From newbie bike commuter to confident role model

Commuter: Ref Lindmark, Team Captain
Employer/Commute Challenge Team: King County Metro Marauders

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Commute Challenge captains can make a real impact on someone’s life. They not only share the joy of bicycling and keep the competition fierce, they can truly inspire others by leading by example. One such captain is Ref Lindmark.

Nominated by one of his colleagues at King County Metro, Ref is respected not only as a team captain but as a role model.

Today, Ref is a year-round, all-weather bike commuter who spends a lot of his time getting people to rethink their transportation.  As part of King County's Employee Transportation Program, Ref helps the county's 13,500 employees commute to work without driving alone in their car. He’s also the program manager for Metro's Jobs Access Reverse Commute program, which provides assistance to low-income individuals trying to overcome transportation barriers to employment.  Lastly, he serves as President of the Board of Directors of Puget Sound Bike Share, working hard to bring bike sharing to our region.

But it wasn't too long ago that Ref himself was a new bike commuter, reluctantly participating in the Commute Challenge.

“My work group at Metro had a Bike Month challenge with some of the other groups we work with. As a new employee, the peer pressure was intense to ride at least five days during the month,” recalled Ref. “I bought a cheap bike at a garage sale and labored to get the five days in but did it.”

That following year Ref went out and bought a new bike for Bike to Work month and continued biking after the Challenge ended.

“I just kept riding -- rain, snow, cold, and sun! And today, I continue to ride every day. I also do quite a bit of bike - bus trips,” said Ref, who commutes from Green Lake to Pioneer Square. “Biking is mostly a convenient, healthy, fun way to get around.”

Completely converted to a full-time commuter, Ref says he likes to use himself as an example to encourage others to ride their bikes more.

“I like to use myself as an example of how a person who is not really an athlete, who does not have an expensive bike, who rides slow, can become an everyday bike commuter,” he said. “I tell people there are lots of obvious benefits but the best one is how you feel about yourself when you walk in the door after riding up Stone Way! I am still amazed that a person my age is out there, in traffic, in the rain, riding in the dark, and I feel great!”

Ref will once again be captain of his Commute Challenge team this May and hopes to inspire his colleagues to ride in May and beyond.

“I hope that some of my team members do what I did: start with Bike to Work Month, and keep on riding, at least through the summer,” he said.

Know a Commute Challenge participant who deserves some special recognition? Nominate them for Rider of the Week! Send your ideas to Anne-Marije Rook at amrook@cascadebicycleclub.org.