Bicycling

Obama’s Energy Secretary Reclaims His Bike, for a Day

Energy Secretary Steven Chu was dismayed about having to give up his bike-commuting habit in order to join the Obama Cabinet, but security concerns didn't stop him from participating in Friday's Bike to Work Day in the nation's capital. As the Wall Street Journal reports:

By Elana Schor

12:02 PM EDT on May 18, 2009

Energy Secretary Steven Chu was dismayed about having to give up his bike-commuting habit in order to join the Obama Cabinet, but security concerns didn’t stop him from participating in Friday’s Bike to Work Day in the nation’s capital. As the Wall Street Journal reports:

Energy Secretary Steven Chu (center) with colleagues, before he joined the Cabinet (Photo by grist.org)

The Nobel-winning physicist rides a $5,000 Colnago C40, a
first-generation carbon-fiber bike tested at Ferrari’s labs and ridden
by the sport’s top athletes. … It’s only the second work commute for the secretary since the Secret
Service apparently doesn’t like him on the capital’s roads. But last
weekend he clocked 47 miles on the Colnago.

Chu also told the Journal that he would support bike-lane expansions in D.C. Between his pedaling habits and the president’s, the administration is setting a nice example.