Genzyme

Address 500 Kendall Street, Cambridge, MA
Website Careers at Genzyme
Industry Biotech
Number of Employees ?
Outdoor Racks YES
Guaranteed Ride Home? YES
Showers YES
Secure Parking YES
MBTA subsidy YES

Employee Interview - Daniel Leonard, Manager, International Regulatory Affairs
Where do you live? Arlington (6.5 miles, 30 minutes)
What type of bike do you ride? My commuter is a '95 Kona Mountain Bike.
How long have you been working at Genzyme vs. how long have you been bike commuting? about the same, 10 years.
What made you start biking to work? Started off as a weekend cyclist, mountain biker and transitioned to road biking after thinking about the benefits versus a car: getting an hour of exercise a day, training as a triathlete so no need to ride after work, shorter commute versus a car (45 minutes total and getting back a half hour of his life everyday), saving on gas, and reducing his carbon footprint.
What route do you take to work? through a wooded park in Arlington on a dirt trail onto Massachusetts Ave south, left on Somerville Ave, Right on Beacon which turns into Hampshire all the way into Kendall Square (see his route below).

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Do you find when you're in your car now on Mass Ave, it's the most frustrating of circumstances to watch bicyclists freely pass you going 10 mph? Oh yes, one of my favorite things to do is when a car is hitting the gas and speeding by and then you leisurely catch up to them at the next light.
What type of gear do you have on your bike? no panniers, just a backpack and lights
Will it be hard if you ever switch jobs and work for someone other than Genzyme who does not provide these great benefits and facilities? Biking in the summer without showers is pretty near impossible for me and any trip longer than 10 minutes does not help you feel fresh at work. When the architects were designing this building, they put together a focus group and luckily I was invited to one of them and the point I really hammered home was facilities for bicycle commuters.
Is there a good story or experience you have from bike commuting? There is a feeling of camaraderie among bike commuters and my favorite experiences are just meeting people out on the road....they're only a part of your life for maybe one block or possibly your whole route and you end up chatting the whole way...I like that sense of community. You're more a part of the environment around you as opposed to being in your box. I don't know if you ever read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but he talks about traveling through a landscape on a motorcycle versus is a lot different than your car and I would say that the same is true if not more so for riding your bicycle.

Perfect first interview for my first blog post. My husband, Kyle, works for Genzyme and if it wasn't for them, we could not maintain the car-free standard of life that we're blessed to have. Please see my pictures of Genzymes' great facilities including secure bike racks inside the building, an adjacent locker area with year round reservable lockers (lottery system), and a shower room with additional lockers. Pretty spiffy digs.