Winter Cycling Tips

We've had some requests for information on how to prepare for and successfully navigate commuting by bike in the winter. We are fortunate in our area to be able to ride almost all year round. I have compiled a few thoughts and tips on the subject, including some specific to the kind of weather we've been having.

In the longer term, an excellent source of information on bicycle commuting, including inclement weather tips is the WSDOT Bicycle Commute Guide, by Larry Leveen, of OlyBikes. It is available online (also in a print-friendly version), and will be available in print sometime this spring.

WINTER BICYCLE COMMUTING

Commuting by bicycle in inclement weather, especially in the winter, requires a bit more commitment, preparation, care and attention, but also offers its own rewards. Breathe the fresh outside air while staying fit and healthy year round. Feel the comeraderie when you see another intrepid winter commuter! Save money on gas and car repairs. Be good to the planet and your community by reducing your carbon footprint and reducing traffic congestion. Feel the satisfaction of knowing you got there on your own steam...

Depending on the distance and conditions of your commute:

The bus is a great option in this weather!

Riding Intercity Transit in the Snow

...and if you happen to be stuck in the snow with your bike, you can always put it on the rack on the front of the bus to get home!

Bike Shop Profiles coming soon....

We have posted Commuter Profiles for the last few years, with a picture and some details about the featured commuter's bike, commute routines, how they adapt to inclement weather, etc. This year we'll add profiles of the bike shops in town who are sponsors of the BCC- in part to thank them for their HUGE contribution to the continued success of the BCC, and to inform you of their locations, services, brands, hours and specialties. Stay tuned for the first profile in the next week or so!

Winter: A great time to get your bike tuned up!

Where is your bike right now? Stored away for the winter? Parked outside your house or workplace in the elements? Waiting patiently for better weather? Carrying you reliably through the rainy season?

Wherever your bike is and whether you are riding through the winter or not, chances are it could use a little TLC. The Olympia area is lucky to have a nice choice of great bike shops, well distributed around town.

Now is a great time to take your bike in to your Local Bike Shop for a tune up, and to install any winter riding accessories you may need, like fenders and lights. The bike shops are less busy at this time of year, which means your bike will be ready quicker, and the shop staff will be extra happy to see you!

Most likely your Local Bike Shop is a generous sponsor of the Bicycle Commuter Contest, for which we are very grateful. When you take your bike in, tell them Duncan sent you, and thanks from the BCC!

Yawn, Stretch... the 25th BCC is waking up!

Good morning and Happy 2012! The office of the Thurston County Bicycle Commuter Contest is officially open for the 25th Anniversary BCC.
We'll be dusting off our files, opening up our databases, planning and strategizing, conjuring slogans and logos, and generally conspiring to present the best Bicycle Commmuter Contest ever! Of course it is really our participants who make the BCC the great event that it is and has been for the past 24 years. We're looking forward to being in touch with YOU, our valued participants, sponsors and volunteers! We'll do our best to encourage and support you in your choice to bike instead of drive, and to reward you in May with tons of great coupons, prizes and events. See you on the road!

Chehalis Western Trail - Bridging the Gap-Phase 3 Open House Design Review

When:  Wednesday, July 20 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Where: Thurston Regional Planning Council, Room A

              2424 Heritage Ct SW, Olympia 98502

              (served by Intercity Transit Routes 43 and 44)

Thurston County Public Works invites trail users  and interested

stakeholders to an open house meeting to review the design for

the final segment of the “Bridging the Gap” project (phase 3) of

the Chehalis Western Trail.

Come and learn about the trail’s alignment, structures, amentiies,

connectivity, project timeline, and next steps.

For more information contact:

Dale Rancour, County Engineer

360-786-5134

rancoud@co.thurston.wa.us

Can Monarch Sculpture Park Be Saved?

We were saddened to read in the paper recently that the Monarch Sculpture Park would soon close due to the owner's financial and health challenges. Monarch Sculpture Park is an non-profit arts organization about halfway to Yelm along the Chehalis-Western multi-use trail that many Thurston County cyclists know well. They have been hosting local and international sculptors for about 15 years, and providing scholarships, residencies and other programs to artists when funds are available. The park is scheduled to close later this month, but apparently there is a movement afoot to try to save the Monarch Sculpture Park. There will be a meeting this Thursday at:

Thurston County Courthouse
http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/directions.htm
Building 1, room 280
This is the building on the left, adjacent to the parking lot.  Come in the closest glass door, and go up the staircase.  The room is near the top of the stairs.

4 PM Thursday, July 7.

The Woodland Trail Greenway Assn. will discuss this and other trail topics at their monthly meeting the same evening, at 6 PM, Urban Onion restaurant.

