Ready. Set. Bike.

Bicyclists riding along the Iron Horse Trail at the Bollinger Canyon Road crossing were able to energize their bodies for Bike to Work Day.

They were among the thousands of riders who participated in the San Francisco Bay Area’s 17th Annual Bike to Work Day.

To support the cause, energizer stations were scattered throughout the area, including the Bishop Ranch Transportation Association’s station in San Ramon.

Marci McGuire, Bishop Ranch transportation center program manager and organizer of the event, said set up for the station began about 1 a.m. and that she arrived at 2 a.m.

“It’s fun and I get jazzed up about it so I don’t sleep all that well anyway,” she said.  

By noon, more than 500 bike commuters had passed through the booth to fuel their bodies with free water, coffee, soda, brownies, granola bars and other snacks, including Pinkberry frozen yogurt.

Bicyclists received free five-minute massages, lip balm, safety lights and bicycle bells.

Information for public transportation also was provided, along with a backpack with  pamphlets about bicycle safety.

“Biking is such a good alternative because it’s pollution free, healthy, reduces stress and can still get you to work,” McGuire said. “It’s a really good thing and we want to encourage people to do it.”

She said the first commuters who stopped by the energizer station were biking to Castro Valley from Walnut Creek, but she pointed out that commuters could combine bicycling with public transit to make it easier if they needed.

“We just want to be here and support them,” she said.

Vicki Vickson said she chose to bike her seven mile commute on Bike to Work Day because it was the perfect introduction.

“It’s important for the environment, but it’s also very healthy and jet starts your day.” 

Vickson said she plans to start riding her bike to work more often, especially when the weather is nice.

This is the third time Angela Davis has participated in the event during her three-mile commute.

“It’s convenient,” she said. “I’m very active and the distance just makes it perfect.”

Since Davis recently moved, she said she plans to ride her bike to work more often, and said Bike to Work Day provides the perfect start.

California High School health teacher Randy Cahn said he tries to ride his bike to work several times a week.

“It’s good for the environment, good for me and good for the people around me,” he said. “[Bike to Work Day] is a great promotion to encourage people to use other forms of transportation.”

This is the second time commuter Edna Connolly has participated in the event. She said she is riding her bicycle from Danville to Pleasanton, about 15 miles.

“This is the only time a year I get to have fun and do this with my co-workers,” she said. “It keeps the environment healthy. I think everyone should do it.”

Connolly said the biggest challenge of riding her bicycle to work is getting her clothes and laptop to the office in advance, but that it was worth it.

“It’s 15 miles of fun.”