Spanish Professor Jeffrey Reeder has been named the Sonoma County Bicycle Commuter of the Year for 2009 for his dedication to commuting to the campus by bicycle.
Since 1998, Reeder has been traveling 20-27 miles round trip on his bike four to five days a week from Santa Rosa to his job as Chair of the Languages Department on the Rohnert Park campus.
He encourages his students to cycle more often by working it into his language lessons. They learn how to calculate their carbon offset and how much is saved by cycling instead of driving to work.
Visit Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition's website to read an interview with Reeder at
http://www.BikeSonoma.org/Bike2Work.html.
SSU is joining in the countywide effort to promote bicycles as an healthy, earth- friendly alternative to commuting by car on Bike to Work Day, Thurs., May 14.
Bike to Work Day is the premier bicycling event taking place in all of Northern California with all nine Bay Area counties participating in the celebration.
Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to commute to campus using means other than their cars to promote alternative forms of transportation that benefit the
entire community.
"The fact that I commute by bike brings our family closer together," says Reeder. "There are three of us - my wife, my son, and myself. We share one car, so anything we plan to use the car for - that's not part of the workday - we do together."
He says "We save money, we save hassle, have a closer family, and we save space on the street so that other people can park their extra cars there."
On Bike to Work Day, Energizer Stations will be located throughout the county to hydrate and encourage those participating on their way to SSU.
At the final stop, SSU hosts a station at the south entrance to campus (near the flagpole near East Cotati Avenue) with free gifts, food and refreshments and a chance at raffle prizes.
Police & Parking Services is registering bicycles free during the Bike to Work Day activities. Bicycle maintenance and repair will be available at this location for SSU
students, faculty and staff.
For those who do not own a bike, there are other options available. Visit the Sonoma County Transit web page for information on bus schedules and stop locations.
Visit SSU Bike to Work for more information.
