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63 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, March 18, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 15, 2005 Chris Haynes, owner of Sims Cycle & Fitness in Medford, sparked a project called Bike First! Rogue Valley that will give a price break on bicycles to 15 people who promise to use them instead of their cars. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Pedals for the mettle ‘Bike First!’ effort aims to trim car use, increase cycle awareness By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Chris Haynes has a sweet deal for 15 people who want to get more exercise and spend less time in a car. The owner of Sims Cycle & Fitness will set them up with a state-of-the-art commuter bicycle and maintain it for a year. The bike and service work would regularly cost about $1,100 — but Haynes will give the whole package to the right people for just $150 if they agree to actually ride the bikes to work or pedal them to the store for groceries. The "Bike First! Rogue Valley" project is not a contest — at least not in the traditional sense. People who want one of the bikes will have to fill out a form describing the transportation they use now and how a bicycle will help them use their cars less. A panel of judges will review the applications to decide who gets the bikes. "I tell people to think of it like a job application," Haynes says. "We’re going to be evaluating which people are most likely to use the bikes and not their cars." Advertisement Inspiration for the project came last fall when Haynes visited the city of San Luis Obispo, Calif., which had just organized a similar bike giveaway. Haynes knew that Medford had earned a D-minus grade from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in 2002 for its efforts to encourage bike commuting, and he wanted to do something to promote bike commuting here. So he decided to try to re-create the California city’s program here. He talked to the Rogue Valley Transportation District, bicycle manufacturers, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Portland, and Siskiyou Velo, Southern Oregon’s cycling club. RVTD got grant money to buy the bikes from the Federal Highway Administration through a program that supports projects which reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality. At the same time, Bike First! sponsors hope to make motorists more aware of bicyclists, says Paige West, a transportation planner for RVTD. "We’re trying to begin to create a critical mass of cyclists out there," West says. "The more people see a bike on the road, the more likely they are to give them space and treat them with respect." Each "winner" will receive a Villager model bicycle, one of the Breezer brand bikes made by California-based SimpliCity Cycle Co. The Villager comes equipped with seven gears, fenders, front and rear lights, 1.5-inch-wide road tires, comfortable seat, and package racks. "If you’ve ever traveled in Europe, they look like the bikes you see all over in the bike racks," Haynes says. "It’s the bike I ride when I ride to work. It’s not the bike I ride on the weekend when I want to do a long, high-speed ride. "They are great bikes to ride," he says. "They’re very stable. You’re sitting straight up so you can see over cars, and they’re very maintenance free. They’re the right bike for most people." Participants will be required to pay $150 to give them a stake in the project. Haynes will provide free labor to set up the bikes and maintain them. Riders will be expected to make at least six trips a week that were previously made by car. Each bike will be equipped with a computer that records mileage, and the riders will be required to keep diaries to ensure that vehicle miles are actually being reduced. The program drew high praise from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, which will offer its safe bike commuting workshop to the contest winners. "Medford could — and should — be a fabulous place to ride," says BTA spokeswoman Kasandra Griffin. She noted that the Rogue Valley’s relatively flat terrain and mild climate provide two powerful incentives for bike commuters, but many people are reluctant to ride on roads that provide little space for cyclists. "That can change," Griffin says, noting that the number of bicycle commuters in Portland tripled between 1990 and 2001, as the city marked more bike routes for commuters. "We know if you provide better facilities more people will ride," she says. Haynes has high hopes, too. "If we really have the result we hope for, there will be some people whose lives change," he says. "They’ll reduce their transportation costs and they’ll get more exercise." How to apply Application forms for Bike First! Rogue Valley are available at RVTD’s Front Street Station, 200 S. Front St., Medford, and at Sims Cycle, 727 Medford Center. Forms can be requested by phone by calling 608-2429. Applications must be completed by March 1. The bikes will be awarded during the Bear Creek Greenway’s annual spring gala. Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s