This Blog Post was co-authored by my fellow AmeriCorps member, Mary Collins

As you may have noticed, our blog has been heavily populated with ponderings on the now-dark homeward-bound commute.

We’ve been thinking a lot about cyclist safety and also pedestrian visibility in the dark winter months.  Last week, three of Cascade’s AmeriCorps members (myself included) spent time handing out free blinky lights to pedestians walking, jogging, and generally frolicking along the Burke Gilman Trail-ok, it was a little chilly so unfortunately there was minimal frolicking.  Overall, despite the brisk temperatures, this was a great event for Cascade and brought to light (pun intended!) the issue of bike-pedestrian trail sharing and safety, especially after sundown.  We talked to a number of pedestrians and cyclists who expressed enthusiasm for increasing their own visibility as well as gratitude for efforts to up the wattage of trail users across the board!

Some important lessons learned included:

• There are way more people walking at night than you might expect!  We gave lights away at the intersection of 65^th and the Burke Gilman, and were really surprised about the amount of trail traffic which passed through in just 90 minutes, especially on a November evening!
• Pets need to be just as visible as their owners!  There are definitely some creative solutions to light up your pet, and judging by the number of dogs who passed by without lights, this is an element of night strolling which has slipped through the cracks.
• People are incredibly grateful for anything free, even if it’s just a little blinky light.  We had a number of conversations with people about how to support Cascade, donations often inspired by just the simple act of promoting trail safety.

Thus, it seems that although our goal last Monday was simply to increase awareness and address the problem of pedestrian visibility along the Burke, it turned out to be an experience about much more than just simple solutions.  Though we were handing out lights, we were handed back smiles, gratitude, and appreciation-in the end, were the true recipients of a free gift!

One of our members forwarded us a note from Cycle Oregon about Mark Bosworth, an event volunteer, who is missing. Bosworth vanished after he left a booth on Main Street, near Riddle High School, around 11:30 p.m. Friday. If you’ve seen someone fitting his description, please contact the police right away. Here’s the flyer. There is a $10,000 REWARD for information that directly results in locating Mark.

Mark Bosworth, a Rider Services volunteer for the past four years, has not been seen since 11 p.m. Friday night in Riddle, when he parted ways with a friend and was believed to be headed back to his tent. We don’t know anything about his whereabouts since then, and we’re asking you to try to recall if you encountered Mark or have any idea of where he might have gone. Mark, pictured here, had complained of exhaustion and headaches, and may have been acting erratically Friday evening.

An extensive search-and-rescue effort is underway, and we’re hoping you can provide information that could help. If you recall seeing Mark at any point Friday evening or Saturday, please contact the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office right away at 541-440-4471.

8/2/11 update

Over the weekend, our staff remembered that Mike Wang had participated in the Bike Month Photo contest. The photo to the right brought smiles to our faces. Mike was also in the (unofficial) 100% commute club for the Group Health Commute Challenge on a team at PATH, where he worked. They’ve set up a page where you can learn more about Mike and view his photographs.

A memorial fund has been set up for Mike Wang’s family. Contributions can be made at any BECU branch.

Yesterday afternoon, a cyclist was the victim of a hit-and-run at Dexter Avenue North and North Thomas Street. You may have seen the news stories that said he died, then recanted and said he didn’t die.

We are deeply saddened to learn that the cyclist has passed away as a result of yesterday’s hit-and-run. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. We call on the driver of the vehicle to do the right thing and come forward to the police.

The at-large vehicle is described as a brown, American-made SUV with tinted windows and a chrome roof rack. If you see a vehicle fitting this description, please contact the police immediately.

And guess what? Bike Month is not just for grown-ups. Bike Month is for kids and teens, too! And just like we have a brand-spanking-new website for the Group Health Commute Challenge, we also have one for the Bike to School Challenge!

