View Full Version : Bike 2 Work Day - Bike v. Bus v. Car "Race"
IowaParamedic
04-07-04, 03:01 PM
Is anybody doing a Bike v. Bus v. Car "Race"? I am getting one together as a promotional event prior to Bike to Work day. On Wednesday May 19, three participants will line up. One will take their bike from the Coral Ridge Mall to Old Capitol Mall (4-5 miles). One will take the bus and another will drive. We may have this covered on the morning show of the local news.
The mayor of Coralville will take the bus, and we are working on another dignatary for the car.
Anybody have any good ideas to make this great? Remember the KISS principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid!
trekkie820
04-07-04, 03:15 PM
They way to make it perfect is to have the bike win!:D
Dahon.Steve
04-07-04, 03:20 PM
Transportation Alternatives has an event similar to this one in New York City each year. It's a race between three commuters with one using the subway, motor car and bicycle. The race starts off in Brooklyn and ends in Midtown Manhattan during rush hour. As you can imagine, the cyclist wins every time and last years commuter was a regular woman (not a racer)
What surprised me was the fact that the subway did NOT win the race. With all the stops the average speed of a New York City subway can average just 12 MPH! A well conditioned cyclist can easily beat the subway!
OH.... I forgot to mention. The motorist always comes in last place, although he would probably beat the bus.
trekkie820
04-07-04, 03:23 PM
Sadly, in my suburb town, the car would win every time. Things are spaced way too far apart for people to embrace cycling as a viable form of alternative transportaion. I think that the average weight of people in my town is 300 pounds.
madpogue
04-07-04, 03:47 PM
We have this event as part of our Bike to Work Week. AFAIK, the only rules are:
* No violations of traffic laws
* No endangerment of anyone (which, I guess, fits in with above)
* Car/bike folks must start from a parking place, park their vehicles in a place and manner appropriate to their vehicle (i.e. lock your bike to a rack, park your car in a parking ramp and lock it), and walk/run to the finish. Bus folks must exit the bus at a regular bus stop and walk/run to the finish
* Everyone gets free coffee and bagels/donuts. At the finish. Pre-race caffeine-based doping is allowed, but is the sole responsibility of the contestant.
It helps to select start and finish locations that underscore typical car traffic problems in your city. It also helps to select start and finish locations, and a start time, that coincide with a bus stopping at a stop near the start.
I won (well, tied with a guy half my age) this event last year, on a Cannondale cheap-sport I bought used for $300. I actually passed the car guy (our County Treasurer) in the curb lane when he got stuck in a line of cars. So even if he could have parked as close as me (which he couldn't, which is one of the things this event is supposed to demonstrate), it would've been close. Unfortunately the bus guy missed his bus. Next year we'll probably have a "hybrid"; someone biking to another bus in case he misses one, then putting his bike on the bike rack on the bus.
BTW, if you are interested in more participation, you should think about making it a Bike to Work Week. This allows people to participate any day (or days) that week that they choose. This solves problems with people's "off-hours" schedules, and is more robust to fickle weather. If you want to know more about events we have for our Bike to Work Week, visit http://www.bfw.org/new_bfw/btww/ .
Maybe a bit off subject, but don't you get all sweaty while on the commute?
I agree, riding a bike is faster, cheaper, and good for the enviroment, and more people should do it. I walk about 1\2 mile to school everyday, and up a steep, long hill. I hate people that drive 1\4 mile, or complain about walking up some ant hill.
IowaParamedic
04-08-04, 07:49 AM
Tabby, there are a lot more threads in the forums about commuting and sweating.
We are trying to establish a Bike To Work Week, but I am insisting on keeping this simple. We are hosting rides on B2W day (Friday). The Bike v. Bus v. Car "Race" is on Wednesday. I also have a handful of interesting articles to feed to the media all week. Here are some samples:
1. A local sandwich shop has added bicycle delivery, due to speed, no need for insurance, and parking.
2. Cyclist loses 100 lbs after beginning riding to work.
3. BIC has a commuter who regularly commutes 29 miles.
4. The "Race"
5. How to commute and run errands by bicycle
AndrewP
04-08-04, 01:29 PM
I think it would give useful information if this 'race' were done over different distances. I believe that bikes win for distances of less than 7 miles. For longer distances the bike/rail/bike hybrid may be the best. Unfortunately Montreal busses dont have bike-racks and bikes arent allowed on the Metro (subway) in rush hours.
