Bike to Work Day 2010: Scenes from One Busy Energizer Station

Several hundred cyclists stopped at SFBC Energizer Station at 12th & Market

Mayor Newsom signed petition (line 5) to ... um .. himself

Hundreds of cyclists celebrated Bike to Work Day 2010 this morning at one of the busiest SFBC Energizer Stations in the city. Within an hour after opening, the 12th and Market Street outpost distributed several hundred gift bags, served coffee, fruit and pastries to commuting bikers, and encouraged at least sixty pedalers to sign up as new or renewing members of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Each new member received one of this year's BTWD T-shirts.

Cyclists also signed petitions in support of a better Market Street, one that includes a fully separated bikeway from Octavia Street to the Embarcadero. Robin Levitt, Engergizer Station Captain, told BIKE NOPA he was thrilled to see all the cyclists and to get so much support for an even more bike-friendly Market Street. He also pointed out one notable petition signature, that of Mayor Gavin Newsom. The petitions will later be sent to the address Newsom listed for himself: City Hall The Mayor stopped by the Market Street station for a photo opp after swooping past earlier with his bicycle convoy. Supervisors Eric Mar, Bevan Dufty, and John Avalos, and Department of Public Works Director Ed Reiskin also stopped to greet the volunteers as part of their own bike convoys on the way to a City Hall press conference.

Volunteers greeted cyclists at 17 Energizer Stations this morning. At the end of the work day, from 5 - 7pm, cyclists will find similar stations full of gift bags, T shirts, and refreshments throughout the city. An after party with bike fashions rocks from 6 - 10 pm tonight at Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street to close out the biggest day of bicycling in San Francisco.

5pm Update: No wonder the bike bags, T shirts, coffee and pastries went so fast this morning on Market Street. Bicyclists represented 75% of all roadway traffic during the morning commute, according to the Municipal Transportation Agency. And everyone was buzzing about the huge difference the dedicated bike lane with soft-hit posts and new green painted lane made for cyclists' sense of safety. Read more here on SFGate's new transportation blog -- with content provided by SFBC and Streetsblog. You'll notice in the photo accompanying the story that "BIKE NOPA" joined the action this morning.