Active Living is a choice!

SLt M.X. Déry, MARPAC PA Office ~

Bike to Work Week (BTWW) has wheeled its way into Victoria this week.

Commuters are greasing their bicycle gears and riding to work rather than driving; increasing their fitness, reducing pollution, and improving their overall wellness.

Last year, CFB Esquimalt was named BTWW champions, with 407 employees cycling to work. That’s up from 267 participants in 2016.

Captain (Navy) Jason Boyd, Base Commander, sees no reason not to win it this year.

“I told them last year, you might as well put our name on the trophy now,” said Capt(N) Boyd, who makes the seven-kilometre bike ride to his office each day part. “It’s no first leg of the Tour de France, but it is enough in the morning to wake me up on the way in. Plus, I find it is a good way to decompress on the way home, blow off some stress after the end of a long day.”

With new bicycle lanes in downtown Victoria, and the recent upgrades along Admirals, not to mention the ample bicycle parking throughout the base, it has never been easier to skip the drive and cycle instead.

“You can choose to ride your bike over driving your vehicle into work, and you can choose to eat healthy. Choose to make time in your schedule to go over to the gym at lunch, choose to take every opportunity to make good choices, to do something more active.”

Making those choices is critical to maintaining physical fitness, he says, which has a marked benefit on operational effectiveness and readiness.

Last week’s weather in Greater Victoria was pristine and this pattern should hold through BTWW, making every morning ride a joy.

“That’s why I love biking,” said Capt(N) Boyd. “I love it in the morning. It’s beautiful, the sun is coming up, and it’s quiet. It gets me in the right frame of mind to start the day.”

Join your shipmates, colleagues and friends in biking to work this week. Be sure to register at www.biketowork.ca/victoria and join Capt(N) Boyd for the second annual Navy Bike Ride on June 1 starting from the Naden Drill Shed at 7:30 a.m.

Stay connected, follow Lookout Navy News:
Facebook: LookoutNewspaperNavyNews
Twitter: @Lookout_news
Instagram: LookoutNavyNews