Bike to Work Jun16

Bike to Work

Each May, the good people of Santa Barbara, Calif. are encouraged to put pedals to the pavement and ride their bikes to work. Yardi’s home office in Goleta is a longtime participant in CycleMAYnia, the regional cycling challenge that encourages people of all ages to get back on their bikes. The event has been ongoing since 2005. “The community benefits through fewer cars on the road and reduced emissions, as well as elevated levels of joy and friendliness amongst neighbors, strangers, and coworkers,” said Lori LaRiva, Traffic Solutions/TDM Program Coordinator for Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. “Employees arrive at work refreshed, they let go of stress at the end of the day, they get a free workout, and they experience the camaraderie of a friendly workplace challenge,” LaRiva said. That’s certainly been the experience at Yardi, which captured the win for the 500 – 999 employee category. Companies are stacked up against each other based on size. Second place category finisher, Mindbody of San Luis Obispo, rode just 25 percent of the miles Yardi team members did. Yardi employees racked up 3,598 miles on bikes during the month of May to earn the win, and 439.5 miles during the week of May 15-19 when the competition tallies were recorded. “Not only did CycleMAYnia encourage employees to bike together, but it also encouraged carpooling for those who live too far to bike the entire way.  We had a new cyclist ride from downtown Santa Barbara every day,” said Kelly Johnson, Yardi event coordinator.  “The farthest biker came from Carpinteria.” LaRiva described some of the widespread benefits of the competition. “Every year, participants say that the Bike Challenge gets them back on their bikes again. For some, it creates a casual routine that will last...