Middle and High School students can sign up to participate in this awesome competition at biketoschool.cascade.org. When these teens sign up, they are automatically put on a team with the other bicycle riders at their school. Then they can log their trips and miles and win fabulous prizes! Their names are entered into a prize drawing for every trip to school made by bicycle, so the more often these students ride their bikes to school, the better their chances are of winning! We have a grand prize for the rider who has logged the most miles by the end of the month, plus we’ll throw an ice cream party for the students at whichever school has the most participation! Check out the website for more information about prizes and rules.

Are you a student? Sign up today! The first 50 students to sign up will receive a sweet “I’m on a BIKE!” t-shirt. And tell your friends! The more people riding their bikes to your school, the more likely you are to beat all the other schools in Seattle. Plus, riding is more fun with friends. Find a buddy who lives near you and make the trip together.

Are you a parent? Tell your kids! Elementary school students can also participate in an offline version of the challenge. (Contact Jenny Almgren for Elementary School information.)

Are you a teacher? Tell your students and your colleagues! Spreading the word is half the battle, so make sure students hear about the Bike to School Challenge loud and clear. Need some help, information or resources? Let me know.

More than three weeks ago, I helped run and organize the Major Taylor Spin-a-thon. I had never been to a spin-a-thon, let alone help run one, so I had no idea what to expect. As the spin-a-thon approached, I did my duties, making a flier, registering eager participants, and making sure we had all the foreseeable kinks out of the system.

And then the day of the event came. I arrived hoping that we would have at least one hour of a full house, and it was impossible to tell how many people were there with people running in and out of the room, heading to change, picking out the ideal location and chatting with old spinning buddies, but I was extremely impressed to find that we had almost every saddle filled for the first two hours and only one empty bike the last hour. This included some intrepid Major Taylor teens who got to see what stationary biking was all about. What made this even more impressive was the fact that we had managed to wrangle up five extra bikes the day of the event.

Apart from the fact that it was full, people were so excited about the cause that we actually had 25 people ride for all three hours. I was exhausted just watching them, but they gave it their all, and along with everyone else, we more than doubled our goal of $5,000 and raised nearly $12,000, with money still coming in three weeks after the event.

Thank you everyone who came out to support our efforts, and thank you Ed for inspiring so much enthusiasm for the Major Taylor Project.

Remember that alphabet game you used to play in the car? First person says, “I’m going on a picnic, and I’m going to bring…an Apple.”

Then the next person goes, “I’m going on a picnic, and I’m going to bring an Apple and some Brie.”

Next person brings the Apple, the Brie and Coco Chanel. And so on and so forth. You get the drift.

Now let’s play the game with Seattle Bicycle Expo exhibits! The exhibits, after all, are the meat and potatoes of Expo, the structure around which the artistic cyclists twirl, the Bike Snobs vent their curmudgeonly frustrations and the fashionistas strut their cycle style on the Traffic Stoppers runway.  (Pardon the mixed metaphors.)

So here we go (I may have to stretch for a couple of these)…

I’m going to Expo, and I’m going to check out:

Alaska Bicycle Tours
Bike Works
Clif Bar – sponsor!
Dutch Bike Co.
Echelon Gran Fondo
Family & Cargo Bike Booth
Group Health Bike Fits — bring your bike for a custom fitting
Honey Stinger
Ibex Clothing Company
Jamis
Kenmore camera — sponsor!
Lance Armstrong Foundation
Momentum Magazine — sponsor!
Nutcase Helmets and nuun — both sponsors!
Ortlieb — sponsor!
Phil’s South Side Cyclery
Quadracycles at the Lightfoot Cycles, Inc. booth
Raleigh and REI — both sponsors; Raleigh’s the title one!
Second Ascent
Tacoma Wheelmen Bicycle Club
Ultima Health Products, Inc.
Velo Bike Shop
Washington High School Cycling League
…hmmm, no X, except for the one in Expo…
Yakima County Crime Stoppers Inc.
and Zigo.

Phew. 

This is a long list for sure (and if you can memorize it, I’m impressed), but it only scratches the surface of all of the exhibitors who will host booths at Expo this weekend. I’m sorry I can’t list them all. For a full list, go here. Or even better, come to Expo and explore. This Saturday and Sunday, March 12 and 13. We’ll see you there!