Last Friday, the CAWOOD team took part in the City of Eugene's Breakfast at the Bike Bridges (BBB) event. We set up the Oregon Imaging Centers "pink tent" at the Blue Heron Bridge over the Amazon Creek in West Eugene. We had excellent company – Burley Design, Paul's Bicycle Way of Life, Holy Donuts, Bagel Sphere, Full City Coffee, Safe Routes to School, GEARs and the City of Eugene Transportation Planning. We welcomed bike riders of all sizes, from kindergartners pedaling to the nearby Arts and Technology Academy/Family School to bankers, lawyers and bike builders heading to work.
We were up early – live on KEZI and KMTR TV morning news broadcasts – helping OIC promote the 2010 Komen Eugene Race for the Cure, scheduled for October 10, 2010 (visit www.oregonimaging.com/race to learn more). For every person across the bridge during the BBB event, OIC donated $1 to the Race – plus another $1 for any commuter wearing a pink "Make time for the girls" T-shirt. We met a lot of folks interested in the race, and we gave away a lot of pink-glazed Holy Donuts and pink bracelets! We had 226 commuters stop by and say hello.
The BBB also gave us a great opportunity to show off the new Burley Travoy urban trailer system. We just love this trailer. It’s a new design from the Burley Product Development team right here in Eugene, and there’s just nothing like it . We've been testing it, taking it inside the office, the grocery store, to meetings – and it’s a great addition to our office bike corral. Steve Strickland from Burley's sales team was on hand, describing their design process and what the Travoy is capable of. Plus, everyone crossing the bridge had a chance to put their names in the "helmet" to win a Travoy at the end of the summer.
We had a great time partnering with Oregon Imaging Centers, encouraging Eugeneans to ride or walk to work or school more often. BBB events continue on the last Friday of every month this summer. Check the schedule for upcoming dates and locations at www.oregonimaging.com/race. We’ll see you next time!
The Business Commute Challenge has inspired our whole team this week. All 14 of us committed to making plans, giving ourselves a few extra minutes, or sometimes braving the weather to bike, walk, bus or carpool, and we were all successful.
The biggest story may have been Kurt's, as he and his wife went out and bought bikes over the weekend. The weather proved to be a formidable foe, making it really hard to ride every day like Kurt wanted, but he did succeed on a few of the days. He says this event has inspired him to plan for a summer of riding his bike to work.
Many of us took the bus this week, too. And being so close to the downtown station, it makes riding LTD a very efficient option for many of us. Carpooling had a good go this week, too; it allowed for some of our more flexible schedules, and with just a bit more planning we could incorporate this into a more long-term regime. Telecommuting also works at CAWOOD. We had a few days logged, staying and home working. We didn't have anyone who walked all the way from home, but that is only because none of us live close and biking is just so easy to do here in Eugene.
We are a group that embraces change, especially change that makes our lives, our work and our community better. It took a little more work, but the benefits more than paid off.
This event has given all of us something to shoot for. The benefits of leaving our cars at home has been an experience, and it left us all smiling and breathing a bit easier.
