NIH'ers Ride Bikes
To Save Energy
And Money

Rising gasoline prices and the initiation of
parking fees in November have spurred NIH
employees to find alternate ways of getting
to and from work. Over the past 6 months,
employees have turned to the bicycle as a
way to beat the additional expense of trans-
portation, to help save on energy, and to
improve their health.

On Nov. 7, 150 employees heard NIH
Director Dr. Donald S. Fredrickson, Mont-
gomery County transportation officials, and
representatives of the Maryland-National Park
and Planning Commission speak on the
development of the bikeway system for NIH
and the surrounding area.
The meeting marked the first time a Federal
organization solicited help from Montgomery
County to assist bicyclists. NIH is the largest
                  (See BIKES, Page 4)

Dr. Fredrickson starts out for a noon-hour ride
after taking his bicycle from a bike rack near
his office.Dhoto by Gary Best.


I BIKES

(Continued from Page 7)

employer in the county, and each day over
300 bicyclists enter and leave its grounds.

One of the new breed of employees travels
up to 22 miles per day to get to work. Most
employees who ride their bikes to work,
however, average 5 to 6 miles per day round
trip. Their bikes may be placed at bike racks
located at 18 different NIH locations. All a
"bikie" must provide is the lock and chain
for his or her own bike.

One of the two-wheel enthusiasts is Dr.
Fredrickson, who each day, weather permit-
ting, rides his bike from his home to his
office in Bldg. 1. "Besides encouraging our
NIH employees to conserve energy, I can't
think of a more appropriate organization to
take the lead in supporting a form of trans-
portation that provides a health benefit," he
said at the NIH biking program meeting.

Presently, Montgomery County plans call
for the construction of access areas to NIH
from the east side of Cedar Lane and Rock-
ville Pike and on the south side from Battery
Lane to NIH by next spring.
Curb and ramp construction is already
taking place at all major crossroads at NIH.

After the loop road is completed next spring,
NIH plans to install a trail-marked bike lane
for NIH employees. The lane will run from Old
Georgetown Road to Rockville Pike, along
Lincoln Drive, and will include a lane along
the Service Roads down South and Center
Drives.

"We had to add five each year," says
Thomas J. Cook, chief, Maintenance and
Landscaping Branch, about the number of
additional bike racks that his office has pro-
vided on campus during the last 3 years.

He says that there seem to be more bike
riders among the scientific community at
NIH than among the administrative and sup-
port areas. There are over 100 bikies who
work at Bldg. IO and over 80 who use the
racks at Bldgs. 36 and 37.

Currently there are no requirements to
register bicycles with either the parking office
or with the police at NIH.

After the Nov. 7 meeting, 95 employees
signed up to organize an NIH Bicycle Com-
muters Association. The club's first organiza-
tional meeting will be in the Billings Audi-
torium at the National Library of Medicine,
on Friday, Dec. 7, from 12 to I:30 p.m. If you
need additional information, call Dr. Harold
A. Wooster, 4964441.