May has arrived, and as you may remember, May is Bike to Work Month.  Just like last year, the Cascade Bicycle Club is sponsoring the 2010 Group Health Commute Challenge.

And HOK is ready to go with already over 100 riders signed up across the firm. We so far have 13 teams across 12 offices, setting us up to outperform ourselves from last year. And that’s no small feat. To refresh your memory, HOK ranked 19th out of 737 organizations in total miles riden (7590 total miles). That’s a lot of fuel saved, calories burned, stories made, lives changed, lessons learned…(read some of last year’s posts!).

If you haven’t yet signed up, it’s not too late! You can register well into the …

As you’ve read, HOK is big into sustainability, and part of our committment is personal – we’ve signed up numerous teams to compete in national bike-to-work month, sponsored by the cascade bicycle club (see Blake’s posts on HOK vs. Copenhagen and Calling all HOKers).  Tim O’Connell cooerced me into signing up using fear of public humiliation as his primary tactic. 

It’s a bit of a long ride for me (13.824 miles each way, according to Gmaps Pedometer) and I’m not much of a cyclist, but what the heck!  My route takes me along Cameron Run in …

They may not look like what you would first imagine. 

They may not look like anything TV makes them out to be. 

But they are . . .

the St. Louis HOK Biker Gang!
 
  

[It may be necessary to say "the St. Louis HOK Biker Gang!" in your best dramatic theatrical voice over; go ahead, try it again, I'll wait]

[l-r: Seth Teel, Jason Kerensky, Paul Wilhelms, Derek Prior, Brett Kostial, Tim Gaidis]

[l-r: Jon Cohen, JoAnn Brookes, Bruce Brunner, Derek Prior, Seth Teel,
Brett Kostial, Matt Snelling, Jason Kerensky, Tim Gaidis, Mark Rosen,
Paul Wilhelms, Steven Crang,

…

Although it’s very good to bike to work, some folks just can’t.  Those people, I’m sure, try their best to take public transportation.  Neil Freeman brings us the subway systems of the world, presented at the same scale.  I’m such a nerd for scale comparisons…

Alright! We’re 8 days into the Bike to Work Challenge and HOK is showing it’s pedaling power. I knew we had a healthy competitive spirit, but check out these stats. With 90 riders across the firm, we are ranked 16 of 557 organizations in terms of number of miles ridden. That’s the top 3% of participating organizations. Additionally, we are ranked 1st in out-biking all participating architecture firms.

Within HOK, the DC office (24 riders) is carrying the lead with 796 logged miles, followed closely by the St. Louis Office (8 riders). The Chicago Office (9 riders) is leading a near five-way tie for 3rd.

…

HOK Bike to Work Month is Shaping Up
http://www.vimeo.com/4208874
Thank you, Jim Rice, for pointing us to this video. 

With the Bike to Work Month Commute Challenge kicking off Friday May 1st HOK has already shown great enthusiasm with teams from across the firm and around the globe stepping up to meet the challenge. Leading the way is the Washington DC office with three teams signed up so far, including our very own Bill Hellmuth. Way to go DC! As of this morning we have 8 offices and 11 teams participating, with several other teams still forming. If you would like to join the fun it’s not too late. Teams can still form well into the month. For more information see the previous …

May is Bike to Work Month

Boring commutes got you down? Well then add some fun and excitement by putting your green pedal power to work during May’s Bike to Work month and the Group Health Commute Challenge. This event is sponsored by the nation’s largest bike club, the Cascade Bicycle Club based in Seattle, and has grown tremendously in the last 5 years with over a thousand teams participating in 2008 – check out the stats. This is a terrific event that promotes sustainability and good health. If you are interested in joining a team or being a team captain it is quick and FREE to set up. So far several HOK teams have formed and are ready to …