masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgMASN, the television home of the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles, will team up with Bike to Work for the organization’s annual event on Friday, May 21st. Bike to Work Day encourages residents to get exercise and help the environment by commuting to work by bicycle.

As a media sponsor, MASN will promote Bike to Work Day both online and on-air with public service announcements leading up to the event. For nearly fifty years, Bike to Work Week has been the main feature of the…MASN, the television home of the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles, will team up with Bike to Work for the organization’s annual event on Friday, May 21st. Bike to Work Day encourages residents to get exercise and help the environment by commuting to work by bicycle.

As a media sponsor, MASN will promote Bike to Work Day both online and on-air with public service announcements leading up to the event. For nearly fifty years, Bike to Work Week has been the main feature of the League of American Bicyclists’ Bike to Work Month.

Locally, Commuter Connections, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and the Baltimore Metropolitan Council will organize events in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore regions. Riders can either bike solo or join experienced commuter convoys and register to win prizes and giveaways. Free T-shirts plus food and beverages will also be available in both cities. For the D.C. event, there are 35 regional pit stop celebrations in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. including one at Nationals Park. There will be an additional six pit stops in Baltimore.

Orioles starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie is the spokesperson for Bike to Work Day in Baltimore. During homestands, Guthrie regularly commutes to Oriole Park at Camden Yards on his bike.

“I’m excited to once again join Bike to Work Day to help promote biking and a healthy lifestyle,” said Guthrie. “I’ve been a cyclist my whole life and enjoy biking as part of a regular exercise regimen. If I can help encourage others to get out of their cars and get on to a bike then all the better.”

Biking to work promotes both a clean environment and healthy living. Over 40 percent of trips in the US are under 2 miles in distance, but over 90% of those trips are made by car. And, the country is experiencing alarming rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and a whole host of exercise related health problems. A short, four-mile round trip by bicycle keeps about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air and burns roughly 200-300 calories.

MASN is the television home of the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. The network carries over 600 live sporting events every year including more than 275 NCAA Division I football, basketball, and lacrosse games. MASN is currently carried on 23 cable and satellite providers throughout a seven-state region.

Commuter Connections is a program of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, on the web at www.mwcog.org. The Baltimore Metropolitan Council is an organization of the elected executives of Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties, on the web at www.baltometro.org.

For more information and registration for Bike to Work Day, visit www.waba.org/events/btwd in Washington, DC and www.Bike2WorkCentralMD.com in Baltimore.

Follow Bike to Work day on Twitter, @biketoworkday.