The CEO community turned out in force this morning to show their support for the pedaling revolution in Columbus! More than 100 area CEOs and friends and colleagues biked to work with Mayor "Bikin" Mike Coleman, Congressman Steve "TwoWheelin" Stivers, and me and my friends from Consider Biking. The 40 degree temp and a light drizzle wasn't any match for our hearty band of bicyclists who met at Franklin Park Conservatory and biked straight down Broad Street to City Hall. It's not every day that I get to ride with a police escort.
The Mayor has become one heck of a cyclist. Last year he rode in one of the toughest TOSRV's ever AND rode the full Pelotonia. (He's also very photogenic--doing the "2 by 2012" thang.)
Here's my North End band of brothers that met at 6:15 am in Clintonville and biked all the way to Frankin Park.
(OK, Judge Klatt, I see you doing rabbit ears instead of the 2 by 2012 thang--no fair. That's usually my trick. :))
2 by 2012 is a "bike-partisian" initiative--Congressman Steve "TwoWheelin" Stivers joined us on the ride. He's a member of the U.S. Congressional Cycling Caucus as is Congressman Tiberi.
(Steve's second from the left.)
We had a great turnout from the CEO community, including Michael Dalby (the new CEO of the Columbus Chamber), Melissa Ingwersen (Key Bank) and Tanny Crane (CEO of the Crane Companies and Vice Chairman of the Columbus Foundation Governance Committee--much thanks to the Foundation for providing generous support to 2 by 2012).
And my favorite photo of the day..................
My good friend, Jack Partridge, president of Columbia Gas, who insists on wearing his Columbia Gas hardhat and reflective vest (which distorts our photos). This is Jack's second year biking through the rain and near freezing temps to support our cause. Thanks, Jack! I owe you big.
It speaks volumes for our CEOs to get out on a day like today to show their friends, families and colleagues that it's not only ok to bike to work, but that biking is a viable, even preferable, form of urban transportation in the 21st century. We all love our cars, but we don't need to use them for short urban trips of 2-5 miles. The Columbus CEO community knows that biking to work and other forms of active transportation are good for their employees and their companies' bottom lines--studies show that employees who bike and walk to work are healthier, happier, more productive and miss less work. Check out http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2010/08/20/walk-cycle-obesity.html. And new economy workers, and the companies that wish to employ them, are increasingly attracted to cities with vibrant, active transportation systems--that's why 2 by 2012 is important to the economic development of our region.
So C'mon! Join in the fun! Dust off your old twowheeler, or buy a bike from one of our great area bike shops (much thanks to Roll, Trek and Bike Source for providing loaner bikes and support for our CEO Bike to Work Challenge!). Sign up for www.RideNet.net and start logging your rides and qualify for more than $5,000 in prizes for just logging 2 rides in May. Become a member of Consider Biking www.considerbiking.org, our passionate, effective, local bicycle advocacy organization. And start twowheeling around town............you won't believe how it will improve your life and your community.
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