Staff from the Honors Program display the office's new Breezer Freedom Bike, which they won for their participation in last week's Bike-to-Work Week Worksite Challenge. Pictured from left: Glenn Hansen, Bruce Fox, Ellen Riek, Katie Sheridan, Kaitlin Bundock, Shaun Krein and Anne Scott. Not pictured, Art Wilson.

Pedal power puts Honors Program in top spot

More than 160 NAU employees from 22 departments across campus biked a total 2,722 miles to and from work during last week's Bike-to-Work Week, pitting them against 124 teams in Flagstaff for a weeklong eco-friendly commuting challenge.

Top honors went to the NAU Honors Program for having the highest participation rate of all the registered small worksites (those with 8-24 employees) in the annual Worksite Challenge, winning a new Breezer Freedom Bike for the office to share.

Katie Sheridan, an academic advisor for the Honors Program, coordinated the department's participation, which she said primarily involved sending "a lot of harassing e-mails" encouraging her coworkers to ride their bikes.

"It wasn't a hard sell to this crowd," she said.

Sheridan herself has been commuting the nine-mile round trip to and from work by bicycle for three years, missing just a handful of days each year—even on the coldest and windiest of days.

"Some days it's a little insane," she said. "But it's a personal challenge to me to bike as often as I can. It's environmentally responsible and I enjoy it."

Other NAU departments that registered for the Bike-to-Work Week include:

• e-Learning Center
• College of Education
• Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals
• Information Technology Services
• Gateway Student Success Center
• Counseling and Testing Center
• Registrar's Office
• Employee Assistance and Wellness
• Center for High Altitude Training
• Ecological Restoration Institute
• Cline Library
• Marketing
• Comptroller's Office
• Distributed Learning Services
• Anthropology
• Center for International Education
• Colorado Plateau Stable Isotope Laboratory
• College of Engineering and Natural Sciences
• Unions and Student Activities
• KNAU
• Property Administration