Alki Summer Streets this Sunday – Join the Party!

May 14th, 2013 by

Come celebrate summer bicycling at Alki Summer Streets this Sunday, May 19.

From 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. the city of Seattle is closing down its largest public space – its streets – so people can walk, bike, roll, run, skip and shop – without having to watch out for cars.

I am particularly excited about all the fun bicycle-themed activities this year. Alki Beach Creeps will host the largest costumed bike parade in West Seattle’s 111 year history.  After the parade, West Seattle Bike Connections will run bicycle safety course for kids. Cascade Bicycle Ambassadors will be on hand to help kid’s bikes decorate and answer any and all bicycle related questions.

Here are the details:

- 11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Bike decorating. Fun for all ages at 63rd Ave SW and Alki Ave SW on the bike path side of the street.

- 12:45 p.m.:Meet to parade down Alki to Don Armeni park. We will loop back and finish at 59th Ave SW and Alki Ave SW.

- After the parade we invite all families to stick around to try the bicycle safety course hosted by West Seattle Bike Connections.

If parading isn’t your thing, join us anyway to checkout live music, skateboarding demos, a tye-dying station and more!

Posted in Events, Kids on bikes | 2 Comments »

Kirkland Greenways gaining momentum

May 13th, 2013 by

Since Kirkland Greenways kicked off the greenways movement on the Eastside with its first meeting in February, they’ve been busy with public meetings, presentations to neighborhood associations and the Kirkland transportation commission and organizing rides.

Turns out that there are many people around Kirkland who really care about making neighborhood streets safer for all users.

Ready to learn more about greenways in Kirkland? Want be part of the greenways movement?  Attend one of the upcoming events in and around Kirkland:

Kirkland Greenways will be presenting on

- Tuesday, May 14, at the South Rose Hill/Bridle Trails neighborhood association meeting.  This meeting will take place at Lake Washington United Methodist, from 7-9 p.m.

- Monday, May 20, at the North Rose Hill Neighborhood Association meeting. This meeting will take place at Fire Station#26, 7-9 p.m.

KG will also be present and available for questions at the following events:

- Finn Hill Neighborhood Association meeting on Wednesday, May 29, at Finn Hill Jr. High, from  6:30-7 p.m.
- Walk ‘n’ Roll Safety Fair on Friday, June 7, at Juanita Beach Park from  3-7 p.m.

Posted in Advocacy, Eastside, Greenways | 1 Comment »

Shutting down TWO lanes of I-5?

May 13th, 2013 by

Imagine if two lanes of I-5 were shut down. You would face an unprecedented traffic nightmare. 

You wouldn’t be able to get to work on time. It would take hours to pick up your kids from school. It would be painful to get just about anywhere.

Now imagine if the only reason these lanes were closed was the Washington State Department of Transportation couldn’t do its job. I don’t know about you, but I would be pretty angry.

This is basically what’s about to happen unless the state legislature grants King County Metro a new long-term funding solution to replace its current temporary stop-gap funding. If the legislature doesn’t act now, Metro will be forced to cut 17 percent of our bus service.

Since 400,000 people ride the bus on an average work day, a 17 percent cut would mean 68,000 people would be forced to drive or simply not be able to get where they need to go. That’s the equivalent of shutting down two lanes of I-5, simply because the legislature couldn’t do its job.

There are two ways you can help save our buses and prevent a traffic nightmare:

1. Contact your state representatives and tell them you support a transportation bill that includes state support and local funding options for transit and safe streets.

2. Attend a Public Hearing of the King County Council and tell them how bus cuts would affect you:

Tuesday, May 14
3:30 p.m. open house
4:00 p.m. public testimony
Union Station, 401 S Jackson St, Seattle

 

This is about more than preventing a traffic nightmare. It’s about providing people with the basic freedom to get where they need to go.

Like 10,000 other people in the Puget Sound region every week, I load my bike on the bus to get to work. My wife needs our car to drop the kids off at day care on her way to work, so I rely on the bus to get to work and make a living. Hundreds of thousands of your friends and neighbors rely on the bus to get to work, school, shops, restaurants, and places of worship.

A 17 percent cut in bus service would be devastating for all of us. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Prevent a traffic nightmare, tell your state representatives to save our buses.

Posted in Advocacy, Meetings & turnout | 1 Comment »

Commute Challenge sponsor Adobe achieves BizCycle Gold

May 13th, 2013 by

Back in 2002, when Seattle’s bicycle commuting rate hovered around 2 percent (it’s now 3.5 percent) and gas prices averaged $1.60 per gallon, Adobe Seattle installed a bicycle workshop for its employees in an effort to support and encourage bicycle commuting. Far ahead of the bicycle-friendly employer curve then, Adobe continues to lead the pack and is now certified in BizCycle’s first cohort as a Gold level bike-friendly workplace.

