Cyclists Take to W&OD Trail for ‘Bike to Work Day’

Dirk Harris found a way to greet most of the cyclists taking part in National Bike to Work Day 2012 at a Vienna pit stop along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail Friday.

Harris, from Annandale, has been an avid cyclist for the last 30 years and a member of the trail patrol for the last three. Urging people to pedal their way to work instead of driving should be a constant push, Harris said.

“I think it should happen every week,” Harris said. “It keeps cars off the road and lowers your stress levels.”

The one-day event is part of a month long celebration of the famed two-wheeled mode of transportation. Karl Mohle, park manager of the W&OD Railroad Regional Park said he didn’t have an actual number of how many people hit the trail on bikes Friday. Annually, he said more than two million people use the trail on bike and foot. Mohle said most of the trail use happens east of the Ashburn headquarters.

As cyclists whisked through a Falls Church pit stop to the sounds of a live band, Mike Trimble and friend Justin Manzo stopped to rest. The two men, both from Arlington, said they were biking to Tysons Corner for work. Trimble, a first time participant in Bike to Work Day, said his 13-mile trek through Northern Virginia is something he wouldn’t mind doing again next year.

“I heard about this on Twitter and had just recently bought a new bike,” Trimble said. “I just forgot this was all up hill.”