sending it up the flagpole

Go for it, Seth, this sounds like a great idea.

I hope you get enough participation to get a bunch of media attention.

Lewis.

........................

[email hidden] (Seth Jayson) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Here in Chicago, there is a yearly media "commuter challenge" in which the Mayor's office gets
together local media "celebrities" (their word, not mine) from TV, radio, etc. and they race them
against cars on a short commute, to prove that biking is preferable to cars.

Of course, the fix is in. The cops hold traffic for the bikes, even though there's no need.

Anyway, as editor of the local sports mag, somehow I got on the list. Always interested in biting
that hand that's invited me, I thought it might be fun to challenge all the "picture of the day"
news types and city politicos to a REAL commuter challenge.

I've printed up some fliers and talked to a few of the TV reporters. I've gotten some support for
the idea. Thought you 'benties might find it interesting.

-----

Bike to Work Day is a start, but we can do more. In order to prove that bicycling is a real
transportation option, Seth Jayson, of Windy City Sports, is throwing down the gauntlet for a true
commuter challenge.

The rules are simple: You, or a designated member of your organization, ride a bike to work, every
day. No excuses. There is a central jackpot that starts at $20 and goes up by $20 for each day
that the challenge runs. If you skip a day on the bike, you are out. The last person left riding
claims the jackpot for their favorite local charity. The jackpot amount is paid, in equal shares,
by all the other riders.
-----

My hope is that there's some reporter or producer who's as stubborn as I am, and we can get this
thing going for a few months before the last one cracks. If I get it arranged, I will encourage
side bets for charity...

sj

If I were in Chicago, I'd sign up!

(Seth Jayson) said:

I had heard that in the past, the police had helped put the fix in on this event. This year, no one
held traffic, but we did have one policeman on a mountain bike. I didn't know this thing was
considered a race. I was tooling along at a comfy pace, when I see the cop busting his hump,
blowing through stop signs like crazy. (Lights, no but signs, yes.) When he drafted a car, I saw
that this was a competition, so I gave chase. I dropped the rest of the pack and caught him, but we
got snagged at a red, at which point one more member of the pack caught up. We got to the
destination at the same time, so our 1-2-3 finish was determined by who was more willing to blow
through the j-walking pedestrians. I was too polite, so I lost out.

Anyway, we beat the car by almost 100% (big surprise). a few of the TV and radio people seem into
it, along with the folks at SRAM, so I may have talked myself into more bike riding than I had
planned this summer.

Seth Jayson said:

The rules are simple: You, or a designated member of your organization, ride a bike to work,
every day. No excuses. There is a central jackpot that starts at $20 and goes up by $20 for each
day that the challenge runs. If you skip a day on the bike, you are out.

Might take a while. I've been cycling to work for 12 years. In that time, I was driven once (about 8
years ago) after an accident meant I couldn't reach the handlebars without worrying about the wound
opening (next day, after I'd had it stitched and it had had 24 hours of healing I was OK). If I'd
had the recumbent tricycle then, I'd have ridden it one-handed.

Are you expecting your challenge to reach a conclusion within (say) 10 years?

regards, Ian SMith
--
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|o o|
|/ \|

[email hidden] (Seth Jayson) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Here in Chicago, there is a yearly media "commuter challenge" in which the Mayor's office gets
together local media "celebrities" (their word, not mine) from TV, radio, etc. and they race them
against cars on a short commute, to prove that biking is preferable to cars.

We had a similar event to this from this town to the neighboring town last month in which 2
e-bikes won.

Quoted message said:

Bike to Work Day is a start, but we can do more. In order to prove that bicycling is a real
transportation option, Seth Jayson, of Windy City Sports, is throwing down the gauntlet for a true
commuter challenge.

Although this is a tourist and college/university town; I am one of a growing number of retirees.
Bike have been my transportation way before 'bike 2 work' began. Terrific start, but the thought of
bike to work only makes me cringe!

Best of luck Seth!

Chris Jordan Santa Cruz, CA

One was held here in London a few years ago. I am given to understand that Kingcyclist Paul Craig
was at home and relaxing in the bath before the bus had even arrived at the start.

One in Aberdeen (Scotland) a few years ago was also won by a Kingcycle, this one with Dave "The
Dentist" Fyfe at the helm, while Gerrit Govaerts reported in March last year that:

"a local newspaper here in Belgium reported about the outcome of a bet between a Ferrari driver and
a member of a town council in a suburb of a medium (Belgian norms) sized city . The bet was all
about who would be faster into the innercity at morning peak hour . Guess what : the bent won."

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
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Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
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