Hey Andrew, hope you're doing well!
Anyways, in Chicago, they do something similar. I believe they take a Hummer vs. car, vs. bus in early morning rush hour. They do it downtown and run the race that ends at the City Hall under the Picasso. And then at the Picasso, they serve up breakfast for any cyclists that come into work by bike. It's a healthy breakfast too, and it seems like it's very popular.
Koffee
IowaParamedic
04-08-04, 04:05 PM
Good news & Bad news
The local TV station want to cover our "race" live for the morning show. The bad news? We have to move up the start time to 6:30 rather than 8 am to get it on the show live. Lower traffic count, but still should be fun.
Mark
Rush hour is still at 6:30am, right? I'd try to see if they'd go for something like a 6:45am- 7am start though. There has to be some room for compromise! :eek:
Koffee
IowaParamedic
04-08-04, 08:55 PM
My problem is the bus routes are at 6:34 and 7:04. It's a bummer, but I think we will be ok> I am getting up early to drive it myself!
You don't think you could negotiate for the 7:04am slot?
Koffee
IowaParamedic
04-09-04, 09:07 AM
I am working on it, but the morning show is over at 7 am.
Whoops... I guess there's no getting around a 6:30am start then. :(
Good luck!
Koffee
Make sure the destination parking lot is completely full!
Put construction cones in the street REALLY early that morning - along the car AND bus routes!
Someone needs to point out that bicycling for transportation can save time, even if it takes a longer than comparable driving, because: 1) one desperately needs the exercise, anyway; and 2) by reducing wear and tear on one's car, or by eliminating the need for an Nth car in the family (as in my case), cycling saves money (and everyone knows "time is money").
...bicycling for transportation can save time, even if it takes a longer than comparable driving, because: 1) one desperately needs the exercise, anyway; and 2) by reducing wear and tear on one's car, or by eliminating the need for an Nth car in the family (as in my case), cycling saves money (and everyone knows "time is money").
I don't follow. How can you save time by doing anything that "takes longer"? Yeah, you may save money, but just because "time is money" (and that's debatable in my book) doesn't mean money is time.
I don't follow. How can you save time by doing anything that "takes longer"? Yeah, you may save money, but just because "time is money" (and that's debatable in my book) doesn't mean money is time.
Maybe because by doing the riding for your commute, you don't have to then go out and do additonal exercise at the gym in the evenings? That would certainly save some time.
Koffee
Maybe because by doing the riding for your commute, you don't have to then go out and do additonal exercise at the gym in the evenings? That would certainly save some time.
Koffee
I never spend time exercising anyway, whether I ride or not, which I haven't all this week because of horrible sinus/chest congestion. No wonder I'm such a slob!
I feel ya. However, I do exercise, and when I can count the commute as part of the exercise, it's definitely less time in the gym. That's good for me, because in the summer, I hate wasting my free time in the gym!
Koffee
madpogue
04-12-04, 09:38 AM
I don't follow. How can you save time by doing anything that "takes longer"? Yeah, you may save money, but just because "time is money" (and that's debatable in my book) doesn't mean money is time. Not to mention the time you save not taking the car to as many oil changes, brake jobs, etc. (or doing them yourself), or, if by cycling you eliminate ownership of one car, no doing those things at all.
madpogue
04-12-04, 10:03 AM
I never spend time exercising anyway, whether I ride or not, which I haven't all this week because of horrible sinus/chest congestion. No wonder I'm such a slob! Oh, man, when my sinuses are acting up, the best thing for me is a moderate ride. Just enough to get me taking in some real air.
ChezJfrey
04-12-04, 10:15 AM
Not to mention the time you save not taking the car to as many oil changes, brake jobs, etc. (or doing them yourself), or, if by cycling you eliminate ownership of one car, no doing those things at all.
But, for me, this is merely replaced by bike maintenance. Due to the mileage I incur, I must devote significant time for preventative maintenance/cleaning every week to make my equipment last and perform reliably.
madpogue
04-12-04, 10:38 AM
But, for me, this is merely replaced by bike maintenance. Due to the mileage I incur, I must devote significant time for preventative maintenance/cleaning every week to make my equipment last and perform reliably. Well, if you're doing that many miles, you'd be doing at least as much maintenance, mile for mile, on the car. And since car maintenance is much more expensive, you'd be paying a lot more for it. 'Course, this goes back to the "time is money" thing, or, in this case, "money is time".
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