Bike to Work Day Tri-Cities

Friday was an absolutely beautiful day after wind, rain and cloudy skies in Eastern Washington. A perfect day to bike to work.

I have spent the last year living and working in the Denver, Colorado area where Bike to Work day is a pretty big deal. Break stations are set up along the bike paths and routes to serve a little breakfast or energy to continue to work. Vendors come out to connect with new or veteran commuters. Best of all you get a chance to interact with a lot of people who commute, even if it's just that one day or week a year. That makes a difference.

As I biked to work last Friday (May 15th) I did not see any other commuters and there was no celebration for Bike to Work day. Now I do not make this observation to condemn the Tri-Cities for not making a big deal out of Bike to Work or even urban commuting. It is an observation, rather, of a different area that is growing and changing.

Just a year ago there were fewer commuters and cyclists in the Tri-City area of Eastern Washington. With at least two clubs, a 20 mile bike path along the great Columbia River and more bike paths surfacing every year, the Tri-Cities (that is Richland, Pasco and Kennewick, Washington) are poised to make a very big deal out of commuting if not Bike to Work day and/or week.

Yes, this area has a long way to go to become more bike friendly and aware, but the first step is getting more cyclists out there to let the citizens know this is not a fad but a fundimental change in the way people are choosing to commute even if it's just one day a week, month or year.

As of this moment I am dedicating myself to helping Bike to Work Month (May), week and day become more prominent in the Tri-City area. Here's to Bike to Work Week Tri-Cities 2010!

Not a buzz commuter, but a novara commuter!

Found this on the Bike Commute Tips Blog. Thanks to Paul Dorn for allowing me to reprint this story.

Love the photo of loading the Novara bike (looks like a Randonee) on the rail! Note the Novara Commuter panniers as well.

From the Sacramento Bee, 04.30.09:
Commuter: A 'multi-modal' journey

In 1992, Paul Dorn sold his car, which wouldn't be such a big deal, except he never bought another one. Now he has written a book showing others how to get by with less car use or no car use at all.

"The Bike to Work Guide: What You Need to Know to Save Gas, Go Green, Get Fit" (Adams Media, $7.95, 218 pages) focuses on helping the 57 million cyclists in the United States "extend the fun they have bicycling on weekends to their daily commute."

"I didn't set out to become a bike commuting expert. I had a modest goal of creating a Web site, and that led me to have an ongoing conversation with bicyclists," said Dorn.

Dorn is not a bike rider fixated on speed. He equips his touring-style bike with a rear rack. He usually rides wearing loose-fitting hiking shorts instead of tight-fitting Lycra. "People should ride whatever they are comfortable in and whatever suits their style," he said.

Read more about this story, Paul Dorn and his new book on the Bike Commute Tips Blog.

Bike Your Drive and more...

Since May is bike to work month I thought I would offer some of the great resources available to begin bike commuting.

The first is one I believe I've mentioned before: the Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge. This is a great first step. Most household errands are within 2 miles of home and the majority of those are done with a car. If we could bike even one of these per week, just 2 miles, we can be a bit more healthy and reduce our impact on the environment.

The next is REI's Bike Your Drive. This is a challenge and a resource for anyone just beginning to commute, a current commuter, or even those of you simply interested in bike commuting an d looking for more information.

Last is a blog and site I started reading a year ago when I started bike commuting: Bike Commute Tips Blog. This blog has been listed, along with a couple others, on my favorite blogs. The blog offers info for those interested in bike commuting, but wonder about the tight bike pants. Commuting can be for anyone and everyone. The Bike Commute Tips Blog offers information for those curious and currently commuting.

There they are...a few great resources. A lot more information is available and continues to grow as bike commuting becomes more popular and viable.

Hope any one of these may be an inspiration to get out and add a little pedal power.

Bike to Work

So May is Bike Month and also when bike to work day occurs. Washington's bike to work day is on Friday, May 15th. I hope everyone will get out and do what the can to bike to work on that Friday. I know it is a Hanford Friday off for those located in and around the Tri-Cities. Please get out on that bicycle anyway and show your support for a great alternate, and healthy, form of transportation.

Here in Kennewick and the Tri-Cities the local REI and Ben Franklin Transit host the Commuter Challenge for the month of May. It's great to see a lot of people participate and support urban commuting in the Tri-Cities community.

I have noticed a lot of people commute riding in Richland and Kennewick as opposed to recreational or exercise. Hopefully the number of commuters and the diverse group of participants help bring awareness for such a simple alternative to sitting in a car and burning fuel everyday.

I hope you all decide to take the challenge of riding your bike, or even borrowing a friend/relative's extra bike and get out on May 15.

Buzz commuter moves to Eastern Washington

A little over a year ago I moved to Colorado leaving my wife and home to work. Part of pursuing my career ended up including bike commuting for that year.

Now, for various reasons, I am back in Eastern Washington back with my wife and home...still dedicated to bike commuting.

Over the last couple of weeks, as I ride in this area, I can't help but compare urban commuting and cycling in general to Colorado. So much is different.

Even though traffic and drivers could be challenging in Colorado; here I feel as though drivers do not even care about sharing the road with an alternate and far older form of transportation. Even in the bike lane drivers pass well within three feet. It is challenging.

May is bike to work month and I plan on making the commute as much as possible. I also hope to build urban commuting awareness in this area over the next year.

A Brilliant Idea - Portable Bike Lane

A close brush with a distracted driver is enough to intimidate the most avid bikers from riding at night. The problem isn’t just about visibility, as safety lights are effective at capturing the attention of a driver. However, these lights are typically constrained to the bike frame, which highlights only a fraction of the bike’s envelope. Bike lanes have proven to be an effective method of protecting cyclists on congested roads. One key is that the lane establishes a well defined boundary beyond the envelope of the bicycle, providing a greater margin of safety between the car and the cyclist. Yet, only a small fraction of streets have dedicated bike lanes, and with an installation cost of $5,000 to $50,000 per mile, we shouldn’t expect to find them everywhere anytime soon. Instead of adapting cycling to established bike lanes, the bike lane should adapt to the cyclists. This is the idea behind the LightLane. Our system projects a crisply defined virtual bike lane onto pavement, using a laser, providing the driver with a familiar boundary to avoid. With a wider margin of safety, bikers will regain their confidence to ride at night, making the bike a more viable commuting alternative.

A friend sent this post to me...I've noticed it on several other blogs. The first came from here.

October review and 1000 miles

October came and went quickly. Missed posting the entire month so here is a quick review:

Just before leaving for 10 days in the southwest I hit 1000 miles on my commuter. The odometer is at 700, but I put at least 300 on the bike prior to getting the bike computer. It has also been three months without a car and a bike or public transportation as the only means of transport. I have to say I still really enjoy biking to work and everywhere else.

I used a site to measure the value of my 1000 miles. I guess I saved about $250. That just about pays for the bike. Can't remember how much carbon I kept out of the atmosphere, but it was kind of cool to see the numbers.

I now have a light for the commuter and a couple new bad weather pieces of gear; mainly a new jacket.

I broke the cord on the bike computer the other day and still haven't fixed it. The last mileage reading was 850 miles. It sure adds up.

Well, that's about it for this little update. I hope to be more active on the blog this month.

I will be doing a class on winter weather commuting at my work this month. Hope to have a pic or something to add from the class.