May 14, 2014 - May 16 is National Bike to Work Day and local bike commuters are invited to stop by Market Square on their way to work and enjoy the festivities. Free coffee and biscuits will be available to participants between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. The annual Best Dressed Commuters awards will be presented at 8:00 a.m.

Bike to Work Day is an opportunity for people who have considered biking to work - whether to save money on parking and gas or to improve their health - to try it out. It's also a time for people who already bike to work, which is generally a solitary activity, to ride together and enjoy the camaraderie. Bike convoys will leave from sites in north, south, east and west locations and travel together to Market Square so that no one has to bike alone. Click here to see a list of convoys.

"It's fine if you drive to the convoy meeting location and then bike in with the group," says Kelley Segars, Principal Planner with the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization. "You're still saving money on gas and making physical activity part of your daily routine."

Even if downtown is not your destination or if 8 a.m. is not your start time, there are other ways to get a "thank you for biking" on Bike to Work Day. Six local businesses, including two in Blount County, are offering a free cup of coffee or other item all day on May 16 to people who biked to work.

Thanks to Trio Cafe for providing the coffee for the commuter breakfast and to Pete's Coffee Shop for giving the Bicycle Program a discount on the biscuits.

For more details, see www.knoxtrans.org/bikemonth.