2017 BCC Rider Profile Number 2- Maxine

Maxine on her bike in Portland

As the librarian for the Olympia Mountaineers, I make sure that we have a great selection of books for cycling, including how-to’s for Urban Cycling and great maps for biking in Europe, USA, and elsewhere.  I love to help people get started in biking especially those who don’t seem to be “the type”.  I was an earlier “adopter” of Warm Showers, and have virtually never driven to work over my entire career.   A late bloomer, I was the last kid in my neighborhood who could balance on a bike. While in high school in Maryland,  I heard of some kids who had biked to Canada. I was enthralled! For years I couldn’t find anyone to tour with, so finally I just went by myself…took 20 years to work up the desire enough to not worry about having a partner. My first bike tour was for 3 months, alone, camping, in Europe.  I have never stopped since then. For that first tour I starting in Warsaw and biked through Lithuania to my Grandmother’s home town (think 1899) in Latvia.  It was hard to find maps, so I just used a compass. Towns were too far apart so I slept in fields.   I’m not strong or fast, but, who cares? Smile, you can go biking! 

Bike Month Wraps up May 31!

May 31 is the last day to count your biking miles in the BCC!

•  BCC ends: Wednesday, May 31, 11:59pm

• Last day to enter miles retroactively: Friday, June 16, 11:59pm

The weather outlook (if that is a factor for you) is somewhat nicer for tomorrow, so how about biking to work, and then biking somewhere for lunch? Or just doing a nearby errand by bike? Add some miles to your 2017 BCC total, and pull for your team if you're on one. Let's make it a great year for the BCC, for our 30th birthday!

Black River Prairies and Farms Bike Ride

 Grab your bike shorts, your bike, and head out to the Black River watershed for a 9 mile or 26 mile bike ride past prairies and working farms!
Saturday, June 10, starting at 10 AM
South Thurston County
On offer are two bike routes, a 9 mile loop and a 26 mile ride. Both rides will begin at Little Rock Saloon. Riders will travel north up Endicott Rd SW and loop west to Mima Mounds Natural Preserve Area on Waddell Creek Rd SW. There is a hill at the beginning and returns to mostly flat ground after that. There will be a bathroom stop and snack/water station available at Mima Mounds Natural Preserve Area about 7 miles into the ride. Riders have the option of exploring Mima Mounds Natural Preserve Area. From there, riders can head back to Little Rock Saloon or continue heading south on Mima Road SW for an additional 17 miles of scenery past Capitol Land Trust properties and Glacial Heritage Preserve.
To sign up: https://capitollandtrust.org/black-river-prairies-and-farms-bike-ride/
This is not a BCC or Intercity Transit sponsored ride.

One Full Week Left in Bike Month!

There's only a little over week left to track your bicycle travels in the 30th Annual Bicycle Commuter Challenge, so make sure to log in and add your rides to get your rewards coupons and get entered to win prizes!
The BCC is about using your bicycle to get around- wherever you may be going. So log your trips to the grocery, out to the movies, or over to a friend's for dinner- and of course your trips to work or school. Let's show Thurston County (and the world!) that bicycling is a great way to get around. 
If you're on a team, logging your trips ups your team's chances of winning prizes too!

2017 Rider Profile and Tribute: Rick Kunkle, 1962 - 2017

On March 3, 2017 Rick Kunkle died at age 55 of a rare form of brain cancer. His most recent commuting bike has every BCC sticker going back to 2000. We are pretty sure Rick rode in just about every Bicycle Commuter Contest since it began thirty years ago. He commuted on his bicycle year round for most of his life. It was just one of the ways he lived his convictions of the importance of living lightly and sustainably.
His love of bicycling started early.  His first large purchase which he saved and saved for was a ten speed bike.  He also gathered old bikes and parts to build his sister a bike. He was always very thorough in cleaning, working on the brakes and gears or getting professional tune ups.
For over 30 years Rick commuted to the Washington State Energy Office and later the Washington State University Energy Program where he worked as a research engineer to study and improve energy efficiency programs in Washington State and around the country.

BCC Begins: Sign up now and leave the spaceship at home!

The 30th Annual Thurston County Bicycle Commuter Challenge begins May 1, and runs for the whole month of May. Sign up now and participate anytime in May to receive awesome coupons and free passes in the mail, and get entered to win awesome prizes! Stay tuned for details about National Bike to Work Day, Friday, May 19.