Bike to Work Week 2007 Event Schedule

Bike to Work Week

Biking in Iowa is more than RAGBRAI, it's regular transportation. And with gas seen at $3.29 a gallon in Coralville on Friday, Bike To Work Week couldn't come at a better time than this Monday through Friday. As a regular bike to worker I'm planning extensive coverage.

For me, the highlight is Monday's annual bike-bus-car mall to mall race from Coral Ridge to Old Capitol, Our great racers are all politicians this year:

On the bus, Amy Correia from the Iowa City Council!

In the car, County Supervisor Sally Stutsman!

And, on the bike, Senator Joe Bolkcom!

Team Bike is defending the title won last year by Iowa City Mayor Ross Wilburn. Though the official odds from Vegas (or the Riverside casino) are not yet available, Bolkcom is confidently predicting a bike victory. Correia is hoping for a strong second place, has her book ready, and notes some construction on Highway 6 that may hurt her finish time... We'll be at the finish line at race time - 4:45 Friday on the Clinton Street side of the Old Capitol Mall.

Other highlights for the week:

Monday, May 14
7—9 a.m.
Bicyclists' Roadside Pancake Breakfast at College Green Park, Iowa City.

Tuesday, May 15
7—9 a.m.
Bicyclists' Roadside Pancake Breakfast in front of Coralville New Pioneer Co-op

Wednesday, May 16
5:30 p.m.
Old Pi to New Pi” Mayor’s Ride
Join Mayor Ross Wilburn in a casual bike ride from Iowa City’s Chauncey Swan Park to the Coralville New Pioneer Co-op. Refreshments and prizes hosted by the Co-op, live music by Irene and the Mad River Band. Free bike bells to be given away courtesy of World of Bikes.

Friday, May 18
5:00 p.m. (prize drawing at 6:30)
After Work Bike Rally
Fitzpatrick's on Prentiss Street in Iowa City, mixing cyclists, food, the live music of New Beat Society, and a prize drawing for a new bicycle, a shopping spree at a local bike shop, and many bike accessories!

The Bike To Work Week site offers plenty of tips, including free locations for showers and park and ride (if you can manage part, but not all, of the commute).

I lived with no car for periods of several months in 2003 and 2005, and the biggest barrier was groceries. The corner markets we used to have in every neighborhood have died off, but I still managed most everything in a backpack and side baskets. Except kitty litter. Just couldn't do the kitty litter.

But that was in midtown Iowa City. And even the Iowa City area still has a fair number of businesses that haven't managed a basic bike rack, such as the Best Buy-Target side of Coral Ridge Mall, where I have to settle for locking to a No Parking sign OK, I found it, but it's really easy to miss. And still, it was full - at 8:00 on a Sunday night...

How would living with no car work in small-town rural Iowa? Answer is: it wouldn't. Which begs some more questions. With the planet heating up and gas creeping up, should you really be living a long car commute from work? And how could we more effectively structure our societal layout for more bike-friendly transit? And why are there no jobs in our small towns and no affordable homes in our larger towns, so people have to commute dozens of miles?