If you plan to ride your bicycle to work some time this year, Thursday would be a good day to start, said Nancy Lund, a member of the Benicia Bike Club.

Lund is also the organizer of two “energizer stations” that will give cyclists refreshments and a bag of goodies, including maps, as they pedal to work. Starting at 6 a.m. and staying until 8:30 a.m., she and other club members and volunteers will be at the Benicia Bike Path at Park Road to greet riders. Others will be at the Vallejo Transit Center from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bay Area Bike to Work Day will be celebrated throughout all nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is the 21st year of the larger celebration, part of National Bike Month.

Benicia has been participating for about five years, Lund said, particularly to help those who use the bicycle path on the Benicia Bridge to travel north into Solano County.

Cyclists don’t need to register to be part of the celebration, but those who register their pledge to ride at www.youcanbikethere.com are eligible for prizes. That’s also a way for the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition calculate participation.

In 2013, according to the American Community Survey, more than 62,000 Bay Area residents used a bicycle as their primary way to get to work. Bike to Work Day is a means to encourage other commuters to do the same.

Anyone stopping at the Benicia Bike Path energizer station will get coffee and homemade scones as well as a gift bag, Lund said. Last year, she said, 36 riders stopped by.

Bicycling has grown in popularity in Benicia since the opening of the Benicia Bridge bike path, Lund said, because riders can take a “bridge-to-bridge” loop, crossing the Carquinez Bridge as well on paths that take them through Benicia, Vallejo and Crockett and into Martinez. “We’re seeing a lot of bikes on the weekend,” she said.

One area she said she’s seeing an increase: those she calls casual riders. “I can’t give you statistics,” she said, but she has observed more bicycles, particularly those parked at coffee shops.

Lund and other avid Benicia bicyclists like Constance Beutel and Roger Straw hope to convince residents that Benicia is a fun place to ride a bike.

Last year, Benicia Bicycle Club and the Benicia Community Sustainability Commission, with help from Benicia police and the city Department of Parks and Community Services, organized a bicycle clinic to teach practical skills, from safety procedures to repairs.

Lund said she is working again with Beutel and city staff on Bicycle Benicia route maps, pointing out paths and roadways bicyclists would enjoy and posting those routes on signs at the Benicia Bridge, Benicia Main Street and the Benicia State Recreational Area.

The purpose is to encourage more people to ride in Benicia, not only residents but also tourists. “Bicyclists spend money,” Lund said. “Java Point is packed.” Referring to Wheels in Motion, 735 First St., she added, “The bicycle shop is doing better.”

Not only are riders using strictly pedal-power bikes, she said, but many are adapting their bicycles with electric motor assists or buying electric bikes outright to tackle California’s undulating terrain.

Some riders enjoy the health benefits, and others acknowledge that bicycles save them money. “There’s a cost to take the car,” Lund said, citing both gasoline and $5 bridge tolls bicyclists avoid.

Sharing is caring!