Motorcycles move us toward an answer to the problems we face far faster than the automobiles most drive on a daily basis.
Wayne Gerdes –
CleanMPG – Mar. 20, 2009
The beautiful Suzuki DR-Z400SM - $6,699 and rated at 65mpgUS with a rider heading to work.
On June 15, American roadways will see up to triple the normal number of riders as beginner to expert bike enthusiasts become motorcycle commuters. These commuters will be doing us all a favor by not only commuting with an efficient personal form of transportation but by doing so on a vehicle with a much smaller footprint than our cars and trucks. This action has a measurable outcome by reducing both our foreign oil dependence and general traffic congestion in one fell swoop. This years “Ride to Work” day marks the 18th since the events inception in 1992.
“Ride to Work Day” History
According to
Ride to work, “Ride to Work Day” was inspired by the "Work to Ride - Ride to Work'" campaign created between 1989 and 1991 by the Aero Design and Manufacturing Company, a Minnesota based manufacturer of motorcycle riders clothing. In 1992 this campaign inspired motorcycle magazine editor Fred Rau to write an editorial calling for a national ride to work day.
The first annual “Ride to Work Day” event was proposed in Road Rider magazine (now titled Motorcycle Consumer News) in the May 1992 issue. This is an excerpt from that "Ride to Work" editorial: "You may remember several months ago when Bob Carpenter, commenting in his 'Two Up' column, mentioned how neat he thought it would be if there was one day a year when everyone who owned a motorcycle used it to ride to work. That comment was prompted by a T-shirt produced by Aerostich RiderWear that simply said, 'Work To Ride, Ride To Work.' Everyone seemed to think that a national 'Ride To Work' day was one heck of a good idea."
The first official “Ride to Work Day” event was conducted on July 22nd, 1992. For several years various motorcycle businesses informally promoted every third Wednesday in July as “Ride to Work Day”. That year a non-profit organization,
Ride to Work was formed to help organize and promote “Ride to Work Day”. The first “Ride to Work Day” led by this group was held on the third Wednesday in July of 2001. This day was the same each year until 2008, when it was changed to the third Monday In June. This change was made to better accommodate riders world-wide given those located in the southern hemisphere would miss the worst of their winter weather normally experiences in July thus giving those riders an opportunity to participate as well.
"Motorcycles and scooters consume fewer resources per mile than automobiles, and they take up less space in parking areas and on roads", states Andy Goldfine, owner of Aero-Stitch and the Ride to Work Day program organizer. "Rider's seek employer support for this efficient form of transportation, and more government and public awareness about riding’s many benefits."
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