Tomorrow is PARK(ing) Day!

Tomorrow, September 21, people around the world will be transforming street parking spaces into mini-parks and public space.  Yes, it’s the return of International PARK(ing) Day!

PARK(ing) Day Tacoma - Downtown on the Go

PARK(ing) Day began in 2005 when Rebar, an art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space in downtown San Francisco into a temporary public park for two hours—the allotted time on the parking meter.  A photo of the temporary on-street park circulated on the internet and PARK(ing) Day was born!

Last year, metered parking spots in 162 cities in 35 countries were transformed into 975 temporary parks.  People were invited to use their streets in a fun and different way, and the public was encouraged to rethink the value of a metered parking space as public space.

If you live in Tacoma, check this map to find out where the dozen plus PARK(ing) Day mini-parks will be in your community.  They even suggest a PARK(ing) Day walk route for you!  Downtown on the Go and a host of others are the organizers for this year's events.

Seattle also has a dozen plus spots reserved tomorrow.  Here’s the map for Seattle’s PARK(ing) Day sites.  The Bicycle Alliance is co-hosting a Summer Lawn Party PARK(ing) Day site in Pioneer Square.  Drop by for some games, hang out in the lawn chairs, watch members of The Guardians put on a bike polo demonstration, and more!

12 Million Miles Pedaled in National Bike Challenge

The Get up & Ride National Bike Challenge ended August 31 with 30,000 riders, representing all 50 states, pedaling 12 million miles!  While the NBC fell short of the 50,000 riders they hoped would participate, they exceeded their goal of 10 million miles.

This was the first year the challenge was organized as a national event.  Washington State had 594 riders participating in the NBC and logging in over 228,000 miles.  We had bike riders in communities large and small, urban and rural.  People logged their miles in Seattle, Spokane, Bellingham, Port Angeles, Tri-Cities, Vancouver, Pullman, Moses Lake, Walla Walla, Ellensburg, and more!

One of the cool things that emerged out of the NBC was the online encouragement and camaraderie.  Each state had its own Challenge page and Washington riders regularly posted questions, comments, and words of encouragement to each other.  Many are already looking forward to next year’s event.  Posted one participant:

I enjoyed riding with you all during this challenge. I am already thinking about next year and hoping to see our WA participation go to 1,000 or more. I hope we all keep riding and promoting bicycling in our great state.

The Bicycle Alliance also held a random drawing of prizes for August participants and the winners are:

Corrie Rosetti (Lewiston-ID-WA) – Tifosi sunglasses

Tammy Neslin (Tri-Cities) – Tifosi sunglasses

Josh Miller (Seattle-Bellevue) – AG wallet

Tiffany Ostreim (Longview) – AG wallet

Winners need to email Louise McGrody by September 15 to claim their prizes.

Call for Auction Donations!

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington is gearing up for its Annual Auction Gala and we have a lot to celebrate!  We are marking our 25th anniversary as a leader in growing bicycling around the state, celebrating the success of Safe Routes to School, and looking ahead to a future when folks of all ages and abilities can safely ride their bikes to work, play, learn, shop, get healthier, and have fun.

But there is more work ahead.  We need to shift the transportation balance, alter the political climate, and sway attitudes in favor of bicycling and its benefits for everyone--whether or not they ride.  The auction is our primary fundraiser and we hope you will support it by making a donation today.

We look for a range of items that will generate spirited bidding and represent the whole wide world of bicycle riding.  Our attendees are active folks who appreciate adventures, getaways, and unique experiences.  A private weeklong sailboat charter, a customized and catered weekend bike tour, a stay at a Maui condo, and a gourmet Mediterranean dinner for six have been highly prized offerings in the past.

Other popular donations include theatre and sporting event tickets, gift baskets, ski passes, handcrafted jewelry, private winery tours, massage/spa packages, and recreation opportunities.  Restaurant and retail gift cards are also welcome.  And so is a cash donation.

Please use our online donation form to submit your auction donation, and contact Louise McGrody if you have any questions.  To ensure that your donation makes the printed and online catalogue, we need to receive the information by October 15.  

