The real commuter warriors?

Reuters photo.

At the Action Committee for Transit meeting a couple nights ago in Silver Spring, the chair made an announcement that Montgomery County is seeking nominees for the bicycle commuter of the year. One of the attendees commented that he had ridden to the meeting from Union Station (about an 8 mile trip). The chair commented that the County is looking for nominees of Montgomery County residents who commute to jobs within the County.

But I got to thinking about this.

The point is to promote environmental-friendly commuting more generally, isn't it? (I know, really there should be a jobs-housing balance that limits commuting, but that is an end goal. We're not at that stage now.)

What we should be doing is demonstrating that what seems to be impossible is in fact possible.

If DC has an equivalent award, I think there should be categories for commuters within the city, maybe people who commute to work by bicycle outside of the city (Washcycle rides from DC to Greenbelt...), and definitely bicyclists who commute to the city, from each of the local jurisdictions. This means that there should be an annual award to a bicycle commuter to DC from:

- Prince George's County
- Montgomery County
- Arlington County
- Alexandria
- Fairfax County
- and even further out, if such riders exist.

And that kayaker who commutes to work the old fashioned way (Navigating the River Road to Work; Annapolis Kayaker Finds Bracing Solitude During Daily Commute in the Washington Post), he'd likely win his category every year.