When CERN joined the Swiss national “Bike to Work” campaign for the first time back in 2012, we warned you that cycling could become addictive. Eleven years of Bike to Work at CERN have proven us right: for the first time since CERN entered the competition, more than 1000 Cernois have joined a team, thereby committing to cycling at least half of all working days over a period of two months (May and June). This makes CERN, with its 1008 cyclists and 17 817 cycling days registered as of Friday, 16 June, the largest participant in French-speaking Switzerland, challenged only by EPFL (with 913 participants and 18 346 cycling days).

To celebrate this success, the next CERN Critical Mass will take place on 23 June. On this occasion, all CERN cyclists are invited to meet up at Restaurant 2 at 11.45 a.m. for a ride around the Meyrin site starting at 12.00 p.m. and finishing at R1. The event aims to increase the visibility of the cycling community at CERN, with the hope of improving conditions for cyclists. Upon arrival at R1, a group photo will be taken and teams will have the opportunity to take individual photos with large posters featuring each team’s name and logo. Participants are encouraged to wear the very first Bike2Work t-shirt they ever owned. We look forward to finding out how many editions can fit in the same photo, as the CERN Bike2Work t-shirts have become a collector’s item over the years.

Mobility patterns are changing at CERN. In recent years, the conditions for cycling on the CERN site and in the local area have improved significantly, yet there is still room for improvement. Any concrete suggestions to improve soft mobility at CERN can be sent to jens.vigen@cern.ch.

And, above all, do not forget to fill in your Bike2Work calendar: EPFL is still ahead of CERN in terms of cycling days and the race is still on!