Gear Up for Bike to Work Day

Alexandria is celebrating Bike to Work Day on May 18, along with many other metropolitan Washington communities.

Participants who register can scoop up some free gear and other goodies at their neighborhood pit stop. In Alexandria, there are pit stops at Market Square in front of at 301 King St., Mark Center at the east side of the north parking garage and in John Carlyle Square Park at 300 John Carlyle St.

Convoys are also forming for those commuting into downtown D.C. from Alexandria. There’s a convoy leaving at 7 a.m. from the water fountain just north of the Belle Haven Marina to downtown D.C. The convoy leader is Walter Lane (lane_w@bls.gov).

There’s also a convoy leaving from the Mount Vernon Trail, in front of National Airport at the Crystal City exit on the trail. The start time is 7:45 a.m. Lane is also leading that convoy.

The League of American Bicyclists began Bike to Work Day in 1956 as part of Bike to Work month. In the D.C. metro area, Bike to Work Day has grown from a few hundred people participating in 2001 to 11,000 participants in 2011.