Check our auction page for more information about the event, then save the date--November 3--and join us at the auction!  The event is a ton of fun--read about last year's auction here.

Nord Alley Transformed into Tour d'Alley

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington, Alley Network Project, and a host of other groups brought Tour de France to Pioneer Square this year.

For two weeks, we set up a big screen, chairs, and an information table and invited the public to join us in watching the Tour de France in Nord Alley.  We transformed our alley into vibrant public space.

People took us up on it and turned out daily to watch this elite event.  The mountain stages were especially popular.  We were joined by tour enthusiasts, our Pioneer Square neighbors looking for a lunchtime activity, and curious passersby.

Coffee and snacks were provided daily and many arrived with their lunch.  One afternoon, we even served up hotdogs and sausages on the grill!

The 2012 Tour de France is over and Bradley Wiggins made history by becoming the first British champion of this event.  You can read the account from Cycling News.

August First Thursday Open House to Feature Independent Woodworks

Join us for a summer First Thursday open house at our Pioneer Square office on August 2!  Our office gallery will be open from 5:30-7:30 pm, and we're featuring the inspirational and functional woodwork of Jesse Knutson of Independent Woodworks.  Jesse is displaying bicycle-inspired custom furniture pieces, like the bench to the right.

A $10 donation will get you a Bicycle Alliance membership, a limited edition pint glass, and some Schooner Exact beer!

While you're here, wander back to Back Alley Bike Repair and check out the bike art they have on display.  Then view the Diving Belles art display in Nord Alley.

Calling for auction donations!

It's a party with lots to celebrate!

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington is gearing up for its Annual Auction Gala and we have a lot to celebrate! We are marking our 25th anniversary as a leader in growing bicycling around the state, celebrating the success of Safe Routes to School, and looking ahead to a future when we can all safely ride our bikes whenever and wherever we please.
 
Please support our auction celebration with a donation.

We need a range of items that will generate spirited bidding and appeal to the whole wide world of bicycle supporters: unique getaways, active experiences, handcrafted items, gift baskets, recreation opportunities, and other enticing products. Popular offerings in the past include a Colorado Rocky Mountain getaway, a week at a Maui condo, a catered taco wagon party, ski & stay packages, gourmet meals, symphony and theater tickets, event ride entries, restaurant gift cards, handcrafted jewelry, quilts, private wine tastings, massage/spa packages and more. 

Not sure what to donate? Cash is always welcome.

Submitting your donation is easy.  Just use our online auction donation form!  You can also print out our donation form, complete it, and mail it in.

Donation questions?  Contact Louise McGrody.

This year's auction is slated for Saturday, November 3 -- again at Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion.  Be sure to check the Auction page on our website for more information and updates.

National Bike Challenge Update

Thanks to Scott Chilberg for writing this post.

Riders all across the country pedaled their way into the third month of the Get Up & Ride: National Bike Challenge this July, passing the halfway mark of the nationwide competition with the same vigor and determination that characterized the kickoff of this four-month event in May. We’re proud to have signed up 576 participants in 69 different teams statewide, and to see our dedicated riders hitting the streets, trails, and pathways every day and fastidiously logging their miles online.

Our numbers as a state are outstanding. Together, we’ve racked up 143,127 miles (enough to circle the equator more than 5 times!) over the past two and a half months, and saved 131,016 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and $38,494 by riding on two wheels instead of four.  

The end of June also saw a second wave of individual prizewinners. Gene Smith from Tacoma won a wallet from Alchemy Goods, Amity Friestman from the Tri-Cities won the Frog lights, and Jennifer Gilpin from Seattle-Bellevue-Everett won a membership with the Adventure Cycling Association. As a reminder to the winners, if you haven’t done so already contact Louise McGrody at louisemc@bicyclealliance.org to claim your prizes!

Congratulations to all, winners or no, for an awesome first two months! Thank you to our local prize donors, Alchemy Goods and the Adventure Cycling Association, and to every single participant who’s logged even one mile toward the Washington State total thus far. We’ve got a month and a half left, so throw aside those car keys and keep biking!

