2011 Golden Helmet Winners and Wrap Up
Checking out the Golden Helmet Awards and prizes at the closing.
Wow! What a great Bike to Work Week it turned out to be. The weather other than a little bit of wind was spot on, perfect for bicycling. This year’s event saw an increase in participation, if not a large surge in miles recorded, but we still did manage to pull ahead of last year’s total miles at the end logging a total of 5,746 miles. There was a bit of competition for some people’s attention in the mileage recording area, which we think might have confused some people.
The kick off at Myrick Park this year was great fun, even if it was not actually in Myrick. There was a bit of a mix up with the shelter reservations, but even though it might have made attendance a bit lower than expected, everyone had a great time! Also of note this year was the new rides with local Mayors. The Mayors of La Crescent, La Crosse and once again Onalaska all hosted rides with community members. If you can, these are always a great event to attend, maybe next year? Also the neighborhood rides led by Eric Wheeler and our Bike Rodeo hosted by the La Crosse Public Library were very popular events.
At the closing celebration, Grand Picnic once again entertained attendees. This year the turnout was fantastic and it was really great to see so very many families riding down to enjoy the fun. Thanks to Farmers’ Market for hosting the event again. The Golden Helmets awards this year were not all that surprising. Here are the 2011 Golden Helmet Winners:
- Bike to Worship: First Presbyterian Church, La Crosse
171 attendees, 52 bicycle riders, 30% ridership - % with less than 100 Employees: Downtown Mainstreet
with 100% employee participation - % with greater than 100 Employees: SAP Labs – La Crosse
with 12% employee participation - Greatest Number of Participants: Trane
with 74 employees logging their miles
Congratulations to all the winners! Start planning now to win next year’s awards. Read more
First Presbyterian Wins Again In Bike To Worship Competition
For the second year in a row, First Presbyterian, La Crosse, led other congregations with an outstanding 30% of attendees riding their bike to worship last Sunday.
Other congregations in the competition included:
* Unitarian Fellowship, La Crosse with 13% ridership
* English Lutheran, La Crosse with 10% ridership
* Viroqua Church of Christ with 8% ridership
Thank you to all who participated.
Bike Rodeo & Mayor Ride
Bike Rodeo at La Crosse Public Library
Wednesday was a busy day this year. In the morning was the ride with the Mayor of La Crescent, in the afternoon there was a Bike Rodeo and in the evening there were neighborhood rides. From what we hear, everyone had fun!
Eric Wheeler leads a neighborhood tour.
For the second year in a row the DRBC worked with La Crosse Public Library to host a Bike Rodeo at the South Community Library in La Crosse. We love to do Bike Rodeos, working with the kids is so much fun and despite the threat of rain we had a good turn out. This year we were once again able to give out free helmets to participants that did not have a helmet or needed a new one. If you have never participated in a bike rodeo, you need to.
Monday-Thursday this week there we neighborhood rides in both La Crosse and Onalska. Neighborhood rides are a great way to see your community by bike, perhaps ride in a place you never would have though of going and are a great deal of fun. In Onalaska, there was both an ice creama nd $1burger ride. These were a lot of fun for those who participate. In La Crosse, Architectural Historian Eric Wheeler lead several tours of La Crosse neighborhoods of historical significance. Talk about educational, Eric gets paid to do tours like this and is currently working on a book about La Crosse’s Prairie Style homes. Thanks for being so generous Eric and thanks to everyone who participated.
Ride with La Crosse Mayor Harter
Thursday morning saw a small group of riders, including La Crosse Mayor Matt Harter, riding through downtown La Crosse and Stopping for a brief cup of coffee and a snack. DRBC members took the mayor along some of the more congested and poorly maintained streets in the downtown area to point out issues that bicyclists face almost daily.
La Crescent Mayor Leads Bike Bus!
 Getting Ready to Bike to School |
 Mayor Mike with some of the bike bus kids. |
Early this morning DRBC members working with La Crescent Active Living hosted a biking school bus in La Crescent, MN. La Crescent mayor Mike Poellinger was our celebrity rider. The Mayor led a group of about 20 kids and adults rode from Hickory Park on the north end of La Crescent down the bike lane on Elm to the elementary school. It was a lot of fun and the kids obviously really enjoyed being on their bikes. I must say that even with the morning traffic, the drivers in La Crescent treated the kids and adults with respect and lots of space. This is something that should be done more often in all of our communities.
Next time you see Mayor Pollinger be sure to thank him for all the support he has given to bicycling in the Driftless Region!
Commuter Experiment 2011
By Michael Barreyro DRBC/SAP
Pat Nitti, Jody Roes and Ken Beutler participate in the BTWW Commuter Experiment
It was a nice, sunny morning for the Bike to Work Week Commuter Experiment. I enjoyed a pleasant 8 mile, 30 minute bicycle ride to Onalaska from the central area (The Village/K-Mart) of La Crosse because I had to be the bus commuter. Once the bus got to Onalaska City Hall, the experiment was on. Ken headed to his car, Jody and Pat took off on their bicycles, and I loaded my bike on the bus rack and got on the bus. We departed at 8:17 as we all headed towards work.
As I headed down Hwy 35/2nd Ave on the Onalaska bus, I saw to my left Pat and Jody as they were just getting passed the Onalaska Public Library. The bus made good time to the transfer point on the N. side of La Crosse(Clinton and Caledonia). Once I took my bike off the Onalaska bus, the downtown bus had just arrived and I was able to quickly place my bike on its bike rack. The downtown bus had a lot more people in it, and we made about 4-5 stops to pick up people along the route. The bus even waited an extra minute or two for a man to run and catch up to the bus.
