Contest spurs many to jump on bike

By John Dodge | The Olympian • Published May 01, 2008

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OLYMPIA – Thera Black usually walks to work. But on Thursday, the first day of the 21st annual Bicycle Commuter Contest, the Thurston Regional Planning Council transportation planner jumped on her bike.

Black is one of 800 commuters to sign up so far for the monthlong event, which draws bicyclists of all ages and experience out of their cars, at least part of the month.

They compete for prizes, but more importantly, they exercise, save money otherwise spent on gasoline creeping toward $4 per gallon, reduce traffic congestion and put a dent in greenhouse gases spewed from the tailpipes of vehicles.

"For a lot of people, bicycling to work is a conscious lifestyle choice," Black said during a morning commute break near Decatur Street and 14th Avenue, where members of the Southwest and Northwest Olympia neighborhood associations and South Puget Sound Community College Sustainability Committee offered hot drinks, juice, bagels, banter and words of encouragement for their biking compatriots.

"It's nice to see people stop on their way to work and take the time to talk," Black said.

Among the Decatur Street welcoming committee was SPSCC humanities professor Kathleen Byrd, who regularly commutes to school by bicycle in the spring and fall quarters.

"I'm seeing more bicycle commuters at school," she said. "People see other people doing it, and they want to give it a try."

SPSCC student Peter Adrian said he has been riding his bicycle to school full time for a year, roughly a 10-mile round trip.

He said he was sold on the bicycle as a healthy, environmentally friendly form of transportation, and he started the Clipper Cycling Club at the college this year, hoping to encourage others to ride their bikes to school.

"We've got a dozen or so members so far," he said.

The monthlong Bicycle Commuter Contest is sponsored by Intercity Transit. More than 1,000 participants last year logged about 87,000 miles on their bicycles, saving about $14,000 in fuel costs and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by about 80,000 pounds, organizers say.

As sign-ups continue throughout early May, this year's total number of bicycle commuters could match or exceed last year's record number, IT spokeswoman Meg Kester said.

Two pre-contest events — an April 20 Earth Day Market Ride to the Olympia Farmers Market and an April 25 bicycle safety check and tune-up called the Wrenchers Ball at the Olympia Transit Center — drew record numbers of participants, Kester said.