Tips from a Bicycle Friendly Business

The Trek Bicycle Store of Schererville, Indiana, was one of 43 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Friendly Businesses (BFBs) the League welcomed to the Bicycle Friendly America program in December.

Daniela Gazibara of the Gold BFB awardee has some tips for making a business more bicycle-friendly:

1. It’s not easy to convince employers and fellow employees that biking is superior to driving. Most of them already have every excuse in the book that keeps them driving to and from work every day.

2. A place to shower, or at least clean up before work is a must. Imagine working an entire day in sweaty cycling clothes. It gets cold and uncomfortable for you, and stinky for everyone else.

3. If you can find a way to make cycling more accessible for everyone at the office, you’ll get some new riding buddies and it’ll be that much easier to keep yourself on track.

After all of that, just remember that you’re about to change your life for the better if you start commuting by bicycle. Imagine the extra time you get to mentally prepare yourself for work in the morning with a 30 minute or one hour ride. This time is where I come up with some of my best ideas for work and even make a mental to-do list every day.

[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_large”,”fid”:”5166″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”231″,”style”:”display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;”,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”480″}}]]

That time you get on your commute home is just as valuable, if not more. You get a chance to calm down and leave work at work. You really don’t want to dump your work stress on your loved ones at home. It also feels much better to do some guaranteed exercise after work every day before you even get home.

Once you’ve started commuting, I hope you’ll get a chance to inspire others to join the cause. Just imagine a future when there are no longer boundaries like too-busy streets and businesses that don’t give employees a good place to put bikes. If we work for it now, future generations will live in a much kinder world.

If you are ever struggling with the concept, or you need some help getting started, I would love to hear from you. Email me at [email protected] and let me know how everything is going.