Happy Bike Month! We're sharing our employees' cycling stories all month long to celebrate. Enjoy part 2 of our series (part one is here) and take advantage of a celebratory discount!
Elliot RosarioGeneral Manager - Philadelphia
What is your favorite cycling memory? I took 40 mile ride out to New Hope, PA the day before my wedding. It was my first long-ish solo ride. The months leading up to the wedding day are stressful and the pressure to make sure all the planning is executed perfectly grows increasing up until the big day. This was my 5 hours of complete solitude and serenity before the biggest moment of my life. The trails near New Hope are green and paved with soft land and sediment. The river flows through the state divide of PA and NJ with a calm grandeur. It was the perfect ride to prepare myself for that big moment. What's your least favorite or most unexpected cycling memory? I gave my car up halfway through my sophomore year of college. I borrowed a bike from a friend who then let me keep it. It was a Huffy, which is exactly how I felt after trying to ride it through North Jersey. Long story short, I got a flat in the city of Paterson (Imagine Newark, NJ but smaller and smellier). When I got back to my dorm after walking the rest of the way, I locked my bike outside with a combo lock. The next day both wheels were potato chipped. I saw it, left it, went to class. The following morning the lock was busted and it was thrown in the nearby woods, where it stayed. RIP Huffy. And yet, you still ride! How often do you choose to ride a bike and why? Everyday. I do it for many reasons. Practically speaking, it's the financially responsible thing for me to do, it keeps me physically healthy and it's ethically wise. I think I'll name the ethical portion as the biggest reason I ride. Reducing my carbon footprint and demonstrating a deep respect for our environment is the most important thing. 
Why did you want to work for Wash Cycle Laundry? It's bike-centric business on the outside, which is what I initially perceived, then I learned of our business model which is what kept me here. Now it's the drive to grow this company, make it profitable and help create more jobs so that we can have more people be a part of our wonderful company. The 3 P's (people, planet, profit) all the way! I've worked for companies with only one P and it just wasn't enough. What's your earliest bike riding memory? I can remember as far back as trying to learn how to ride a bike without training wheels. The amount of times I fell is what I remember clearest. I still take an occasional fall every now and then, but not as frequent as those trialing summer months of my youth. I wish I could remember the moment when I rode for the first time without the training wheels and didn't fall. I bet that was great day. Finally, what would you say to convince someone to ride a bike? Me: "Do you want a convertible car without the convertible car price?" Soon to be cyclist: "Why, yes I would." Me: "Get a bike!" Cyclist: "OK!" STAY CONNECTED to our blog throughout May for more inspiring stories from our employees, and receive 15% off your first service during Bike Month by using the code "BIKEMONTH2016" at checkout:
