Bike To Work Week 2007 Recap

Posted May 28, 2007
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Another successful year! Check out the week's recap and the survey results. Are you still commuting???

Bike To Work Week 2007 - a record year! THANKS to everyone for participating! Here's a quick recap of the week! Full survey statistics are also posted! Are YOU a prize WINNER? 9 year old Dane who regularly bikes to school was the $500 grand prize winner. Check out the photos to see the new scooter he bought from Irwin's Bike Shop with the Bike Bucks he won! Full survey statistics for 2007 are now posted. Every day during May 12th - 18th, Bike To Work activities took place in the Des Moines area and all over the state to celebrate Bike To Work Week. Each event throughout the week, brought a record number of participants! Bike To Work Week is about so much more than just biking to work. It is intended to increased awareness for Iowa cycling in general as well as commuting options while showcasing the trails and bike routes. A BIG Thanks goes out to the Sponsors! The Des Moines Register, Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority, Iowa Department of Transportation, Des Moines Parks and Recreation, City of Centerville, SEHARC, Allied Insurance and the Transportation Management Association were the main sponsors. We could not have gotten by with supporters such as Chenchar Design, Rest Your Car, Des Moines Metro Bicycle Shops and Know Downtown Des Moines and the Iowa Bicycle Coalition.

Quick Statistics

Photos and results for each event can be seen & read on the Events page (just click on results).
1,436 cyclists registered for Bike To Work Week. 1,415 took the pledge to commute at least once to work. Last year we had 818 registered. A 57% increase in participation this year!
This year there were 448 1st time Commuters registered for Bike To Work Week! That's more than double the 1st time commuters from 2006!
Why did we have so many participants?
Because the gas was over $3.00 per gallon? maybe...
Because we had more than 560 employers represented this year? maybe...
Because we had 160 bicycle clubs represented this year? maybe...
Because the Media gave great coverage this year on most of the events? maybe..
Because the inaugural LIVESTRONG Ride was outstanding and had over 500 riders on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon? maybe..
Because YOU have a passion for cycling and have gotten your employer, coworkers and friends involved? DEFINITLEY!
YOU made Bike To Work Week successful!
Over 11,932 commuting miles were made by bicycle last week. This mean 663 gallons of gas were not used and $2048 was saved during Bike To Work Week by not purchasing fuel. That is 50%+ jump from the 2006 numbers!
Full survey statistics are now posted . Here are the 2007 survey statistics.

Commuter and Advocate of the Year
This was the first year that we recognized those commuters and advocates who go above and beyond and makes things happen! The "Commuter of the Year" and "Advocate of the Year" were announced before the opening pitch after the LIVESTRONG ride. Congratulations to Jeff & Carl!!

Commuter of the Year - Jeff Mertz - After he began commuting 2 years ago, Jeff has lost over 70 pounds and is still commuting! He commutes 25 miles one way from home in Waukee to Meredith in downtown Des Moines. Jeff has also been racing this season and is a member of the Waukee City Council. With Jeff's busy schedule he still manages to commute daily.
Advocate of the Year - Carl Voss - In the last 3 years, Carl has become involved with many successful bicycling projects in Des Moines. Carl has a knack for making the right contacts and turning dreams into reality. A few of the projects include: Bike racks on buses, Bicycle lanes, Liberty Station bicycling parking, Chairing the volunteer Trails and Greenways Committee, and and working toward making Des Moines a "Bicycle-friendly community".

TOP 10 Participating Employers
Congratulations to the Wells Fargo! At 102 registrants, they are the highest number of registrants ever for one company! RDG held the lead for the first month and a half with Principal on it's tail. then Wells Fargo came out of no where and quickly made it to the top 5 and kept the momentum up to the last few hours. All together there were 562 employers represented. 1. Wells Fargo (102)
2. RDG Planning & Design (67)
3. Principal Financial Group (60)
4. State of Iowa--Capitol Complex (39)
5. Allied/Nationwide Agri Insurance (38)
6. Bike World (27)
7. Curwood (26)
8. University of Iowa (25)
9. Mercy Medical Center (18)
10. Iowa State University (17)

TOP 10 Participating Clubs
Congratulations to the Des Moines Cycle Club (DMCC)/DMOS! They had a whopping 60 registrants! It was a close race in the early stages between DMCC, Krewebeadwhore and All9Yards, but DMCC's growth remained steady allowing them to stay in the lead to the end! 160 bicycle clubs were represented during Bike To Work Week 1. Des Moines Cycle Club (DMCC)/DMOS (60)
2. Krewebeadwhore (48)
3. All9Yards Cycling Team (26)
4. Lake Country Cyclists (24)
5. TRI (Triathlon Racers of Iowa) (23)
6. Hawkeye Bicycle Association (19)
7. Bike Burlington (15)
8. Central Iowa Trail Association (15)
9. Barfly (13)
10. Bicyclists of Iowa City (13)

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS Here is a list of all the events. Full recaps can be found by clicking each event:

