Bay Meadows

Matt is the Community and Government Relations Manager at Kaiser Permanente in the San Mateo Area. He works with local government and community leaders to improve the health of the community through local events such as Bike to Work Day where we’ll have a #BTWSanMateo Energizer Station (enter to WIN A PUBLIC Bike) and this Fall’s Autumn Moon Festival in San Mateo’s Central Park where Kaiser will be helping host a Wellness Walk for all ages.

Q: How do you feel San Mateo ranks as a bike-friendly place to live, work and play?
San Mateo is a great place to live work and play. There are many weekend days where I have full, active days and don’t even leave the city limits. As far as biking, the great majority of activities in San Mateo are in the flatlands so it is an easy ride to most restaurants, theatres, parks and large events (doesn’t hurt to be next door to the event center).

Q: My commute time is …
Everchanging. Given I work throughout the County I am in many different places each day. On average it is between 15 minutes (if I’m going to Redwood City) or up to 35 minutes if I’m going to Daly City/South San Francisco.

Q:Name 3 of your favorite cycling destination(s) in San Mateo or on the Peninsula:
1. Downtown San Mateo –  I bike there when I have free time on the weekends, always ride downtown for fresh ice cream sandwiches at Cream.
2. Target – Yes I know that sounds terrible, but is an easy ride and taking a bike makes sure I only buy what I need.
3. Bay Trail – Very easy to get to and a fun flat ride along the water.

Q: If you could choose 3 lifestyle tips to support a healthy- active lifestyle for our community, which would they be?
1. Walk to a new restaurant every week for the first 3 months you are living here, you won’t be disappointed and you will get great exercise.
2. We all have great kitchens, use them! We live less than 2 miles from at least 7 grocery stores with an extremely wide variety of options.
3. Our parks at bay meadows are just a sampling of the great parks in San Mateo, get out and use them, they are a great resource.

Q: What’s been your favorite part of living at Bay Meadows?
Location. I love living near transit, freeways, cultural centers and activities. We have the most amazing neighbors and really just enjoy being here with everything the neighborhood, city and bay area have to offer.

Q:The best advice anyone ever gave me is:   “Try a little something new, try a little something different” – you can attribute that to my mom or Winnie the Pooh. We have such a variety of culture and activities here there are so many opportunities to grow just by checking them out.

Q: Any new Kaiser member programs or events that we should watch for this spring/summer?
We will be having a health fair at St. Matthews Church on May 9^th as part of our Care Beyond Our Walls Initiative. Also, San Mateo County is very fortunate to have a variety of events encouraging an active lifestyle that we will take part in such Streets Alive Parks Alive in South San Francisco on May 2^nd, Tour De Peninsula bike ride in August at Coyote Point Park and the Autumn Moon Intergenerational Walk for Wellness on September 27 at San Mateo’s Central Park.

Lightning Round:

Bike accessory that I cannot live without:  Fitbit
(However, Matthew is hoping for an applewatch…if anyone is listening. Hint. Hint.)

My guilty pleasure is: Empanadas

My biggest obstacle is: Not enough time in the day

3 words I’d use to describe Bay Meadows: Enjoy Staying Home

Join Matt and the teams from Bay Meadows and Whole Foods on May 14th for #BTWSanMateo #HowIRoll. We’ll be giving away bike bells, lights, refreshments and a PUBLIC bike! Learn more here.

Looking for a great place to ride? Bay Meadows and the surrounding San Mateo area are bike friendly and offer many different paths to ride and sights to see. We even have a convenient bike map that you can download here, so you can decide exactly where to ride. Some resident favorites include the Bay Trail as well as Coyote Point Park And don’t forget to save the date for Bike to Work Day 2015: May 14^th!