Cadets plan Academy’s first Bike to Work Day

Cadet 1st Class Sean Maison, front, and U.S. Air Force Maj. Michael Seery, a Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering instructor, wait for traffic during their commute to work May 1, 2024. Maison and fellow Geospatial Science Cadet 2nd Class Emmanuel Lorenzo organized the event for a project in their GEO 495 ‘Sustainability in Practice’ course. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco)

By Randy Roughton
U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications

U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. – Fewer vehicles traveled on installation roads during the morning commute as bicyclists chose another transportation mode for the U.S. Air Force Academy’s first Bike to Work Day May 1.

Participants met at the Falcon Trailhead early and rode their bikes to their offices. Individuals from all mission elements participated. Some participants commuted by bike for the first time.

Cadet class project

Maison and Cadet 2nd Class Emmanuel Lorenzo planned the inaugural event for their project in Dr. Amélie Davis’s ‘Sustainability in Practice’ course. Both cadets are Geospatial Science majors. Geospatial Science majors learn to use drones, satellite imagery, geospatial visualization and advanced spatial analysis to analyze and interpret complex data to make informed decisions that will shape our world.

“We wanted to plan this project because there are Bike to Work Day events in other higher-education institutions and municipalities, including Colorado Springs, but not at the Academy,” Maison said. “This is something that fits perfectly with our mission as an institution. We see this event as a major success for the first one ever here. This is something that can carry on into the future at the Academy. It’s amazing to see the cadets’ involvement.”

Cadet 2nd Class Emmanuel Lorenzo, left, Cadet 1st Class Sean Maison, middle, and U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ryan Carr pose for a photo before their Bike to Work commute May 1, 2024. Carr, a Department of Mechanical Engineering assistant professor, was the first participant to arrive at the starting point near Falcon Stadium. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco)

Planning routes and making maps

The cadets created maps for bike routes, based on data from the City of Colorado Springs. They developed preferred bike routes for the Academy and El Paso County, based on construction zones, slope, width of shoulder (for safety reasons) and traffic volume.

“Making sense of data that has a location component to it (which is nearly all data nowadays) is really important to Geospatial Science majors,” Davis said. “They helped participants figure out what routes participants should take and made it inherently safer to commute to the Academy on a bicycle!”

Supporting Academy sustainability efforts

“Sustainability in Practice” is a project-based service-learning course. Cadets focus on a real-life project that involves environmental, social and economic sustainability for a specific client. For this project, the client was the Academy’s Sustainability Manager Daniela Lawrence. The Bike to Work Day and other projects in the class directly support the Academy’s future Sustainability Strategic Plan. The plan includes the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by fiscal year 2046 in its transportation chapter, said Lawrence. The plan is in alignment with the Air Force Climate Action Plan 2023, which highlights education and leadership as cornerstones for sustainability, she said.

Cadet 1st Class Sean Maison speaks with another bicyclist during U.S. Air Force Academy’s Bike to Work Day May 1, 2024. Portillo teaches biking classes at the community center and is Director of Geospatial Labs in the Department of Economics and Geosciences. Maison and fellow Geospatial Science Cadet 2nd Class Emmanuel Lorenzo organized the event for a project in their GEO 495 ‘Sustainability in Practice’ course. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco)

Planning to make Bike to Work Day an annual Academy event

Maison and Lorenzo hope Bike to Work Day will return next year. The event’s planning will again be offered among the projects available in the class, so it will depend on if cadets in next year’s course choose it as their project, Lorenzo said.

“If I have a team that will do this project with me next year, we can definitely do it again,” Lorenzo said. “I think more people would join us next year and it would be a great event to have at the Academy in succeeding years.”

The 10th Force Support Squadron provided a booth at the event and may partner again next year. Dean of Faculty Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre attended and pledged to participate next year, Maison said.

Maison, in particular, hopes the event will continue at the Academy. He believes it will improve the relationship between bicyclists and motorists.

“In America, we are very motor vehicle-based,” Maison said. “There is a weird relationship between people who ride their bikes and people in cars. I hope Bike to Work Day helps to build a sense of community within the people who bike and those who don’t and builds a mutual respect between the two groups.”

Cadet 1st Class Sean Maison displays the U.S. Air Force Academy 2024 Bike to Work plaque before bicyclists left Falcon Stadium May 1, 2024. Danny Portillo, director of Geospatial Labs in the Department of Economics and Geosciences, is also pictured. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco)

See Bike to Work photos and biking trail map.