Welcome Alaffia Sustainable Skin Care as BCC's newest sponsor!

Alaffia Fair Trade and Sustainable Skin Care will be offering a discount coupon for their online store to all of this year's BCC participants who return their mileage logs. Check out the Alaffia Website to find out more about their products and philosophy. Welcome aboard Alaffia!

Bills of Interest to Cyclists

Here are some links to information about cycling-related bills working their way through the process in the Washington State Legislature...

HB 1339 ("Vulnerable User" bill)
HB1071 (relating to roadway design)
HB 1129 (relating to driver education)
HB 1018 (driver-bicyclist mutual responsibilities)

HB 1129 passes in House of Representatives

See the link below for details on what this bill does:
http://www.bicyclealliance.org/programs/legislation.html

Bike of the Week

Just keeping my eyes open on the way to work this morning,
I counted nine other bike commuters as I pedaled through town
on a chilly February morning. I like it!

Seen From The Saddle- Feb 2, 2011

• Took the sceninc route home last night and was rewarded with this nice view. I do actually pull over and stop to take these...
• Last night's Capital Bicycling Club meeting was fun, seeing a video about the English frame builder Jack Taylor, and some very classy old bikes. Aslo confirmed CBC's sponsorship of the Bicycle Commuter Contest for 2011- thanks!
• Coming: 2 new Commuter Profiles in the works and later, a how-to video on loading your bike on the bus.

CBC's Classic Bike Show tonight



...at the Capitol Museum coach house, 7:30pm- see post below or click on title of this post for details...



A cool video about taking your bike on the bus...

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoFFg0W9UME

A Typical Parisian Utility Bike, c.1970 (Bike of the Week- Jan. 28)

    So simple and elegant- how much more does one really need?
    Have a good weekend!

Fun upcoming events to brighten your cycling winter

• Capital Bicycling Club's Classic Bike Show: Wed. Feb. 2, 7:30 pm Capital Museum Coach House 211 21st Avenue Southwest, Olympia See the CBC web site for details about this event and all the other great stuff your local bicycling club is up to: http://capitalbicycleclub.org/
• Seattle Bike Swap: Sun. Feb 13, 9am-2pm Seattle Center Exhibition Hall 225 Mercer St. Seattle- see the Cascade Bike Club's website for details: http://shop.cascade.org/content/events/seattle-bike-swap
• Seattle Bicycle Expo: Saturday, March 12, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.and Sunday, March 13, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Smith Cove Cruise Terminal 91, near the Magnolia Bridge in Seattle. Info: http://cascade.org/EandR/expo/index.cfm

Have fun- maybe I'll see you there!

A Visible Biker on a Foggy Morning Commute...

Actually a pretty pleasant ride in today- the fog seems to muffle sound a bit like snow, so it seemed quiet, at least until we got closer into town and joined the flow of car commuters. It was definitely a day for yellow jackets and bright, fully charged blinky lights though- visibility was down to about 50 yards in some places.

Welcome To Our Fresh, New Look!

Our new blog layout is designed to be easier to read and navigate. Hope you like it! I'll be updating some of the other features on the blog in the next few days as well- stay tuned and happy cycling- the weather looks good the next few days- just watch out for ice if you ride in the early morning.

A Washington State Senate hearing today of interest to cyclists...

Click here to See the Cascade Bicycle Club's blog for details...

Don't Be an "Invisibiker"!

The days are starting to get longer, but it is still dark early in the evening, and I still see un-lit cyclists riding in the dark every day(many in dark clothes as well). I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but if you or someone you know are cycling after dark without lights, please reconsider. It may be trendy, you may feel like you are flying under the radar, or may feel you just can't afford the expense or don't have time to get to the bike shop. Please just stop and think for a minute.

• Inexpensive LED bike lights are widely available (you don't need the fanciest one!)
• A front and rear LED light and batteries are much cheaper than an ER visit.
• In dark clothes and without a light, you are INVISIBLE to drivers. Not a problem for you? Wait until one turns left in front of you, or pulls out from a side street into your path.
• It is considerate of other users of the road to be visible, and your consideration benefits all cyclists.
• It's the Law. In Washington State you must have a white light on the front of your bike and a red rear reflector if you ride after dark.

Thanks for not being an "INVISIBIKER"!

BCC 2011 on Facebook

We've added Facebook to our array of communication tools- check out our page here: BCC2011onFB .
For now, the most exciting or different thing about our FB page is that I am gradually posting photos there relevant to the BCC. Check out the albums there to see photos of BCC events, "Bikes of Thurston County",

and other photos of interest to the local bike commuter.

"View From the Saddle" on this morning's commute...

It just seems like you see more from your bike!



