Ride the Challenge

It was Chicago Bike to Work Week this week. A few people in our office teamed up to compete against other offices for the Bike Commuter Challenge, logging about 75 miles in all. Personally, I balked at the idea of what Google Maps showed as a 5-hour trip from my home to the office. Although it would have been a scenic ride up Lake Michigan before heading due west to Itasca, I thought I would stick with my standard 50-mile car ride instead.

No matter, since I was in Phoenix all week anyway, attending the Honeywell Users Group (HUG) conference. But I just got word yesterday that about 15 people from Phoenix Contact would’ve put my 5-hour dismissal to shame anyway, as they set out on a 6-day, 600-mile bike trip from Phoenix Contact’s facility in Middletown, Pa., to Ann Arbor, Mich., where Phoenix Contact is celebrating the grand opening of a new facility next week.

If you want to see how their bike ride is going, head to www.phoenixcontact.com/ride to check the team’s progress.

I’ll be heading to the event in Ann Arbor first thing Wednesday morning with fellow editor Jim Montague, but we’ll be driving. I know. Wimps. But at least we’ll be taking a Prius.

Did you bike to work this week? How far did you go?