Westchester Cycle Club Awards Consumers Union Staffer Karin Weisburgh Commuter of the Year

Ms. Weisburgh commutes 10 miles each way year round. She bundles up in the winter and rides in shirt sleeves in the summer. Her route fromLarchmont takes her along Quaker Ridge inNew Rochelle, down Mill Road inEastchester toTuckahoe, where she picks up Tuckahoe Road. She takes Tuckahoe Road West to the South County Trailway, which brings her to Executive Boulevard and Truman Avenue and the Consumers Union headquarters.

The research analyst also helped organize a bike-to-work effort at Consumers Union. As many as 20 of her co-workers planned to bike to work on Friday May 16, which is National Bike to Work Day. She coordinated the event with co-workers Dan Franklin, director of labor relations and ethics officer (who is an avid cyclist), and Rola Nesheiwat, CU's Wellness Center coordinator. Cycling to work is a key ingredient in CU's efforts to provide a great environment for health and fitness for all of its employees.

Ms. Weisburgh's top 10 reasons for riding to work: It saves on gas and car repairs, it's good exercise, it becomes a routine and you don't have to think about it, it's good for the environment, you can eat anything you want and not gain weight, you appreciate the outdoors, it's fun, there are no traffic delays, you are supporting the bike industry, and even on bad work days, the commute makes it all worthwhile.

Second place went to Nick Mankovich, who rides daily fromYorktown Heights to his job at Philips Healthcare inBriarcliff Manor. When he began cycle commuting in 2000, it took him 50 minutes. Now he does it in 30, and in 2007, it helped him ride 2,776 miles. The previous year, he logged 3,108 miles.

Mr. Mankovich's fun video of his commute is available at http://www.westchestercycleclub.org. Third place went to Kevan Full, who rides fromChappaqua toStamford on a winding 23-mile journey throughMount Kisco,Armonk andGreenwich. It's a hilly ride that keeps him in tip-top shape.

Five cycling commuters won honorable mention. They were: Lauren Press, who rides from Manhattan's Upper West Side, down the Hudson and across the Brooklyn Bridge toBrooklyn; Ted Rubel, who rides fromDobbs Ferry to his office inElmsford along the South County Trailway; Peter Bantz, the chef at Pete's Saloon and Restaurant inElmsford, who commutes twice a week fromOssining;

Lisa Baker, who takes her bike to work inElmsford, then rides home toNorth Salem and back again in the morning; and Scott Seaboldt, an art teacher at New Rochelle High School who rides from the city's South End to the North End, in snow, sleet, rain, and sunshine.

Ms. Weisburgh will receive the first place award - a Westchester Cycle Club jersey and a $100 check, from Heritage Realty Services, whose president, George Constantin is a WCC member and is encouraging cycle commuting at the office park his company owns and operates on Gannett Drive inWhite Plains. Second place award for Nick Mankovich is a half-price bike fitting at RepartoCorse ofValhalla. Kevin Full will receive a book on Lance Armstrong's Tour de France victories.

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization, whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers. CU has more than 500 employees at itsYonkers headquarters.

Westchester Cycle Club is a 1,200-member nonprofit group that sponsors recreation bike rides throughout the year and advocates on cycling issues in the region. WCC's third annual used bike collection, in collaboration with Pedals for Progress, will be held May 24 at First Presbyterian Church inYorktown. The bikes will be sent toNicaragua.

SOURCE Consumers Union

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Tags: Healthcare, , National, Environment, new york

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