RAPSody: Early Discount Ends July 15

In a month and a half, hundreds of bicyclists will ride around the Puget Sound, following a meandering course on paved trails and back roads, over the water and through the mountains, in a scenic weekend ride broken up by delicious snacks and beautiful rest stops along the way. The 9th annual RAPSody, a 170-mile overnight bike ride hosted by five Puget Sound bike clubs, is taking place August 25th-26th and is open for registration at a discounted early bird rate through July 15th.

If the event description alone doesn’t convince you that this is something you want to be a part of, consider the fact that proceeds from the event benefits you!  Proceeds from RAPSody support the Bicycle Alliance's statewide advocacy and education efforts. And, just for being one of our members, you can receive an additional $10 discount on top of the reduced early bird rate.

For further details about the route, logistics, food offerings, and training tips and to register online, visit the RAPSody website, or, if you still need convincing, look back at our previous blog post showcasing the ride.

RAPSody has enjoyed eight extremely successful rides to date and has provided an idyllic and challenging weekend adventure for thousands of bicyclists over the years, and, if you register as a Bicycle Alliance member before July 15th, you get to take part in the experience for just $75. Join us and other riders from all over Washington State and ride around the Puget Sound!

A tip of the helmet to the five bike clubs that organize RAPSody:  BIKES Club of Snohomish County, Capital Bicycling Club, Cyclists of Greater Seattle, Tacoma Wheelmen Bicycle Club, and West Sound Cycling Club. 

Tour d’Alley

This post was contributed by Scott Chilberg.

The Tour de France is the epitome of summer. The athleticism, the captivating, pulse-raising excitement, the camaraderie and the competition, all framed by the soft French countryside with its quaint towns and vineyards, is the perfect celebration of the sun’s return. So there’s something terribly wrong about the fact that many of us, due to the unfortunate lack of summer vacation in the professional world, must watch the taped footage of this epic race indoors in the evening after work.

This is precisely why the Bicycle Alliance, along with the International Sustainability Institute, the Metropolitan Improvement District, and a slew of neighborhood sponsors, are bringing the Tour de France outside, to the Nord Alley! As you may recall, the Nord Alley played host to the enormously successful alley watch parties for the World Cup 2010, and we’ve decided to bring them back for all you bike fans out there. We’ll be hosting viewings of this action-packed race from 11:30am to 1:30pm every weekday (except July 4) that it’s running, and will even incorporate some prizes and daily deals from local Pioneer Square businesses.

You can find more information on the Tour d’Alley, including event dates and a full list of sponsors, at the Alley Network Project’s website or on the Facebook page. Whether you’re a devoted fan or a casual observer, the Tour de France has something to offer everyone, so bring your lunch and come watch with us!

From Dusk 'til Dawn: Good Times at the 2012 Nine to Five All-Night Bicycle Scavenger Hunt

photos by the author except as noted.

                                James Grindle photo
The fourth annual Nine To Five All-Night Bicycle Scavenger Hunt had an auspicious beginning as declared by a double rainbow that appeared when the sky cleared after some rain drops and intimidating clouds. This ride, organized by Go Means Go began and ended at Gasworks Park in Wallingford. 

    Only a piece of the double rainbow that showed up as the ride started (looking south from Gasworks)

                            Admiring the awe-inspring sky (looking East from Gasworks)

                               Participants receive final instructions before the ride starts
This was my first time participating in the Nine to Five, and the first time that I’ve stayed up until dawn in more than a decade.

The ride was a blast. There were about 75 participants, some solo riders and others organized into teams of up to five riders. I teamed up with Benjamin Rainbow of Back Alley Bike Repair and James Grindle to compete in the scavenger hunt.

                               And we're off! (James Grindle Photo)
The challenges were issued on three manifests which were distributed progressively through the night; participants received one at the start and the second at midnight and the third at 2:30AM. 

    Midnight meetup at the Collonade

    2:30 AM meetup at Ly's Donuts on 45th and Roosevelt
Riders earned points by:  1.) collecting items specified on the manifest,2.)fullfilling photo opportunities from the manifest, and/or 3.) completing “Shoot for the Moon” challenges by riding to farther flung locations to find a cryptic message on a sticker stuck to a sign post.

