Celebrate Alternative Transportation

Kendall Farley is a WWU journalism student.

Whatcom County residents can expect a bigger and better celebration for Bellingham’s 10th anniversary of Bike to Work and School Day, being held on Friday, May 18.

Additional Celebration Stations and more raffle prizes will be two of this year’s additions, but the best way to measure success is for even more people to get on their bikes than last year.

In 2006, volunteers counted 5,448 bikers. This year, the event committee is hoping to exceed 6,000, according to Ellen Barton, bicycle program coordinator for Whatcom Smart Trips.

The event is designed to remind residents of the power they have on two wheels and to encourage alternative forms of transportation, said Carol Berry, alternative transportation coordinator at Western Washington University.

“Because we have become used to cars, we’ve lost the awareness of what we can do with our bodies,” she said. “I think that using less energy to get around is where it’s at.”

Berry said that although the title of the event does not reflect it, those volunteering at Bike to Work and School Day also want to recognize walking as a healthy and environmentally sound way to commute.

“We want to make sure walkers know they are being honored as well,” she said. “If people walk to a Celebration Station, we’re going to give them a cookie.”

The first Bike to Work and School Day in Bellingham was held in 1998. What began with one Celebration Station at the corner of Railroad Ave. and Holly St., with a few people cheering for cyclists as they rode by, is now an event with 30 Celebration Stations made possible by the assistance of hundreds of volunteers.

“[The event] couldn’t happen without volunteers. It has a nice grassroots feel to it. It’s not a corporate event,” Berry said.

Celebration Stations offering snacks, prizes, giveaways and basic bike maintenance assistance will open at 6:30 a.m. and run until 10:00 a.m. at locations throughout Bellingham. There will also be stations in Ferndale, Blaine, Lummi Nation and Burlington.

At a Celebration Station, cyclists can expect a hug for riding their bike, beverages and snacks, a possible free prize, literature on bike safety and bike programs throughout the county, a free raffle entry and a big thanks for stopping by, said Margaux Mellott, bicycle events coordinator for Whatcom Smart Trips.

This will be Mellott’s first Bike to Work and School Day in Bellingham. She said Bellingham has more of a bike culture than she has ever seen.

“[Bike to School and Work Day] is a grassroots thing that happened because people love biking here,” she said. “People are hardcore here. They ride in the rain and everything.”

Mellott, who has never had a driver’s license, said her personal objective is to make cars the alternative transportation. She said she is determined to never own a car.

“When you ride bikes you get in touch with that magic feeling of being a little kid,” Mellott said. “It’s about getting a little dirty, having freedom, being a little sweaty and stinky and that being OK.”

After putting the pedal to the metal on the way home from work or school, cyclists can hop right back on their two wheels and make their way to Boundary Bay for the Bike to School and Work Day after party. The festivities at the brewery will begin at 5 p.m. and those who attend can look forward to debriefing the day, and drawing raffle tickets for prizes, which are donated by local businesses.

Beginning April 2, and continuing each Saturday until Bike To Work and School Day, volunteers will be staffing a “Pump You Up” station at the Bellingham Farmer’s Market to encourage those who haven’t ridden their bike for awhile to get it tuned up for free. They will pump tires, fix flats and demonstrate how to clean and grease a chain. Volunteers can refer people to bike shops if they need more serious tuning, Mellott added.

Barton said that she has a goal of getting the funding and staffing to put on the event twice a year.

“We want to show people that [riding a bike] is natural, and it can be a part of everyone’s life,” she said.

Bike to Work and School Day celebrates and honors those who commute by bicycle on a daily basis, and is treated like a holiday among those who participate, Mellott said.

“All the people involved love the joy of riding a bike and love sharing that with their friends and people they don’t even know,” she added. “Some people ditch work for Bike to Work and School Day.”

Mellott, eager to participate in her first Bike to School and Work Day in Bellingham, said she’s blessed to be a part of the event. “Riding makes a difference not just in our own quality of life, but in everyone else’s too,” she said. §