“They convinced me, an out-of-shape, van-driving soccer-mom from Gresham to ride my bike 13 miles to work,” says Kati Arzeta, a librarian at CH2M HILL in downtown Portland.
With encouragement from fellow employees during the 2012 Bike Commute Challenge, Kati got back on her bike after a 10-year absence. Her goal: ride once a week during September. Nearly 18 months later, when she’s not taking TriMet to work, she’s still riding her bike during good weather.
Held every September since 1998, the Bike Commute Challenge encourages companies, government agencies and nonprofits across Oregon to compete all month for awards in employee participation and miles logged.
The Challenge is a program of the Portland-based Bicycle Transportation Alliance. Metro's Regional Travel Options program has been a sponsor several times, including this year.
In 2013, despite one of the rainiest Septembers in history, 10,556 riders participated. Of them, 1,597 were new bike commuters.
Stephanie Noll, deputy director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, has seen evidence that the challenge benefits entire communities, not just participants. “As rates of bicycling and walking increase, the crash rates for all users decrease. Our roads become safer for everyone no matter how they're traveling. Plus biking saves our communities money because bikes cause significantly less wear and tear on roadways.”
Becoming a bike commuter: first the hurdles
After her long hiatus, Kati says, “I was intimidated by the bike culture and felt, ‘I’m slow, I don’t know that much about biking; I didn’t know which way to go. If people pass me, what do I do?’”
Nationally, women's biking rates are lower than men’s, but they're closer in Portland than most places. Stephanie says that in areas with fewer options for biking on low traffic streets or in protected bikeways, there is often a greater divide between men and women's biking rates.
Kati credits CH2M HILL’s bike champions for helping her over hurdles. Champions are coworkers who are already enthusiastic bike commuters; they support new riders throughout the Challenge and beyond—helping them find good routes, answering questions, and making it fun to try this new routine.
Kati says, “They’d make up silly bike poems and put the poem and a chocolate on your bike seat.” A lunchtime workshop by bike safety educator and mechanic Tori Bortman introduced Kati to bike-commuting basics. “Had this not been available I don’t know if I would have felt safe riding to work,” she says. “That workshop was a removal of a big barrier for me.”
It takes a rider to make a new rider
Stephanie says that it’s the personal connections between veteran riders and newbies that enable the Challenge to crank out a new crop of bike commuters each year.
“We’re not going to get people on their bikes by having a flashy website or sending out weekly emails,” she says. “What makes the Challenge work are the workplace champions; it gives them a vehicle for spreading their love of biking without being obnoxious.”
“Sometimes workplace resources support a company’s participation, but often it’s just the team captains’ energy—fixing bikes themselves, bringing in their own tools, or soliciting donations for breakfast or coffee.”
Staying in the saddle: what helps new riders become veterans
After over a year of riding, Kati describes her route in the rapid-fire cadence of a veteran: “I take Glisan to 162nd to Burnside all the way down, follow it around Mount Tabor, cross over 32nd, go down Ankeny and cross on the Hawthorne Bridge.”
Her 60 minutes on the bike pack a hefty dose of exercise. Plus she arrives at work in a serene state.
“There’s that feeling when you get to work…it’s like, all right, I’ve already ridden my bike 13 miles! And then,” she continues, “for the rest of the day, if something bad happens, it’s like, well… I rode my bike 13 miles.”
For this mother of two young boys, a 13-mile bike commute is now her hour of zen, served up on two wheels. “It’s nice having time to myself,” she says. “And I’d forgotten how much I liked riding my bike!”
In follow-up surveys about a month after the Challenge, Stephanie says that 33% of respondents report being "more likely to ride" than before the Challenge, even though it’s colder and rainier when they’re asked.
Like any mode of transit, biking has its challenges—street debris, distracted drivers, rain. Kati says, “I wouldn’t say I’m totally over being intimidated but I’ve made great progress.”
Several things keep Katie riding. First, she says, forget making a statement. Biking is fun.
Second, being a purist is not necessary. Her morning ride is a mostly flat or downhill, but at the end of the day, it’s a different story. “Usually I take MAX to Gateway,” she says. This eliminates most of the climb.
Third, CH2M HILL gives her and other bike commuters a $20 monthly voucher to a bike store. Some of Kati’s early purchases after a drenching ride were fenders and rain pants. Gear can indeed make the athlete, or in this case, the commuter. Covered bike parking and room to change clothes help a lot too.
Fourth, she knows other people are watching. When she started bike commuting, her husband bought a bike and began bike commuting too. And her older son wants to bike with her to work one day. Knowing she’s setting an example for her sons, she keeps stepping up her goal. For the coming summer and fall it’s to ride two days a week.
And last, she’s making progress to becoming that very bike commuter who once intimidated her. She says exultantly, “One day not too long ago I actually passed someone!”
The Bike Commute Challenge kicks off next week! Sign up today to see how two wheels can enhance your daily trek, and find out how your pedal-fueled dedication stacks up against that of your coworkers.
Metro's Bike There! map can help you plan your route.