Once downtown, I took my bike off the bus rack and pedaled two blocks to the office bicycle racks. I walked to the lobby and I saw Ken getting his morning coffee at River Rocks. I took advantage of the free coffee special for bike commuters, and it was only a few minutes later that Pat and Jody arrived.
Results
| Onalaska City Hall | SAP Office | |
| Car (Ken Beutler) | 8:17 | 8:31 |
| Bus (Michael Barreyro) | 8:17 | 8:40 |
| Bicycle (Pat Nitti and Jody Roes) | 8:17 | 8:46 |
Looking at the arrival times, getting to work by car is definitely the faster commute. If you want to combine your commute with a workout, go by bike. The bus is a good option for those who may want to ride just one-way, or for those who live farther out than Onalaska but still want to get biking in. I think next year, we’ll have to recruit a boat commuter to be part of the experiment.
Editors Note: Using Google Maps the most direct route for the car would have been about 5.7 miles. While the bike was a few minutes slower I think that taking 15 minutes extra on your morning and evening commute is a great way to actually enjoy your commute, more than just a workout. Plus with gas hanging around $4 a gallon right now it is certainly a lot cheaper.
Track Your Miles
It’s Monday and the race for the golden helmets has begun! Be sure to log your bicycle commuter miles every day using the BTWW Mileage Tracker! We have updated the interface to make it even faster and easier than last year, so help your team bring home the Golden Helmet by logging you miles. Even if your business is not trying to win one of the awards, we do use the miles to show our community leaders the growing trend in bicycle usage, so we want your miles!
Last year you logged 5,430 miles using the mileage tracker, which was more than twice the year before. This year we are shooting for 7,500 miles so make sure you ride your bike and log your miles!!
Sunday – Celebrate the Beginning of Bike To Work Week Featuring Music By Dan Sebranek
Come join us Sunday evening for a BTWW Opening Celebration. We are going to gather at Myrick Park Location Change To Weigent 15th & Cass on Sunday from 4:00 – 8:00 pm. Bring the family, friends and a picnic on your bike and enjoy live music by Dan Sebranek.
Update 5/16/11
Despite a mix up with our venue reservations the Kick-Off for Bike to Work Week 2011 went really well. Lots of people found their way over to Weingent Park and enjoyed the sunshine, live music, bike powered smoothies and much more! Live music provided by Dan Sebranek was fantastic and really sent a fun mood for the evening. Lots of folks really had fun using the bike powered blender to make raspberry and blueberry smoothies. Even more enjoyed drinking them. We hope to add this fun tool to our arsenal and thank Active Living La Crescent for allowing us to use their blender bike! Don’t miss any more of the great events and rides we have lined up for this week! Below are some images from the fun.
Ride with Your Mayor 2011
2010 Ride with Onalaska Mayor Giese
Onalska – Mayor Mike Giese will ride with community members on Saturday May 14th. This casual ride will start at Onalaska City Hall at 9:00am. This is the second year that they mayor has hosted a ride during Bike to Work Week. Last year’s ride ended at Maggie’s Restaurant with coffee and breakfast.
La Crescent – “Ride Your Bike With Mayor Mike”. Mike Poellinger will host a ride this year in La Crescent on Wednesday May 18th. This is a bike ride to school with La Crescent students. This “Bike Train” departs at 7:20 am from Old Hickory Park, (Jonathan lane and Red Apple Drive) in La Crescent. We encourage parents to ride along.
The route will be: 1. Depart Old Hickory; 2. Proceed down Jonathan; 3. Left at Elm – onto bike Lane; 4. Proceed on Elm to South 4th take left onto 4th; 5. Arrive at elementary school.
In the event of rain, this event will be cancelled.
La Crosse – Mayor Matt Harter will host a “coffee” ride in La Crosse on Thursday May 19th. The ride will start at 9:00am at City Hall and will visit several local coffee shops.
All of these rides move at a casual pace. They are also a great opportunity to meet other local riders and send a positive message to your mayor and your community. Come if you can and remember to log your miles on the mileage tracker all week long.
Updated for 2011
The full 2011 Bike to Work Week schedules and information have now been posted! We have added some new events and moved a few around this year so be sure to check out the full events listing here and the individual event pages for more details!
We have also uploaded the 2011 Bike to Work Week posters. You will find links to them on the right sidebar. Feel free to print them of and distribute them far and wide.
Mileage Tracker & Corporate Challenges
Once again we ask that you use our mileage tracker to track your miles ridden during Bike to Work Week. Las tyear we more than double 2009 recorded miles and we need your help to do it again this year! Remember, for your business to qualify for one of our golden helmet awards, you need to have your employees log their miles on our website. The tracker goes live Monday May 16th.
Is your business doing a corporate challenge this year? We want to know about it! Please contact us at infor@driftlessbicycle.org with details and contact information. If your business has never done a corporate challenge they are a fun and easy way to get your business involved in Bike to Work Week. Contact us if you have any questions.
BTWW 2011
The 2011 DRBC Bike to Work Week events will be held in conjunction with the National Bike month in May of this year. The Dates are May 14-20. Our Bike to Work Week Committee is already meeting and planning is under way. Goals for this year we are doubling participation, while focusing on improving and expanding existing events and holding additional events in new communities in the region. We will be updating this site once again as information becomes available, so check back often. If you would like to volunteer, host an event, need more information or provide support for Bike to Work Week 2011 please contact us.
DRBC Presents
Bike to Work Week in the Driftless Region is presented by the Driftless Region Bicycle Coalition and our partners and sponsors. This site is your most up to date source on DRBC Bike to Work Week events. Follow us on Facebook.Track Your Miles