BCC News: Preparations in Full Swing

Now entering its 24th year, the Bicycle Commuter Contest encourages community members of all ages and abilities to use bicycling as a means of transportation, and gives rewards and recognition to novice and veteran bike commuters alike. We're looking forward to all of our great events this year and we hope you'll join us! We're off to a running start with preparations for BCC 2011. Dates are set for our major events:

• Earth Day Ride: Saturday, April 23, 2011 (more info to follow about time and place)
• Wrencher's Ball: Friday, April 29, 2011 (BCC registrants get a free bike safety check)
• National Bike to Work Day: Friday, May 20, 2011
• Award Ceremony: Saturday, June 25, 2011 (more info to follow about time and place)

Stay tuned here for frequent updates, news and bicycle commuting tips and stories. Get important BCC news and updates emailed directly to your inbox by signing up for our e-newsletter. Just send me an email at dgreen@intercitytransit.com and I'll add you to our list! (We never share your contact info with anyone)

A window on the world, past and present...

 You can carry almost anything on a bike... China, 1987

If only we had parking issues like this! Holland, 2010

                                                     

2010 BCC Survey Results

280 people responded to our 2010 BCC Survey. 90% of them had participated in the BCC. Here are some highlights of their answers to our questions:

The top 3 motivations for participating in the BCC were:

• Personal health and well-being
• Concern for the environment
• To lead by example

About 40% of respondents made most of their trips by bike already (before participating in the BCC). Of those who did not, most (33% of respondents) drove alone and many used a combination of modes of travel.

17% of respondents said that the BCC influenced them to try practical cycling, and 49% of all respondents said that it influenced them to bike more frequently.

Respondents had many reasons to feel the BCC was a rewarding experience. 48% liked the coupons, and many people commented that it is most rewarding to contribute, be a menber of a team or of the greater cycling community, and to feel that one is making a difference.

One respondent did not participate in the BCC because s/he feels that it is just for "wannabes" and fair-weather cyclists, unlike her/him, who rides year-round. Our survey results show that while many of our participants are new to bike commuting or ride more during the BCC(and those are two of our main goals), a significant number of BCC participants choose cycling as their primary mode of transportation year-round.

Whether or not you responded to the survey, please feel free to contact me at any time with questions, ideas or feedback about the BCC!

Rutted, half-frozen slush!

Cycling condtions on the way to work this morning made me feel so fortunate to have a good bus system as a back-up for at least part of my commute today. The roads near my house were mostly covered in rutted, half-frozen slush. The bike lanes were deep with it, and navigable only with much difficulty. Cars whizzed by hurling tsunamis of heavy, dirty goosh six feet in the air and all the way to the shoulder of the road. When I was a little younger, I probably would have toughed it out and ridden the whole way, but today I decided to put my bike on the bus for the first part of my commute. That got me downtown where the melting was a little farther along, and from there I rode the rest of the way to work without difficulty, getting wet only from the rain, and from being a bit over-dressed! For more information about taking your bike on an Intercity Transit bus in Thurston county, visit intercitytransit.com

If you rode your bike to work today, or have a story to share about commuting by bike or bike-and-bus, feel free to leave a comment here on the BCC blog, or email me at dgreen"at"intercitytransit.com

Snow in the forecast...

I grew up riding my bike to school everyday (five miles through the snow, barefoot - OK not really!) in northern Illinois regardless of the weather, so I became accustomed to biking in snow and ice at an early age. Now that I am older and more brittle (if not wiser) I have decided to try studded tires for frozen slippery weather. The tires I bought came with a recommendation to ride them on dry pavement for a few miles to seat the studs before putting them through snow and ice. So this morning, with only a little black ice here and there, but snow in the forecast for this afternoon, I thought this would be the perfect day to try them out. The tires were definitely slow and a bit squirrelly on dry pavement, and sounded like a scaled-down version of studded car tires on the road. We'll see if we actually get any snow and if so, how easily I get home tonight!





The BCC Blog is open for 2011

Hello and welcome back to the BCC blog- your resource for Thurston County bicycle commuting information, support and encouragement! I'm back in the saddle and gearing up for the 2011 Bicycle Commuter Contest. We're going over the results of our survey from July 2010 and taking your responses into account. We've had some great input and look forward to implementing some new ideas to make the contest even better, more rewarding and more fun this year. Stay tuned here for news about the BCC's annual events coming up in April, and about the improvements we're planning for BCC 2011!

I'll be biking to work every day and keeping my eyes open for other intrepid winter bike commuters- let's stick together to make it through the remaining cold dark months until spring! If you are one of those year-round bike commuters and have a story to tell, road condtions to report, or just want to check in with your local practical-cycling community, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog or e-mail me at dgreen"at"intercitytransit.com. I do moderate comments on the blog, so they won't show up instantly.

Just a reminder since the days are still short and visibility can be an issue for drivers with wet or dirty windshields: Stay Visible! Bike lights are relatively inexpensive and getting better and brighter all the time. Get the brightest, best lights you can possibly afford, and mount them so drivers can see them. Reflective clothing and accessories help too. The reflectors on your bike can be a help, but also only if they are mounted and aimed properly. Reflectors work by reflecting the light from headlights directly back to the source, but they are pretty directional, meaning if they are tilted toward the ground or the sky, that's where the reflected light will go. Don't be an "Invisibiker"!

Stay safe and keep pedaling,
Duncan