Our team of three completed all three shoot for the moon challenges by assigning one to each teammate, this way we each got to put on some miles. I made a fifteen-minute sprint to Mercer Island from Pioneer Square at about 1:30 AM and was able to make it back to the U-District for the 2:30 rendezvous. To complete the other two shoot for the moon challenges, Ben rode to West Seattle and James rode to Meadowbrook Pond. The photo opportunities provided some of the most fun, forcing participants to have spontaneous interactions with strangers. For example we had to pump gas for a stranger. These guys were Dick’s Drive-In employees getting off the late shift and were happy to let us pump their gas.

                                 Ben pumping gas for a couple of Dick's employees

                                 the author at Gasworks, 5AM bike lift (Ben Rainbow photo)

      Dawn at Gasworks! (James Grindle photo) 

    Josh pitching the tent at the finish for 5 extra points. Ben's in a daze for zero points. (James Grindle Photo)

    The team is ready for some sleep after earning 315 points

Fun was had by all participants except for a few who had mechanical failures or had their bike stolen during the hunt! I managed to get 5 hours of sleep on Sunday morning and only had to cut short my work day on Monday by a couple of hours.

    Greg Mertzlufft addressing the group from the podium ten hours after registration opened.

    The trophy and other prizes

The winning team accepts their trophy!


So just days later and it’s back to regular daily life, but the 2013 Nine to Five is already beckoning.

Hub and Spoke is Returning to Vancouver

Bicycle Alliance of Washington is returning to Vancouver with another Hub and Spoke event!  This time we’ve partnered with Bike Clark County to present a half-day workshop to discuss techniques and opportunities to grow bicycling in Vancouver and surrounding communities.

 

Hub and Spoke: Vancouver

Growing Bicycling in Your Community

June 21, 2012, 12:00-4:45pm

Public Service Center, 6^th floor, Hearing Room

1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver

In this interactive workshop, attendees will examine models from around the state and nationally, discuss opportunities to promote safety, expand Safe Routes to Schools, and learn how to engage your community to make riding a bike easier for everyone. discuss opportunities to promote safety and economic development locally, and develop tools for engaging with local and state governments to make riding a bike easier in their community.  We’ll also take a short bike tour, so be sure to bring your bike!

There is no charge for the workshop but space is limited, so please register using our online registration form.  Light refreshments will be provided.  The workshop will be followed by a Hub and Spoke Happy Hour.

Can’t attend the workshop but still interested in getting the lowdown on what’s happening for bicycling?  Join us for a post-workshop happy hour which will include a discussion with state and local advocates.  No RSVP is necessary for the Happy Hour.  Celebrate Bike to Work Week with us!

Hub and Spoke Social Hour

5-7 pm at Niche Wine Bar

1013 Main Street, Vancouver

National Bike Challenge off to a Good Start

Thanks to Scott Chilberg for assisting with this post.

May – Bike Month -- kicked off the 2012 Get Up and Ride National Bike Challenge, a free nationwide competition that encourages biking as a primary form of transportation and recreation. The Challenge, which runs through August, gives individuals and teams the opportunity to log their miles and compete for prizes. This is the Challenge’s debut year and the Bicycle Alliance, always seeking ways to grow bike ridership, was excited to step up as state representative.

“Not all of our communities hold Bike to Work events,” stated Bicycle Alliance ED Barbara Culp.  “This is an opportunity for all Washington bike riders to get involved with an organized event that tracks their miles and qualifies them for prizes. For bicyclists who are signed up for local Bike to Work events, this is an incentive to keep their bike momentum going throughout the summer.”

We had 480 Washington bicyclists registered for the first month of the Challenge. Bike riders from Port Angeles to Clarkston are biking to work, to the store and for fun.  Nationally, nearly 26,000 riders were signed up for the Challenge in May. 

Each month, riders’ miles will qualify them for prize drawings both nationally and locally.  Alchemy Goods of Seattle has generously donated some of their products as prizes.  Congratulations to Glen Buhlmann and Dave Braun.  They were the winners of our local prize drawing for May.

The Challenge runs through the end of August so it’s not too late to sign up.  Go to nationalbikechallenge.org to register.