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​​​​​​​Biking to Work with Dr. Jeffrey Cohen​

​​Dr. Jeffrey Cohen is a Senior Investigator in the Medical Virology Section at NIAID. For the past decade, he has biked his 10-mile commute to and from work. Ever since being inspired one Bike to Work Day, Dr. Cohen has committed to his biking routine with fervor.

​“I exercise daily and I find that when I get to work I've finished half my day's exercise!” Dr. Cohen laughs, “When I drive in, there's a lot of traffic and stress and everything. When I'm biking on the trail, it's just really pleasant.”

Dr. Cohen enjoys biking for a host of reasons. Not only does it provide him with twice-a-day exercise, but it also allows him to skip traffic and commute to work in a manner that is gentler to the environment. He also appreciates biking for its predictability. While it makes his commute 20 minutes longer than it might normally be in a car, he doesn’t have to worry about the vagaries and interruptions of prime-time traffic. 

“Really, the major thing with me for biking is that, if it's an hour each way, I have an hour to actually think. Since I've been biking, I have these two hours [each] day to think about things, which is something very precious to me.”

While biking allows Dr. Cohen time to clear his mind and hone his body, it isn’t entirely without difficulty. He prefers not to bike in the dark, so logistics get trickier for him after Daylight Savings Time ends. Mornings have to start a little earlier for him as well so that he can make it to certain meetings on time. He also must keep an eye out for the weather much more often in case there are inclement conditions. But for Dr. Cohen, the pros greatly outweigh the cons.

“Until I read about Bike to Work Day and tried it, I just thought: ‘it's gonna take too long’, ‘it's gonna be too much preparation’, ‘it's going to be difficult to do this.’ And I tried it once [on] Bike to Work Day and got hooked right away.”

Dr. Cohen suggests staff should try the idea at least once to see how they like it. Different routes and set ups will likely work for different people, and for some it may not be feasible at all. He believes Bike to Work Day is the perfect opportunity to test it out.

He leaves us with some candid regrets about biking to work.

“…I wished I'd started biking sooner. Again, I thought being 10 miles away was going to be too much time and unpredictability. But once I tried it once, I just wish I'd been doing it for the first 20 years I was at NIH instead of the last 10 years I've been at NIH!”

For the full transcript, click here.​

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​Electric Vehicles at the NIH ​The NIH is transitioning to a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) fleet to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and meet requirements from Executive Orders (EOs) 14008 and 14057. Read the full article to learn how the NIH is planning to sustain this new electrified fleet. ​​LEA​RN MORE​​​​​

​​Take Action                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Bike to Work Day!​​ ​ ​​​The NIH is once again taking part in the annual Bike to Work Day. This year, the event will take place on Friday, May 17 in the traditional pit stop location on the Bethesda Campus in front of Building 1.​​ ​ LEARN MORE​​

NEMS Training                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Did you know? ​Biking to work is one of many ways to reduce your carbon footprint, along with public transportation, carpooling and teleworking. To learn more about greenhouse gas emissions​​, please visit the NEMS T​raining webpage to view a short (20 minute) NIH environmental awareness training video.​​