vrkelley

Anybody doing Cascade's Bike to Work month for the Seattle area? I've got 2 teams going this time with mostly new commuters. We are seeking a friendly competition with another company that also has new commuters. No prizes, just a fun little challenge. Many of our new riders will not be riding every day.

unixpro

We've got 3 4-person teams from the Engineering group at our company. A mix of regulars and newbies, as well as distances. The team I'm on is called isi-flats, named in honor of the flat I had on the way to work this morning.

mstrpete

We're fielding a team from SPSCC in the Intercity Transit Bike Commuter Contest in Olympia under the yet-to-be-designed banner of the Clipper Cycling Club, which is the club that I founded on campus last quarter to advance the whole bike agenda. I have to find out how many of us have signed up so far.

smurf hunter

Lots of people in my office commute to work by bike. I wish there was a more obvious competition, like a public leader board or something.

In other words, lots of folks ride regardless of "bike to work month", so what's the incentive to go through the formalities of joining a team etc. This is definitely good for the newbies, I'm just speaking for folks who do this routinely.


-Sean

mattm

i feel the same way; every month should be bike-to-work month! (yes even in the winter..)

also for teams that are going for the most overall distance, it seems that some riders break the rules, e.g. going out of the way to get more miles in. why compete with that?

i'm just happy to know that for some of us every month is bike-to-work month. i'm not joining a team (there are a bunch starting here at MSFT), but i will be riding to work!

see ya on the road..

FlowerBlossom

Yeah, there are lots of ways to break the rules, but, why let a few people who have to cheat to win ruin your fun? Doesn't matter to me that my team isn't tops in mileage. I just like encouraging others to start riding.

mstrpete

I know that for the contest down here, if someone picks "the long way" to rack up miles, they're supposed to use that route every day, and that'll teach them a lesson. As far as joining a team, competing, etc: everybody has different motivations, so a drive to get more people to do something will employ different strategies to hook people in. I'm fine with that; it's little enough to serve a greater cause, which is getting more people on bikes and out of cars. I'm one of those who would ride anyway, so for me the contest is about showing leadership: I'm not asking anyone to do something I'm not already doing, and I'm doing something to help build the club's reputation and visibility. Also, it's nice to get a little external recognition for doing this. Just my .02

vrkelley

They're trying to get NEW commuters to come on board. For routine riders, the state wants to count how many people actually DO ride regularly. This helps them to plan traffic patterns better.

FlowerBlossom

So, if we ride all over the city in May, will they put bike lanes in those streets?


No worries...I know the answer...one can hope, anyways.

Bekologist

team at work but its no big deal, everyone seems to ride to work so no real 'competition' to it; we rib our coworkers enough most everyone within a reasonable distance bike commutes at least part time and most of the good weather months.

unixpro

Heh! The marketing guys here told us that they'd buy everyone who participates jerseys with the company logo on them. Free swag!!

smurf hunter

There's a rival dept we're competing against. The losers buys the other team beer.

FlowerBlossom

Cool!

slvoid

Bike to work month? Around here, isn't that called the "usual"?

FlowerBlossom

Yes, and no.

I commute year-around, but didn't bother signing up for the contest last year. But, this year, I signed up as a solo team. I am Captain of my team and the Captain gets the swag and gets to go the Captain's party, which in past years involved beer.

unixpro

For most of us it's nothing new or different, but it is a way to encourage new riders. Our company has 4 or 5 people who are trying out bike commuting because of this. I can encourage that, so I went on a team.

OTOH, I heard a news story this morning that bike shops are doing lots of business both in sales of new and used and in repairs to bikes that were relegated to the back of the garage. I've also heard that ridership on both Metro and the Sounder trains are up significantly. Seems that the price of gas might finally be getting to people.

BengeBoy 

My employer has a number of teams competing internally. I put my name and mileage out there on the company Intranet, waiting to see if I got drafted -- I did! Could be the first sporting activity, ever, where I wasn't picked last.

octopuswithafez

I work in my basement, the wife would be pretty annoyed if I rode down the stairs on my roadie. Maybe I could a BMX bike, it will probably do the corners a lot better. The tire marks on the walls, though, are another story

unixpro

You could always take the long way to the basement. You know...the one that goes through Tacoma?

marqueemoon

I signed up as an individual the last few years. This year I'm not going to bother. I'm just going to ride my bike to work, like I would do anyway.

daver42

Me too about skipping the formalities of signing up as an individual this year. I think it's great however for new commuters to sign up and get them excited about biking in to work. I still love Bike to Work Day though where they've got stops set up around the city where you can get some free bike swag.

Catgrrl70

I'm attending the breakfast tomorrow (last minute) at the Sheraton...the thing that cracks me up is this:

"Attire
Business or business casual. There are large rest rooms available for changing for the breakfast if you are commuting by bike."



Um, I won't be changing I think. Shouldn't those who DO actually bike in on BIKE TO WORK DAY stand out?

Catgrrl70

I'm attending the breakfast tomorrow (last minute) at the Sheraton...the thing that cracks me up is this:

"Attire
Business or business casual. There are large rest rooms available for changing for the breakfast if you are commuting by bike."



Um, I won't be changing I think. Shouldn't those who DO actually bike in on BIKE TO WORK DAY stand out?

vrkelley

To everyone who thought Bike to Work Month was just feel-good talk. Cascade just reported that riders have logged over 600,000 miles this month already. They're trying for 1million miles.

FlowerBlossom

I'd like to, but, the login I signed up with doesn't work. I can't log my miles.