Today the “Zac Imboden Bike Cage Workshop” serves the 5 percent of Adobe employees who commute to work by bike, getting them to and from home safely with tools for everything from fixing a flat to truing a wheel. The workshop and other amenities are monitored by SeaBike, Adobe Seattle’s internal bike group that provides a communication and community hub to inform employees about facilities and encourage riding.

SeaBike has been around since before 1997, according to Jeff Moran, a Senior Engineering Manager at Adobe who spearheaded certification.  SeaBike informs employees about Adobe’s incentive programs for alternative commuting, pairs inexperienced commuters with a bike buddy from their neighborhood, messages about upcoming bicycle events at Adobe and connects employees to bicycle advocacy organizations in the community. Each month, SeaBike nominates the bicyclists who rides in the most  as Commuter of the Month, and the lucky pick receives what is known as the best spot in the bike cage to park in style all month long.

While Adobe’s bicycle culture is evident and its cyclists are enthusiastic about spreading the joy of biking to work, Moran traces the success of Adobe’s bicycle program back to the company’s supportive and responsive local facilities team and on-site leadership that recognizes the benefit of putting funds toward cycling.

“I joined Adobe in 1997 because their logo was on the 1996 Bike To Work Day water bottle. Seriously, my selection process was that simple,” Moran explains. “As an Adobe Seattle cyclist I’ve simply set out to keep the community strong and Adobe helps me at every turn.”

Not only does Adobe demonstrate top-notch support internally for bicyclists, this year Adobe is presenting the Commute Challenge as part of Bike Month, an event that encourages over 12,000 people to commute to work by bike during May and beyond.

Adobe scored 35 out of 50 possible credits to receive Gold level certification, but there’s still room to improve.

“At this point Adobe Seattle does so much to encourage and support bicycle commuting that this itself is our biggest challenge,” said Moran.

The next step is to focus on how to attract new riders and retain fair weather riders. A women’s bicycle commuting group is in the works to support female bicyclists who might be in either category.

Congratulations, Adobe! Adobe joins twenty other workplaces in the region who support bicycling. Would you like to see your organization on the list? Visit  bizcycle.cascade.org or email bizcycle@cascadebicycleclub.org to learn more.

Posted in BizCycle | No Comments »

My mom, the cyclist

May 12th, 2013 by

My mom is many things.  She’s passionate, protective and stubborn. She’s also a small business owner, a homemaker, a dreamer and, most importantly, my mom. But up until a year ago, one thing she was not, was someone who rode a bicycle.

Let me back up a litte. Back in the day when my mom was in college and child-free, she rode her bike to campus and all around town.  I picture her as a youth of the ’70s, wildly riding along the beach to class. Fast forward to when I was around 9 years old. I remember my mom making time for me, her oldest child,on Saturday mornings. Before the sun was up, we would get on our bikes and ride a few miles and then stop for an early morning doughnut. We both rode heavy mountain bikes because those were all the rage in late ’80s. I remember having fun but generally I was in it for the Saturday morning treat. At that point, most of her bike riding was about her two daughters. When I became a teenager, these outings stopped as did my mom’s biking. This story is not unusual one for many parents.

Four years ago my mom told me she wanted to start riding again. I shared with her all the information she asked for, and I even got her a helmet. She kept talking about riding but she still wasn’t actually riding. Slowly, she started looking at my bikes with a slightly more interested eye, asking me questions about how far I ride and what I’d recommend. She even scoped out a  local bike shop that she was going to get a bike from.  But again, she kept talking about biking but there was no action.

But then, last May my mom’s precious crazy dog passed away. She was heartbroken. This dog was adorable, needy and practically dictated my mom’s schedule. Within a week of his passing, my mom got back on that old heavy mountain bike and went for a ride flat six-mile ride. She called me up super excited about her plan to ride two or three days a week, going a little further each time. A month later she had a new bike. By December she was  riding 18 miles with 2,000 of elevation gain. She told me she had a goal to ride to the top of Gibraltar Road within the next two years. Two months latter she hit her goal.

My mom rode her bicycle 24 miles with a 3,500 ft of climbing, and when she reached the top of the mountain, she realized she could go anywhere on her bicycle, she felt so free.

My mom’s story is what we hope many people’s stories are – the story of discovering the joy of two wheels. Now whenever I talk to my mom, she tells me about all the people she is getting to ride bikes. Her determination and joy inspires me in my job.  To my mom, the passionate bicyclist, a very happy Mother’s Day!

Posted in Women ride bikes | 1 Comment »

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