CONGRATULATIONS to First Prize Winner of our 2009 Ride to Work photo contest - Jeff LeGrand of Calgary Alberta - winning one of our MCC melton/leather jackets!

“I rode the usual 7 km to work but today it was in spite of warnings of thundershowers.  Hey, it’s Ride To Work Day!  And the rain never appeared.  Along the way, I got smiled at by an older couple; a young boy waved his arm off at me from the back of Mom’s minivan and then pumped his arm when I revved the engine.  We shared a smile, and so did his Mom and I ... see?  Not so scary.  I got to work and parked under a tree where I don’t normally park, and discovered the only spot in the lot that has shade all day!  No more hot seat on the way home!  The usual trip from Marlborough to McCall Industrial takes about 15 minutes but today it was Ride to Work Day ... so the powers that be made it only a 12-minute trip and I got to enjoy my new exhaust all the way.  The most remarkable thing about today’s ride?  I only used about half a litre of fuel, compared to the 5-6 I’d use in the truck.  Somewhere, my pollution cross section just got smaller”!

“I enjoyed a terrific 15km ride from Delta to my office in East Richmond – no passenger, no friend, just a great ride on a sunny day.  Thanks for motivating me to get out and ride”.

“One word describes my commute – character.  Twisty turns with lots of ups and downs.  There were many beautiful sweeping turns with a few tight ones thrown in to keep you honest.  Part of the route is on Kangaroo Road which hints to some of the ups and downs!  The 20-minute ride, maximum 60 kph, from Sooke to Rocky Point is a real treat.  No white knuckle/top gear/full throttle stuff here – just a very pleasurable ride.  My Mum remarked on one of her visits:  “we keep going ‘round like this, we are gonna meet ourselves!”

“I left my home in Chatham at 5:45 am.  It was clear and a little cool to start (13°C).  I am an Officer with the Canada Border Services and enjoy a 90km commute to Windsor on the most westerly end of Highway 401.  The morning of June 15th was particularly enjoyable, as the turbulence was minimal, the wind light, and the trucks few.  I watched in my mirrors as the sun rose behind me.  I parked my bike in a space in the corner of the employee parking lot surrounded by concrete barriers where only a motorcycle could fit”.

“My commute is 26 kms from South Surrey to East Richmond – only 6 kms urban, the rest highway.  As I go at the tail-end of rush hour, I miss all the intense action and can enjoy the scenery and ride.  Saves gas, time and the environment!”

“As a professional [truck] driver, there are logbooks, pre-trips, post-trips, TDGs and manifests, trucks governed to 100 kph, bad directions, and an automatic dismissal policy for not wearing your seatbelt.  Although I only live a couple of kilometres from work, it’s a stress release to take the long way home”.

“I started my 65 km southern commute to work in Edmonton at 3:30 am.  The ride involved a combination of paved and gravel roads, both city and highway riding with a couple of railway and bridge crossings over rivers.  The moonlit morning was a beautiful 13°, with no wildlife encounters!   Returning home, after quick stops at city grocery and department stores, I picked up my daughter from school.  Pulling into a country gas station, she waved to friends when we refuelled.  I arrived back home at 3:20 pm (sunny 27°) with a grinning navigator” states Al.

“My Dad picked me up on his bike on a hot day.  I was happy because the wind blew on me.  Then my Dad stopped to get gas.  Two of my friends were there too. After that my Dad took me home.  I like the bike because it is a 2 people bike, it’s black and it’s a big bike.  My Dad uses his bike any time he can to commute to work.  When my Dad has to get something, he lets me go with him on the bike, or when he gets home from work early, he picks me up” says Leah.