San Diegans encouraged to ditch gas pedal for bike pedal on 'Bike Anywhere Day'

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego’s annual “Bike Anywhere Day” returns for the 30th year on Thursday.

The special day is a way for local officials to get people to ditch the gas pedal for the bike pedal, even if it's just for one day.

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) has partnered with over 100 businesses across the county to hosts pit stops on Thursday where bicyclists can fuel their body instead of putting fuel in their cars.

Pit stops will span from Oceanside down to Tijuana, with snacks, merchandise, accessories, and bike tune-ups available to the 10,000 bicyclists expected to hit the road Thursday.

Also, the pit stops will be providing maps of the bike routes, as the county wants to encourage San Diegans to familiarize themselves with their bike routes, in hopes that biking will become the preferred method of transportation versus driving cars.

Click here if you cannot view the map above

Jennifer Williamson, Deputy Director of Mobility Planning at SANDAG, said, "When we can get people out of their cars one to two days a week, it really does help with congestion on the roads, but also what we call greenhouse gas emissions."

SANDAG is asking drivers to be extra vigilant of bicyclists around them Thursday.

They said peak times for the largest concentration of bicyclists will be between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.