May is Bike Month! As a bike-centric workplace, we'll be sharing some cycling stories from our employees all month long.
Leigh Goldenberg
Director of Marketing
What is your favorite cycling memory? My family gets around Philly by bicycle, and we have all different types of bikes. In particular, I love riding (one of) our tandems with my husband. I sit on the back and ring the bell. Now that my daughter is big enough to join us, she sits on the front and waves to neighbors as we go by. Watching the GoPro video from her first ride was amazing. She totally embraced our love of bicycles!
How often do you choose to ride a bike and why? I ride most days of the week, as it's my primary means of transportation. I don't own a car, because I really don't find it necessary in a city like ours to get around in a big giant vehicle, or to deal with the hassle of maintenance and parking. Actually, I haven't once thought about buying a car since I started using my bike all the time!
What's your least favorite or most unexpected cycling memory?
When I was pregnant in 2014, I rode my bike the entire time. My last ride was a day after my due date - which was to come to work here at Wash Cycle! Those 40 weeks were really eye opening about what I was capable of and how people treat each other on the road. I'm glad I spent those 9 months outside enjoying (or braving) the elements, and not cooped up in a car or on a bus. Leigh was featured in Spoke Magazine for her amazing efforts during pregnancy!
What's your earliest bike riding memory? I struggled to learn how to ride on two wheels, and gave up a few times. Then, in 5th grade, a classmate of mine was going to be featured on Rescue 911 (She had survived being hit by a car while riding her bike by her home). The show was leading a bike safety event in the playground at our school, and I didn't want the shame of having training wheels in front of my classmate, let alone on national TV. So I learned how to ride my two-wheeler in just an hour the day before the shoot! Of course the bike safety course was so slow I didn't really get a chance to show off my newfound skills too much...
Why did you want to work for Wash Cycle Laundry? I was passionate about the dual aspects of the company's mission - using bikes instead of trucks and creating jobs for local residents. In one of my interviews, I met with John Moore, an investor, and he said that we were going to make Philadelphia a little more like Copenhagen. This sold me!
The idea that bikes could be the accepted and assumed form of transit in a city, rather than a slightly odd niche, is one of my biggest ideals. Working for Wash Cycle Laundry has made me even more educated and passionate about this. I hope that by leading the marketing for this company, I'm not only telling people about our business, but normalizing the use of bicycles in society (A big task, I know!).
Finally, what would you say to convince someone to ride a bike?
Remember when you were stuck in traffic or on the side of the road with a flat tire or circling your block looking for parking? When you have a bike, you don't have to deal with any of that! Plus, you can get exercise and save money while traveling. I also like to tell people that if we ALL ride bikes, it gets less scary to be on the road. I try to avoid scare tactics about how dangerous cars actually are and focus on the positives like the wind in your hair, but you've got to know the right message for your audience. Bottom line, there's a reason we all got joy riding bicycles as kids and we should find some time in our day to revisit that!