To find out more, contact Jack Horton at the Woodland Trail Greenway Association or email info"at"woodlandtrail.org

BCC 2011 Final Overall Results

It's a wrap! Bicycle Commuter Contest 2011 is over and on the shelf. Thanks SO much everyone- Sponsors, Volunteers, Team Captains, Employee Transportation Coordinators, BCC Ambassadors, Friends, and most of all, Participants! We had a great year this year in spite of the COLD, wet April and May. May had nearly double the normal rainfall and temperatures well below normal. Still, 1452 people signed up for the BCC.
Now that I have had a chance to add in the late mileage logs and correct a glaring error I made calculating the total miles (I forgot to subtract only HALF the Bike To Work Day Miles), I can share our overall totals which break several all-time records for the BCC!

• Registrants: 1452
• Mileage Logs Returned: 1114 (all-time record)
• Percent of riders who returned logs: 76% (all-time record)
• Total Miles Ridden: 110,184 (all-time record)
• Average Miles per rider: 104
• Days Ridden: 13,947 (all-time record)
• Avg. Days Ridden: 12.5

Congratulations everyone and have a great summer!

SEE the BCC RESULTS PAGES

I have posted the standings of all the BCC teams that returned more than one mileage log on the "2011 BCC Results" Page- click the link in the list of  "Pages" at top right of blog. Top Individual results are also now available on their own pages, one for Junior and Youth categories, and one each for the Adult and Senior categories. Remember that everybody wins in the Bicycle Commuter Contest! No matter how much or little you rode in May, you contributed to our total, and you helped improve your own health and that of our community and our planet. We hope you found the BCC a rewarding and motivating event, and that you will not only come back next year, but bring a friend!

Wear your oldest BCC t-shirt to the awards

Maybe you'll win the "Oldest T-shirt Contest"!
TODAY, 9:30 am, Olympia Farmers Market stage.

THURSTON HERE TO THERE Winners!

2011 Bicycle Commuter Contest THURSTON HERE TO THERE Special Promotion Winners Announced!

Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) teamed with Intercity Transit to host a special promotion for contest participants who made bike trips starting or ending in Tumwater and South Thurston County communities. Riders who submitted a copy of their mileage log to TRPC were eligible for a special prize.

Congratulations to the 26 winners—your gift is in the mail!

Jed B.		Ron F.		Kirsty F.
Ryan C.		Allison H.		Maria N.
Linda T.		Quinn H.		Amy H.
Margaret H.		Carol  J.		Mike L.
Michael H.		Dewey W.		Rick G.
Allen H.		Daniel H.		Keri J.
Marie H.		Jeff R.		Alison F.
Gary R.		Lucy W.		Bill T.
Janine L.		Daniel H.

TRPC developed Thurston Here to There as a coordinated set of activities with one goal – to improve access to travel options for the people who live, work, play, or go to school in Bucoda, Rainier, Tenino, Tumwater and Yelm.

Thurston Here to There promotes cycling as a sustainable transportation choice because it helps our communities to:

• Reduce energy demands
• Lower transportation costs
• Reduce congestion – including around schools – improving safety at the same time
• Enhance the sense of community
• Respond to challenges such as environmental concerns, sustainability, rising fuel costs, and the increase in childhood obesity

For more information about Thurston Here To There, visit www.trpc.org. and see their page on this blog, in the list of pages at the top right of the blog.

Happy Summer!

Summer officially begins at 10:16 this morning, and at solar noon today, the sun will be at its highest point of the year. Today is the longest day (in terms of daylight) of 2011. Happy summer, and happy practical cycling!

We are madly crunching numbers and organizing prizes, getting ready for the BCC Awards Ceremony this Saturday at the Olympia Farmers Market at 9:30 am. Come on down and join the fun!

Scene From the Saddle

More guerilla knitting: Fire Hydrant Cozy- photo by Erin Scheel

Bicycle Commuter Contest Awards and Prizes

Saturday, June 25, 9:30 am - Olympia Farmers Market

• BCC Prize Category Winners Announced and Prizes Awarded*
• Bicycle Prize Drawing Winners Announced and Bikes Awarded*
• On-The-Spot Random Prize Drawings for those present
• Compete in the "Oldest BCC t-shirt" contest

We have more prizes than ever this year, and more ways to win! Over 200 BCC participants will win prizes from our awesome sponsors. Come on down even if you don't think you rode enough to win a prize- you might win a random drawing!

*Need not be present to win- winners can choose to collect prizes at Intercity Transit Administrative Offices

Here are some of the bikes we'll be awarding at our Award Ceremony:

Raleigh Cadent FT-1

New Belgium Cruiser

 

Trek Allant



BCC 2011 Preliminary Results

Yay, the data is in, and 2011 was a great year for the Bicycle Commuter Contest!!

