Month: April 2014

May is Bike Month!

Bike month starts tomorrow! Let’s do it! How about riding with someone who has not tried it before? How about a workplace team in Cascade’s commute challenge, or helping with a bike train to school?

Lots of events including May 1 Policy Ride to Bike Happy Hour at Schooner Exact, May 1 DIY free wheel truing workshop at West Seattle Tool Library, May 6 Bike to Work Breakfast, May 10 Bike to Mariners Game Day, May 7 Bike to School Day, May 16 Bike to Work Day (we’ll have a station at WS Bridge), and May 18 Alki “Summer” Streets (we’ll have a bike rodeo).  See calendar

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Marginal Way Policy Ride > Bike Happy Hour

ALMOST in West Seattle – let’s celebrate a year of safe riding and steady progress on East Marginal Way, raise a glass to Lance David’s memory, and talk about what is to come.  Schooner Exact is at 3901 First Avenue South. Ride co-led by Cascade Bicycle Club and West Seattle Bike Connections

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No bus? Ride with us!

Until the Washington State legislature, King County or Seattle government figure out what to do to provide the bus service we need, some of us can ride bikes to get places and free up seats on the buses that are still running, and free up space on the roads for those who must drive. Bicycle transportation increases roadway bandwidth without increasing roadway width. Kind of like energy conservation by increasing efficiency — getting more out of the existing capacity.

We are here to help that happen, and to make it safe, attractive and convenient for as many people as possible.DSC01296 Here’s a great north-south route in West Seattle: 21st Ave SW on Puget Ridge and Pigeon Point, connecting us to White Center at the south via Myrtle/16th, and connecting to West Duwamish Trail, Alki Trail and the low level bridge to SODO and downtown at the north, via Andover/22nd. No traffic jams, low traffic, peaceful and easy grades. Croft Place here connects to the 26th Ave SW Greenway.

Bikenomics – How Bicycling Can Save the Economy

Who’s street is it?  Are bike riders just freeloaders on roads paid for by car drivers?  What about parking? Are bike riders either elitists or DUIclists?

snv33567_lgSome of us are buying and passing around Elly Blue’s new book — preaching to the choir, but she has good stories and lots of good data to back it up. Talking points for bike advocates, based on values of community, social justice, public health, economics, and fun. Kathy read it on the bus coming back from meeting the author in Tacoma. I read it on a five hour plane ride. Elly inscribed it, “Dedicated to the good work and great energy of West Seattle Bike Connections. Keep on pedaling, we are winning!”  Recommended!  e-book or paperback from Microcosm Publishing

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Do you buy stuff on Amazon?

If you buy stuff on Amazon, they have a great program where they’ll donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to the charity of your choice, if they participate in the Amazon Smile program.  And guess what?  Our parent organization, Sustainable West Seattle, is listed!

Use Amazon Smile and they'll donate 0.5% to Sustainable West Seattle!
Use Amazon Smile and they’ll donate 0.5% to Sustainable West Seattle!

So how does it work?

  1. Visit http://smile.amazon.com.
  2. Under your account menu, there is a link that lets you change your charity.
  3. Search for Sustainable West Seattle.
  4. Click the Select button to activate it as your charity.

That’s it!  There’s no cost to you or to Sustainable West Seattle to participate.

If you don’t like the idea of Amazon donating to SWS and reaping the tax-deduction benefit, then you can donate directly using the PayPal button we setup on the right-hand side of our website (or use the button below).
[paypal-donation purpose=”Donation to Sustainable West Seattle via West Seattle Bike Connections” reference=”West Seattle Bike Connections”]

So how does this relate to biking and West Seattle Bike Connections?  Sustainable West Seattle is our fiscal sponsor, so any funds we can get to them come back to us so we can help promote our mission!  Things like business cards, stickers, or other informational material isn’t free.

Thanks for helping us out!

We Need Volunteers!

Help us help the community!
Help us help the community!

Do you like bikes?  Do you like riding bikes in, around, and through West Seattle?  Maybe not?  Do you think there could be better infrastructure in place?  We do too!  And we need you to help us out.

Our parent organization (Sustainable West Seattle) is having a volunteer orientation and appreciation event on Saturday, May 3rd 2014 at CrossFit West Seattle (4200 SW Admiral Way).  Orientation for new volunteers will be from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM, with an appreciation party from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.

More details can be found here…
http://www.sustainablewestseattle.org/2014/04/ty/

Please come if you have any interest in helping West Seattle Bike Connections be better advocates for safe bike facilities.  Or stop by if you want to check out any of the other Sustainable West Seattle projects.  Hope to see you there!

 

Bike Share is Coming!

But not to West Seattle.  Boo!  Here’s another example of how West Seattle is treated like the ugly red-headed step-child of Seattle – no “viable” bike share station locations.  Of course they’re going to be sprinkled all over central and northern Seattle.  But southern and western Seattle?  We just get no love.

So we don't have a "viable" bike share station location in all of West Seattle?
So we don’t have a “viable” bike share station location in all of West Seattle?

So here’s your chance to let them know we want a bike share station.  Wouldn’t it be awesome to have one right at the Water Taxi?  And how about at Alki Beach?  Alki Trail is flat and segregated from automobiles.  Of course, there’s plenty of other possible “viable” locations around the southwest area of Seattle…but they need to know where!

Go to this website and enter your inputs.  No registration required.  We’d love your help and we’d love to see West Seattle included as a “viable” part of this city.

Hope Springs Eternal – Ride to the Mariners’ Game

When Al is not driving kids around West Seattle in a big yellow bus, you might find him riding his bike to a Mariner’s game. About 20 games a season by bike. Why ride? It’s fast, easy, fun and free. Nice bike cage at Safeco Field’s T-Mobile Park’s garage for 150 bikes, right by the staffed booth. Quick getaway after the game. Here’s his ride at the “road opener” celebration this week, and the big glove sculpture all set for cool spring evening games.

bike & trailer at Safeco Feild parking garageKnitted ball glove

 

 

 

Here are the Mariners’ directions on getting to the ballpark by bike, walking, water taxi, …