Ride to Work Day 2017 is Monday, June 19

Ride to Work Day logoOn Monday, June 19, 2017, the number of motorcycles and scooters on roads and highways will more than double as many riders become two-wheeled commuters to help demonstrate that riding is an efficient, economical form of personal transportation which makes parking easier and helps traffic flow better. This year marks the 25th annual worldwide event (held on the third Monday in June every year), which involves riders of all ages occupations, and from all walks of life.

“Motorcycles and scooters consume less resources per mile than automobiles, and they take up less space in parking areas and on roads. Riders seek employer support for this efficient form of transportation, and more government and public awareness about ridings many benefits,” states Andy Goldfine, the program organizer.

Ride to Work Day 2017 posterCommuting on this day shows the positive value of motorcycles and scooters for transportation. For hundreds of thousands of workers, motorcycles and scooters are an economical, efficient and socially responsible form of mobility that saves energy, helps the environment and provides a broad range of other public benefits. Motorcycling and scootering clubs around the world encourage their members to ride to work on this annual day.

For more information, visit ridetowork.org.

13 COMMENTS

  1. It should be called I DON’T USUALLY RIDE TO WORK DAY. People see all the motorcycles on that day and wonder, “If commuting on a motorcycle is so great, why do they only do it ONE DAY a year?”

  2. My name is Kevin. I feel good when I feel clever. I feel cleverest when I poke at others’ interests. I am probably from San Francisco.

    • My name is Chris. I probably don’t even ride a motorcycle. I’ve definitely never commuted to work day after day on a motorcycle. Ridden across country on a motorcycle? Not a chance. I’m Chris. I’m young and snarky. I own a motorcycle as a fashion accessory.

  3. Riding your bike to work ONE DAY A YEAR to show your commitment to motorcycling is like taking a bath one day a year to show your commitment to personal hygiene. The riders who actually do ride to work almost every day are the ones raising awareness of motorcycles as transportation, not the posers who ride to work one day a year.

    • Kevin, why do you only think ppl ride to work once a year? Are you with every rider every day? Its a day for those who arent too familiar with those who ride… To give them a chance to open their eyes around them and watch for us.

      • Adam, I observed over years of riding to work every day for most of the year that there were few if any other motorcyclists in morning and evening traffic, and mine was the only bike on the parking lot. Contrast this to the weekend in the summer months, when the roads would be filled with bikes.

        • Kevin, here at Rider, we ride to work nearly every day, in part because commuting is an important part of evaluating test bikes. Even in sunny, ride-year-round, lane-splitting-is-legal Southern California where we’re based, we don’t see that many motorcycles commuting either. Although the stated purpose of Ride to Work Day is to raise awareness of motorcycles and scooters as “economical, efficient” transportation among the general public, we believe it’s also a way to encourage motorcyclists who don’t commute regularly to put down their coffee, turn off their A/C, get out of their cars and ride to work more often. United we stand, divided we fall.

          • Greg, Having been an active, ride-every-day-if-possible rider since 1974, I have observed that people who ride day-in and day-out are few and far between. In America at least, even most motorcyclists don’t view motorcycles as practical transportation. For the average American motorcyclist, a motorcycle is like a boat — a vehicle for weekend recreation. That’s the way it’s always been. For me, riding has always been a “therapeutic addiction.”

          • Kevin, Yes, and we wish it were otherwise. I’ve ridden all over Europe on press launches and on organized tours, and over there motorcycles and scooters are an ingrained part of the culture, regardless of country. For many people, especially in cities, motorcycles are their only form of transportation. Car drivers accept and accommodate motorcycles and scooters–they move over to let them pass, they make space for lane-splitting and traffic filtering, etc. Believe me, I don’t want to live in Europe, but I sure do wish some of the “motorcycle love” would make it way across the pond. With motorcycles considered recreational vehicles in this country, even by many motorcyclists, they will always be considered marginal, optional, and ignorable, and the industry will always be subject to the shifting winds of the economy and lifestyle trends. Motorcycles are therapeutic for us, too. They’re our escape from the desk, from emails and social media and phone calls and deadlines and all the stuff that complicates life. Time alone inside my helmet is my daily mediation.

  4. Kevin, why do you only think ppl ride to work once a year? Are you with every rider every day? Its a day for those who arent too familiar with those who ride… To give them a chance to open their eyes around them and watch for us.

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