Cascade Bicycle Club Crosstown Traffic - Group Health Commute Challenge Update


The Puget Sound's Weekly Bicycle Commuter Newsletter from the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation May 17, 2006

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Group Health Commute Challenge makes front page news at the Seattle PI on Wednesday!

The Beat Goes On

Congratulations! We have broken all Commute Challenge records with more than 5,700 riders comprised of more than 640 teams and 375 solo riders for this month's Group Health Commute Challenge! The 2006 prize categories are now listed on the website; with several more to be announced during the final week. Most impressive is the fact that 550 teams featured new commuters; this is outstanding. TIP: you can sort out all team rankings by clicking on the column heading that you wish to sort by.

4 Big Reasons You Just Gotta Love Starbucks Bike To Work Day

Starbucks Bike To Work Day celebrations are this Friday May 19, 6-9 a.m.
This Friday is the big day for bike commuters across the nation. Be counted and take the streets for Starbucks Bike To Work Day. We have thirty-nine stations set up across Puget Sound that are stocked with 10,000 Clif bars and 7,500 water bottles plus other free goodies. Find your nearest station with our online interactive map. We count every rider that stops by, so let's smash the 11,115 record set in 2004!

Starbucks Bike To Work Day Rally & Mass Bike Ride
Fremont Bridge Mega-Station: 318 Nickerson Street 7:30-8:30am
Join us at the Fremont Bridge commuter station for our annual celebration rally and ride. This year's program starts at 8 a.m. sharp and includes a keynote address from State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Weller representing the 36th District (Fremont, Ballard, Queen Anne, Phinney Ridge). Senator Kohl-Weller was very helpful in securing millions in new funding for bike projects in 2005. Also speaking will be Jill Talcott from Starbucks Coffee Company and Cascade Bicycle Club Advocacy Director Dave Hiller. Following the short program there will be a self-guided mass ride up Dexter to downtown.

Bike for a Baguette
Grand Central Bakery is inviting all Starbucks Bike to Work Day riders to "bike for a baguette." Stop by the Fremont rally on the way to work or bring your bike helmet to their Eastlake or Pioneer Square bakeries on May 19 and receive a free Rustic Baguette (while supplies last).

Bike To Work Film Festival!
Friday, May 19, 2006, 7-9:30pm, Keystone Church
5019 Keystone Place N., Wallingford, Seattle, FREE.
“EASY ROLLIN' plus “RETURN OF THE SCORCHER” Classic Bike film shorts. For more info please email.

Sometimes it take two to run a team

NBBJ team captain Sean Airhart and his son captured last week on their commute to work.

Send us photos of your team for the next Crosstown Traffic.

Legbands & Team Captain shirt are in

Participant legbands, Team captain shirts and other team items are available from the club office during regular business hours. Plus, we just added a special after-hours pick-up tonight, Wed. May 17, 4 - 7p.m. Legbands & shirt sizes are first come, first served. Additionally all items are available at the Starbucks Bike to Work Day Rally, Friday May 19, 6:30-10 a.m. at the Fremont Bridge station.

Wear Your Legband Contest Winners

Be sure to wear your leg band on you or bicycle while you are commuting. You may win some great prizes. We are giving away two free Raleigh Cruiser Bicycles and hitting different locations so keep an eye out for CBC super-Ambassador and CBCEF webmaster Rebecca Szper and her prize posse!

Last weeks winners included:

Carl Grangudst, Team Carbos Jpegs team from Carbos.
Karen Kuter, Team Eight Less SUVs from Seattle Biomedical Research Institute.
Grand Prize winner Carol Wessberg, Team Super Sprockers from Nordstrom. Carol won a CBC Event passport, which offers free entry on all CBC rides except RAW!

Ride SMART

With so many cyclists on the road, we all need to help with safety messaging this month. In conjunction with the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation Ride SMART campaign, we will be highlighting different Ride SMART categories each week:

Tip #2: Be visible & be bright
Camouflage is for mountain biking. For road riding, be bright! Don't blend in with the pavement. For daytime riding, solid bright yellow, day-glow orange (the 80's never dies), screaming yellow-green, and white are most visible. After dark, all colors turn to shades of gray. To be seen in darkness by motorists you need to be reflective and you need to light up. WA law requires a white headlight and a red rear reflector. That is not enough. Use a bright red flashing rear light too, and wear reflective clothing, preferably on sides, front and rear like the safety vests worn by ferry and road crew workers. At dawn or dusk or on cloudy days, when car lights are looking bright, it's time to turn on your lights.

Tip #3: Be aware!
Keep your head up, and stay aware of the road surface and other vehicles. When passing parked cars, watch though rear windows and in rear view mirrors for drivers who may be about to open a door or start moving. Watch turn signals. Watch drivers' eyes to see if they see you. Be aware of traffic at driveways. Slow down and be ready to brake if you are not sure that a motorist is aware of you.

We Can Do It!

Week two cumulative ride data is in, and its pretty gosh-darn impressive:

Total miles: 296,694 (we reached the moon!)
Total days: 21,030
Calories burned: ~ 9.9 million (the equivalent of 60,303 bottles of Fat Tire Amber)
Gallons of gas saved: 14,000+ (more than $44,500)
Reduced CO2 emissions by more than a quarter of a million pounds

Congratulations everyone!

Thank You to the New Starbucks BTW Day Station Sponsors

In the previous Crosstown Traffic, we asked for companies or organizations to step up and help produce Starbucks Bike To Work Day by running a commuter station. We would like to thank the kind folks at Shannon & Wilson (Fremont /Burke Gilman Trail) and the Washington Trails Association (UW @ Blakely) for signing up.

Free Ferry Friday

Riding a bike and a boat to work? If you're coming from Bainbridge, Bremerton or Vashon, don't forget that Squeaky Wheels bicycle group on Bainbridge Island worked with Washington State Ferries to waive the bicycle surcharge for May 19, Starbucks Bike to Work Day.

The surcharge waiver applies to the following routes:

Seattle -- Bainbridge Island
Seattle -- Bremerton
Fauntleroy -- Vashon
Fauntleroy -- Southworth

T-Shirts

Stop by any of the designated Starbucks Bike To Work Day Stations that sell t-shirts on Friday to pick up a Group Health Commute Challenge or Starbucks Bike To Work Day T-Shirts. $10 each cash or check only please. You can also visit the Merchandise page to get an order form or to check out this year's design.

Best Team Name

The voting is fast and furious and the team names are funny and inventive; but if you try to cheat we will ridicule obvious corporate name plugging! So just be funny and be fair, but either way make sure to vote for your fave team name today. One vote per person please.

Calendar of Events

Month of May		Group Health Commute Challenge
May 19		Starbucks Bike to Work Day
Feb - Nov.		Cascade-Affiliated International Tours (Holland, Spain, Ireland, China)
June 17		Flying Wheels Summer Century
July 15-16		Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic
Aug. 4-5		Ride Seattle to Vancouver (B.C.) & Party (RSVP)
Summer		Summer Camps, Classes & Training for Youth
Aug. 19-26		Ride Around Washington (R.A.W.)
Sept. (TBD)		High Pass Challenge (Produced by CBC's High Performance Cycling Program)
Sept. 17		Cascade Spawning Cycle
Oct. 1		Kitsap Color Classic

EVENT SPONSORS

Note: as a registered rider in the Group Health Commute Challenge you will receive this newsletter weekly until the contest results are final.

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