The Number Game

As I sit here writing this blog, I can't tell you how happy I am that Bike to Work and School Day was relatively rain free. All last week I tried to push thoughts of rain soaked commuters out of my head as the forecast called for a 60% chance of rain on the morning of May 21. As I biked to work at 5:45am to set up for the days festivities I had tears, not rain in my eyes.

I was overcome with emotion on that ride as I thought about how over 300 volunteers donated their time and over 100 businesses donated prizes and food. Whatcom County had 28 public celebration stations and 31 schools hosted celebration stations. 100% of the public schools and most of the private schools in Bellingham participated.

Vince, owner of the Mt. Bakery, and a local artist, stops by the Public Market on

his way to work. Notice the organic eggs in his basket.

We counted over 8,300 bicyclists, pedestrians, unicyclists, skaters and scooters from 6:30-10am. At 10:02 it started to sprinkle.

A group of cyclists stop at the Public Market for a snack and a prize.

It was an amazing day, even if it did rain a bit in Ferndale and the temperature was about 10 degrees cooler than last year. People had fun biking and walking to work and school. I heard reports that families biked to school and said "that was easier than we thought it would be". Teachers sent me photos of hundreds of bikes piled outside the school.

Oftentimes people think that biking to work or school will take a very long time and will be much harder than driving. This is not always the case, in fact, many times it only takes about 5 - 10 minutes longer than driving (depending on where you live of course). My hope is that these families will continue to bike to school some of the time. I'm not asking people to give up their cars completely and bike everywhere, do what you can, try to bike or walk once a week, every little bit helps.

Jim loads up his bike trailer the night before Bike to Work and School Day.

Riding for Fun and Advocacy

All bike rides have something in common:  they take place on public roads, highways and trails in our state.  Making sure these roads and trails stay open and safe for bicyclists of all kinds is an important part of the mission of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington.


Many bike clubs and event rides support our work with a per rider contribution to the Bicycle Alliance of Washington.  When you participate in these rides, you also support our efforts!

Ride contributions helped the Bike Alliance to:

• incorporate bike and pedestrian share the road information into all driver's education curriculum,
• rally support for a bill that makes texting and talking on a handheld cell phone a primary offense,
• pass a law that requires all new traffic signals installed to be capable of being triggered by bicycles and motorcycles,
• establish and implement a Safe Routes to School program statewide,
• stop varied efforts to eliminate funding for bike and trail projects,
• And much more!

 As you plan your summer rides, be sure to check our Rides Calendar and include a ride or two or three that support our advocacy efforts.  You'll reap multiple benefits!

Joy of Bicycle Maintenance

Life is full of complicated responsibilities, baffling exchanges, and difficult choices that have no satisfactory resolution. As adults, we learn to live with these vaguely unsatisfying tasks as part of the normal course of life. Often we compensate for those inconclusive moments by seeking fulfillment and gratification from other activities.

Routine bike maintenance provides the perfect opportunity to compensate for those less-satisfying times in life. There’s something mesmerizing about watching your chain come clean; something compelling about ridding the gears and pulleys of accumulated filth; and something fulfilling about tuning your derailleurs for the perfect shift. I know some people dread caring for their bikes, but I love the sense of accomplishment when I finally wash that grease off my hands and take my finished project for a test ride.

The silence of rolling on a well-maintained bike is profound, a sound you never hear in a gasoline-powered vehicle. The swift click of changing gears on a properly-tuned derailleur, the slight hum of slick tires on the pavement, the gentle whir of the chain – every ride, these noises speak of a job well done. I can almost hear my bike whispering “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” every time I ride after basic maintenance. That tangible positive payback provides me with a deep, daily satisfaction.

If you haven’t tried some basic maintenance, perhaps this is your chance to give it a whirl. In the Seattle area, The Bikery, Bike Works, Cascade Bicycle Club, and REI (among others) all offer bike maintenance classes of varying depths. In other parts of the state, Pedals2People, Capital Bicycling Club, and EverybodyBIKE offer maintenance classes. And, if worst comes to worst, a quick internet search for "bicycle maintenance classes" in your geographic location will bring up classes; many websites also offer detailed instructions on bike maintenance procedures. Remember, the worst thing is you have to take your bike to your local bike shop for emergency repairs.

Trade Your Car for a Bike!

Tour de Fat, New Belgium Brewing's touring bicycle carnival, is rolling into Seattle on July 31.  This day long celebration of all things bicycle includes a costumed bike parade for the young and old, live entertainment, a beer garden, food vendors, and a car-for-bike-trade procession.


The car-for-bike-trade is when a lucky winner (maybe you!) hands over his/her car, title and keys in exchange for a tricked out, custom New Belgium commuter bike.  This bike becomes your mode of transportation and the motor vehicle is auctioned off and proceeds are donated to the Bicycle Alliance in your name!