Sat - 12th
- A gorgeous morning for Packet Pick-up at the Farmer's market. Over 250 cyclists picked up their free socks. VIEW RIDE PHOTOS
- the Cyclo de Mayo Poker Rally took cyclists through the city on an urban scavenger hunt to several businesses in the metro area and ending up at The El Bait Shop at the Farmer's market to tag the winners. Thanks to Graham for his meticulous planning! VIEW RIDE PHOTOS
- The ACME International Bike Club is organizing a fun “Pimp My Ride” event to show off the coolest rides in the city. Congratulations to shark on his flat black and red pin-striped Tommassini single-speed. Thanks to Bill Rumme and the rest of ACME for organizing the show! VIEW RIDE PHOTOS
Sun - 13th
- The inaugural Cityview's LIVESTRONG ride and Bike to the Ball Park started out at 9am at Water Works Park and then a sea of Yellow winded through Gray's Lake and down the Meredith Trail to the Principal Park for a ride around the ball field, a meal and a ball game. Over 500 cyclists attended on this fine Mother's Day! Thanks to the Cityview and Bill Throckmorton of Bike World for all their hard work organizing this very successful 1st annual event. VIEW RIDE PHOTOS | VIEW NEWS ITEM
- Bike To Worship Several churches in the area held small rides before and after services in celebration of Bike To Work Week.
Mon - 14th
- Another great Bike To Work event as the Bike with Boswell commute took off on 39th and Grand headed for Boswell's downtown East Village office. 35 cyclists showed up to ride into work with Congressman Boswell and Frank Cownie, the Des Moines Mayor. A small breakfast was had by cyclists after the ride right next to the Dart Share the Road bus.
VIEW RIDE PHOTOS
Tue - 15th
- This was the second year for the Des Moines Celebrity Bike, Bus & Car Challenge to see if a bus, bike or car would reach work first! the bike won! He made it to the library more than five minutes before the car. The bus finished 60 seconds behind the car. The bus, armed with donuts and a morning paper for each rider, carried several council persons, DART board members and city officials. Thanks to DART for their continued support for all kinds of alternative transportation. VIEW RIDE PHOTOS
Wed - 16th
- Several cyclists showed up for the Dirty Commute, a heart pounding mountain bike ride in the morning before work. Thanks to the Central Iowa Trails Association (CITA) for hosting this ride.
- Several 'Ride of Silence' rides were held this year across the state to honor those who have been injured or killed while bicycling the nation’s roadways. It's unfortunate that each year we must add to the list of cyclists we ride in honor of.
  - Over 135 cyclists rode in the Des Moines Ride of Silence. We met at 6:30 PM for a "shout out" of all the fallen cyclists over the past years and then rode 3.5 miles through downtown and back to the East Village. VIEW RIDE PHOTOS | VIEW VIDEO
  - The Ames Ride of Silence met at 6:00 PM behind Skunk River Cycles for their ride. 60-70 cyclists including the Team Tall Dog crew showed up to ride. VIEW RIDE PHOTOS
  - The Mason City Ride of Silence met at 7:00 PM at Central Park.
- In the Marion City Square Park, the Ride in with LIVESTRONG ride took place for a rally for cancer. There were many family activities, live music, and information about the Lance Armstrong Foundation at this official LAF event.
Thu - 17th
- Bike to School Day sure did get a boost this year as we had many more school age kids register for Bike To Work Week. A standing ovation goes out to Doug Cline, a teacher at Woodside Middle School in Des Moines for challenging his students to meet him at a predetermined location and ride their bikes to school. They took him up on his challenge and eleven of them showed up bright and early at Cornell Elementary to trek to school with their teacher. Students and staff members are already talking of organizing a larger turn out for next year's event. VIEW RIDE PHOTOS
- The Des Moines Cycle Club hosted a Bike Home with Friends event late Thursday afternoon and they escaped the traffic and congestion of the city and pedaled their your way home together. Thanks to Tom, Jack, and Jeff of the DMCC for being the ride leaders.
Fri - 18th - The official Bike To Work Day! Over 1400 cyclists statewide pledge to commute! We experienced records turn-outs at all the events this year, and the YMCA breakfast was no exception! Cyclists started to roll in a little before 6:30 am. Approx. 60-70 cyclists were there around 7:30 am when we announced the Bike Bucks Winners and the top Club and Employer for the year. Many riders departed from 15 official Staging Locations were held all over the state with many more that were not on the map. Many places offered free breakfasts and showers to those who commuted. Iowa City and Coralville also held many Bike To Work Week activities like Breakfasts, bike rally, a commuter challenge and more! www.cicbikeweek.org VIEW RIDE PHOTOS

PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS Check out hundreds of Bike To Work photos here.

the impressive RDG Planning crew on Bike To Work Day

the tail end of the Ride of Silence in Des Moines

Bike To School Day at Woodside Middle School in Des Moines

The Celebrity Bike, Bus & Car Challenge in Des Moines

Curwood cyclists in Centerville on Bike To Work Day

A true SUV as seen in Iowa City

The LIVESTRONG ride lines up

Bikes engulf the El Bait Shop during the Pimp My ride bike show

Racers assemble for the Cyclo De Mayo Poker Run

One downtown bound Staging Location from West Des Moines

MORE PHOTOS WANTED: We are still looking for Commuting, Commuter, Bike Rack, Corporate, and other Bike To Work event Photos If you have some and would like to see them posted, please email Biker@BikeIowa.com

COMMUTING STORIES WANTED:

Have a commuting story to tell?
1st time commuter? How did it go?
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly?
How did you get someone else involved this year?

WANTED - SUGGESTIONS / COMMENTS We are already planning Bike To Work Week 2008. If you have suggestions / comments about Bike To Work Week, please let us know. We want this event to continue to grow each year. We want to know what you liked, did not like, etc. Email Biker@BikeIowa.com.

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Bike To Work Week 2007 Recap