• 1452 people registered
• 1101 or (76%) returned mileage logs, our highest return ever, in actual numbers or percentage.
• Those of us who recorded our miles collectively logged 103,046 miles on 13,770 rider-days.
• Average miles per month, per rider: 93.5
• Average days ridden, per rider: 12.5
• 512 participants were new to the BCC this year.
• 646 participants rode their bikes 10 days or more during May

We'll have more numbers soon, and we'll be holding our random drawings for four new bikes and other goodies in the next coupole of days. Wednesday is coupon-envelope-stuffing day, so participants who returned their mileage logs will start seeing their coupons in the mail by late this week.

Urban Cycling Class: this Saturday!

Want to learn how to confidently ride in traffic?

Take the Capitol Bicycling Club’s Urban Cycling class

on Saturday, June 11^th from 9AM – 3PM and learn:

• How to outfit yourself and your bike
• How to navigate intersections and ride comfortably with traffic
• Minor bike up-keeping and flat tire repair

Classes end with an on-bike lesson and group ride through urban downtown practicing all that is learned. Instructors are League of American Bicyclist Certified Instructors. Bike in good working order and helmet required. $35, includes materials. To register or for more information visit www.decidetoride.org 

Questions? Contact: 

Kerry Tarullo Associate Planner

Public Works Transportation
City of Olympia
360.753.8575

You can still return your mileage log- PLEASE DO!!

Many thanks to those of you who have already returned your mileage logs. We'll mail out your reward coupons next week.

The "official" deadline for returning your mileage log was yesterday, but we still want your mileage log! Here's the deal: we'll be holding random drawings for the FOUR new bikes we have to give away- early next week. We are madly entering data from the hundreds of mileage logs already returned, but if you get your mileage log in to us this week, there is still a pretty good chance your name will make it into the "hat" for the bike drawings.

Even if you don't need or want a new bike, there are other random prizes, and lots of great coupons for discounts and free stuff- PLUS:
Returning your mileage log is a very important part of participating in the BCC! 

You may think that just signing up is a good enough way to support the BCC, and it is true that the number of registrants is valuable. But even more valuable is the information you send in with your mileage log, and the verification that you are actually out there riding your bike for transportation. The number of people who participate in the BCC is an indicator of how many practical cyclists are out there on our streets, which is important to know for future infrastructure development. We also want to show our community and the world that practical cycling works! The level of follow-through is also an indicator of whether the BCC is working the way it should be.

 Thanks for taking a little time out of your day to return your BCC Mileage Log!

BCC Mini-Contest # 3: Where is This?

Where is this?

We have a winner! Congratualtions, John has won a super-bright CatEye blinky light!

Can you identify this location? The first registered BCC participant to email me with the correct location of this photo will win a prize!
email dgreen"at"intercitytransit.com

BCC 2011 - Last Day!!

Today is the last day of BCC 2011- where did May go?? We did get some nice May weather in between the showers, but overall it was a cold, wet spring. April was the second coldest on record, and May had double the average rainfall and a mean temperature 7 degrees below avereage. Yet in spite of all that, we've seen great participation in the Bicycle Commuter Contest and lots of practical cyclists out in the streets.

NOW is the time to return your mileage logs!

HOW:

• Drop your mileage log off at the Olympia Transit Center, 222 State Ave NE in downtown Olympia - OR
• mail it to: BCC c/o Intercity Transit PO Box 659 Olympia, WA 98507-0659

WHY:

1. You will receive a lot of valuable coupons form our sponsors for discounts and FREE STUFF!
2. You could win one of FOUR BICYCLES in a drawing (details below) from our sponsors
3. You could win a random prize drawing for a super-bright CatEye blinky light
4. You could win prizes in one of our many prize categories for days and miles
5. You will help us demonstrate the practical cycling is alive and well in Thurston County!

Bicycle prizes for 2011: This year we have the New Belgium Cruiser bike from New Belgium Brewing (on display at Ralph's Thriftway) PLUS a Raliegh commuter bike from the Bike Stand (on display in their window), a Trek commuter bike from Bike Tech (on display in their window) and $300 toward the bike of your choice at Joy Ride Bikes in Lacey. We will hold four electronic random-number-generator drawings on Monday, June 13 from among all BCC participants whose mileage logs we have in our hands at that time.

Don't miss the BCC Award Ceremony on Saturday, June 25, 9:30 am, Oly Farmers Market. Bike drawing and prize category winners announced (need not be present to win), prizes awarded, MORE random prize drawings for those present- tons of fun for the whole family!

Washington State is # 1 Bike Friendly State again!

Check out this  link to read about it.
http://streetsblog.net/2011/05/24/washington-tops-list-of-bike-friendly-states/