Ready to enter?  To be considered, you must submit a 2-minute (or less) video telling your story and why you want to be car-free.  If you have a Facebook account, you can do this directly on Tour de Fat's page.  Not on FB?  No worries.  Email zlevis@newbelgium.com.

Three years ago, Bike Alliance member Jeremy Vrablik was the lucky car/bike trade recipient.  Recalls Jeremy, "They brought me up on the Tour de Fat Stage, made me do a little dance, then took the keys to my gas guzzling Isuzu Rodeo."

Jeremy received a beautiful custom built Black Sheep cross bike equipped with panniers and a Bob trailer to help with his transition into a full time bike commuter, and he's never looked back.  "No more traffic jams, no more searching for parking, and no more paying for gas," he says.  "Life is good!"


Relive Jeremy's Tour de Fat moment in this video.

Bike to Work Day Success

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so, in lieu of writing a short story, here are pictures of the Bike to Work Day stop hosted by the Bicycle Alliance and JRA Bike Shop.

At 6:30 am, we only had a few takers, but we were ready for anything. Notice the brand-new BIKE PORT signage, indicating the completion of the long-awaited transition from Bikestation.

A happy Seattle bicycle commuter: Dry, fed, and well-caffeinated.

Executive Director Barb Culp oversaw the 6:00 am to 8:00 am shift and even had a good time doing it.

By 7:30 or so, a steady flow of commuters came for coffee, pastries, Clif bars, and the chance to win a free bike or Bicycle Alliance jersey.

I'm pretty sure the Bicycle Alliance was the only Bike to Work Day stop that had a Metro bus come by.

This father-and-son duo said they participate in Bike to Work Day every year. Way to go, starting them biking early!

We had quite the hopping stop during the prime commuting hours. The two large travel containers of coffee and pastries vanished by the time our second shift -- Eileen and Ref, of King County Metro Transit -- came on board. Later commuters happily snapped up Seattle and King County bicycle maps, free water bottles, and the opportunity to win a bike or Bicycle Alliance jersey.

Eric Berg of JRA Bike Shop performed on-the-spot repairs for commuters.

Commuters even had the opportunity to try out and practice with the Metro bike test rack.

All in all, our unofficial poll (results below) indicates that the Bicycle Alliance & JRA Bike Shop's Bike to Work Day stop was a success.

Careful what you wish for....

What do bicyclists and rabbits have in common?

I recently received a link to a blog by a fellow named David Hembrow, who lives in Assen, Drenthe, Netherlands. I felt such a kinship with the good news that his community has established bicycle parking in connection with transit -- in this case, a train station. I hope you were also as impressed as I was by the town's rush hour You Tube video on the blog.

But, I guess the bad news I also know so well is that there is still not enough. Bicycling and increases in parking enter into a marriage of sorts, and the union is blessed with a steady and prolific production of bicyclists.

That would make advocates for bicycle infrastructure like the marriage counselors, easing the troubles that any relationship would struggle with; money, communication skills, procreation vs recreation.

Bike Culture--who needs it?

“Bike culture.”

How many times have you heard this buzz-phrase? Bike enthusiasts and advocates talk about it. They all seem to want it. Alternative transportation advocates in New York City even considered the topic important enough to merit a “Bike Culture Summit” earlier this month.

But what is bike culture, anyway? Does it mean anything, or is it just one of those terms-of-the-moment that sound good rolling off the tongue, like “paradigm shift” or “synergy”?

A Google search on this much-used phrase returns 4,040,000 hits (more or less), with links to websites featuring everything from World Naked Bike Ride Day to bicycle-operated water pumps to a bicycle dance team. Does this bring us any closer to a definition? I don’t think so.

But if you cruise through North American-based bicycling websites, you do get the idea that when people talk about “bike culture,” what they’re really referring to is the subcultures of bicycling that exist here—that amalgam of groups, from fixie fanatics to weekend warriors to hard-core commuters, that makes up the bicycling scene on this side of the Atlantic.

Contrast this kind of self-conscious group identification with North America’s car culture. When most Americans get in their cars to go to work, they don’t consider themselves to be part of a cultural phenomenon. And when they drive to the supermarket, they’re just going to the store. That’s because car culture is so mainstream that it isn’t a separate culture at all—it’s an inherent part of American culture. We built the infrastructure for motor vehicles, and the rest came naturally.

That’s the way it is with cycling in countries where two-wheeled transport is considered mainstream. Take Denmark, for example. If you go to a dinner party in Copenhagen, chances are good that every guest will have arrived on a bicycle. And if you marvel at this phenomenon, the Danes will be amused and a bit puzzled. It’s just how they get around. And the reason they do is thanks in no small part to official transportation policy and infrastructure that favor the bike over the motor vehicle.

So maybe we North Americans should be less concerned about bike culture and more concerned about just making cycling a safe, convenient and comfortable option for transportation and recreation. And not just for road warriors and cycling enthusiasts, but for everyone. Then the bike culture will take care of itself.