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.

Friday Fun: Zoobomb!

If you happen to be in Portland on a Sunday evening and in need of an adrenaline rush, grab your bike, helmet, lights and other protective gear, and hop the light rail to Washington Park Zoo, then take the elevator to the top.  There you can join fellow cyclists--and maybe some skaters and longboarders--for an exhilarating Zoobomb!

Zoobombing involves riding bikes (or skates or skateboards) as fast as you can down West Hills.  This event has been happening regardless of weather every Sunday evening since 2002 and is firmly ensconced in Portland's bike culture.  Do a search on YouTube and you'll find tons of videos of this event.  Sample one below.

Willie Weir and Kat Marriner recounted their zoobomb experience in a series of blurbs on their blog, Yellow Tent Adventures.

In Lieu of Birthday Gifts, Celebrate Your Favorite Non-Profit!

Ever think of throwing a birthday party and designating a non-profit or charity as the recipient of gifts your friends and family want to bestow upon you? That's what Michelle LeSourd, new Bicycle Alliance member, decided to do when she celebrated her birthday earlier this month.

"I wanted to bring people together to commemorate a major milestone in my life, my 50th birthday, but wanted to discourage them from buying me gifts. So instead, I decided to ask them to donate to a specific organization, letting them know that it was completely voluntary. The Bicycle Alliance of Washington promotes two of my favorite causes: healthy lifestyles and environmental awareness."

Michelle asked her friend Jack Hilovsky (new Fund Development Manager) to bring a donation jar and printed material to share with the party revelers. She e-mailed her guests ahead of time letting them know about her preferred charity and made an announcement during the party. While Michelle jammed on guitar with a band comprised of some of her siblings and nephews, guests wrote checks and deposited cash in the jar. By the end of the night, contributions totaled $155.

Consider contacting the Bicycle Alliance of Washington during the upcoming months if you have a birthday and want to celebrate the good work of your favorite non-profit (we hope that it's us!!). We're happy to send a representative to give a short speech briefing guests on our mission, or mail to you some of our promotional materials, including our newsletter, cycling stickers, and bike maps.

Contact Jack Hilovsky, Fund Development and Membership Manager, for further details and inspiration. He can be reached at jackH@BicycleAlliance.org, or call 206-224-9252, Ext 306.

Going Strong at 25

When a dozen Seattle cyclists gathered in the fall of 1987 to create a new organization, email, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs were the realm of science fiction and fantasy. Those cyclists came together as the Northwest Bicycle Foundation and their vision was a 24/7 advocacy organization with “more people bicycling more often.”

To say that the world has changed drastically in the last 25 years would be a complete understatement. Indeed, many more people are biking, and millions of dollars are spent on bicycle facilities from trails to safe routes to school to cycle tracks. Today that fledgling group from 1987 is called Bicycle Alliance of Washington and we have grown from a few dozen Seattle advocates to an army of thousands across Washington – focused on growing bicycling statewide.

And what a quarter century it has been as we’ve grown from an attic office with a part time executive to our new headquarters in Pioneer Square with statewide program managers, and newly hired policy director and development manager. Notable achievements include:

• Passage of the Cooper Jones Act. Prompted by the death of Cooper Jones in Spokane, the Bicycle Alliance worked feverously with Cooper’s parents David and Martha Jones to pass this bill. It requires mandatory driver’s license retesting for drivers involved in fatal or serious injury collisions and created grant funding administered by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission . 

• Growing Safe Routes to School. In 2008, we launched SRTS as a pilot project in three schools and today 31 school districts around the state are offering bike safety education to students. This program has grown from $1,000,000 appropriation for infrastructure changes, to upwards of $10 million. 

• Creating the Share the Road license plate. With financial backing from life member Don Martin, we jumped through many hoops to be granted a Share the Road specialty license plate. Plate sales help fund bicycle safety education statewide and over 4765 plates have been sold to date. Use this link to purchase one today!

• Incorporating biking and walking info into motorist education. The Bicycle Alliance, assisted by super-volunteer Brian Faller, helped rewrite the Department of Licensing driver’s education manual bicycle/walking subsection which now includes test questions on the license exam. Share the Road license plate funds were used create an interactive curriculum for driver’s education courses that educates young drivers. 

• Making texting and hand held cell phone use while driving a primary offense. Working with the Distracted Driver’s Task Force, we helped to pass the Text-Talk-Ticket bill.

• Local area advocates are the key to our success. Beginning in 1993, we conducted six workshops around the state to teach bicyclists to be effective advocates and prepare them to serve on bike boards and committees. Our advocacy outreach was expanded in 2010 with a grant from the Alliance for Biking and Walking which created a series of community workshops we call Hub & Spoke: Growing Bicycling in Your Community.

To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’re planning a fall anniversary celebration where we’ll launch our new website and unveil our new logo. You’ll get a chance to meet our new executive director, and say goodbye to outgoing ED Barbara Culp. Stay tuned for details!

OSPI Safe Routes to School Summer Institutes

OSPI Safe Routes to School 

Summer Institutes

Seattle Pre-Institute– August 9th Institute – August 10th

Spokane Pre-Institute – August 16th Institute – August 17th

Come take part in this opportunity to share and learn about creating safe routes to school in Washington State.

The Summer Institutes are offered to participants in the SRTS Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education grant 2010-2012, as well as educators and individuals interested in the Safe Routes to School. The Institute will provide an opportunity for teachers, volunteers, and interested individuals to attend sessions on bike and pedestrian safety education, encouragement and engineering best practices, and many other topics.

Pre-Institute:  Come to this day if you are… 

• New to Safe Routes to School and want an overview of the SRTS Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Education Curriculum so you can implement the program next fall or include it in future SRTS grant proposals 
• Familiar with Safe Routes to School and want to gain hands-on skills on specific topics (such as bike handling skills, walking audits, telling your story about Safe Routes to School, etc).

Institute:  Everyone should come to this day to share experiences, develop new skills, and learn about best practices around the state of Washington.

The Summer Institutes are free to attend but registration is required. Teachers can receive at least 8 clock hours free through OSPI if you register in advance.

 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

 

MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE 

QUESTIONS: Seth Schromen-Wawrin (Safe Routes to School Project Coordinator, Bicycle Alliance of Washington)

Summer Institutes Supported by:

Bicycle Alliance of Washington

Cascade Bicycle Club – Education Foundation

Feet First

King County Food and Fitness Initiative

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Spokane Regional Health District

Washington Department of Transportation

Safe Routes to School Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education Grant 2010-2012
funded to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction by the Washington State Department of Transportation

Friday Fun: Way Back Home

Danny MacAskill is an amazing bike handler and I never tire of watching of this video. All that Scottish landscape is bonus.  Happy Friday!

Say hello to Elliott Bangs

Please welcome Elliott Bangs, who has joined the Bicycle Alliance staff as our Office and Membership Manager.  He is a lifelong resident of Puget Sound and previously served as the Membership and IT Coordinator at CityClub, a Seattle nonprofit which promotes civic engagement.

Elliott is delighted to be part of an organization that promotes the growth of bicycling in Washington.  He recently returned from a six-month, 6000-mile solo bicycle tour from Seattle to the Panama Canal.

"I dreamed of taking such a trip since the summer of 2006, when I first toured on the Pacific Coast.  That was the summer I truly fell in love with the bicycle," recalled Elliott.  "Having crossed the deserts of Mexico and the seemingly-endless mountain ranges of Guatemala, my daily cross-town commute might still be my proudest cycling accomplishment," he added.

When not at work, pedaling, eating or sleeping, Elliott is aspiring to be a fiction writer.