ogawa Plaza to fanfare, pancakes!
7: 00 a.m. Councilmember Garrett Keating will depart from the corner of Highland Avenue and Moraga Avenue, riding east to meet the Montclair pedal group at Wheels of Justice Cyclery, 2042 Mountain Blvd. The Montclair group will bike down Park Boulevard, Lakeshore Avenue and meet at Grand Lake Theater. Park Boulevard, which borders several blocks of Piedmont, is a designated Oakland bike route and is proposed as an element of Piedmont’s bicycle/pedestrian master plan, as is Moraga Avenue, a busy street through Piedmont. Questions about the Montclair route can be addressed to (510-566-1481) or gkeating@ci.piedmont.ca.us .
5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Old Oakland, 9th and Broadway, DJ Olga T spinning tunes, Dance Party with Planet Booty, raise a glass to your fellow bicyclists and games: Berlin Style Ping-Pong; Four Square; Pinball Parlour; bike games Slow Roll and Bike Sumo
The first celebration of Bike to Work Day was organized by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition at Oakland City Hall in 1994. This year many East Bay schools are participating in Bike to School Day.The San Francisco, East Bay and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalitions encourage commuters to leave their cars at home and join tens of thousands of their fellow Bay Area residents in biking to work.
